Beginning of my collaboration with postgraduate Film and TV student
The postgraduates pitched their film ideas in the animation loft with material to support and explain their ideas. Some had 'mood board' films to help convey the feeling for what they were hoping to achieve in their projects. I noted down what each film was about and the roles that they were looking for us animators to fulfill (VFX, titles/credits, storyboarding, etc.). A couple of them took my interest and I ended up being paired with Deryck Beaumont who was actually one of the ones that interested me. In his pitch he explained that he was basing his work on a poem, a nice descriptive text that tells of Vietnam War conflict between American soldiers (referred to as the "Green Beret") and villagers. This is the poem:
"He was 12 years old
and I do not know his name
One morning the mercenaries took him and his father
Whose name I do not know
One morning upon the high plateau
Green Beret looked down upon the frail boy
with the eyes of a hurt animal and thought,
a good fright will make him talk
He commanded and the father was taken away
behind the forest’s green wall
Right kid tell us where they are. Tell us where - or your father - dead
With eyes now all bright and filled with terror
the slight boy said nothing
“you've got one minute kid” said the Green Beret,
“tell us where or we kill father”
and thrust his wrist watch against a face all eyes
on the second hand turning, jerking on its way
“okay boy 10 seconds to tell us where they are”
in the last instant the silver hand shattered the sky
and the forest of trees
“kill the old guy” roared Green Beret
and shots hammered out behind the forest’s green wall
And sky and trees and soldiers stood in silence
and the boy cried out
Green Beret stood in silence as the boy crouched down
and shook with tears as children do when their father dies
“Christ” said one of mercenaries to Green Beret and he didn't do a damn thing
we killed the old guy for nothing,
So all they all went away Green Beret and his mercenaries
and I do not know his name
One morning the mercenaries took him and his father
Whose name I do not know
One morning upon the high plateau
Green Beret looked down upon the frail boy
with the eyes of a hurt animal and thought,
a good fright will make him talk
He commanded and the father was taken away
behind the forest’s green wall
Right kid tell us where they are. Tell us where - or your father - dead
With eyes now all bright and filled with terror
the slight boy said nothing
“you've got one minute kid” said the Green Beret,
“tell us where or we kill father”
and thrust his wrist watch against a face all eyes
on the second hand turning, jerking on its way
“okay boy 10 seconds to tell us where they are”
in the last instant the silver hand shattered the sky
and the forest of trees
“kill the old guy” roared Green Beret
and shots hammered out behind the forest’s green wall
And sky and trees and soldiers stood in silence
and the boy cried out
Green Beret stood in silence as the boy crouched down
and shook with tears as children do when their father dies
“Christ” said one of mercenaries to Green Beret and he didn't do a damn thing
we killed the old guy for nothing,
So all they all went away Green Beret and his mercenaries
And the boy knew everything
he knew everything about them,the caves,
the trails, the hidden places, and their names
In the same instant protected by frail tears far stronger then any wall of steel,
they past everywhere, like tigers, across the high Plateau
he knew everything about them,the caves,
the trails, the hidden places, and their names
In the same instant protected by frail tears far stronger then any wall of steel,
they past everywhere, like tigers, across the high Plateau
Translated from the Vietnamese by Ho Thien
Deryck was looking to interpret this film into animated form (or at least the end section of the "high Plateau"). He showed in his pitch a video to get across the atmosphere he was looking to create (the video at the top of this post). I personally didn't find the clip to be of great interest as it is more of an artistic (slightly abstract) representation of the emotions conveyed in the poem rather than a straightforward interpretation of the narrative (much more my interest). But the content involved sold it to me because I felt it could be quite a powerful story to communicate.
We hit off rather well and it felt easy to talk about our background and interests. What was not so encouraging was that Deryck did not have a finalised vision for what the film would be like. There was no crew, no set deadline and there were no specific jobs he wanted me to do. Instead I think he has thought of collaboration more in terms of working 'with' each and together rather than in the nature of all the other film pitches as working 'for' him. I was initially disappointed as I had looked forward to being able to work for somebody on a job needing done rather than taking more of a leading role in a project but I got over myself. We finished with saying to be in contact for a time to meet up to discuss potential approaches to creating the film and interpreting the poem in animated form.
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