Tsunami

Tsunami is a short film created by students from Danish school The Animation Workshop about dealing with loss. Two main characters, an internal conflict, non-realistic staging and an emphasis on character psychology are the main ingredients of this short.

The school’s production system that builds teams of 7+ students for each project once again shows through in the ambitious environment designs and attention to detail. The stylized aesthetic uses 3D elements with painterly textures combined with 2D visuals, with frequent use of reframing. A Japanese suburban staging is transformed through the invasion of nature, with the presence of water and related iconography being prevalent throughout the film.

The heightened level of subjectivity in narration, highly psychological plot, marked changes of pace and supernatural elements make for a thoroughly enjoyable short.

The idea for the film came from one of the artists’ personal experience, Sofie Kampmark (who directed the short) was visiting Japan in 2011, when the tragic earthquake and subsequent tsunami took place.