Le Building
{{About|the 2005 French film|the 1999 Vietnamese film|The Building (film)|the American sitcom starring Bonnie Hunt|The Building (TV series)|similarly named topics|Building (disambiguation)}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Le Building
| image = File:Le Building.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| director = Marco Nguyen
Pierre Perifel
Xavier Ramonède
Olivier Staphylas
Rémi Zaarour
| writer = Marco Nguyen
Pierre Perifel
Xavier Ramonède
Olivier Staphylas
Rémi Zaarour
| starring = Manu Nabajoth
| music = Olivier Crouet
| cinematography =
| editing =
| studio = Gobelins, l'École de l'image.
| distributor =
| released = {{film date|2005}}
| runtime = 1 minute
| country = France
| language =
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Le Building is a 2005 French animated short film directed by a team of final year students at Gobelins, l'École de l'image. The story depicts a series of slapstick accidents that cause destruction to a three-story apartment complex. Le Building{{'s}} team of five directors is composed of Pierre Perifel and Olivier Staphylas, both of whom went on to become Annie Award-recognized animators at DreamWorks, Xavier Ramonède and Annie award-nominated Marco Nguyen, who have continued their careers with animation credits on various high-profile French productions, and Rémi Zaarour, who has since become a comic book artist, published under the pseudonym Pozla.
Produced as a group thesis film, Le Building was first shown as an opener at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. It has since gone on to screen at numerous other festivals internationally. Shortly after the film's May 2005 premiere, it was released online, and in early 2006, it secured a TV distribution deal in France. The film has been included in limited edition DVD releases associated with various film festivals. It has also received multiple releases through DVD magazines and video podcasts.
Le Building has garnered positive attention from both critics and animation professionals. Most comments have praised the film's humor, as well as its blending of 2D and 3D animation. Le Building has been honored with several awards, including Best Undergraduate Animation at the Ottawa International Animation Festival, and has often been cited as one of Gobelins' best student works.
Plot
Inside a crooked, brick apartment complex, a burly man, with a Russian military uniform hanging on his wall, showers, while belting out a song in his native tongue. A short, elderly woman in the apartment next door finds this to be a nuisance. She rouses from her chair and knocks on the wall between their two rooms. Her knocking causes a porcelain dolphin figurine to fall to the ground and shatter. This startles her cat, who then jumps from their third story window sill. The cat lands on a clothes rack underneath and bounces onto the helmet of an oncoming motorcyclist.
Gripping onto the helmet for its life, the cat causes the motorcyclist – enroute on a pizza delivery – to swerve uncontrollably in the road. A bus barely misses hitting them – and then collides into a nearby parking meter. The motorcyclist, unable to stop, inadvertently drives into the apartment complex. Crashing up the stairs, his vehicle comes to a sudden halt on the second floor, sending a small pizza through the mail slot of a closed door. A naked, obese woman steps out of her bathtub and slips on the pizza. She grabs hold of a shelf above her, but the shelf breaks. A radio that had been perched on the shelf is catapulted through an open window and hits a crane operator in the face.
Upon collision, the crane operator passes out. Crumpling forward onto the crane's control panel, the operator unconsciously pushes two levers forward - as a result, the crane rotates. A giant magnet suspended by a wire from the crane attaches itself to the parked bus. As the bus driver stands outside in the road with his back turned, his vehicle is carried away. The Russian man, still singing, notices the bus hurtling towards his window. He lets out a startled scream. The old woman, still pounding against the wall, hears a loud crash. She mutters irritably, and with a "hmph", walks back to her chair. Outside, the bus continues circling through the air, the screaming Russian man plastered against its window. The building has almost entirely been destroyed. A single beam holds up the old woman's room – she presumably remains oblivious to the catastrophe outside.
Production
Le Building was directed as a student project at Gobelins, l'École de l'image. During their final year, members of the animation program at this prestigious Parisian university form six groups in which to create their thesis films. As an annual tradition, the nearby Annecy International Animation Film Festival features the completed works of these students as opening short films – one on each day of the festival.{{cite book|last1=Fara|first=Giulietta|last2=Cosulich|first2=Oscar|date=2006|title=Future Film Festival, 2006|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qIxgq5LcmvoC&q=le+building+animation+gobelin&pg=PA84|location=Bologna, Italy|publisher={{interlanguage link|Edizioni Pendragon|it|Edizioni Pendragon}}|page=84|isbn=978-88-8342-444-1}}{{cite web|url=http://www.awn.com/animationworld/best-schools-narrative-storytelling|author=Heather Kenyon|title=The Best Schools for Narrative Storytelling|work=Animation World Network|date=November 17, 2008|access-date=July 29, 2016}} Le Building was created for the 2005 festival by Marco Nguyen, Pierre Perifel, Xavier Ramonède, Olivier Staphylas, and Rémi Zaarour.{{cite web|url=http://www.gobelins.fr/galerie/animation/gen2005-3.htm|title=Galerie – Cinéma d'nimation – Le Building|publisher=Gobelins, l'École de l'image|access-date=July 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100428083016/http://www.gobelins.fr/galerie/animation/gen2005-3.htm|archive-date=April 28, 2010}} It was in 2005 that computer animation first became a required course of study at Gobelins, and Le Building holds the distinction of being among the first openers at Annecy to use this technique.{{cite web|url=http://www.animatricks.net/2010/the-best-of-gobelins-animation-school.html|author=Eric Riewer|title=The Best of Gobelins Animation School|publisher=Animatricks|date=October 15, 2010|access-date=July 29, 2016}}{{cite press release|title=Animatricks – Animaatiofestivaali|url=http://www.animatricks.net/2010/uploads/images/Animatricks%202010/Katalogi/animatricks_katalogi_2010.pdf|location=Helsinki|publisher=Animatricks|page=17|language=Finnish|access-date=August 18, 2016}}
Wanting their film to suit its placement as a festival opener, the team of students behind Le Building felt compelled to take it in a humorous and "punchy" direction.{{cite web|url=http://www.le-building.com/infos01.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161030183956/http://www.le-building.com/infos01.htm |archive-date=2016-10-30 |website=Le Building |title=Infos |page=1 |access-date=August 11, 2016}} Settling on a storyline that all five of them could agree on was described as the most difficult aspect of production.{{cite web|url=http://www.awn.com/animationworld/hot-spots-showcase-4-best-animated-vfx-commercials|author=Rick DeMott|title=Hot Spots Showcase 4: The Best in Animated & VFX Commercials|work=Animation World Network|date=August 31, 2006|access-date=August 11, 2016}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/9660345/dvd-magazine-outstanding-animation-vfx-and-motion-stash/36|date=December 4, 2005|author=Stash staff|title="Le Building" – Student Film|magazine=Stash DVD Magazine|issue=15|publisher=Stash Media|location=San Antonio, Texas|access-date=August 11, 2016|archive-date=July 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731195856/https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/9660345/dvd-magazine-outstanding-animation-vfx-and-motion-stash/36|url-status=dead}} Ultimately, the filmmakers determined to focus on a "simple idea" that would spawn a "crazy chain reaction". After six weeks of collaborating, they had finalized their script and storyboard.{{cite magazine|date=May 2006|title=Movers & Shakers – Le Building: Singing in the Shower Can Be Hazardous to Your Health|magazine=3D World|issue=77|publisher=Future plc|location=Bath, Somerset}} Including this early brainstorming process, Le Building{{'s}} production schedule lasted four-and-a-half months, spanning December 2004 through April 2005.{{cite web|url=http://www.blogdecine.com/cortometrajes/le-building-lo-bueno-si-es-breve|author=Teresa Morales|title='Le Building', lo bueno si es breve...|work=Blog de Cine|date=July 15, 2005|language=Spanish|access-date=August 11, 2016}}
File:Le Building making of.png
All five directors contributed to the initial design work and then shared out subsequent responsibilities. Most of the film was traditionally animated, and most of the work in this medium was done by Perifel, Ramonède, and Zaarour.{{cite web|url=http://www.le-building.com/team_pierre.htm|author=Pierre Perfiel|title=Le Building – Team: Pierre Perifel|work=le-building.com|access-date=August 18, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.le-building.com/team_xavier.htm|author=Xavier Ramonède|title=Le Building – Team: Xavier Ramonède|work=le-building.com|access-date=August 18, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.le-building.com/team_remi.htm|author=Rémi Zaarour|title=Le Building – Team: Rémi Zaarour|work=le-building.com|access-date=August 18, 2016}} A previous collaboration between these three classmates had been exhibited at Annecy one year earlier, in the form of a thirty-second bumper, called Festival Qualité.{{cite web|url=https://www.catsuka.com/gobelins/video/2004_annecy_festivalqualite|author=Marc Aguesse|title=Festival qualité (2004)|work={{interlanguage link|Catsuka|fr|Catsuka}}|access-date=September 16, 2017}} Staphylas, who had transferred directly into the university's final year, supervised the computer animation. He had previously graduated from Supinfocom university, in Valenciennes, and had also worked on the music video for Madonna's "Love Profusion".{{cite web |url=http://www.3dvf.com/DATA/PUBLISH/1904/1904.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916225442/https://www.3dvf.com/DATA/PUBLISH/1904/1904.php |archive-date=2017-09-16 |title=Olivier Staphylas – Animateur Dreamworks |website=3DVF |date=January 7, 2008|access-date=August 18, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.le-building.com/team_olivier.htm|author=Olivier Staphylas|title=Le Building – Team: Olivier Staphylas|work=le-building.com|access-date=August 18, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.staphylas.com/#/Bio|author=Olivier Staphylas|title=Olivier Staphylas – Bio|work=staphylas.com|access-date=August 18, 2016}} Using Maya software,{{cite web|url=http://www.cratersoftware.com/ctp_gallery.html?t=37&language=en|author=Crater Software staff|title=CTP Gallery – Cartoon animations made with CTP Pro|work=cratersoftware.com|access-date=August 19, 2016}} Staphylas strived to achieve a look that would match the traditionally animated portions of the film. Nguyen distributed his efforts between both disciplines, assisting Staphylas with some of the CG work, while also at times playing the role of traditional animator.{{cite web|url=http://www.le-building.com/team_marco.htm|author=Marco Nguyen|title=Le Building – Team: Marco Nguyen|work=le-building.com|access-date=August 18, 2016}}
The final character designs were developed by Zaarour. He went on to review all of the CG work, so as to ensure that his style was being properly translated between mediums. Traditionally animated backgrounds were sketched and painted by Perifel, with assistance from Zaarour, and a computer-animated background was created by Nguyen. Most of the traditional animation was colored by Ramonède, who also held primary responsibility for the compositing.
The old woman and the Russian singer are both traditionally animated. The first scene with the old woman was animated by Ramonède, while the final scene with the character was animated by Perifel. The Russian singer was animated by Nguyen, in the scene when the character is approached by an oncoming bus. The bus itself is computer-animated, as are the demolition crane (by Nguyen) and the pizza boy (by Staphylas). The cat was animated by Zaarour, using Flash animation. In order to match the frame rate of Staphylas' CG work in this scene, Zaarour animated the cat at 25 frames per second.
In addition to Maya 6 and Macromedia Flash MX2004, other programs used in the film's production were Adobe After Effects 6.5, Adobe Photoshop CS, Pro Tools, Mental Ray (for Maya), and Crater Software CTP.{{cite web|url=http://www.le-building.com/infos02.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322162004/http://www.le-building.com/infos02.htm |archive-date=2016-03-22 |website=Le Building |title=Infos |page=2 |access-date=August 19, 2016}} The sound design was done by Olivier Crouet, using Logic Audio. Crouet also composed the music. The sole vocal performance in the film was provided by Manu Nabajoth.
Release
The film's world premiere, as an opener at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, occurred on May 10, 2005.{{cite web|url=http://www.le-building.com/news2.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413045913/http://www.le-building.com/news2.htm |archive-date=2016-04-13 |website=Le Building |title=News |page=2 |access-date=August 19, 2016}} By late June, Le Building had been made available to view online,{{cite web|url=http://www.cartoonbrew.com/old-brew/le-building-1136.html|author=Amid Amidi|title=Le Building|work=Cartoon Brew|date=June 22, 2005|access-date=August 20, 2016}}{{efn|A roughly two-and-a-half minute "making of" video was also released online.{{cite book|last1=O'Hailey|first1=Tina|title=Hybrid Animation: Integrating 2D and 3D Assets|date=November 26, 2014|publisher=CRC Press|location=Boca Raton, Florida|isbn=978-1-317-96502-2|edition=Second|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1PIbBQAAQBAJ&q=Le+Building|access-date=July 6, 2017}}}} and in October it won the Audience Award at the 2004–2005 Webcuts Internet Film Festival.{{cite web|url=http://webcuts.org/2005/index2568.html?id=49|author=Webcuts staff|title=Webcuts 04+05 Internet Film Fest Berlin – The Winner is...|work=Webcuts Internet Film Festival|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011102421/http://webcuts.org/2005/index2568.html?id=49|archive-date=October 11, 2007}} Webcuts subsequently released the film on DVD, along with other selections from that festival, as part of a limited edition compilation.{{cite web|url=http://webcuts.org/2005/index1a85.html?id=82|author=Webcuts staff|title=Buy Webcuts-DVD via PayPal|work=Webcuts Internet Film Festival|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011105235/http://webcuts.org/2005/index1a85.html?id=82|archive-date=October 11, 2007}}{{cite press release|title=Webcuts 04+05 Internet Film Fest Berlin – Official Selection|url=http://webcuts.org/2005/fileadmin/inhalt_pdf/webcuts0405_officialselection.pdf|location=Berlin|publisher=Webcuts Internet Film Festival|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110201012757/http://webcuts.org/2005/fileadmin/inhalt_pdf/webcuts0405_officialselection.pdf|archive-date=February 1, 2011}} Only 250 copies of this release were ever made.
Earlier that year, on September 17, the film had an American screening in Wilmington, North Carolina's non-competitive Port City Animation Festival.{{cite press release|title=Port City Animation Festival (September 16 – 18 at City Stage Theater)|url=http://killingtimepictures.com/filmfest/program05.pdf|location=Wilmington, North Carolina|publisher=Killing Time Pictures|page=3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060213005104/http://killingtimepictures.com/filmfest/program05.pdf|archive-date=February 13, 2006}}{{cite news|last=Sandala|first=Bryan|date=September 15, 2005|title=Let's Watch Some Cartoons – The Second Annual Port City Animation Festival|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xx9PAAAAIBAJ&pg=3845%2C4733398|newspaper=Star-News|location=Wilmington, North Carolina|access-date=August 20, 2016}} On December 8, the filmmakers were featured speakers at the Profile Intermedia Design Festival in Bremen, Germany.{{cite web|url=http://www.profile-intermedia.de/e_building.html|author=Profile Intermedia Design Festival staff|title=Profile Intermedia 8 – Profile Animation Festival: Le Building (F)|work=Profile Intermedia Design Festival|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060517143448/http://www.profile-intermedia.de/e_building.html|archive-date=May 17, 2006}} Additional screenings that year took place in São Paulo, Brazil's Anima Mundi festival{{cite web|url=http://cinema.uol.com.br/ultnot/2005/07/15/ult831u1509.jhtm|author=UOL Cinema staff|title=13º Anima Mundi começa em SP; veja fotos e programação completa|work=UOL Cinema|date=July 15, 2005|language=Portuguese|access-date=August 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009125024/http://cinema.uol.com.br/ultnot/2005/07/15/ult831u1509.jhtm|archive-date=October 9, 2007}} and Vilnius, Lithuania's Tindirindis festival.{{cite web|url=http://www.cinema.lt/festival/event/33/?Tindirindis%202005#.V7yLRygrKhd|author=Cinema.lt staff|title=Tindirindis 2005|work=Cinema.lt|language=Lithuanian|access-date=August 23, 2016}} In the final months of 2005, the film was distributed through issues of the DVD magazines Stash (#15){{cite web|url=http://www.stashmedia.tv/archive/stash15.htm|author=Stash staff|title=Stash Archive – Stash 15|work=Stash Media|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060323213626/http://www.stashmedia.tv/archive/stash15.htm|archive-date=March 23, 2006}}{{cite web|url=http://www.le-building.com/news.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314190236/http://le-building.com/news.htm |archive-date=2016-03-14 |website=Le Building |title=News |page=1 |access-date=August 21, 2016}} and XFUNS (#21),{{cite web|url=http://www.xfuns.com.tw/exfuns/eng_back.htm|author=XFUNS staff|title=XFUNS Backissues – XFUNS No.21|work=XFUNS|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060112050520/http://www.xfuns.com.tw/exfuns/eng_back.htm|archive-date=January 12, 2006}}{{cite web|url=http://www.xfuns.com.tw/xfuns-no-21/|author=XFUNS staff|title=XFUNS No.21|work=XFUNS|language=Chinese|access-date=August 21, 2016}} as well as through Channel Frederator's fifth video podcast.{{cite web|url=http://www.channelfrederator.com/|author=Channel Frederator staff|title=Channel Frederator Episode 5|work=Channel Frederator|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051124102233/http://www.channelfrederator.com/|archive-date=November 24, 2005}} Channel Frederator included a short bumper after the film, which read, "That naked lady requested you call her...Please. Don't play games with her heart."{{cite podcast|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v91VARNW7K8&list=PLonI430EcAvxgOYU4Bbzvw4Nb-AT9yujo&index=3|title=Channel Frederator Episode 5 – Bumper|publisher=Channel Frederator|date=November 2005|type=video|access-date=August 21, 2016}} This brief quip was accompanied by the company's own phone number.
According to the official website for Le Building, French TV channel Canal+ purchased rights to the film in January 2006. The film continued to screen at various international festivals throughout that year as well, including Future Film Festival in Bologna, Italy, Animex in Middlesbrough, England,{{cite press release|title=Animex – Animex International Festival of Animation and Computer Games: Festival Programme|url=http://animex.tees.ac.uk/archive/animex2006/docs/AnimexProg06.pdf|location=Middlesbrough|publisher=Animex International Festival of Animation and Computer Games|page=19|access-date=August 22, 2016|archive-date=November 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102194403/http://animex.tees.ac.uk/archive/animex2006/docs/AnimexProg06.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{cite press release|title=Animex – Animex Student Animation Awards 2006 Results|url=http://animex.tees.ac.uk/archive/animex2006/docs/AwardWinners.pdf|location=Middlesbrough|publisher=Animex International Festival of Animation and Computer Games|page=1|access-date=August 22, 2016|archive-date=September 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923080441/http://animex.tees.ac.uk/archive/animex2006/docs/AwardWinners.pdf|url-status=dead}} Animafest Zagreb in Croatia,{{cite web|url=http://www.animafest.hr/index.php?PHPSESSID=e6ebb71c98c47eece636164fd0e18dc1&l=hr&p=program&prg=33§ion=competitions&PHPSESSID=e6ebb71c98c47eece636164fd0e18dc1|author=Animafest Zagreb staff|title=Program :: Kratkometražni Filmovi – Filmovi u konkurenciji – Studentsko natjecanje 3|work=Animafest Zagreb|language=Croatian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060622053641/http://www.animafest.hr/index.php?PHPSESSID=e6ebb71c98c47eece636164fd0e18dc1&l=hr&p=program&prg=33§ion=competitions&PHPSESSID=e6ebb71c98c47eece636164fd0e18dc1|archive-date=June 22, 2006}} SIGGRAPH, held that year in Boston, Massachusetts,{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2006/digital/markets-festivals/toons-catch-continental-drift-1200338958/|author=Leo Barraclough|title=Toons Catch Continental Drift|work=Variety|date=July 26, 2006|access-date=August 26, 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.siggraph.org/s2006/main.php?f=conference&p=caf&s=et|author=Siggraph staff|title=Siggraph 2006 – Electronic Theater|work=SIGGRAPH|access-date=August 26, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://paris.siggraph.org/activites/archives-2006-2007/selection-francaise-siggraph-2006|author=Siggraph staff|title=French selection Siggraph 2006|work=Siggraph|date=June 1, 2006|access-date=August 26, 2016}} Russia's multi-city KROK International Animated Films Festival, held on the cruise ship Marshall Zhukov,{{cite web|url=http://www.krokfestival.com/index.php?p=results&year=2006&ver=eng|author=KROK International Animated Films Festival staff|title=KROK International Animated Films Festival: Cinema – Bottom Line – 2006|work=KROK International Animated Films Festival|access-date=August 23, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.awn.com/animationworld/krok-my-favorite-annual-event|author=Nancy Denney-Phelps|title=KROK – My Favorite Annual Event|work=Animation World Network|date=September 8, 2006|access-date=August 23, 2016}} and Encounters Short Film and Animation Festival in Bristol, England.{{cite press release|title=Selection Announcements|url=http://www.encounters-festival.org.uk/Encounters2006_Selection_Announce.pdf|location=Bristol|publisher=Encounters Short Film and Animation Festival|page=4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061006234010/http://www.encounters-festival.org.uk/Encounters2006_Selection_Announce.pdf|archive-date=October 6, 2006}} At that year's Annecy festival, an organization called Café Creed sold a limited edition DVD compilation of short films called The Increedible Choco-Show, which included Le Building among its selections.{{cite web|url=https://www.catsuka.com/news/2006-05-23/dvd-the-increedible-choco-show|author=Marc Aguesse|title=[DVD] The Increedible Choco Show|work=Catsuka|date=May 23, 2006|language=French|access-date=September 17, 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.choco-show.com:80/|title=The Increedible Choco-Show|work=choco-show.com|publisher=Café Creed|language=French|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060630074850/http://www.choco-show.com/|archive-date=June 30, 2006}} By the time Le Building won in the Undergraduate category at the Ottawa International Animation Festival in September, Eric Homan of Frederator Studios commented in response, "I feel everyone and his mom has seen this short by now."{{cite web|url=http://archives.frederatorblogs.com/talk_to_the_snail/2006/09/26/oiaf-category-e-%E2%80%93-student-animation-competi/|author=Eric Homan|title=Talk to the Snail: OIAF Category E – Student Animation Competition|work=Frederator Studios|date=September 26, 2006|access-date=August 23, 2016|archive-date=July 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731200438/http://archives.frederatorblogs.com/talk_to_the_snail/2006/09/26/oiaf-category-e-%E2%80%93-student-animation-competi/|url-status=dead}} Le Building went on to win Best Foreign Film at Frederator's own awards ceremony in early 2007{{cite web|url=http://channel.frederator.com/post/450066197/the-winners-1201am-et|author=Frederator Studios staff|title=The Winners! 12:01am ET|work=Frederator Studios|date=January 23, 2007|access-date=August 23, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://archives.frederatorblogs.com/channel_frederator/2008/04/07/remember-last-years-categories-and-winners/|author=Jeaux Janovsky|title=Channel Frederator Blog – Remember Last Year's Categories and Winners?|work=Frederator Studios|date=April 7, 2008|access-date=August 23, 2016}} and was subsequently re-released by the studio in an Awards-edition of its video podcast (episode 2).{{cite web|url=http://archives.frederatorblogs.com/channel_frederator/2007/02/06/channel-frederator-awards-podcast-2-premiere/|author=Eric Homan|title=Channel Frederator Blog – Channel Frederator Awards Podcast #2 Premieres Wednesday|work=Frederator Studios|date=February 6, 2007|access-date=August 23, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://archives.frederatorblogs.com/channel_frederator/2007/02/07/awards-podcast-2-winners/|author=Melissa Wolfe|title=Channel Frederator Blog – Awards Podcast #2 Winners!|work=Frederator Studios|date=February 7, 2007|access-date=August 23, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://archives.frederatorblogs.com/channel_frederator/2007/02/07/channel-frederator-awards-podcast-2/|author=Eric Homan|title=Channel Frederator Blog – Channel Frederator Awards Podcast #2|work=Frederator Studios|date=February 7, 2007|access-date=August 23, 2016}} The film was also re-released by Stash – that September, issue #37 of the DVD magazine contained a special bonus disc commemorating staff favorites from the early issues of its publication.{{cite web|url=http://www.stashmedia.tv/archive/index.html|author=Stash staff|title=Stash Archive|work=Stash Media|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015025009/http://www.stashmedia.tv/archive/index.html|archive-date=October 15, 2007}}{{cite web|url=http://www.stashmedia.tv/archive/stash36.htm|author=Stash staff|title=Stash Archive – Stash 36|work=Stash Media|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091215222425/http://www.stashmedia.tv/archive/stash36.htm|archive-date=December 15, 2009}} In 2007, the film screened at {{interlanguage link|Trickfilmfestival Stuttgart|de}} in Stuttgart, Germany.{{cite web|url=http://www2.festival-gmbh.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=10049|author=Trickfilm staff|title=ITFS 2007 – Young Animation|work=Trickfilm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070924015837/http://www2.festival-gmbh.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=10049|archive-date=September 24, 2007}}
=Critical reception=
Shortly after Le Building's premiere at Annecy, Amid Amidi ran a glowing profile of the film on Cartoon Brew. Amidi used the film as an argument against the perceived decline of 2D animation, claiming that the student work of Gobelins as a whole is "probably the slickest and most technically proficient of any animation school" he had ever seen.{{cite web|url=http://www.cartoonbrew.com/old-brew/le-building-1136.html|author=Amid Amidi|title=Le Building|work=Cartoon Brew|date=June 22, 2005|access-date=August 28, 2016}} Multiple times over the following years, Amidi would call back on Le Buildilng as exemplary of the work being produced at Gobelins.{{cite web|url=http://www.cartoonbrew.com/old-brew/why-europeans-teach-animation-better-1361.html|author=Amid Amidi|title=Why Europeans Teach Animation Better|work=Cartoon Brew|date=October 7, 2005|access-date=August 28, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.cartoonbrew.com/old-brew/pyrats-at-gobelins-1366.html|author=Amid Amidi|title=Pyrats at Gobelins|work=Cartoon Brew|date=October 11, 2005|access-date=August 28, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.cartoonbrew.com/shorts/new-gobelins-shorts-3533.html|author=Amid Amidi|title=New Gobelins Shorts|work=Cartoon Brew|date=June 20, 2007|access-date=August 28, 2016}}
In conjunction with the 2006 Siggraph conference, Animation Magazine ran an article by Ramin Zahed, noting that Le Buildilng – which was screening at that year's event – had "already generated good word of mouth".{{cite magazine|last=Zahed|first=Ramin|date=September 2006|title=Welcome to the Boston CG Party!|magazine=Animation Magazine|issue=164|publisher=Animation Magazine Inc.|location=Calabasas, California}} Terrence Masson, then serving as Siggraph's Computer Animation Festival Chair, commented that the films of Gobelins were among the best submitted to him that year. He remarked that European students overall were turning out work better than their American counterparts. Similar claims were made by Christopher Panzer, in an article that year for Animation World Network. In his article – illustrated with an image from Le Building{{cite web|url=http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=pageone&article_no=2643&page=2|author=Christopher Panzer|title=s'Cool: European Student Films Raise the Bar – pg. 2|work=Animation World Network|date=September 30, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070806100542/http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=pageone&article_no=2643&page=2|archive-date=August 6, 2007}} – Panzer called the work of European animation students "better than pro" and wrote that these students were "raising the bar for professionals worldwide."{{cite web|url=http://mag.awn.com/?ltype=pageone&article_no=2643|author=Christopher Panzer|title=s'Cool: European Student Films Raise the Bar – pg. 1|work=Animation World Network|date=September 30, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060118101920/http://mag.awn.com/?ltype=pageone&article_no=2643|archive-date=January 18, 2006}}
Multiple figures have remarked positively upon Le Building's combined use of 2D and 3D animation methods. Eric Riewer, who once served as the head of Gobelins' animation department, wrote in 2010 that he "continue[d] to admire this film for its hybrid form". In a review for the website Drawn!, professional animator Ward Jenkins{{efn|Through his affiliation with an animation studio known as Primal Screen, Jenkins has had work shown on Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, HGTV, TNT, and PBS Kids.{{cite web|url=http://drawn.ca/contributors|author=Ward Jenkins|title=Drawn! Contributors|work=Drawn!|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060213231722/http://drawn.ca/contributors|archive-date=February 13, 2006}}}} praised Le Buildilng
Another professional animator, Peter J. Richardson,{{efn|Richardson created the animation for David Sington's 2011 film, The Flaw.{{cite web|url=http://www.indiewire.com/2011/01/meet-the-2011-sundance-filmmakers-the-flaw-director-david-sington-244050/|title=Meet the 2011 Sundance Filmmakers
Stash DVD magazine called Le Building "a manic and charming tale" and predicted that the film would be sure to open up myriad opportunities for its directors. When Le Building won in the Undergraduate category at the Ottawa International Animation Festival, Richard J. Leskosky of The News-Gazette wrote that all of the student films honored at the festival that year "already looked quite professional". In his review, Leskosky wrote that Le Buildilng is "very much in the spirit of Rube Goldberg's wacky inventions".{{cite news|last=Leskosky|first=Richard J.|date=October 1, 2006|title=Animation Fest Bigger, Better Than Ever at 30|newspaper=The News-Gazette|location=Champaign-Urbana}} The Ottawa festival's jury also made a comparison to Goldberg's work,{{cite web|url=http://ottawa.awn.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=302&Itemid=459|author=Animation World Network staff|title=2006 Award Winners|work=Animation World Network|date=September 27, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061025182347/http://ottawa.awn.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=302&Itemid=459|archive-date=October 25, 2006}} and in 3D World magazine, Le Building{{'}}s style was likened to that of Chuck Jones. 3D World called Le Building "a gleefully madcap short" and named it one of the ten best student animated films of the year.
In a review for the Colombian publication FuriaMag, Juan David Gómez praised the film's animation, characters, and story.{{cite web|url=http://www.furiamag.com/inspiracion-diaria-73/|author=Juan David Gómez|title=Inspiración FuriaMag #73|work=FuriaMag|date=May 10, 2012|language=Spanish|access-date=September 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150413134113/http://www.furiamag.com/inspiracion-diaria-73/|archive-date=April 13, 2015}} "Le Building is one of those wonders that it's nice to meet from time to time on the internet", he wrote. The multi-national, Spanish-language publication Blog de Cine also praised the film, writing that it "lasts just long enough" to have a joyous effect on viewers.
=Accolades=
Aftermath
Upon graduating from Gobelins, Perifel and Staphylas both received job offers from DreamWorks Animation.{{cite AV media|people=David Hubert, Jason Ryan, Pierre Périfel|date=March 3, 2013|title=iAnimate interview Pierre Périfel – part 3|medium=video|url=https://vimeo.com/60955205|access-date=January 1, 2017|time=0:15–2:02|publisher=iAnimate}}{{cite web|url=http://www.3dvf.com/dossier-855-1-interview-puss-in-boots-trois-francais-chez-dreamworks.html|title=Le Chat Potté: Trois français chez Dreamworks|website=3DVF|date=April 10, 2012|language=fr|access-date=January 1, 2017|archive-date=September 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925035434/http://www.3dvf.com/dossier-855-1-interview-puss-in-boots-trois-francais-chez-dreamworks.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/m-styles/article/2011/12/01/aux-yeux-de-dreamworks-la-meilleure-ecole-du-monde-c-est-les-gobelins_1611555_4497319.html|author=Olivier Staphylas|title=Aux yeux de Dreamworks, la meilleure école du monde, c'est les Gobelins|work=Le Monde|date=December 1, 2011|access-date=March 6, 2017}} Looking back on their university's "end-of-year jury day", Staphylas said, "I was stressed because I knew that a lot of industry professionals would be there...I was in the corridor waiting for the announcement of my results and I see Shelley Page, the European representative of Dreamworks Animation. She walks up to me and gives me her business card and tells me she'll call me tomorrow." Within a year, Staphylas had left for the United States. He would eventually be followed by Perifel, and since then, both have taken on senior positions at DreamWorks.{{cite web|url=http://nad.ca/david-hubert-and-pierre-perifel-dreamworks-are-guest-masters-for-elite-2012/|author=UQAC staff|title=David Hubert and Pierre Perifel (DreamWorks) are guest masters for ELITE 2012|work=nad.ca|publisher=Université du Québec à Chicoutimi|date=March 13, 2012|access-date=March 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419082255/http://nad.ca/david-hubert-and-pierre-perifel-dreamworks-are-guest-masters-for-elite-2012/|archive-date=April 19, 2015}}{{efn|Perifel and Staphylas have both received Annie Award nominations for their work at DreamWorks.{{cite AV media|people=David Hubert, Jason Ryan, Pierre Périfel|date=March 3, 2013|title=iAnimate interview Pierre Périfel – part 3|medium=video|url=https://vimeo.com/60955205|access-date=January 1, 2017|time=2:02–2:24|publisher=iAnimate}}{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/annie-awards-rango-jennifer-yuh-nelson-287137|author=Carolyn Giardina|title='Rango' Wins Annie Award for Best Animated Feature|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=February 4, 2012|access-date=March 10, 2017}} Perifel won in 2009 for Secrets of the Furious Five.}}
Initially, Perifel turned down the offer from DreamWorks, realizing that there would be few opportunities to work on traditionally animated projects in the US. While still in France, Perifel, along with Ramonède, worked on Nocturna and The Illusionist.{{cite web|url=http://www.catsuka.com/news/2012-07-12/there-s-something-in-the-house-dip-n--dance-et-brigada-projets-crowdfunding|author=Marc Aguesse|title=There's something in the house, Dip N' Dance et Brigada|work=Catsuka|date=December 7, 2012|access-date=March 10, 2017}} Among Ramonède's other credits is the French webseries {{interlanguage link|Les Kassos|fr|Les Kassos}}.{{cite web|url=https://www.annecy.org/about/archives/2014/official-selection/film-index:film-20140519|author=Annecy staff|title=2014 Official Selection, film index – Les Kassos "Épisodes 4, 6, 9" – The Dorks|work=Annecy International Animation Film Festival|access-date=March 10, 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://sushixav.blogspot.com/search?q=kassos|author=Xavier Ramonède|title=Moc & Darty – Sachatte & Pedro – Les Kassos #17|work=Sushixav.blogspot.com|date=February 19, 2015|access-date=March 10, 2017}} Nguyen served as an animation director on The Rabbi's Cat and as a character animator on The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales.{{cite web|url=http://www.catsuka.com/news/2012-07-09/tryo-greenwashing-clip-de-marco-nguyen|author=Marc Aguesse|title=Tryo – Greenwashing (clip de Marco Nguyen)|work=Catsuka|date=September 7, 2012}}{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2017/film/news/coco-annie-awards-nominations-1202629349/|author=Terry Flores|title='Coco' Tops 2018 Annie Awards Nominations With 13|work=Variety|date=December 4, 2017|access-date=March 5, 2018}}{{efn|Nguyen earned an Annie Award nomination in 2017 for his work on The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales.}} He has also continued to direct short animated projects,{{cite web|url=http://www.lastationanimation.com/lisa|author=La Station Animation staff|title=La Station Animation – Lisa|work=La Station Animation|access-date=March 10, 2017}} while Zaarour has created his own comic books under the pseudonym Pozla.{{cite web|url=http://www.catsuka.com/news/2013-10-25/monkey-bizness-tome-2-par-pozla-et-eldiablo-trailers-expo-et-dedicaces|author=Marc Aguesse|title=Monkey Bizness tome 2, par Pozla et Eldiablo|work=Catsuka|date=October 25, 2013|language=French|access-date=July 4, 2017}}
Le Building has continued to receive screenings, retrospectively, at such film festivals and events as the 2010 {{interlanguage link|Anirmau|es|ANIRMAU}} festival in Lalín, Spain,{{cite press release|title=!! Festival de Animacion do IES R M Aller Ulloa|url=https://issuu.com/plasticanxo/docs/libro_oficial__insti/168|location=Lalín|publisher={{interlanguage link|Anirmau|es|ANIRMAU}}|page=166|language=Spanish|access-date=July 4, 2017}} the 2010 Animatricks festival in Helsinki, Finland, the 2011 Animation Lab at the Hong Kong Arts Centre in China,{{cite web|url=http://www.hkac.org.hk/en/calendar.php?id=477|author=Hong Kong Arts Centre staff|title=Animation Lab|work=hkac.org|publisher=Hong Kong Arts Centre|access-date=July 4, 2017}} the 2015 Anima Mundi festival in São Paulo, Brazil,{{cite press release|title=São Paulo Jul Cinemateca Brasileira Caixa Belas Artes|url=http://docplayer.com.br/4379454-Sao-paulo-17-22-jul-cinemateca-brasileira-caixa-belas-artes.html|location=São Paulo|publisher=Anima Mundi|page=20|language=Portuguese|access-date=July 4, 2017}}{{cite press release|title=Anima Mundi 2015|url=https://issuu.com/festanimamundi/docs/anm_0805_catalogo_single|location=São Paulo|publisher=Anima Mundi|page=164|language=Portuguese|access-date=July 4, 2017}} the 2015 Monstra festival in Lisbon, Portugal,{{cite press release|title=Monstra – 12a22 Mar 2015 – Gobelins L'École de L'Image|url=http://www.belasartes.ulisboa.pt/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Programa-GOBELINS.pdf|location=Lisbon|publisher=Monstra|page=2|language=Portuguese|access-date=July 4, 2017}}{{cite press release|title=Monstra – 12a22 Mar 2015|url=http://www.monstrafestival.com/previous-editions/|location=Lisbon|publisher=Monstra|page=163|language=Portuguese|access-date=July 4, 2017}} and the 2016 Animage Festival in Recife, Brazil.{{cite web|url=http://g1.globo.com/pernambuco/noticia/2016/11/festival-animage-exibe-animacoes-de-29-paises-e-oferece-oficinas-no-recife.html|author=Globo.com staff|title=Festival Animage exibe animações de 29 países e oferece oficinas no Recife|work=Globo.com|date=November 14, 2016|language=Portuguese|access-date=July 18, 2017}}
Legacy
The awards-based recognition that Le Building received drew approval from various publications. The film's triumph at Ottawa was applauded by Jenkins (of the website Drawn!), who took the occasion to voice his admiration of the film's humor and visuals,{{cite web|url=http://drawn.ca/2006/09/28/ottawa-the-winners/|author=Ward Jenkins|title=Ottawa: The Winners|work=Drawn!|date=September 28, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710070341/http://drawn.ca/2006/09/28/ottawa-the-winners/|archive-date=July 10, 2010}} as well as by Eric Homan of Frederator Studios. Homan commented that even as Le Building became ubiquitous within his circles, he had never tired of the film. The Frederator staff would shortly go on to honor Le Building with Best Foreign Film in their own awards ceremony, claiming, "This film's got it all." When Le Building found success as the first quarterly winner in Animation Magazine
Gnap Gnap, another Gobelins film from the same year as Le Building, features a brief audio clip of the Russian man singing. Both films had the same sound designer, Olivier Crouet.
Two years after Le Building
In 2007, an image from Le Building was used to illustrate an Animation Magazine article touting the best animation universities worldwide.{{cite magazine|date=February 2007|author=Animation Magazine staff|title=School Guide|magazine=Animation Magazine|issue=169|publisher=Animation Magazine Inc.|location=Calabasas, California}} The following year, Animation World Network ran an article by Heather Kenyon, dubbing Gobelins one of the "best schools for narrative storytelling" and singling out Le Building as one of Gobelins' best then-contemporary works.{{cite web|url=http://www.awn.com/animationworld/best-schools-narrative-storytelling|author=Heather Kenyon|title=The Best Schools for Narrative Storytelling|work=Animation World Network|date=November 17, 2008|access-date=August 29, 2016}}
A student project created by Doug Woods at Vancouver Film School in 2008 pairs Le Building with a newly recorded audio track. This project won a Student ELAN Award in the category Best Original Sound Design/Musical Score for an Animated Production or Game.{{cite web|url=https://www.awn.com/news/second-annual-elan-awards-announced|author=Annemarie Moody|title=Second Annual Elan Awards Announced|work=Animated World Network|date=February 18, 2008|access-date=July 18, 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.filmmusicmag.com/?p=57|author=Mark Northam|title=Kyd, Goddard, Woods Win Elan Awards|work=Film Music Magazine|date=February 19, 2008|access-date=July 18, 2017}}{{cite interview|url=https://vfs.edu/news/2008/04/02/two-minds-from-sound-design|interviewer=VFS Web Team|subject=Doug Woods|title=Two Minds from Sound Design|type=Online|website=vfs.edu|publisher=Vancouver Film School|date=April 2, 2008|access-date=July 18, 2017}}
The 2014 book Hybrid Animation: Integrating 2D and 3D Assets, written by Tina O'Hailey, and published by CRC Press, names Le Building as "a fabulous example" of a multiplane camera being used to create the perception of depth in animation. In 2015, Gobelins released a promotional video, featuring animation director Kyle Balda. In the video, Balda discusses the difference between American and French animation styles, noting that French animation is often more angular. As he discusses this, a short clip from Le Building is shown.{{cite web|url=http://www.gobelins-school.com/gobelins-summer-school-character-animation-2016|title=Gobelins Summer School in Character Animation|work=gobelins-school.com|publisher=Gobelins, l'École de l'image|date=November 25, 2015|access-date=September 2, 2016}}{{Cite AV media|people=Kyle Balda|date=April 5, 2016|title=Gobelins Summer School in Character Animation|medium=video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv54mCfcmT4|access-date=July 4, 2017|time=1:13–2:15|publisher=Gobelins, l'École de l'image}}
Footnotes
{{notelist}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.le-building.com/ Official Website]
- {{IMDb title|tt0476282}}
- {{Vimeo|id=14536540|title=Le Building}}
- [https://vimeo.com/14536824 Le Building – making of]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Building, Le}}
Category:2005 computer-animated films
Category:2005 animated short films
Category:French animated short films
Category:French independent films
Category:Computer-animated short films
Category:French comedy short films
Category:Films about architecture
Category:Films about music and musicians
Category:Films directed by Pierre Perifel
Category:Films set in apartment buildings
Category:Animated films about cats