Rabbit and Bear is a short animation film which revolves around the topic of parent-child education, focusing on the two educational concepts of parent-child and health. The author creates two images of the raccoon Daddy Bear and the clever Daughter Rabbit which are favorite by kids. Daddy Bear and Daughter Rabbit create a microcosmic tree house by the use of various waste and materials from nature to paint them with the color. The Daddy Bear and Daughter Rabbit performed a series of interesting fitness exercises from balance ability to sports movement ability after the demonstration of Daddy Bear and the imitation of Daughter Rabbit . The creation of this film is based on the deep thinking to stimulate the awareness of healthy life , to deepen the understanding of healthy life, to renew the vitality of healthy curriculum and to shape the healthy character of kids. In order to comprehensively develop kids' ability of balance sports and exercise, and to exercise the large muscle groups of kids . The film reflects the educational principles which emphasizes on ""autonomy, freedom and nature"autonomy, freedom and nature" . The film is based on the professional guidance of people in the field of preschool education, from the setting to the beginning of the film, as well as the imitation and follow-up education all according to the key guidance of the PCK .The purpose of this film is to establish a correct concept of parent-child relationship which makes the film an important carrier of parent-child activities, and awakens parents' responsibilities and obligations during the growth of their children. This film reflects the values of children oriented development , the perspective of kids, and the health of young children.
Congbo Zhao was born in China and graduated from Dalian Neusoft Information College, majoring in art design and computer animation. The animation film director is a member of China branch of International Animation Association, Toronto Animation Association, professional member of Hollywood International Animation Association, member of American Animation Research Association and member of Liaoning TV Artists Association of China. He has made creative visual display animation for the three major brands of SAIC GM, including Cadillac, Buick and Chevrolet, which has been highly praised. The 3D animated short film《 Bear and Rabbit 》has won the Toronto Independent Film Festival of cift, Canadian diversity Film Festival, Canadian cinematography Awards (CACA), Vancouver Independent Film Festival, New York movie awards, best shorts competition, Universal Film Festival, Paris International Short Festival, Sydney indie short Festival and was nominated in more than 60 international awards. It is our pleasure to speak to Congbo about his work.
How did you start making films and what was the first film project you worked on?
When I was in college, my major was animation production. Since then, I really began to understand and deeply love the animation industry. From preliminary design to modeling materials, binding, animation production, rendering and post synthesis, each link has been linked together to form a complete three-dimensional animation short film. In the memory of our generation of Chinese people, what impressed me most in my childhood were the two-dimensional cartoons "Little Tadpole Looking for mother" and "Shuk and beta". When I was a child, these cartoons buried small seeds in my heart. Later, when I came into contact with Disney animation, the images of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck brightened my eyes. The animation could still be like this! I want to explore the secret. After I really came into contact with animation, the more three-dimensional image in three-dimensional animation made me more obsessed. From graduation to now, I still love animation. Speaking of the first work, of course it's my graduation short film! From script to model binding, animation production and rendering synthesis, I applied motion capture technology in the animation part, which was completed by me alone. This short film is an original and whole process animation. After graduating from school, I participated in the production of animated promotional films of Cadillac, Buick and other automobile brands, and also produced animated works for internationally renowned game companies.
What genre of filmmaking are you looking to work on and why?
I will still firmly engage in animation. Because the production form of animation has strong expressiveness and appeal, it can create an enduring animation image. Animation has no borders. It can shorten the distance between people and eliminate barriers faster. Many excellent animation works can arouse people's deep thinking and resonance.
What is the most challenging aspect of being an independent filmmaker?
The whole process of animation production is a complex process. In the production process, we often encounter unimaginable difficulties and emergencies, and we all need a quick solution. When dealing with animation, animators not only let them walk, run and jump, but also reflect the self-worth of each animator. At present, Chinese animation is developing rapidly. Many animators just want to restore the director's intention and buy time for the later stage of rendering. They lack creative ideas and ability and endless compression of animation production time, which makes animators become mechanical workers who only complete the modification of angular motion skills. My focus in establishing the studio is that animators can also be creative and have their own ideas. Instead of mechanically completing the task according to the script, they integrate the character's emotion, character and soul into the animation. Moreover, in the production process, the capital turnover may be difficult and the cycle will often be very tight. Of course, there may be a waste of time for unprofessional docking. However, in this process, as an animator, I still hope to insist that I will not just catch up with the work according to the established model, but shape each role as plump and vivid as possible. However, for the whole process of animation production, this requires animators to have high quality. If you want to have ideas, you have to be able to realize them. The key is to let your customers recognize your works. The production of the whole process gives me more space to express.
How challenging is it to fund indie films?
As we all know, the production of films requires a lot of money and time, so the producers need to have high professional quality and control ability of the whole project, and have a good reputation, so as to make investors trust. I believe I am working hard on this road!
Please name three of your most favorite directors. How have they been influential in your work?
One is Walt Disney, the father of Disney who grew up with me. The second is Hayao Miyazaki. The fantasy world he created comforts the souls of generations. These works have the most magical world structure and the most cordial and real characters. They always easily capture the hearts of the audience. Both adults and children will be deeply moved from the heart. The other is Canadian director Norman McClaren, who is well known in the animation industry. His life has created amazing brilliance for the animation industry. His works are full of creativity and imagination. Almost all animation techniques will be displayed in his works. He is a real animation master! The enthusiasm and bold innovation of several masters for animation have strengthened my animation dream!
What is your next film project and what are you currently working on?
The next film project is to work with a Canadian businessman to create a customized original animated short film for him. At present, I am running an animation studio in China, working with internationally renowned game companies, trade and animation companies to provide animation services for them. The Canadian animation project just mentioned is in the initial stage of information preparation and positive preparation. Although influenced by COVID-19, I believe that there will be progress soon, and I am very much looking forward to it.
What was the inspiration behind your latest film project?
This project adopts the combination of three-dimensional animation and micro real scene to make the actual scene into real scene and reduce it, which is also inspired by the animated film“Arthur and the Invisibles”.
How did you find the cast and the crew of the film?
The actors are my cartoon characters. They will be created by me. Most of the staff's early work may be completed by me, but in order to improve efficiency and better communicate with my customers, I may need to carry out fine division of work. With the gradual improvement of the epidemic situation, I plan to open an animation studio in Canada in the near future. I will contact Toronto Animation Association, He can help provide me with a high-quality workplace, and I also hope to have in-depth cooperation and exchanges with Canadian artists, which I am very excited about!
What is the distribution plan of the film and did the film receive any screenings or was it featured in festivals?
After the project is completed, I plan to show it at many film festivals in Canada. I hope my works may be more widely recognized and have a good market performance.
Why do you make films and what kind of impact would your work have on the world?
Because these animation masters have had a profound impact on my childhood and planted seeds in my heart. Now it has sprouted. I hope I can maintain my initial enthusiasm for animation, do animation steadily, achieve a high level of each work, improve myself step by step, and be determined to exceed the expectations of customers, Truly reflect the value of an animator. And give the soul to my animation works. My works can bring people new feelings and thoughts. Although I have participated in VR projects in the past, it is far from what I think VR is. In the future, I hope to go deep into the meta universe, get ready before the outbreak of the meta universe, and find a good entry point for animation in the meta universe. Convey the values of equality, love, peace and multiculturalism. Animation art is a worldwide culture, and the culture is diverse. I hope my animation works can give more people warmth and light, and bring more love and hope!
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