Synopsis
Namoo is an ode inspired by Erick's grandfather's death; The narrative follows the journey of a man from his birth up until the end of his life. As a young man, he falls in love with painting and as an adult, he falls in love with another person for the first time. But not all love lasts forever, and he eventually finds himself a broken man who puts a band-aid -- literally -- on his past woes and disappears into his work. Finally, as an old man he has the time to reflect on his life, what really mattered, and appreciate his amazing journey.
Namoo (meaning “tree” in Korean), is a narrative poem come to life as an animated virtual reality experience created with Oculus’s VR animation tool “Quill”. The project is led by 2021 Oscar nominated director Erick Oh (who also won Annecy’s Crystal Award for The Dam Keeper Poems) in partnership with the leading virtual reality animation studio, Baobab Studios.
The entire piece takes place on a grassy knoll next to a seed that grows into a sapling and eventually a fully mature tree. This Namoo might be interpreted as a kind of metaphor for the man’s life, as it collects his meaningful memories in its branches – from pacifiers and stuffed animals to books, typewriters, and favorite scarves – to broken glasses and objects from times he’d rather soon forget. Namoo is a deeply personal yet surprisingly universal piece that will undoubtedly resonate with each viewer differently.
Erick Oh’s films have won numerous awards and honors including an Oscar nomination, this year, for Best Animated Short for Opera, which also won the 2020 top prize for content across all artforms awarded by the Korean government. He has also been awarded honors at the Annie Awards, Annecy Festival, SIGGRAPH and more. 6-time Emmy Award winning Baobab Studios produced Namoo and is creatively led by Eric Darnell (writer/director of Antz and the Madagascar films).
Director
Credits
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Development Producer: Shannon Ryan
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Production Manager: Anika Nagpal
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Art Director: Eusong Lee
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Lead Quill Artists: Dan Franke, Nick Ladd
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Animation Supervisor: Javier Moya
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Character Animator: Jon Paul Brower
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Environment Animator: Nick Ladd
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Screenwriter: Erick OH
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Music by Zach Johnston, Matteo Roberts
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Sound by Pollen Music Group
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Engineering Supervisor: Nathaniel Dirksen
