ART214: First Blog Post

I love this animated short, Birdsong, a film inspired by the extinct Kauaʻi ʻōʻō bird and a biologist's experiences recording the very last one's song. Pairs of Kauaʻi ʻōʻō birds were known for their distinct call-and-response melody. The visual representations of their shared song, followed by the imagery and sound of the last one alone, are deeply sad and poignant. Birdsong's compositions are vibrant and compelling, always communicating the idea that these birds should be in pairs - even and especially when the other is absent. Layered scientific text highlights the biologist's narrative. The result is a heartbreaking film that conveys both the tragedy of the birds' extinction and the beauty of their life.

The film is likely digitally hand-drawn frame-by-frame animation. Compositing might have been done in After Effects to layer the animation with text, effects, and sound. The layered foreground and background elements could also have been combined and animated in this program. Similarly, the rotated and other tweened elements, such as the shot of the moon cycles, could have been put together in After Effects as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4_dq_e4KGs