Subconscious Password

{{Infobox film

| name = Subconscious Password

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| native_name =

| director = Chris Landreth

| producer = Marcy Page
Mark Smith

| writer = Chris Landreth

| story =

| based_on =

| narrator =

| starring = Chris Landreth
John Dilworth
Don McKellar
Ron Pardo
Patrice Goodman
Ray Landry

| music = Daniel Janke

| cinematography =

| editing =

| studio = National Film Board of Canada

| distributor =

| released = {{Film date|2013|06|11|Annecy FF}}

| runtime = 11:15 minutes

| country = Canada

| language = English

| budget =

| gross =

}}

Subconscious Password is a 2013 3-D animated film by Chris Landreth offering an imaginary, comedic look at the inner workings of Landreth's mind, as he tries to remember someone's name at a party.

The film was produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) with the participation of Copperheart Entertainment and the Seneca College Animation Arts Centre.{{cite press release | url=http://onf-nfb.gc.ca/en/press-room/press-releases-media-kits/?idpres=20998 | title=Three films from the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) have been honored with awards at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival | publisher=National Film Board of Canada | date=17 June 2013 | accessdate=15 July 2013}}

Synopsis

The film presents the mental process of remembering a friend's name as if it were an episode of a game show, with various celebrities attempting to assist Landreth.

Production

The film is made with computer animation, as well as pixilation sequences at the beginning and end of the film, featuring animation director John R. Dilworth as the friend whose name Landreth cannot recall. Subconscious Password is Landreth's first 3-D film and third with the NFB, Copperheart Entertainment and Seneca College.

The idea for the film came to Landreth after watching a rerun of the game show Password in 2010.{{cite news|url=http://www.awn.com/articles/short-films/chris-landreth-talks-subconscious-password|title=Chris Landreth Talks Subconscious Password|last=Sarto|first=Dan|date=6 May 2013|work=Animation World Network|accessdate=4 July 2013}}

More than fifteen Seneca College graduating students worked on Subconscious Password, supported by five faculty members, as part of the Seneca Summer Animation Institute. After graduation, a number of these students were hired to work on the project until it was completed in February 2013. Most of the film was produced at Seneca's Animation Arts Centre in Toronto, with three Seneca students also working on the film at the NFB's Animation Studio in Montreal. Subconscious Password was the first stereoscopic 3D film for Seneca College.{{cite press release | url=http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1185833/seneca-college-involved-in-third-award-winning-chris-landreth-film | title=Seneca College involved in third award-winning Chris Landreth film | publisher=Canada Newswire | date=18 June 2013 | accessdate=17 July 2013}}

The images of celebrities used in the film were developed from a variety of sources, with Sammy Davis Jr. appearing via live-action footage available in the public domain and James Joyce derived from photos projected onto a pseudo-3D character. The computer animation was created with Autodesk Maya, with opening title sequences animated with SANDDE (Stereoscopic Animation Drawing Device), a digital animation technology created by IMAX that allows artists to create hand-drawn animation in 3D space, and which has been licensed to the NFB to develop creative applications.{{cite news|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/siggraph-oscar-winner-chris-landreth-590998|title=Siggraph: Oscar Winner Chris Landreth Shows His New Short 'Subconscious Password'|last=Giardina|first=Carolyn|date=23 July 2013|work=The Hollywood Reporter|accessdate=18 August 2013}}

Landreth has stated that the film begins "relatively flat", using more stereoscopic depth to immerse audiences as the film progresses.

Release

Subconscious Password was named best short film at the 2013 Annecy International Animated Film Festival.{{cite news|url=http://www.animationmagazine.net/events/annecy-announces-2013-edition-award-winners/|title=Annecy Announces 2013 Edition Award Winners|last=Zahed|first=Ramin|date=16 June 2013|work=Animation|accessdate=4 July 2013}} The film had its Canadian premiere at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.{{cite news|url=https://vancouversun.com/news/National+Film+Board+Canada+explores+dimension+TIFF/8860332/story.html|title=National Film Board of Canada explores new dimension at TIFF|last=Szklarski|first=Cassandra|date=2 September 2013|work=The Canadian Press|publisher=Vancouver Sun|accessdate=5 September 2013}} In December 2013, the film was named to the Toronto International Film Festival's annual top ten list, in the short film category.{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/tiff-s-top-10-films-of-2013-taps-enemy-the-f-word-gabrielle-1.2449710|title=TIFF's Top 10 films of 2013 taps Enemy, The F Word, Gabrielle|date=4 December 2013|work=CBC News|accessdate=5 December 2013}} On March 9, 2014, Subconscious Password was named best animated short at the Canadian Screen Awards.{{cite news | url=http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/2014/03/10/21522926.html | archive-url=https://archive.today/20140310142406/http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/2014/03/10/21522926.html | url-status=usurped | archive-date=March 10, 2014 | title=Enemy, Mortal Instruments dominate award show | work=QMI Agency | date=9 March 2014 | accessdate=10 March 2014 | author=Braun, Liz}}