CLIENT
Motorola.
PRODUCTION CO.
Smillie Films, Venice, Calif. Peter Smillie, director/cameraman; Darek Wolski, special effects DP; Stephanie Swor, executive producer; Linda Livingston, head of production; Gabriel Yuro, producer. Shot on location in Great Falls, Mont., and on stage at Culver Studios, Culver City, Calif.
AGENCY
McCann-Erickson, New York. Jonathan Cranin, executive VP/executive creative director of North America; David Fowler, creative director/copywriter; Brian Lee Hughes, art director; Kathy Love, producer.
EDITORIAL
Exit Editorial, Santa Monica. Roger Harrison, editor; Kimberle Salter, producer.
POST
Sight Effects, Venice. Mike Cosola, colorist.
VISUAL EFFECTS
Sight Effects. Alan Barnett, visual effects supervisor; Chris Stevens, Danny Mudgett, Christine Goldby and Scot Polen, visual effects artists; Jeff Blodgett and Andrea Morland, producers.
ANIMATION/CGI
In-Sight Pix, Venice. Michael Capton and Ernie Rinard, animators; Nicole Tidwell, producer.
AUDIO POST
POP Sound, Santa Moncia. Loren Silber, mixer.
MUSIC
Volume, Los Angeles. John Frizzell, composer; Maureen Thompson, producer.
SOUND DESIGN
Machine Head, Venice. D. Chris Smith and Sam Londé, sound designers; Stephen Dewey,
creative director; Shari Christensen, producer.
Review: Writer-Director Adam Elliot’s “Memoir of a Snail”
It's not your typical stop-motion film when characters name pets after Sylvia Plath and read "The Diary of Anne Frank" — or when the story's inspired by a quote from existentialist thinker Søren Kierkegaard. And it's certainly not your typical stop-motion film when you find yourself crying as much as the characters do — in their case, with huge droplets leaking from bulging, egg-shaped eyes so authentic-looking, you expect the screen to get wet. But those are just a few of the unique things about Adam Elliot's "Memoir of a Snail," a film that's as heart-tugging as it is technically impressive, a work of both emotional resonance and great physical detail using only clay, wire, paper and paint. One thing Elliot's film is not, though, is for kids. So please take note before heading to the multiplex with family in tow: this film earns its R rating, as you'll discover as soon as young Grace, voiced by Sarah Snook, tells us she thought masturbation was about chewing your food properly. Sex, nudity, drunk driving, a fat fetish — like we said, it's R-rated for a reason. But let's start at the beginning. In this, his seventh "clayography" (for "clay" and "biography"), the Australian writer-director explores the process of collecting unnecessary objects. Otherwise known as hoarding, it's something that weighs us down in ways we can't see, for all the clutter. Elliot also argues that it helps us build constrictive shells around ourselves — like snail shells, perhaps. Our protagonist is Grace Pudel, voiced with a quirky warmth and plenty of empathy by the wonderfully agile Snook. We first encounter Grace as a grown woman, telling her long, lonely life story to her pet garden snail, Sylvia (named after Plath), at a moment of deep sadness. Then we flash... Read More