Dahee Jeong studied in South Korea (BA in Visual Communication from Hongik University), and in 2008 got her MA in Animation at the École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, in Paris. She won a number of awards for her previous “Man on the Chair” and “The Empty”, both a contemplation over the difference between the visible world and our interior world. In her written, directed and animated 10-minute short film “Movements”, Dahee Jeong reflects about speed and the relativity of it.
“Movements” is screening in Hong Kong Arts Centre on Friday 30/7 at 7:30 pm
as part of Women Direct. Korean Indies! – Korean Women Independent Film series, under the signature programme of the Hong Kong Arts Centre, Independently Yours
In 10 minutes, many things can move, create ripples and cover distances from infinitesimally small to universally large. For example, in that time-frame, a Greyhound, the fastest dog in the world, can run up to 12 km, while a baobab tree grows only 0.008 mm and the Earth travels 18,000 km around the Sun. To illustrate this concept, the author creates 5 characters moving at different speeds: an old frail tree (very slow), a large baobab (slow), a greyhound dog (very fast), a woman (normal) and an unusual runner jogging backward (backward speed), and in five separate sections she presents different modalities.
In the first one titled “Standard”, the 5 are moving in a park and endure their predictable movements; a young woman walks briskly, a runner runs (backward), a dog scampers around happily and the trees almost imperceptibly move. In “Reaction” things start to get weirder, the dog is on a sofa in the house and is joined by the woman and by the old frail tree, while the house runs as if it was a train. The characters are watching television and we can see their reactions to it. In “Role” the characters are painting a wall using different methods; the woman is efficient and methodical, the dog is quick and messy, the old tree slow and rational, the runner is … well, quick, and adds a light comedy element. In “Acceleration” the characters are – expectedly – running, with a focus on the dog, her movements splitting and frantically echoing in a kaleidoscope effect, accompanied by a crescendo of music. Fellow director Oh Seoro worked on the animation of the fast dog in this section. Finally, in “Perception” the point of view zooms out and quickly leaves the characters behind, becoming smaller and smaller, part of the solar system and giving us the idea of relativity in the universe.
Developing a subject she loves and that she had explored already in her school thesis “Immobility-Mobility and animated images” about perception of different speeds of movements in moving images, Dahee Jeong has created a whimsical film, slightly reminiscent of a certain European school of illustration, using hand-drawn illustrations on paper. In fact, the figures have a remarkable textured quality that fits well the 2D computer animation and a good command of lights is in plain display, with frequent passages from dark to bright. There are no dialogues, but a meticulous sound design by Lee Jusuk Kim Won (Goyo Soundworks) and touches of music by Kim Haewon are the perfect complements to the images.
Despite the absence of a linear storytelling, “Movements” is a very enjoyable, amusing experience with a feeling of quality and craftsmanship and a light touch handling the deep subject of perception and relativity.
