Sverre shoots to Fringe success
by Noel Towell
It’s
official. Sverre Fredriksen’s movie doesn’t suck. Sverre has joined the
growing number of young directors enjoying success with clay animated
characters.
The UniSA multimedia student has beaten 50 other contestants and taken out first prize in the Shoot the Fringe contest with his short movie Does it Suck to be Clay?
Sverre’s effort is the two-and-a-half minute tale of an unnamed animated figure grappling with the ups and downs of a life made of clay.
And does it suck? “Not in the end,” according to the creator.
Shoot the Fringe has been around since 1994 and is open to anyone with a
super 8 camera.
This year many participants, including Sverre, benefited from workshops from
Los Angeles super 8 pioneer Norwood Cheek.
“After
that I learned to use the camera by just fiddling around and having some fun
with it,” says Sverre.
The production was even harder than it looks. “I didn’t really know what to
expect because I didn’t see the final result until the premier,” the auteur
explains.
But he must have done something right as Does it Suck to be Clay? impressed the Shoot the Fringe judges and left the opposition behind.
Sverre’s next project is a music video clip for Adelaide band Straight to Video and maybe another animation project, “just for fun.”