“The Krill Is Gone”

A DEEP GREEN FILMS LIMITED PRODUCTION

IN ASSOCIATION WITH BENT IMAGE LAB

Directed by Jeffrey Bost Written by Clark Taylor

Character Voices by Tom Kenny and Jill Talley

TRT: 04:33;24, 1920x1080p HD, 1.77

www.deepgreenmovie.com

CONTACT:

Matthew Briggs Deep Green Films Limited

(503) 635-4469 matt@deepgreenfilms.org

PUBLICITY:

Lyla Foggia Foggia Public Relations

(503) 622-0232 lyla@foggiapr.com

LOGLINE

Voiced by the incomparable Tom Kenny (Sponge Bob) with Jill Talley, “The Krill is Gone” brings comic

awareness to the looming danger of man-made global warming on the fragile ecosystems deep within our

oceans.

SYNOPSIS

Voiced by the incomparable Tom Kenny (Sponge Bob) with Jill Talley, “The Krill is Gone” brings comic

awareness to the looming danger of man-made global warming on the fragile ecosystems deep within our

oceans. As this ominous tale begins, our host – the Robin Leach-like Plankton Emiliania Huxleyi --

introduces us to his undersea world just seconds before he is devoured by a ditzy Krill, who quickly sheds

her shell in a successful maneuver to outwit a predator only to have trouble sprouting another. As the

tour continues, we spot a celebrity tuna who looks and talks suspiciously like Al Gore, dodge a swarm of

deadly jellyfish, and watch in horror when the dastardly source of the problem is finally revealed.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

“Wow. The making of ‘The Krill is Gone’ was one of the longest and most satisfying pieces of

animation that I have ever worked on. Matt Briggs has this amazing ability to charge a project with so

much positive energy that it begins to develop a momentum of its own, and that was certainly the case

here. Over the year and a half that we were in production on the ‘Deep Green’ animations, almost

everyone at Bent who was involved in the project demonstrated a level of performance that exceeded my

already high expectations. Because of the group’s commitment to creating something that was deserving

of the talents and vision that Matt had already brought to the film, the project constantly evolved—

becoming a richer and nuanced telling of the tale of a krill in crisis.

“From the beginning, the Krill piece was conceived as a 2D collage of animated cutouts

assembled and animated in After Effects. But as the character designs began to appear from Huy Vu's

drawing board, and the CG modelers breathed life into these characters, it became clear that the spot was

taking on a life of its own. Ray DiCarlo, the Executive Producer at Bent, made this clear, after taking a

long and appreciative look at the work coming out of the CG lab. ‘You know we have to do this in 3D,’ he

said quietly. Coming from any other EP, I might have been shocked to hear that I was being asked to take

a more expensive and laborious path on our shoestring budget, but with Ray I wasn't so much surprised

as delighted. He is always about the quality. And so the project continued to morph.

“The original script that Matt and Clark Taylor had sent was great fun, if epic. I was reminded by

David Daniels that we weren't remaking ‘Lawrence of Arabia,’ and with his and Chel White's input and a

constant flow of new takes and line revisions between Clark, myself, and eventually the great voice talent

of Tom Kenny, we ended up with a telling that could fit within the constraints that we assigned ourselves.

Certainly one of the most pleasurable afternoons of the project was experiencing Tom’s and Clark's playful

exchanges as they explored character voices and performances. I've sat through a lot of recording

sessions but this is one that I will always remember. Great chops those two.

“Perhaps the largest challenge to the project was the creation of a vast and diverse undersea world

that could be composited and adjusted to the needs of the animation created and performed in an entirely

different platform. After Effects was both the compositing and editing tool for this spot, and I was often

confronted with a need for unique solutions that were both fast and effective, and so I often found myself

seated at the hem of the Bent compositors. Led by fellow ‘Deep Green’ director Randy Wakerlin, this

group was almost always in house working on one deadline or another, so I had an almost constant access

to the fruits of their collective creativity. In the end, it was Orland Nutt who had the last look at the Krill

animation, bringing a depth and polish to it that one might expect from a master oil painter, if not a

digital Compositor.

“In the final sequence, as the comic fish is drawn into the trawler and above water, we were

confronted by the special challenge of creating an image that was at once explanatory and bit threatening-

-but also familiar, even iconic in its subject matter. The angularity of the Expressionists with their angry

color palettes seemed a perfect contrast to the soft shapes and cool colors that had filled the undersea

world. This was an important image in the animation and ultimately the film itself. I knew it. Matt knew

it. Dave Manuel knew it. I finally found an opening in Dave’s schedule long enough for him to execute it.

His delicate touch with direct and reflected light interwoven with a world that is at once real and

caricatured allowed us to bridge the gap between these two worlds and to achieve a lasting and powerful

final image. Thanks to Dave, and everyone who worked so hard on this animation.

Jeffrey Bost

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Produced by Deep Green Films Limited in association with Bent Image Lab

Directed by Jeffrey Bost

Written by Clark Taylor

Character Voices by Tom Kenny and Jill Talley

Character Design by Huy N. Vu

Set Design by Dave Manuel

Additional Set Design by Traci Cook

Technical Director: AJ Deflaminis

Principal Animator: Jeffrey Bost

Additional Animators: Dennis Rivera and Eric A. Urban

CG Modelers: Trystin D. Stratton, Devon A. Myron, Shirak D. Agresta, Eric T. Durante

Rigging: John P. Lally

Lead Compositor: Orland G. Nutt

Composite Artists (3-D): Roland E. Gauthier

Sound Design: Digital One

Engineer: Eric Stolberg

Special thanks to Randall D. Wakerlin, Tarn Fox, Brian Kinkley

Composer: Randy Porter, Heavywood Music

The source of the problem is revealed in this scene from “The Krill is Gone.” The animated short brings comic awareness to the looming threat of burning carbon for energy on the fragile ecosystems deep within our oceans.

A ditzy Krill runs into some foul luck in this scene from “The Krill is Gone.” The animated short brings comic awareness to the looming threat of burning carbon for energy on fragile ecosystems deep within our oceans.

© 2010 Deep Green Films Limited

A fish that looks and talks suspiciously like Al Gore can’t seem to get anyone’s attention in this scene from “The Krill is Gone.” The animated short brings comic awareness to the looming threat of burning carbon for energy on the fragile ecosystems deep within our oceans.

Emiliania Huxleyi, a Robin Leach-like Plankton with his own TV show, introduces us to the ocean food chain in this scene from “The Krill is Gone.” The animated short brings comic awareness to the looming threat of burning carbon for energy on the fragile ecosystems deep within our oceans.