TEN caught up with Eoin Duffy, creator of the award-winning animated short The Missing Scarf, to get the lowdown on his inspiration for the film, getting George Takei involved as a narrator and his tips for aspiring animators.
Sarah McIntyre: Congratulations on the success of The Missing Scarf, where did you get the inspiration for the piece?
Eoin Duffy: I've always had a passive interest in the cosmos and I eat up any material exploring our place within it. Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Brian Cox's TV shows portray a perspective of the universe that's truly inspiring – "We are the universe looking back at itself".
So I wanted to covertly package such thoughts in a genre far removed from heavy subject matter – a classic kids morality tale. Mushing the two together has thrown up some comical material.
The film has received many awards worldwide, are you happy the message has hit home with so many people?
We've screened at over 100 festivals and at one point in time we were winning an award every week. It was all too much to comprehend. We've been thrilled with the response. But the home grown coverage has really topped all our expectations. We're humbled to be representing Ireland on the world stage.
How did you get George Takei involved as the narrator?
George was our top choice from the word go, so we set out a road map to attract him to the project. We first created a highly polished animatics (still images to audio) encompassing a professional voice-over, stock music, sound-design and near finalised visuals. We then housed it in a stand alone private website detailing the project and its script. Through talent agency Harvey Voices we were put in touch, and to our surprise George loved the idea and the script.
Do you have any tips for aspiring animators setting out in the industry?
Start animating. Just jump in. There's never a perfect time and never a perfect idea. Every film starts off as crappier version of the final product, and every filmmaker completes a project with a skill set they didn't have before. There are no milestones to be completed to being a filmmaker. Get yourself some business cards and start making films.
What’s next on the horizon for you?
I'm happy to say for my next project I'm teaming up with a major player on the animation stage. I hope to announce this project in the coming weeks. I also have tons of side projects I'll be letting loose on the web very soon. Just keep and eye on – http://eoinduffy.me/
The Missing Scarf from Eoin Duffy on Vimeo.
