Synopsis The story of OEDIPUS, in 8 minutes, performed by vegetables, in the tradition of BEN HUR. A sword and salad epic featuring a Potato, a Tomato, Broccoli, Garlic, and Billy Dee Williams as the Bartender. Electronic Press Kit Synopsis, Stills, Clippings, and more: DOWNLOAD (PDF, 5 MB) Behind the Scenes documentary: WATCH! (8 min, 35 MB) Storyboard / Animatic footage: WATCH! (8 min, 30 MB) Production Diary I wrote the script for OEDIPUS and recorded the dialogue when I was still living in New York. I didn't know the first thing about animation and I figured I'd be able to shoot the whole movie in my kitchen. It would take a week. Maybe two. To do the vegetable-Oedipus-movie right, I had to use real fruits and vegetables, and it had to look like SPARTACUS. So I moved. Telling a story like OEDIPUS on a lavish, sweeping scale would require a lot of help and a lot of room. For the price of renting a small apartment in Manahattan I found an entire warehouse across the country... near a place called Athens Park... where Compton meets Watts... in South Central Los Angeles. I packed my bags for LA and invited a few close friends to fill key production roles. We posted ads online looking for modelmakers and animators. We called our makeshift studio "The Oedipus Complex." ONE FRAME AT A TIME Over one hundred people dedicated well over a year of their lives to this endeavor, some full-time, some part-time. Rather than shooting our little indie film in a cramped apartment over a couple days, the volunteer crew built everything from the ground up, a massive undertaking even at Potato-scale. The sets and props are custom-sculpted from original drawings and blueprints, often dipped in real gold leaf. Each costume is hand-painted, hand-dyed, and hand-sewn, using natural fibers, rich silks and leathers, true to Antiquity. Our sets filled entire rooms. Admittedly, a couple of the performers were fakes, some modified, some fabricated entirely, to better facilitate animation, but the vast majority of actors were perishable. The Supermarket Union Strike of 2003 put a real damper on our casting process, as did the fruit-fly infestation. The stop-motion process happens one frame at a time. With all the sets, costumes, crudite, and lighting in place, we'd move the characters (or camera) a fraction of an inch, click, then repeat, twenty-four times a second. Twelve-thousand frames later, on the very day production wrapped, we received the call that we had been accepted into Sundance. DIGITAL INNOVATION We developed a custom system for shooting OEDIPUS entirely with digital still cameras for final output to 35mm film. As with all new technologies, we faced constant questions and hurdles, but the benefits of such high quality and instant feedback were tremendous. Over the next few years, a number of new films will employ a similar approach. We captured each frame directly to a computer's hard drive as a full-resolution, 35mm quality, 2k image from a Canon EOS D30 that we bought off eBay. By shooting digitally, we were able to review footage immediately at an even higher quality than the current 24P HD standard of digital filmmaking. THE ILM PIPELINE The Sundance deadline gave us the six weeks over Christmas to perform six months of post production. We edited the footage using Final Cut Pro, After Effects, Shake, and some help from friends at Apple. To meet our frenetic post-production schedule, a team of talented and dedicated visual effects artists running proprietary software on one of the most state-of-the-art computer networks in the entertainment industry pushed OEDIPUS through the Industrial Light and Magic pipeline in a matter of weeks. Months before, OEDIPUS had been approved as part of ILM's internal Independent Projects Program. Working after hours and into the early morning, the ILM team performed rod and wire removal, olive replication, color timing, and film out. Unable to secure guest access, at first, I would meet with the ILM crew at the diner next door for the occasional progress report. Once we had our music composed and sound designed, we performed the final audio mix on the A Stage at Skywalker Sound, a tremendous victory for such a guerrilla operation. THE PREMIERE With the 35mm print under my arm, I flew out just in time for OEDIPUS to premiere at Sundance. But the real highlight came when the crew converged on Park City in time to watch OEDIPUS premiere on the big screen. Few things elicit "oohs" and "ahhs" from an audience like a fifteen foot potato. J A S O N W I S H N O W J A N U A R Y . 2 0 0 4 Awards Official Selection: 60+ International Film Festivals including Sundance, Seattle, São Paulo, and Hong Kong Anchorage Film Festival: Opening Night Selection Ann Arbor Film Festival: Prix DeVarti Funniest Film Annapolis Film Festival: Best Animation China Int'l Cartoon & Digital Art Festival: Finalist Dubrovnik International Film Festival: Opening Night Selection HDFEST: Best Cinematography in a High-Def Short HDFEST: Best Comedic High-Def Short: Runner-Up HDFEST: Best Animation: Runner-Up Key West IndieFest 2005: Certificate of Excellence Santa Cruz Film Festival: Best Animation Seattle International Film Festival: Audience Award: Runner-Up Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival: Special Jury Award in Animation Sundance Film Festival: World Premiere Press my Media MAGAZINE (ITALY) - SPR.2006 fps: The Magazine of Animation - NOV.2005 ISH MAGAZINE - AUG.2005 RES MAGAZINE - JUL.2005 New York Sun - 27.MAY.2005 Rochester City Newspaper - 4.MAY.2005 San Francisco Chronicle - 30.JAN.2005 Animation World Magazine - 19.JAN.2005 The Japan Times - 14.NOV.2004 Singapore Streats - 09.NOV.2004 LA Weekly - 08.OCT.2004 San Francisco Chronicle - 26.SEP.2004 Indiewire - 24.SEP.2004 Vegan Porn - 21.SEP.2004 Boing Boing - 19.SEP.2004 AlterNet - 16.SEP.2004 Cinecultist - 10.SEP.2004 fps: The Magazine of Animation - 29.AUG.2004 The Hollywood Reporter - 02.AUG.2004 FILM THREAT - 24.MAR.2004 Daily Bruin - 29.JAN.2004 Reuters - 24.JAN.2004 RES - 22.JAN.2004 Blogging Sundance - 15.JAN.2004 RES MAGAZINE - DEC.2003 Written, Directed, Produced, and Edited by Jason Wishnow Jason Wishnow has been called the "enfant terrible of digital film" (Yahoo Magazine, The Guardian UK) and one of the ten most influential digital filmmakers of 1999 (RES Magazine). Wishnow's most recent project, OEDIPUS, an epic retelling of the Greek Myth starring vegetables, has played 60+ film festivals including Sundance, Seattle, Sao Paulo, and Hong Kong. In 1996, Wishnow founded THE NEW VENUE (newvenue.com) as the first curated showcase of movies made specifically for the Internet. In 1997, Wishnow directed one of the first documentaries shot on mini-DV, TATOOINE OR BUST, about fans camping out to see STAR WARS. In 2000, Wishnow held the first film festival for the Palm Pilot, THE AGGRESSIVELY BORING FILM FESTIVAL. A graduate of Stanford University, Wishnow has accepted invitations to speak at film festivals and new media events around the world, directed documentaries for UK's Channel 4, and been fired by Woody Allen's production office. The Crew Michael Green, Executive Producer Michael Green is currently Supervising Producer on the WB's EVERWOOD. He has previously written for such shows as SMALLVILLE, CUPID, and SEX AND THE CITY. Alex Suter, Executive Producer and Visual Effects Supervisor After sacking the city of Troy in what turned out to be a huge misunderstanding, Alex Suter wandered the Mediterranean. Captured by Kalypso in the undying land of Palo Alto, he studied Computer Science. Eventually returning home Alex is now in the Research and Development department of Industrial Light and Magic. Jim Matlosz, Director of Photography Jim Matlosz usually works in 35mm, HD, and IMAX. His experience as an AC on Tim Burton's NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS was particularly useful on OEDIPUS. Rick Cortes, Production Design In addition to being dashingly handsome, Rick Cortes has drawn comic books and worked as a flame artist for features, television, commericals, and music videos. Sara Kozlowski, Costume Design Sara Kozlowski ran her own fashion line, CAKE, for seven years where she designed and created 50 looks per season, selling to Barneys, Fred Segal, Isetan, and boutiques in New York, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. Prior to that, Sara created designs for Anna Sui. She is a graduate of Parsons School of Design and likes big fluffy dogs. John Millhauser, Art Director John Millhauser has worked as both an archaeologist and a set designer, with combined experience of over 10 years, which he feels makes him particularly qualified for this project. His work as a prop stylist and art director has appeared in recent issues of Time, Out, Maxim, and Entertainment Weekly. He is quite a catch. Blake Neely, Composer Prior to composing the score for OEDIPUS, Blake Neely conducted the soundtrack for THE LAST SAMURAI. Adrienne Nishina, Production Manager Adrienne Nishina has a Ph. D. in clinical psychology with an emphasis in crisis management. In her spare time she moonlights as a postdoctoral fellow at UCLA. Christopher Rabilwongse, Lead Model Maker Chris has a degree in illustration/animation. He is responsible for single-handedly cutting and gluing 100 red feathers into the helmets of Oedipus' elite guards. He is currently working on a children's book that involves no feathers. Brent Heyning, Lead Model Maker Brent has managed to fashion a fun career full of crazy requests and impossible deadlines in the small world of miniatures design and fabrication for STAR WARS I & II, MATRIX 2 & 3, THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, SPIDERMAN 2, PLANET OF THE APES, JURASSIC PARK 3, AI, DANTE'S PEAK, STARSHIP TROOPERS, ARMAGEDDON, and the new Trey Parker and Matt Stone project, TEAM AMERICA. OEDIPUS has been one of Brent's most enjoyable and creative projects to date. Jane Kilkenny, Lead Model Maker After 15 years in the film industry, doing so much with so little for so long, she now thinks she can accomplish anything with nothing. Jane has worked on a very long list of commercials and films, including THE FIFTH ELEMENT, RED PLANET, TITANIC, GODZILLA, DAY AFTER TOMORROW, SPIDERMAN, STAR TREK NEMESIS, O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU, LOONEY TOONS BACK IN ACTION, and, currently, TEAM AMERICA. She has also (hopefully) put her last vegetable into a mold. Bill Storkson, Sound Design Bill Storkson's foley credits include CQ, ADAPTATION, and LOST IN TRANSLATION. Previously, he worked at Lucasfilm THX. Bill Gilman, Post Production Supervisor Within our incredibly short post schedule, Bill was able to organize a sound edit, sound mix, digital conform, color correction, filmout and necessary lab work within the 5 weeks leading up to Sundance in January 2004, not to mention actually help composite over a dozen shots himself. He even managed to spend Christmas and New Years with family and loved ones. The Animators We went through animators like Spinal Tap and drummers but they sure did know how to make a potato walk like a man: Kent Burton, an industry veteran of twenty years who's credits include PEE-WEE'S PLAYHOUSE and JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH; Chansoo Kim, a Fullbright Scholar from Korea completing his MFA at USC; and Tom Martin, an ambitious recent college graduate with seventeen pet rats. Credits Written, Directed, Produced, and Edited by Jason Wishnow Executive Producer Michael Green Executive Producer and Visual Effects Supervisor Alex Suter Director of Photography Jim Matlosz Second Unit Directors of Photography Hillary Hanak Brian L. Hauge Production Design Rick Cortes Costume Design Sara Kozlowski Art Direction John Millhauser Music by Blake Neely Sound Design Bill Storkson Associate Producer Gian Marco Masoni Production Manager Adrienne Nishina The Players (in order of appearance) Oedipus ... Potato Dick Rodstein The King ... Broccoli Michael Alston Baley Bartender ... Bell Pepper Billy Dee Williams Queen Jocasta ... Tomato Stephanie Fredricks Antigone ... Cherry Tomato Tara Jayne Tiresias ... Garlic Q. A. Wagstaff Animators Richard Kent Burton Chansoo Kim Tom Martin Assistant Animators Matt Stroup Lisa Yu Animation Production Assistants Sara Black Melanie Jefferson Aaron Johnson Chris Nuehahn Jacquie Reynolds Lead Model Makers Brent Heyning Jane Kilkenny Vladimir Petrov Christopher Rabilwongse Model Makers Dan Antkowiak Jiyeon Cho Lori Davis Bryn LaFollette Ola May Heekyung Shin Jessica Westbrook Scenic Painters Jerod Chirico Katia Kaplun Mixed at Skywalker Sound, a Division of Lucasfilm Ltd. Additional Sound Design Jory K. Prum Voice Casting and ADR Recording Crispin Freeman Additional ADR Joe DiGiorgi Joel Harris Re-Recording Mixer Brandon Proctor Dolby Sound Consultant Dan Sperry Optical Sound Transfer Mike Vigil Music Supervisor Julie Griner "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" Written by Billy Austin and Louis Jordan Performed by Ingrid Lucia Under License from Universal MCA Music Publishing Thanks to Industrial Light + Magic, a Division of Lucasfilm Ltd., for Donating Post Production Services through the Independent Projects Program Additional Post Production Services and Visual Effects courtesy of Gamblers Ruin, Hollywood Tweak Films, San Francisco Post Production Supervisors Bill Gilman Paul Schmitt Digital Intermediate Supervisor Rod Bogart Digital Massage Therapist Neil Robinson Visual Effects Editor Lorelei David Visual Effects Producer Jennifer Sorem Dowell CG Supervisor Zachary Cole Lead Technical Director Jason Brown Digital Fluid Effects Christopher Horvath Digital Matte Painting Dai Imai Compositing and Rotopaint David William Bullock Brian Connor Don Crawford Peter Demarest Francisco De La Torre Cam Griffin Trevor Hazel Kimberly Headstrom Larry Hoki Steve Kennedy Jessica Maxine Laszlo Sean Mackenzie Marcel Martinez Regan McGee Garrick Meeker Terry Molatore M. Zachary Sherman Rito Treviño Kevin Wooley Jeff Wozniak Technical Directors Joshua Chapel Lydia Choy Joel Davis Michael DiComo Matthew Edwards John Hansen Jeff Hatchel Lloyd Hess Donna Lanasa Cary Phillips Special Thanks Kevin and Becca Berk Ari Biernoff Rudolph Delson Sian Edwards Daniel Green Kevin Kwan Jim Morris and Amy Whitcomb Greg Scown Sameer Shamsuddin Brando Skyhorse and Kitt Allan Rodney and Claudia Wishnow Alder Yarrow Thanks Adam Tow Aida Croal Alan Platt Alex Castex-Porter Alex Freund Ani Ghajanian Aviva Wishnow Avril Lavigne Bal-Tec Brent Muhle Chiodo Bros Chris Breeze Dana Halsted Dardy Chang Dasha Petrov David Candelaria David Nestor David Vendig Dawn Yamada Dominique Navarro Donald Wishnow Ed and Molly Murphy Ellen Kim Eric Feltner Estelle Mosko Evan Mather Filmmakers Alliance Florence Wishnow Foam Works Gail Currey George Balinu Glenn Bulycz Greg Berlanti Greg Lam-Niemeyer Harry Walton Heather McAuley Howard Gertler Holly Willis Jason Mier Jen Van Riemsdyk Jennifer Wishnow Jessica Ciarla Jim Aupperle Jill Rubin Jim Morris Joe DiGennaro Jon Marcus Jonathan Wells Karen Lewer Karen McCarthy Katy Moore-Kozachik Keith Hatounian Ken Miura Kim Thomas Krystal Chang Lance Winkel Lisa Mosko Lydia Choy Mannequin Gallery Maria Hooper Mark Osborne Maxime Petrov Mickey Liddell Mika Salmi Mikel Jollett Mole Richardson N'Gai Croal Nicholas Chin Nico Muhly Nicola Usborne Noam and Sarah Livnat Perrine Vennetier Peter Gargagliano Peter Hoddie Peter Miro Prickett Films Quinlan Dowell Rodney Ascher Roman Block Ruben Esqueda Scott Roesch Scott Smith Simon Robinson Sky Drops So Young Choi Sommer Mathis Steve Nestor Steve Riera Steve Sullivan Stuart Bowling Tanya Fauck-Spanier Tom Barron Tom Vukmanic Tommy Pallotta Tracy Leigh Vanessa Kram ©2004 Mama's Boy Productions, Inc. www.oedipusthemovie.com Disclaimer This movie contains scenes of vegetable sensuality.