Archive of films They / Oni

Czech Republic
2012, 10 min

Section: Imagina
Year: 2013

A series of slapstick minis shot in a virtual environment with the help of actors who went through a process of artificial evolution. A tribute to Karl Sims and work he created in the 1990s.

Synopsis

A film presenting creatures interacting through a process of artificial evolution. Its main focus is our perception of the result – will we see what is happening between these entities? Shapes and colours are kept to a minimum, leaving only the animation which, thanks to its random nature, is akin to a Rorschach test in motion. The animation is inspired by the work of Karl Sims, the artist and researcher who first studied the evolutionary processes and physical simulation of virtual creatures. The project’s visual aspects are reminiscent of Sims’ original films and they could also be taken as a tribute to his pioneering work.

About the director

Vilém Novák (b. 1981, Chomutov) studied at the Fine Arts Faculty of Brno’s University of Technology (2009), where he graduated from its multimedia studio. It was also here that he received the Rector’s Award for his dissertation. His work has been shown at numerous solo and joint exhibitions. He focuses chiefly on animation.