Summary:
Today consisted of an informative introduction to our new module, The World of Animation, followed by an insightful lecture on Library Subject Guides & Referencing. Below are pictures I took during both:
Module Structure:
The first lecture taught us about the structure of the module, and informed us that it consists of two courseworks:
Coursework 1: Small Group Presentation – 40% – Deadline Monday 10/03/25, 12 pm (NOON)
Coursework 2: Small Group Research Poster – 60% – Deadline Wednesday 16/04/25, 12 pm (NOON)
Coursework 1: (INFO)
My Group: (Group 12)
My group for Coursework 1 consists of 4 people: (Listed in order of left to right in the group photo below)
- Myself
- Hurley T Sumeras
- Amber Smillie
- Christine Weng
After the lecture we got to know each other really well and started to bond over shared interests. We watched our assigned animated short film, Parasomnia, and started to develop a sense of mutual respect and synergy as we discussed the film’s core themes, characters and symbolism. We all collectively agreed we got a really good one (out of all of the set films) and are very excited to analyse it further together.
Our Short Film: (Parasomnia)
Our short film is called Parasomnia (2016).
Parasomnia: (My First Thoughts)
The video’s description reads simply:
“A man suffers from sleep paralysis.”
…….spooky! 👻👻👻
Honestly, the lack of any elaboration here IS very chilling – which is fitting – seeing as it matches the tone and atmosphere of the short film VERY well! It also matches the title, Parasomnia, which I initially believed to be a portmanteau (blend word) of the terms “Paranoia” & “Insomnia” – but it also seems that Parasomnia is actually a standalone sleep disorder (involving abnormal behaviors, movements, emotions, or perceptions that occur during sleep or when waking up – including night terrors).
The opening title card utilises an eerie smoke effect combined with an unsettling lightning effect that instantly put me on edge. We open on the scene of a lone man, writing at a desk in his bedroom at night. This is typically a trite and overused trope of the Horror movie genre, but it still managed to send shivers down my spine. The man gets into bed and looks at the alarm clock as it turns from 03:23 to 03:24, before falling into a state of surreal and terrifying sleep paralysis. Throughout this nameless man’s borderline-schizophrenic nightmare, he (and we, the audience) experience disturbing imagery flashing across our vision. These images include strings of bloody sinew and skin tissue binding together to form brain-synapse-like patterns – and the visual of a strange organ somewhere between a brain and a heart – pumping louder and louder as the film goes on. This would be bad enough, except the man is also concurrently viewing a strange shadow monster creeping out from behind his open door. It slowly inches toward him before throttling him by the neck. MY JAW WAS ON THE FLOOR! The man then swiftly wakes up, calming down between deep gulping breaths, before looking to his nightstand and watching as the alarm clock mercifully turns to 03:25. This whole demented episode only lasted one minute…
Overall, a very creepy and highly interesting watch. 8/10 from me!
PERSONAL RESEARCH:
Parasomnia: (Context)
TEAM:
This short film was produced in 2016. as a “Graduation Project” by a team of Animation students from LISAA (L‘Institut Supérieur des Arts Appliqués), a School of Art & Design located in Paris, France. The names of the students involved are listed below and taken straight from the above video’s description:
Graduation short film from LISAA Animation – Paris (2016)
Laetitia Munsch : Director, Concept, Modeling, Texturing, Fx Artist, Rendering
Laura Gimenez : Lighting, Cloth, Modeling, Texturing, Layout 3D, Rendering
Alice Dumoutier : Animator, Rigging
Victorine Guery : Concept Art, Character Design, Storyboard, Compositing
Emanuele Asero : Animator, Concept Art
Julie Ruffier : Animator, Storyboard, Rigging
Sound Design : Nicolas Morel
Music : Clément Weil
LISAA 2016 all rights reserved. http://www.lisaa.com/en
NOTE: The last two names on that list are listed on the right instead of the left – so the listed order of Credit THEN Name is mixed up here. Seeing as they are credited for “Sound Design” and “Music” respectively – whereas everyone else is credited with some form of practical visual design or animation – I assume this mix-up of the order is deliberate and due to their credits being distinctly different from the rest.
ORIGINAL ONLINE LOCATION:
I found the original source of the video located on the LISAA Website, where a differing description of the short film can be read:
“One night, Jules is working at his desk. Completely exhausted, he goes to bed at 3:24am. Jules falls asleep but wakes up right away. He’s experiencing sleep paralysis. A dark shadow comes toward him slowly and tries to choke him. Terrified, Jules wakes up suddenly. It is now 3:25am.”
SOURCE: https://www.lisaa.com/en/talents/parasomnia
WHY IS THE VIDEO UPLOADED TO THE “CGMEETUP” YOUTUBE CHANNEL?
CGMeetup describes itself on its YouTube Channel’s HomePage, thusly:
“CGMeetup is the #1 inspiration resource for all CGI, VFX, 3D and Digital artists. We feature a wide variety of CGI content including behind-the-scenes, vfx breakdowns, short films & showreels. CGMeetup also serves as networking resource for CGI Professionals. Professionals use CGMeetup to exchange ideas, knowledge & job opportunities.”
Based on this description, it seems like the team of students at LISAA reached out to CGMeetup (or vice versa, I’m not sure) and asked for the short film to be shared and distributed on the channel. This would make sense, given that in the description of the above video there is a link to another video explaining the process behind the making of Parasomnia. This video is show below:
This video extensively records almost every part of the creative process behind the short film. I found it extremely helpful in my research and analysis.
NOMINATION:
Our short film was entered in the “Festival du Film Merveilleux et Imaginaire” (English title: “Fantasy Film Festival”) – an international film festival held in Paris, focusing on themes of magic and fantasy in film, cinema, animation, etc. The festival was first launched in 2010. Below are relevant screenshots.
OUR SHORT FILM’S ENTRY:
WINNERS: (UNFORTUNATELY OUR SHORT FILM DID NOT WIN ANY AWARDS)
SOURCE FOR BOTH: https://festival-film-merveilleux.com/festival-du-film-merveilleux-2017/
Despite not winning any awards – the very fact that the film was showcased in such a famous and well-respected Festival highlights its recognition within the animation community. Not to mention the level of skill and time put into the film for it to even be entered into the competition.
What’s Next? (For My Group)
Personal Group Chat: (Instagram)
We have already made an Instagram group chat to act as our main hub of communication for this piece of Coursework. We will still be uploading important documents and such to our Discord group chat – but Instagram is the social media we found we all used most so it made the most sense in the long run for quick group coordination, organisation, and communication. See a picture of our group chat below:
Independent Study: (Library)
We have also already set up a time to meet next week on Tuesday 04/02/25. Our wonderful team member, Hurley T Sumeras, took it upon themself to book us a space in the University Library. They have also generously offered to bring a HDMI Cable to connect their laptop to the Library space’s TV monitor so we can watch the short film on a much bigger screen and properly analyse it. A screenshot of their booking can be seen below:
Conclusion:
Overall, I feel my group has had a fantastic start which will surely benefit us in future when it comes to our proper in-depth analysis. I feel we are all dedicated to making the most of this module and are prepared to put in the work required to produce high quality work.
PLEASE NOTE: ALL RESEARCH IN THE ABOVE BLOG POST WAS CARRIED OUT BY MYSELF, JACK THOMPSON, ON THE 28-29/01/2025 (UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED)