Gobelins: School of Animation

Gobelins, L’École de L’Image is a school of visual communication and arts located in Paris. Founded in 1975, the school is best known for its Cinema Department of Animation. While researching through YouTube, I came across the official Gobelin’s channel and instantly became mesmerised by the quality of, not only the animation techniques used in each video, but of the narrative in each of them. I must have watched a good one-hundred videos while trying to find inspiration for my own. I find it astonishing that all of these videos were made my groups of students, who clearly have an immense talent.

Of all the short film animations that I watched, these were the ones that stood out most for me:

THERMOSTAT 6

There is not knowing for certain what the team of animators that worked in this were trying to allude to. However, for me, the pipe leak symbolises the current global crisis climate. It starting with a small leak, that could be easily fixable if not ignored, but constantly having people dismiss it as nothing. The father making a retort that there are bigger problems that need a resolution first. The daughter, representing activists and those who warn us of the dangers and constantly trying to fix it to no avail. In the end, the small pipe being only a small issue of a much larger problem.

Beyond not having words to describe how beautiful the animation in itself is, the narrative that it tells and the clever way to encapsulate a message in it is what made this animation memorable.

DIX-HUIT KILOMÈTRES TROIS

This short film stood out mostly because of the style of animation used. I absolutely love the rough outline of the characters and its juxtaposition with the more detailed background. The several different camera angles, and close up shots that make formidable use of depth of field. It is just a very visually beautiful animation. Not only that but I love the casual setting of it and how it tells the story of these three little friends that go on an adventure. I could watch it over and over again.

IN BETWEEN

As usual the combination of the beauty of the animation and the meaningful story, are what make these most rememberable to me. Once again, these stories are up for interpretation, however for me the crocodile in this story remembers social anxiety that the main character has to learn how to live with otherwise it continues to stop her from living. I felt like it was a very clever, and in a way fun, way to show how social anxiety works.