Synopsis
"Pigeon: Impossible" is the tale of Walter, a rookie secret agent faced with a problem seldom covered in basic training: what to do when a curious pigeon gets trapped inside your multi-million dollar, government-issued nuclear briefcase.
About the Production
Production on the film spanned for nearly 5 years and is the first attempt at animation by writer/director Lucas Martell: “When the project started, it was really just an excuse to learn 3D animation, but by the end of the project I had spent so much time reworking and polishing the story that I just wanted people to laugh.”
The end result is a hilarious 6-minute romp through the streets of Washington D.C. as our hero fights to save himself, and the world from the chaos reigned down by a hungry pigeon. Breathtaking visuals and a sweeping soundtrack showcase the work of nearly one-hundred talented artists and musicians, and the film stands as a testament to what can be accomplished by a team of dedicated volunteers working for the love of their craft.
Technical Achievements
Even with all the technical complexity, the focus has remained on the story and the characters.
Although the project started out as a simple test animation, it quickly ballooned into a no-holds-barred attempt at studio-level CGI filmmaking. The repeated emphasis on solid storytelling meant that technical considerations often came second to what the story required. This resulted in a level of technical hurdles far beyond what most independent shorts attempt, especially one that was made for less than $10,000 and created entirely in people's spare time. Countless weeks were spent optimizing assets in order to render the expansive environment, a pass- based look was developed to allow for the use of more expensive ray-tracing techniques, and hundreds of custom tools were written to accommodate the massive amount of data that had to flow through the pipeline.
Running time: 6m12s Format: 35mm & HDCam
Color / Stereo Release Date: June 25th, 2009
Lucas Martell (Writer/Director/Producer/Animator)
Lucas is a freelance animator and VFX artist. After graduating from Millikin University with a bachelor’s degree in Commercial Music, he moved to Austin, Texas and began production on "Pigeon: Impossible" in the summer of 2004. The film is his first animation, and took nearly 5 years to complete. Since then, he has also become widely known for his weekly podcast that chronicles the techniques and obstacles he's faced throughout production of the film: www.pigeonimpossible.com/podcast
Austen Menges (Editor/Additional Story)
Austen began his editing career in 2003 with the short film “Toward the Near,” which screened at the Director's Guild of America Theatre and the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. Most recently, Menges co-wrote and edited the short film/web series “Script Cops,” a film industry favorite about cops who arrest people for bad screenwriting.
Christopher Reyman (Composer)
Christopher is a Ph.D. candidate in music composition at the University of Illinois. In addition to performing regularly with various jazz and chamber orchestras, Chris has written over 200 pieces and spent nearly a year composing the score for “Pigeon: Impossible” which was performed by two orchestras and required 74 musicians.
Additional Story
Scott Rice Gopal Bidari
Animators
Jason Lindsay Adrian Zambrano Rodney Brunet Adnan Chatriwala
Models/Textures
Tad Catalano Jason Nichols Don DeGrasse Ousama Itani Eric Burke
Hair/Cloth
Tad Catalano
Environment Coordinator
Ousama Itani
Lighting/Rigging
Lucas Martell
Art Director
Belal Hibri
Additional Character Design
Amalia Litsa Lindsey Villareal Magnus Skold
Sound Design and Mix
David Bewley Corey Roberts 501 Audio
Post Services
501 Post
Executive Post Producer
George O'Dwyer
eQ Artist
Jim Reed
Associate Producer
Gopal Bidari
The Millikin University Jazz Orchestra Director: Randy Reyman
Engineers: John Scott & Steve Andreas
Mastering: Caleb Willitz
The Austin Wind Symphony Conductor: Patrick Phillips
Vice President: Shelly Eager
Engineers: Chris Keyland & Luke Lovett
Videographer: Graham Davidson
Video Playback: Gary Huff Additional Support Provided by The Austin Film Society
Full-size digital versions of these images and an up-to-date listing of festival screenings and awards are available at www.pigeonimpossible.com
To request a DVD screener of the film, please contact:
Special Features include:
All 23 Episodes of the Pigeon: Impossible Podcast
An 18-minute Featurette on the Story Process
3 Commentary Tracks (Director, Animation & Technical)
All-new 5.1 mix
Nearly 3 Hours of Bonus Content
Pigeon: Impossible wins Jury Award at Animatron
Pigeon: Impossible has just taken the
jury award in the humor category at Animatron, the Babelgum Animation Film Festival. The film was also screened as part of a special screening at the Hamptons International Film Festival.
Pigeon: Impossible joins Spike and Mike
We're proud to announce that Pigeon: Impossible has become part of an animation legacy:
Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation.
Pigeon: Impossible is a viral hit!
After just a few months online, Pigeon: Impossible has reached over 5 million views and topped several lists as the most viral movie of the week! Thanks for spreading the word and please keep it up!
Pigeon: Impossible wins Mopti award at KLIK!
In addition to supporting the Mopti Foundation which digs wells in Mali, every year the KLIK! Animation Festival sends a special short film program curated especially for the audience in Mopti. This year, the audience and local dignitaries selected Pigeon: Impossible as the
winner of the Mopti Award. Check out a video of the screening
here.
Pigeon: Impossible takes top honors in Montreal
Pigeon: Impossible was awarded the
first prize for Best Short at the Montreal World Film Festival (Festival des Films du Monde.)
Pigeon: Impossible interview on FXGuideTV
While at the 2009 SIGGRAPH conference in New Orleans, director Lucas Martell was interviewed for
episode #63 of FXGuideTV.
Stay in touch!
You can stay up do date on the latest PI news via
e-mail,
Twitter, and
Facebook.
Awards & Honors
Jury Award Winner - Humor Category - Babelgum Animation Film Festival (Animatron)
First Prize - Best Short - Montreal World Film Festival
Best of the Fest Finalist - Red Stick Animation Festival
Best Animation - Savannah Film Festival
Best Animated Film Award - Sardinia Film Festival
Best Animated Short Film (Professional) - FICCI BAF
First Prize - Best Animation - Rhode Island International Film Festival
Palm Springs Shorts Fest - Best of the Fest Showcase
Best Animation - Childrens' Jury Award - Encounters Short FIlm Festival
Best In Show - ArtFutura (Spain)
Best Film (Professional) - Silver Salt Animation Festival
Best Director - Silver Salt Animation Festival
Best Short - Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival - Mopti Award
Athens Film Festival - Third Place - Best Animation
DC Shorts - Audience Choice Award
Garden State Film Festival - Best Short Animation (CGI)
Rhode Island International Film Festival - Best of the Fest Showcase
Kids' Choice - In The Bin Short Film Festival
It's Art Magazine - Hall Of Fame Award
SIGGRAPH 2009 - Electronic Theater
Huatulco Film & Food Festival - Best Short Film
DC Shorts - Best of the Fest Showcase
3D World Magazine - Competition Winner (Issue 98)
Texas Film Production Fund recipient (2007 TFPF Grant)
Film Festivals & Screenings
London International Animation Festival (Aug 27 - Sept 5, London, UK)
Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation (Touring)
Okanagan Film Festival (Kelowna BC, Canada)
Animatron/Babelgum Animation Film Festival (Online/Hamptons, NY)
Mumia Underground World Animation Festival (Belo Horizonte, Brazil)
KROK International Animation Festival (Touring through Russia and Ukraine)
Sardinia Film Festival (Sardinia, Italy)
Nashville Film Festival (Nashville, TN)
Atlanta Film Festival (Atlanta, GA)
Anibar Animation Festival (Kosovo, Albania)
Brussels Short Film Festival (Brussels, Belgium)
Caixina dos Mistos (Travelling throughout Spain)
5 The Film Festival (Lake Park, FL)
Maryland Film Festival (Baltimore, MD)
Fant Bilbao (Bilbao, Spain)
Athens Video Art Festival (Athens, Greece)
Australian International Animation Festival (Wagga Wagga, Australia)
Anifest (Templice, Czech Republic)
Seattle International Film Festival (Seattle, WA)
The Guardian Hay Festival (Somerset, UK)
Webcuts (Berlin, Germany)
EuroAsia Short Film Festival (Washington DC, USA)
Nantucket Film Festival (Nantucket, MA)
L'Aquila International Film Festival (L'Aquila, Italy)
BEFilm Underground Film Festival (New York, NY)
Arcipelago International Festival of Short Films (Nantucket, MA)
Melbourne International Animation Festival (Melbourne, Australia)
EarthDance Film Festival (Oakland, CA)
Tofifest Film Festival (Toruń, Poland)
Bristol Harbour Festival (Bristol, UK)
Salento Finibus Terrae Film Festival (Apulia, Italy)
Sala Montjuic (Barcelona, Spain)
Curtas Vila Do Conde (Vila du Conde, Portugal)
Umbria Film Festival (Montone, Italy)
Jerusalem Film Festival (Jerusalem, Israel)
Anima Mundi (Rio De Janeiro, Brazil)
Artscape (Baltimore, MD)
Shorts At Moonlight (Frankurt, Germany)
Indianapolis International Film Festival (Indianapolis, IN)
Cortoons (Rome, Italy)
Festival Illumines (Douai, France)
CMS Children's IFF (Lucknow, India)
San Francisco IFF (San Francisco, CA)
Hill Country Film Festival (Fredericksburg, TX)
AnimaBasauri - AnimaBasque (Bilbao-Bizkaia, Spain)
Short Film Festival La Fila (Valladolid, Spain)
RiverRun IFF (Winston-Salem, NC)
Washington DC IFF (Washington DC, USA)
Athens International Film & Video Festival (Athens, OH)
Newport Beach Film Festival (Newport Beach, CA)
Aspen Shorts Fest (Aspen, CO)
Tallahassee Film Festival (Tallahassee, FL)
Boston IFF (Boston, MA)
Florida Film Festival (Orlando, FL)
FICCI Frames (Mumbai, India)
Animfest (Athens, Greece)
Monstra Animation Festival (Lisbon, Portugal)
San Luis Obispo IFF (San Luis Obispo, CA)
Cleveland International Film Festival (Cleveland, OH)
Garden State Film Festival (Asbury Park, NJ)
Stains Festival du Court Metrage pour Jeune Public (Stains, France)
California Independent Film Festival (Orinda, CA)
Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (Clermont-Ferrand, France)
Byron Bay International Film Festival (Byron Bay, Australia)
Carolina Film Festival (Greensboro, NC)
Future Film Festival (Bologna, Italy)
Offord Film Festival (Offord D'Arcy, Cambridgeshire UK)
Silver Salt Animation Festival (Travelling throughout India)
Nevermore Film Festival (Durham, NC)
Citrus Cell Animation Festival (Jacksonville, FL)
Fargo Film Festival (Fargo, ND)
Oxford Film Festival (Oxford, MS)
SIGGRAPH Asia 2009 (Yokohama, Japan)
Berlin Interfilm Short Film Festival (Berlin, Germany)
Encounters Short Film Festival (Bristol, UK)
VIEW Conference (Turin, Italy)
Cinanima (Espinho, Portugal)
St. Louis International Film Festival (St. Louis, MO)
Savannah Film Festival (Savannah, GA)
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival (Birmingham, AL)
Fantastic Fest (Austin, TX)
Other Venice Film Festival (Venice Beach, CA)
Tucson Film and Music Festival (Tucson, AZ)
Huatulco Film and Food Festival (Huatulco, Mexico)
Sapporo Short Fest (Sapporo, Japan)
Austin Film Festival (Austin, TX)
SIGGRAPH 2009 (New Orleans, LA)
Rhode Island International Film Festival (Providence, RI)
SICAF 2009 (Seoul, South Korea)
In The Bin Short Film Festival (Currumbin, Australia)
Super Shorts (London, UK)
LA Shorts (Los Angeles, CA)
Montreal World Film Festival (Montreal, Canada)
Palm Springs Shorts Fest (Palm Springs, CA)
Prix Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria)
DC Shorts (Washington DC, USA)
KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Press
It's Just Movies - (Written Interview) 8/5/10
3DArtisan - March 2010 - (Cover Story/Written Interview) 3/1/10
ItsJustMovies.com (Written Interview) 2/16/10
Animation Reporter - February 2010 Issue - (Article) 2/15/10
GQ.com (Article) 2/8/10
ScreenRant (Front Page Feature) 1/29/10
Yahoo! (Front Page Feature) 1/6/10
iSofa.tv - 50 Top Videos of 2009 (#19) 12/31/09
College Humor (Front Page Feature) 12/9/09
Vancouver Animation (Written Interview) 12/4/09
Devils, Angels & Dating (Audio Interview) 11/28/09
3D World Issue #124 (Article) 11/21/09
Film School Rejects (Front Page Feature) 11/19/09
The Guardian (Top Viral Video) 11/19/09
Digg (Front Page Feature) 11/18/09
Moviefone (Front Page Feature) 11/17/09
Entertainment Weekly (Popwatch Feature) 11/11/09
Buzzfeed (Front Page Feature) 11/10/09
Boing Boing (Front Page Feature) 11/10/09
Laughing Squid (Front Page Feature) 11/10/09
CG Society (Front Page Feature) 11/10/09
FXGuideTV (Video Interview) 8/7/09
MicroFilmmaker Magazine (Article) 8/1/09
CG News (Article) 5/22/08
This Week In Media (Guest Appearance) 9/17/08
This Week In Media (Discussion @33:06) 9/2/08
That Media Show (News Feature) 8/1/08
Animwatch (Audio Interview) (
Transcript) 10/16/07
