Based on this zany pitch, the Rushmore team have created a short film that is fast-paced, funny and explosive to say the least.
It’s a boredom-killer for its duo of characters, Kurt and Freddy, but a mammoth task for Oriane Azzhiri, Sarah Balanger, Alex Bruneau, Eva-Luna Delmas, Emeline Guidé, Clara Maynard, Tom Perony and Elie Plisson.
Turning an idea into a short film lasting almost six minutes is a huge challenge, and one that this team has mastered.
After more than a year’s work, these students have succeeded in producing a complete, beautifully crafted film, the culmination of their technical and artistic training in animation and special effects at ESMA.
A testament to the artistic and technical quality of the team’s work, Rushmore has been selected for numerous festivals, from Australia (Melbourne International Animation Film Festival) to Amsterdam (Kaboom Animation Festival), via Bulgaria, Slovakia, France of course and the United States, notably in the Midnight Shorts competition at the prestigious Florida Film Festival.
A programme dedicated to the festival’s most inventive, surprising and sometimes disturbing films, which perfectly matches the crazy atmosphere of Rushmore.
To gain a better understanding of the process involved in making such a project, we went to meet the film team. With them, we discussed the narrative and artistic techniques used to go from the idea to the final result, and the challenges that this represented.
Writing comedy
Even before the first image or character design, the members of the Rushmore project team had to get down to writing. “Our intention was to make a film about the pursuit of fame and notoriety,” they explain. “We wanted to poke fun at the desire for posterity through the setting up of a competition, in which our two anti-heroes take part.”
Thus were born Kurt and Freddy, two antiheroes in search of fame, each working at two service stations on opposite sides of a Montana highway. While chopping wood to kill time, they hear on the radio about a competition to find the stupidest person to die. The winner will have their face carved on Mount Rushmore. But despite their many attempts, Kurt and Freddy just can’t seem to die, unlike the unfortunate scouts who fall victim to their crazy ideas.
“From the outset, we intended to make a comedy, because it seemed easier to convey the film’s message through self-mockery and laughter than by denouncing this selfish quest,” adds the team.
Freddy and Kurt, interested in the prize, look for ways to die stupidly. This creates a tempo and accentuates the humour, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats right up to the final denouement.
Building believable characters
At the same time, amused viewers will also discover two characters finely crafted by the team. “To write Freddy and Kurt, we worked on each of their backstories in a precise way, so that their actions could be seen through the prism of their character’s integrity.
So we’ve imagined Freddy as a con man, a dunce of the class in his youth who, after going to a dingy business school, decides to open his own business: a small service station.
In contrast, Kurt is a brighter character, more candid and distracted than fundamentally evil. Brought up in a farming family, he left home at a very young age only to find himself trapped in a different kind of work, with no opportunity for a more glorious future.
By constructing these stories, their choices, which may seem silly and incoherent, suddenly become much more understandable.
From writing to directing
In animation more than anywhere else, writing is audiovisual. And that’s why the students at the helm of Rushmore conceived of its staging in parallel with its narrative. “The comic scenes and Freddy and Kurt’s ridiculous attempts on their lives are enhanced by visual gags, dynamic camera movements and comic sound effects,” explains the team.
The contrast between the boredom of the petrol stations and the absurd excitement of the competition is underlined by a visual and aural contrast with more dynamic camera shots and acting during the competition sequences.”
This effect is reinforced by the character designs, which are both zany and endearing. The characters are as reminiscent of the Minions from Illumination as they are of the mammals from Ice Age, in a colourful North America full of allusions. It doesn’t take much to get caught up in this universe, for which the team has worked particularly hard on the lighting. The result is some utterly enjoyable scenes, and festival selectors and audiences alike have not been mistaken!
Technical expertise and creativity
Using the skills they have learnt on Maya, Houdini, Zbrush and many other essential tools for anyone wishing to learn 3D animation, the Rushmore team have delivered a memorable, funny and unique film that will warm your heart (unless you are a scout at heart…).
After being shortlisted at a number of international festivals, the film can now be seen on the ESMA Movies YouTube channel, along with many other films created by students in the 3D Animation and Special Effects option.
Rushmore, ESMA’s 2024 graduation film, is now available in full: