WDAS Short Circuit

All topics relating to Disney-branded content.
User avatar
Sotiris
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 19913
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 3:06 am
Gender: Male
Location: Fantasyland

WDAS Short Circuit

Post by Sotiris »

Image
Source: https://www.facebook.com/DisneyAnimatio ... 991476855/

Image
Source: https://disneyplusoriginals.disney.com/ ... rt-circuit
Short Circuit, our experimental shorts program, is coming to Disney Plus in Spring 2020! Founded in 2016, Short Circuit provides emerging filmmakers within the Studio the opportunity to create innovative, original shorts. Three shorts will have their world premiere at Annecy.
Source: https://twitter.com/DisneyAnimation/sta ... 8141724672
In what has become an annual tradition at Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS) returns with a Bonlieu Theater presentation showcasing the Studios’ latest projects, presented by the filmmakers themselves. On Friday, June 14, head of animation Becky Bresee and head of effects animation Marlon West take to the stage to give an inside look at the making of Frozen 2, and the directors of three new shorts - "Just a Thought", directed by Brian Menz, "Exchange Student", directed by Natalie Nourigat and "Jing Hua (Flower in the Mirror)", directed by Jerry Huynh - present their shorts in world premiere screenings at Annecy.

The shorts are part of Short Circuit, the Studios’ experimental program that began in 2016 where anyone at Walt Disney Animation Studios can pitch an idea and potentially be selected to create an original short film with the support of the Studio and their fellow artists. The goal of this innovative program is to take risks in both visual style and story, surface new voices at the Studio and experiment with new technical innovation. The program has so far given 20 Disney Animation artists the opportunity to create their own short, most averaging 2:00 minutes in length. Last year’s award-winning Disney Animation VR short, Cycles, directed by Jeff Gipson, was created within the Short Circuit program as well. The short films within Short Circuit will be available Spring of 2020 on Disney+ in the U.S., Disney’s upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming service.
Source: https://www.awn.com/news/disney-returns ... esentation
ImageImageImageImageImageImage
User avatar
D82
Signature Collection
Posts: 6170
Joined: Fri Aug 16, 2013 10:07 am
Location: Spain

Re: WDAS Short Circuit

Post by D82 »

Sotiris wrote:
The program has so far given 20 Disney Animation artists the opportunity to create their own short, most averaging 2:00 minutes in length. Last year’s award-winning Disney Animation VR short, Cycles, directed by Jeff Gipson, was created within the Short Circuit program as well.
Source: https://www.awn.com/news/disney-returns ... esentation
Does that mean 20 shorts have been produced within this program since 2016? Has any of them been released?
User avatar
D82
Signature Collection
Posts: 6170
Joined: Fri Aug 16, 2013 10:07 am
Location: Spain

Re: Pixar Spark Shorts

Post by D82 »

Speaking of animated shorts, I read this tweet by Stitch Kingdom the other day:
Disney animated short THE RACE and ZENITH rated PG for some thematic elements. SONGS TO SING IN THE DARK rated G
Is this a new Disney or Pixar theatrical short or is it another kind of short?
User avatar
Sotiris
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 19913
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 3:06 am
Gender: Male
Location: Fantasyland

Re: Pixar Spark Shorts

Post by Sotiris »

D82 wrote:Does that mean 20 shorts have been produced within this program since 2016? Has any of them been released?
Not to my knowledge. The shorts made by interns aren't part of this program. The only one released so far in festivals and conferences is the VR short Cycles.
D82 wrote:Is this a new Disney or Pixar theatrical short or is it another kind of short?
I believe those are more WDAS shorts made through the Short Circuits program. For Disney to submit them for an MPAA rating must mean those three will get a limited theatrical release at The El Capitan for Oscar consideration just like what they did with the first three Pixar Spark Shorts.

Image
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/horror/comment ... e_week_of/
ImageImageImageImageImageImage
User avatar
D82
Signature Collection
Posts: 6170
Joined: Fri Aug 16, 2013 10:07 am
Location: Spain

Re: Pixar Spark Shorts

Post by D82 »

Sotiris wrote:Not to my knowledge. The shorts made by interns aren't part of this program. The only one released so far in festivals and conferences is the VR short Cycles.
I wonder if these shorts will be also available on Disney Plus along with the new ones.
Sotiris wrote:I believe those are more WDAS shorts made through the Short Circuits program. For Disney to submit them for an MPAA rating must mean those three will get a limited theatrical release at The El Capitan for Oscar consideration just like what they did with the first three Pixar Spark Shorts.
I didn't understand the three titles were animated shorts. What you say makes sense. Thanks for the additional info and for answering my questions!
User avatar
Sotiris
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 19913
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 3:06 am
Gender: Male
Location: Fantasyland

Re: WDAS Short Circuit

Post by Sotiris »

Exchange Student
Life is hard enough for an exchange student at a new school, but as the only Earthling at a school for Aliens, the central character in this fanciful story is the ultimate outsider and must prove her worth to be accepted by her unusual new classmates.
Source: https://d23.com/disney-previews-frozen- ... at-annecy/

Image
Source: https://www.facebook.com/DisneyAnimatio ... 818106855/

Just a Thought
An awkward 12-year old boy named Ollie experiences “bubble trouble” when his infatuation for a girl is embarrassingly revealed as his innermost thoughts take the form of a physical thought bubble. When the bubble takes on a life of its own, Ollie struggles to keep his thoughts under control and hidden from his seventh grade crush.
Source: https://d23.com/disney-previews-frozen- ... at-annecy/

Image
https://www.facebook.com/DisneyAnimatio ... 818201855/

Jing Hua (Flower in the Mirror)
Using Chinese-style landscape paintings as a visual inspiration, this film follows the story of a grieving woman who pays tribute to her recently departed teacher by creating a painted world using a magical form of kung fu.
Source: https://d23.com/disney-previews-frozen- ... at-annecy/

Image
Source: https://www.facebook.com/DisneyAnimatio ... 818101855/
ImageImageImageImageImageImage
User avatar
D82
Signature Collection
Posts: 6170
Joined: Fri Aug 16, 2013 10:07 am
Location: Spain

Re: WDAS Short Circuit

Post by D82 »

These three shorts look better than I expected. They have very original concepts and I love the art styles, especially for the last two, though the style of the first one is not bad either. I can't wait to watch them.
User avatar
Sotiris
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 19913
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 3:06 am
Gender: Male
Location: Fantasyland

Re: WDAS Short Circuit

Post by Sotiris »

Fourteen shorts produced via the Short Circuit program will be released theatrically at The El Capitan starting from August 12, making all of them eligible for this year's Oscars. A Kite's Tale is conspicuously absent from the roster.

https://elcapitantheatre.com/short-circuit
ImageImageImageImageImageImage
User avatar
D82
Signature Collection
Posts: 6170
Joined: Fri Aug 16, 2013 10:07 am
Location: Spain

Re: WDAS Short Circuit

Post by D82 »

The good news is that Cycles is among them, which means that there is a non-VR version of that short. Maybe A Kite's Tale will be released at The El Capitan Theatre too at a later date.

The titles look quite varied in art style and subject matter. I think the ones I'm most curious about are Downtown, Just a Thought, Zenith, and The Race.
User avatar
D82
Signature Collection
Posts: 6170
Joined: Fri Aug 16, 2013 10:07 am
Location: Spain

Re: WDAS Short Circuit

Post by D82 »

I was wondering why the Pixar Spark Shorts are around 8 minutes long while this WDAS ones are just around 2, according to the first post in this thread. I wish they were as long as the Pixar ones. On the plus side though, they're faster to produce, so I guess more people at WDAS will have the chance to direct their own short.
User avatar
blackcauldron85
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 16456
Joined: Sat Jun 17, 2006 7:54 am
Gender: Female
Contact:

Re: WDAS Short Circuit

Post by blackcauldron85 »

LaughingPlace has reviews of a bunch of the shorts:
https://www.laughingplace.com/w/tag/short-circuit/
Image
User avatar
D82
Signature Collection
Posts: 6170
Joined: Fri Aug 16, 2013 10:07 am
Location: Spain

Re: WDAS Short Circuit

Post by D82 »

Visual development art made by some of the artists who worked on the short Jing Hua:

Dan Cooper

Image

Image Image
Sources: https://www.instagram.com/p/B19lIDoDRqi/, https://www.instagram.com/p/B1_7UvQD78E/


James Woods

Image

Image Image
Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/B11k_hyjOGK/


Mehrdad Isvandi

Image
Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/B1si0J-DCWZ/

Image
Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/B11g4KaDPcn/

Image
Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/B2LP0x-jmf2/

Image
Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/B2NG-EajEjH/


Here's also a still from the short:

Image
Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/B2z9Sr9FLbi/
User avatar
Sotiris
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 19913
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 3:06 am
Gender: Male
Location: Fantasyland

Re: WDAS Short Circuit

Post by Sotiris »

I love the art for Jing Hua, but they might as well have called it Mulan being so visually similar to it.
ImageImageImageImageImageImage
User avatar
D82
Signature Collection
Posts: 6170
Joined: Fri Aug 16, 2013 10:07 am
Location: Spain

Re: WDAS Short Circuit

Post by D82 »

Sotiris wrote:I love the art for Jing Hua but they might as well have called it Mulan being so visually similar to it.
Yeah, it's true that it's a bit too reminiscent of Mulan. Especially the last drawing by Mehrdad Isvandi I posted.
User avatar
D82
Signature Collection
Posts: 6170
Joined: Fri Aug 16, 2013 10:07 am
Location: Spain

Re: WDAS Short Circuit

Post by D82 »

Promo for the first 14 shorts that will be available to stream on Disney Plus tomorrow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahu3shMjKxE
User avatar
Sotiris
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 19913
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 3:06 am
Gender: Male
Location: Fantasyland

Re: WDAS Short Circuit

Post by Sotiris »

Articles

Walt Disney Animation Studios Just Dropped 14 New Shorts on Disney+
https://ohmy.disney.com/news/2020/01/24 ... on-disney/

Short Circuit Is Bringing Magic to Disney+ in 90-Second Stories
https://d23.com/short-circuit-is-bringi ... d-stories/

Disney Easter Eggs from the Disney+ animated series Short Circuit
https://d23.com/podcast/d23-inside-disney-episode-23/

Inside the Imaginative Second Season of Short Circuit
https://d23.com/inside-the-imaginative- ... t-circuit/

2D, 3D, FX sims: experimentation in Disney’s Short Circuit shorts
https://beforesandafters.com/2020/01/23 ... it-shorts/

Elephant in the Room: My journey to directing an animated short at Disney
https://medium.com/@BrianSc0tt/brian-sc ... 3fc64c6092

No. 2 to Kettering: School bus memory inspires Disney film
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nor ... e-58306416

An Interview With Short Circuit “Just a Thought” Director Brian Menz
https://whatsondisneyplus.com/an-interv ... rian-menz/

An Interview with Short Circuit Director Zach Parrish
https://whatsondisneyplus.com/an-interv ... h-puddles/

An Interview with Short Circuit “Downtown” Director Kendra Vander Vliet
https://whatsondisneyplus.com/an-interv ... der-vliet/

An Interview With Short Circuit “The Race” Director Terry Moews
https://whatsondisneyplus.com/an-interv ... rry-moews/

An Exclusive Interview with Short Circuit Director Virgilio John Aquino
https://whatsondisneyplus.com/an-exclus ... -a-bottle/

An Exclusive Interview with Disney+ Short Circuit Jing Hua Composer Joy Ngiaw
https://whatsondisneyplus.com/an-exclus ... joy-ngiaw/

Jennifer Newfield Discusses New Season Of Short Circuit
https://whatsondisneyplus.com/jennifer- ... interview/

Riannon Delanoy & Kim Hazel Discuss Their New Short Circuit Disney+ Shorts
https://whatsondisneyplus.com/riannon-d ... interview/

Jacob Frey, Ryan Green & Liza Rhea Discuss Their Short Circuit Disney+ Shorts
https://whatsondisneyplus.com/jacob-fre ... interview/

Short Circuit: Disney Animation’s Creativity Bootcamp
https://www.laughingplace.com/w/article ... -bootcamp/

Short Circuit Director Spotlight: Brian Menz of “Just a Thought”
https://www.laughingplace.com/w/article ... a-thought/

Short Circuit Director Spotlight: Zach Parrish on “Puddles”
https://www.laughingplace.com/w/article ... n-puddles/

Short Circuit Director Spotlight: Jeff Gipson on “Cycles”
https://www.laughingplace.com/w/article ... on-cycles/

Short Circuit Director Spotlight: Trent Correy on “Drop”
https://www.laughingplace.com/w/article ... y-on-drop/

Short Circuit Director Spotlight: Terry Meows on “The Race”
https://www.laughingplace.com/w/article ... -the-race/

Short Circuit Director Spotlight: Brian Scott on “Elephant in the Room”
https://www.laughingplace.com/w/article ... -the-room/

Short Circuit Director Spotlight: Mitch Counsell on “Fetch”
https://www.laughingplace.com/w/article ... -on-fetch/

Short Circuit Director Spotlight: Jerry Huynh of “Jing Hua”
https://www.laughingplace.com/w/article ... -jing-hua/

Short Circuit Director Spotlight: Natalie Nourigat of “Exchange Student”
https://www.laughingplace.com/w/article ... e-student/

Short Circuit Director Spotlight: Kendra Vander Vliet on “Downtown”
https://www.laughingplace.com/w/article ... -downtown/

Short Circuit Director Spotlight: Jennifer Stratton on “Zenith”
https://www.laughingplace.com/w/article ... on-zenith/

How Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Second Season of “Short Circuit” Films Revived Traditional Styles While Staying Cutting Edge
https://www.laughingplace.com/w/article ... ting-edge/
ImageImageImageImageImageImage
User avatar
D82
Signature Collection
Posts: 6170
Joined: Fri Aug 16, 2013 10:07 am
Location: Spain

Re: WDAS Short Circuit

Post by D82 »

^Thanks for sharing! I'll read them.

By the way, this is just a little curiosity, but I just learned that Julia Butters, the girl who appears with Leonardo DiCaprio in that scene from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood where they're shooting a western movie together, is the daughter of Disney animator Darrin Butters. She voices the main character of the short titled Fetch.
User avatar
JeanGreyForever
Signature Collection
Posts: 5335
Joined: Sun Sep 15, 2013 5:29 pm

Re: WDAS Short Circuit

Post by JeanGreyForever »

I just noticed the above short of Jing Hua and wow, that really does look like it comes straight from Mulan. I'm sure they could have differentiated between the two properties some more if they wanted to. Even the name sounds similar (Hua coming straight from the Ballad of Mulan and the live-action film, and Jing is not that far off from Ping). It's beautiful work but really disappointing how they basically only know one Chinese tale.
ImageImage
We’re a dyad in the Force. Two that are one.
"I offered you my hand once. You wanted to take it." - Kylo Ren
"I did want to take your hand. Ben's hand." - Rey
User avatar
Sotiris
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 19913
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 3:06 am
Gender: Male
Location: Fantasyland

Re: WDAS Short Circuit

Post by Sotiris »

D82 wrote:By the way, this is just a little curiosity, but I just learned that Julia Butters, the girl who appears with Leonardo DiCaprio in that scene from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood where they're shooting a western movie together, is the daughter of Disney animator Darrin Butters. She voices the main character of the short titled Fetch.
She's also starring on the ABC sitcom "American Housewife". Where would Hollywood be without nepotism? :lol:
JeanGreyForever wrote:It's beautiful work but really disappointing how they basically only know one Chinese tale.
Another mistake they made was making it in CG. You can't tell by looking at a screenshot, but when the character moves it's obvious she's computer animated. It doesn't make sense to make a painterly-looking short and have your main character in CG. What's the point of that? There's an inherent stiffness in the medium that goes against the natural flow of movement in martial arts and brush strokes in a painting.
ImageImageImageImageImageImage
Post Reply