INTERVIEW: Erick Oh On His Oscars Short Finalist “Opera”

INTERVIEW: Erick Oh On His Oscars Short Finalist “Opera”

February 23rd, 2021

Jackson Murphy

Erick Oh is the director of Opera, an animated short with a major wow-factor. It’s no surprise that it’s one of the 10 finalists for this year’s Best Animated Short Film Academy Award. Oh, an Annie Awards nominee for his character animation on Pixar’s Finding Dory, goes into the process of making Opera in this Animation Scoop Email Q&A.

Jackson Murphy: Your detail work inside the pyramid is incredible. Where did you begin with “Opera” visually?

Erick Oh: The visual inspiration behind this piece was the Fresco mural paintings, like Michelangelo’s Genesis at Sistine Chapel or Bosch’s paintings. Usually those murals capture a historical moment in human history and life and OPERA also has that quality and deals with the same subject matters. So in a way, I think OPERA can be considered as a contemporary version of murals.

JM: Did you always know you wanted this to be one continuous shot?

EO: Yes, because I wanted to literally showcase the vicious cycle of our history.

JM: In the first part of the short, where do you want us to be looking? Everywhere or any place in particular?

EO: Everything is delicately connected and everyone’s actions in this world influence each other, just like our society in reality. Therefore, no matter where you look first, while following each character’s movement, you’ll end up visiting every corner. That being said, the best way to experience “Opera” is watching it in a gallery space where you can observe all the details by watching it a few times.

JM: You build-up to the climactic sequence nicely with the music. What did you want to accomplish with the music?

EO: Even though it repeats forever, I still wanted to create a cinematic experience within the basic narrative structure that has the beginning, climax and the resolution which connects all the way back to the beginning. And yes, music was one of the biggest tools for me to make this work. For the first half of the piece, we treated music as part of the sound design. And it seamlessly turns into music as the story progresses. And again, it eventually comes back to where it was.

JM: The action sequence is epic and shocking. How challenging was it to make it perfect?

EO: There was a lot of planning of course. But as soon as I knew what to do in the climax sequence, the way I approached it wasn’t too different from how I’d do it in a traditional narrative film. I started from the basic structure and made sure to get the rough overall rhythm and then started putting more elements on top layers after layers to make it more complex and intense. It was challenging but was very fun.

JM: What do you think “Opera” says about society and how we interact with people on a daily basis?

EO: “Opera” itself doesn’t give you any answer. It’s almost like a mirror to ourselves. In the piece, you’ll find the world, all the social issues we are suffering with, life and death and eventually yourself. “Opera” doesn’t spoon feed you the message of hope. But it’ll have to be you who should take a moment to think and find a way to break out of this vicious cycle of repetitive history and make the world better.

JM: How did your years of work on Pixar features and shorts prepare you for “Opera”?

EO: There’s a lot I learned and earned from the experience at Pixar. But one of the biggest things is people. Being able to meet great friends and artists I was able to share my thoughts and inspiration was the important key that made me feel confident enough to create this piece. In the end, animation is a very collaborative process. Getting the support, help and love from the community made everything possible.

JM: You’re one of the 10 finalists for the Best Animated Short Film Oscar. What would a nomination (and a win) mean to you?

EO: I honestly never imagined that “Opera” could come this far. Not because I didn’t believe in the project but I somehow thought the format of “Opera” is a bit too different from what Academy usually pursues. So being able to come this far really does say a lot about me. I feel grateful that Oscar understood and recognized the idea that I’m trying to convey through this piece. And I’m sure this will encourage artists, filmmakers and animators to be more adventurous to explore more diverse ways to tell the story and think outside the box to use this magical medium of ‘animation’.

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Jackson Murphy

Jackson Murphy is a movie critic and entertainment columnist. He is the creator of the website Lights-Camera-Jackson.com, and has made numerous appearances on television and radio.

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