Fish Heads Fugue and Other Tales for Twilight

Fish Heads Fugue and Other Tales for Twilight is a 2005 mixed-media animated short film directed by Lauren Indovina and Lindsey Mayer-Beug while they were attending Rhode Island School of Design. The story depicts a mechanical puppet theater, in which a series of dark and esoteric scenes are displayed. Traditional animation, cut-out animation, computer animation, and puppetry are all used. Critical reception has been favorable, and the film has received accolades from several noted commentators who have singled it out for its juxtaposition of music and evocative visual design.

Fish Heads Fugue and Other Tales for Twilight
Directed byLauren Indovina
Lindsey Mayer-Beug
Written byLauren Indovina
Lindsey Mayer-Beug
Production
company
Release date
  • 2005 (2005)
Running time
6 minutes

Plot

An old woman, short and stout, enters a room containing a small puppet theater. Between the tasks of setting up a phonograph and a film projector, she carries in a large object, on top of which stands a statue of a dog. The dog comes to life. Inside the puppet theater, a mechanical platform rises up, revealing a miniature pianist. After a brief musical performance, the theater rotates, displaying an ocean scenescape - amidst other themed props, a fish's head is depicted bobbing up and down in the water. The theater then rotates again, settling on a hilltop home.

Inside the dwelling, sits a porcelain doll in the form of a young girl. A blue, spectral drawing sits with her, until she is roused by a bell. As the girl leaves the room, the wispy drawing looks after her, and then vanishes. A cloaked, pale-faced, old woman watches the young girl climb through the meandering, mechanical passageways of the puppet theater. The old woman signals for a loaf of bread and then passes it on to the young girl.

A lonely red balloon floats down a hallway. It stops to hover by a grotesque couple, gorging themselves on an opulent feast. The couple gaze at each other through richly designed fish masks. The balloon then passes on, reaching a tavern. The pianist is there, and three old men sit enraptured by a woman on stage. The young girl, who has made her way to the room as well, watches as one of the men casually swallows a pair of levitating playing cards.

Following the red balloon, the girl appears to return home. She is encountered however, by a rotating contraption, depicting a series of intricate masks. Her house is revealed to also be such a contraption. The young girl then appears standing alone in the puppet theater. The old woman, who set up the show, is watching. She directs a mechanical fan toward the girl, and the girl, covering her eyes in apparent fear, is blown away. The woman waves goodbye to an unseen audience.

Production

Lauren Indovina and Lindsey Mayer-Beug directed Fish Heads Fugue and Other Tales for Twilight as their thesis film, while attending Rhode Island School of Design.[1] The two classmates, who majored in Film, Animation, and Video[2] intermingled throughout their time at RISD, but did not form a close friendship until attending the Ottawa International Animation Festival together in their senior year. Indovina has described this trip as a "pilgrimage", undertaken annually by RISD animation seniors.[3] In her own words, she and Mayer-Beug bonded over "a mutual belief that getting up early to explore Ottawa is worth sleep deprivation", and while abroad, the two resolved to collaborate on their upcoming thesis film.[3] A year later, they would return to Ottawa, winning top honors in the Undergraduate category with this film.[2]

Production lasted six months. Splitting responsibilities, Indovina handled the set design, modeling, texturing, and lighting, while Mayer-Beug handled the character design.[1] The duo found inspiration in the distinctive style of Czech animator Jan Svankmajer, as well as old puppet shows.[4][5] In an interview a decade later, Mayer-Beug would note that elderly people with wrinkled faces - a recurring motif in this film - are one of her favorite subjects to draw.[6] Although the film makes use of computer graphics, both directors carry a strong preference for traditional forms of animation, having once made reference to "the tyranny of software".[4] As such, they drew from a wide variety of art disciplines, combining Maya software with cell animation, paint, puppetry (including hand puppetry), cutout animation (both traditional and computer-based), and stop motion.[4][7] Other aspects of the film's production were achieved through the use of After Effects, Avid, Photoshop, and Pro Tools.[4] The sound design is by Sarah Orenstein.[1]

The film is dedicated to Mayer-Beug's mother, Carolyn Beug, and grandmother, Mary Alice Wahlstrom;[1] both died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.[8] Carolyn Beug had served as senior vice president of Walt Disney Records in the mid-nineties.[8][9] She and Wahlstrom boarded American Airlines Flight 11 while returning from taking Lindsey Mayer-Beug and Lindsey's twin sister (also named Lauren) to their first year of college.[8]

Reception

As its gear-driven sets whip and whirl, ideas and visuals cascade, eclipsing one another. This is the kind of film you can watch ten times and see twenty different things.

— A review in 3D World magazine[4]

Melissa Wolfe of Frederator called Fish Heads Fugue and Other Tales for Twilight "beautiful", naming it as a highlight of the 2005 Ottawa International Animation Festival.[10] The film was also singled out for praise by David Fellerath and Zack Smith, both of Indy Week, during the 2006 and 2007 Hi Mom! Film Festivals.[11][12] Smith called it a "macabre feast for the eyes" that evokes the works of Lemony Snicket,[12] while Fellerath likened the film's "interplay of music, images, and the imagination" to Corpse Bride and The Triplets of Belleville.[11] Irene Gallo of Tor.com wrote that, although the film makes use of CGI, it still manages to exude "all the decay and style" associated with stop motion animation.[13] She felt it particularly reminiscent of Jan Švankmajer's filmography[13] - a key influence on the film's design.[4] In a review for the Reading Eagle, Tony Lucia called the film "As enchanting and technically astonishing as it is cryptic and ambiguous."[14] He pondered the meaning of the film, questioning whether the young girl should be interpreted as a captive or a performer, and likened it to the works of David Lynch.[14] The staff of 3D World magazine referred to the film as a "gothic masterpiece".[4]

Fish Heads Fugue and Other Tales for Twilight won in the Undergraduate category at the 2005 Ottawa International Animation Festival[15][16] and went on to screen throughout the United States in the Best of Ottawa 2005 travelling exhibition.[2][17][18] The film also won in the Stop Motion category at the 2006 Animex Student Animation Awards[19] and the Animation category at the 2005 Hollywood DV Festival,[1][4] was a semi-finalist at the 2005 Stash DVD Magazine Global Student Animation Awards,[20] and was named by 3D World magazine as one of the ten best student animated films of the year.[4] Other festivals in which it screened include the 2006 Ann Arbor Film Festival,[1][21] the 2006 Boston Underground Film Festival,[22] the 2005 Etiuda & Anima International Film Festival,[23] the 2006 Florida Film Festival,[24][25] the 2006 and 2007 Hi Mom! Film Festivals,[11][12] the 2006 Melbourne International Animation Festival,[26] the 2005 Pawtucket Film Festival,[27] the 2006 Philadelphia Film Festival,[28] the 2006 Reel Women International Film Festival,[29] and the 2006 Seattle International Film Festival.[30] Additionally, it was selected as one of three short films to be screened in June 2006, as part of Slamdance Film Festival's online Anarchy competition.[3][31][32]

See also

References
  1. Lauren Indovina. "Lauren Indovina - Fish Heads Fugue and Other Tales for Twilight". laurenindovina.com. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  2. "The Best of Ottawa 2005" (PDF) (Press release). Ottawa: Ottawa International Animation Festival. p. 3. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  3. "Anarchy - Fish Heads Fugue and Other Tales for Twilight". Anarchy. Slamdance Film Festival. June 2006. Archived from the original on June 15, 2006. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  4. "Movers & Shakers - The Fish Heads Fugue: It's Mixed Media, but Not As We Know It, Jim...". 3D World. No. 77. Bath, Somerset: Future plc. May 2006.
  5. "Review - Fish Heads Fugue". AnimWatch. Archived from the original on October 15, 2007. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  6. Jenna Matecki (February 2, 2016). "021: Lindsey Mayer-Beug" (Podcast). Notes on Doing. Event occurs at 00:07:30-00:09:18. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  7. "Animex International Festival of Animation & Computer Games - Festival Programme" (PDF) (Press release). Middlesbrough: University of Teesside. February 2006. p. 20. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  8. Doug Galloway (September 23, 2001). "Carolyn Beug". Variety. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  9. Lynne Heffley (September 26, 1995). "At Disney Records It's Also an Adult World, After All". LA Times. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  10. Melissa Wolfe (September 30, 2005). "That New Show Smell - I Wear My Sunglasses on Plains". Frederator. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  11. David Fellerath (June 14, 2006). "International shorts conspiracy". Indy Week. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  12. Zack Smith (July 11, 2007). "Hi Mom! Film Festival". Indy Week. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  13. Irene Gallo (April 4, 2009). "Saturday Morning Cartoons: "Fish Heads Fugue" and "Tidy Monster"". Tor.com. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  14. Lucia, Tony (October 1, 2006). "Best of the fest". Reading Eagle. Reading, Pennsylvania. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  15. "Past Festivals". animationfestival.ca. Ottawa International Animation Festival. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  16. Ryan Ball (September 26, 2005). "Nyocker! Is Tops at Ottawa". Animation Magazine. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  17. "Best of Ottawa 2005". Ottawa International Animation Festival. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  18. "Metro Cinema Society: Best of Ottawa International Animation Festival". Metro Cinema Edmonton. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  19. "Animex Student Animation Awards 2006 Results" (PDF) (Press release). Middlesbrough: University of Teesside. February 10, 2006. p. 2. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  20. "See All of the 2005 Winners and Finalists in Stash 13". Stash Media. Archived from the original on February 9, 2006. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  21. "44th Annual Ann Arbor Film Festival" (PDF) (Press release). Ann Arbor, Michigan: Ann Arbor Film Festival. 2006. p. 15. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  22. "8th Annual Boston Underground Film Festival" (PDF) (Press release). Boston: Boston Underground Film Festival. March 2006. p. 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 14, 2006. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  23. "Etiuda & Anima - Programme". Etiuda & Anima International Film Festival. Archived from the original on February 22, 2006. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  24. "15 Annual Florida Film Festival - Animated Shorts". Florida Film Festival. Archived from the original on April 20, 2006. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  25. "15th Annual Florida Film Festival - Fish Heads Fugue and Other Tales for Twilight". Florida Film Festival. Archived from the original on December 7, 2006. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  26. "International Program #2". Melbourne International Animation Festival. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  27. "Sixth Annual Pawtucket Film Festival 2005". Mirror Image Inc. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  28. "Philadelphia Film Festival 2006: Fish Heads Fugue and Other Tales for Twilight". phillyfests.festivalgenius.com. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  29. "Reel Women International Film Festival - Animation Competition". Reel Women International Film Festival. Archived from the original on June 18, 2006. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  30. "Films / Programs - Short Films". Seattle International Film Festival. Archived from the original on June 14, 2006. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  31. "Anarchy June 2006". Anarchy. Slamdance Film Festival. June 2006. Archived from the original on June 15, 2006. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  32. "Anarchy - Frequently Asked Questions". Anarchy. Slamdance Film Festival. Archived from the original on June 20, 2006. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
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