2D animation

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The National Gallery is collaborating with Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design on 'Transcriptions: Animation’, an innovative new project which involves postgraduate animation students producing short films inspired by the Gallery’s collection. The views expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Gallery.

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From the film-maker:

In the little village of Montigny-sur-Loing just south of Paris, all is calm and peaceful as the afternoon approaches its end and Elodie comes out to play. The maids are picking flowers in the grounds of her parents' vast property and there is but one thing on the little girl's mind - her pet bird Eric!

The highlight of each monotonous day is to let her best friend out of its cage to play with her. This is the moment where Elodie can escape her drab and lonely reality and lose herself in happiness and excitement.

On this particular day, just as they have both seemed to reach a certain height of happiness… THUD!! Little Eric flies straight into an oncoming vehicle. Elodie, in a total state of shock, can't seem to understand what has just happened, let alone realise that the cause of her joie-de-vivre has just been tragically taken from her.

James Demetriadi

A piece inspired by Jacob Maris: A Girl feeding a Bird in a Cage, about 1867