Back to selection
Filminute @ Filmmaker: Ant Blades’ Wildebeest
Throughout the month of September, Filmmaker is partnering with the online short film competition Filminute, hosting five of its nominated titles and running interviews with the director’s of these one-minute movies.
Tell us who you are (where you’re from, background, previous credits as a filmmaker)
My names is Ant Blades. I’m a director at Bird Box Studio in London. Here I have made many short films, all around a minute long and aimed at a YouTube audience (25 million views so far). I’ve worked previously as an animator for various studios, a digital creative for YouTube at Google, and a cartoonist, with my comic Bewley running for eight years in a national paper.
Describe your film in 100 words or less (plot, style, influences)
The film sees a couple of wildebeest contemplating crossing a river. An object is floating in the water ahead of them. A log? Or a crocodile? The story is about the lengths some people will go to to prove their point. The film is animated in Flash and AfterEffects. The main aim was to be funny. The secondary aim was to develop a style I hadn’t tried before.
What were the biggest challenges of making a one-minute film?
I don’t find the running-time a challenge. I think one minute is a very good length to set up a joke and deliver a punch line. The challenge with any film is to find a concept that is original and execute it in a satisfying way. I tend to focus on comedy so the biggest challenge I have is making sure people laugh.
To rate and vote for Wildebeest, visit the Filminute site.
