Mar 12, 2013

The Mask" Patrick Smith

Patrick Smith has released his 2011 short film "Mask" on the Internet. He brought in frequent collaborator and musician Carl von Kries to compose the film's music, but unlike previous collaborations, he reversed the workflow. In the earlier "Delivery and Drink," Smith created the animation and then von Kries composed the music; in "Masks," von Kries composed the music first and Smith drew what he heard.

Having known Pat for the past decade, I think I can say with some confidence that his great love is the plasticity of the animated movement. The raison d'etre of his films is his passion for creating animation through the now unfashionable ritual of flipping thousands of wrinkled sheets of paper on a light box. Yes, "The Mask" was animated on paper, not digitally. I have never asked him if he enjoys filling out timing charts and exposure sheets, but I imagine he takes a perverse pleasure in the whole process. He is also one of those rare indies who knows and loves the Disney greats, past and present. He admires Bill Tytler, Glen Keane, and Sergio Pavlos, and channels his passion for dynamic and powerful character animation into an inventive approach to storytelling.

In his earlier work, Pat used basic visual analogies to express larger themes. In "Handshake," an entangled man and woman literally depict personal identity consumed by relationship; in "Puppet," a hand puppet with a life of its own becomes a means by which the creative process overtakes its creator.

While "Masks" is less conceptual and builds a more complex narrative, opportunities for masochistic character animation practice are still presented through enigmatic masked characters who chase, chew up, and destroy large numbers of small, helpless figures The film is a work of art that is both a reflection of humanity's overuse and abuse of natural resources. Themes of contemporary relevance are woven throughout the narrative, such as humanity's misuse and abuse of natural resources and the power of the masses against the exploiting classes. While not necessarily his most entertaining work, Masks is Pat's most ambitious and effective work as a filmmaker.