''Subconscious Password'' is a 2013 3-D

animated film Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

by Chris Landreth offering an imaginary, comedic look at the inner workings of Landreth's mind, as he tries to remember someone's name at a party. The film was produced by the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

(NFB) with the participation of Copperheart Entertainment and the

Seneca College Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, branded as Seneca Polytechnic since 2023, is a multi-campus public college in the Greater Toronto Area and Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. It offers full-time and part-time programs at the baccala ...

Animation Arts Centre.

Synopsis

The film presents the mental process of remembering a friend's name as if it were an episode of a game show, with various celebrities attempting to assist Landreth.

Production

The film is made with

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating Film, moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Virtu ...

, as well as

pixilation Pixilation is a stop motion technique in which live actors are used as a frame-by-frame subject in an animated film, by repeatedly posing while one or more frame is taken and changing pose slightly before the next frame or frames. This technique ...

sequences at the beginning and end of the film, featuring animation director John R. Dilworth as the friend whose name Landreth cannot recall. ''Subconscious Password'' is Landreth's first 3-D film and third with the NFB, Copperheart Entertainment and Seneca College. The idea for the film came to Landreth after watching a rerun of the

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

Password A password, sometimes called a passcode, is secret data, typically a string of characters, usually used to confirm a user's identity. Traditionally, passwords were expected to be memorized, but the large number of password-protected services t ...

'' in 2010. More than fifteen Seneca College graduating students worked on ''Subconscious Password'', supported by five faculty members, as part of the Seneca Summer Animation Institute. After graduation, a number of these students were hired to work on the project until it was completed in February 2013. Most of the film was produced at Seneca's Animation Arts Centre in Toronto, with three Seneca students also working on the film at the NFB's Animation Studio in Montreal. ''Subconscious Password'' was the first stereoscopic 3D film for Seneca College. The images of celebrities used in the film were developed from a variety of sources, with Sammy Davis Jr. appearing via live-action footage available in the public domain and

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

derived from photos projected onto a pseudo-3D character. The computer animation was created with

Autodesk Maya Autodesk Maya, commonly shortened to just Maya (; ), is a 3D computer graphics application that runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, originally developed by Alias and currently owned and developed by Autodesk. It is used to create assets for inter ...

, with opening title sequences animated with SANDDE (Stereoscopic Animation Drawing Device), a digital animation technology created by

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...

that allows artists to create hand-drawn animation in 3D space, and which has been licensed to the NFB to develop creative applications. Landreth has stated that the film begins "relatively flat", using more stereoscopic depth to immerse audiences as the film progresses.

Release

''Subconscious Password'' was named best short film at the 2013

Annecy International Animated Film Festival The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring ever ...

. The film had its Canadian premiere at the

2013 Toronto International Film Festival The 38th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 5 and 15, 2013. ''The Fifth Estate (film), The Fifth Estate'' was selected as the opening film and ''Life of Crime (film), Life o ...

. In December 2013, the film was named to the Toronto International Film Festival's annual top ten list, in the short film category. On March 9, 2014, Subconscious Password was named best animated short at the

Canadian Screen Awards The Canadian Screen Awards () are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series) productions. Given annually by the Academy ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Subconscious Password 2013 films 2013 comedy films 2013 computer-animated films 2013 3D films Canadian 3D films Canadian comedy short films Seneca College National Film Board of Canada animated short films Films directed by Chris Landreth Computer-animated short films Films based on television series Films about memory 2013 animated short films 3D animated short films English-language Canadian films 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian animated films Copperheart Entertainment films Canadian animated comedy films Annecy Cristal–winning films English-language short films