The Future of Comedy with Struan Sutherland
By: David Briggs
(Originally posted June 6, 2011 on Tri-City Film)
God endorses Struan Sutherland’s comedy. I’m not clear on the details of their communication, but thankfully, Struan is kind enough to quote the almighty on his You Tube channel. “The best animations ever to be produced by you Earth men.” As far as recommendations go, this is hard to beat. You can’t argue with the omniscient.
But don’t trust the word of god. See for yourself. Revel in the springy groove that propels “The Optometrist Song.” Chuckle at the smooth dance moves. I dare you not to laugh when he starts singing—in an exaggerated falsetto—“I like the statue of the eye, 3-D anatomy of eye.” I bet you can’t. And if songs about optometry don’t do anything for you, check out the adventures of Spaceboy, who faces “the dangers of the Milky Way,” to bring us laughs from beyond our realms. Here is a sample: “Life in space is pretty damn good [...] I don’t even have to walk anywhere. I think my legs are beginning to atrophy, but such is the price of being a hero.”
But don’t trust the word of god. See for yourself. Revel in the springy groove that propels “The Optometrist Song.” Chuckle at the smooth dance moves. I dare you not to laugh when he starts singing—in an exaggerated falsetto—“I like the statue of the eye, 3-D anatomy of eye.” I bet you can’t. And if songs about optometry don’t do anything for you, check out the adventures of Spaceboy, who faces “the dangers of the Milky Way,” to bring us laughs from beyond our realms. Here is a sample: “Life in space is pretty damn good [...] I don’t even have to walk anywhere. I think my legs are beginning to atrophy, but such is the price of being a hero.”
And if space comedy won’t tickle your fancy, click on “A Serious Talk.”
Mom and dad find something disturbing under their son’s mattress. It’s not what you would think. They find a sigil—a symbol created for magical purposes—under the kid’s bed. They are not angry. After all, as his father knows too well, life is hard, and, “sometimes it appears as though invoking the powers of hell is the only solution.”
Now that’s funny. Struan Sutherland is a funny guy. I first met Struan
at the award ceremony for the recent Local Focus film festival. His film,
“Chronicles of a Shirtless Vampire,” won an award for best animated short. And although Struan acknowledges that critical acclaim validates one’s efforts, it was the audiences’ reaction that made the strongest impression upon the filmmaker. Upon announcing his short as a nominee, he remembers a group of people applauding the choice. “That was better than winning,” he said. “But I’m glad I won, too.”
Mom and dad find something disturbing under their son’s mattress. It’s not what you would think. They find a sigil—a symbol created for magical purposes—under the kid’s bed. They are not angry. After all, as his father knows too well, life is hard, and, “sometimes it appears as though invoking the powers of hell is the only solution.”
Now that’s funny. Struan Sutherland is a funny guy. I first met Struan
at the award ceremony for the recent Local Focus film festival. His film,
“Chronicles of a Shirtless Vampire,” won an award for best animated short. And although Struan acknowledges that critical acclaim validates one’s efforts, it was the audiences’ reaction that made the strongest impression upon the filmmaker. Upon announcing his short as a nominee, he remembers a group of people applauding the choice. “That was better than winning,” he said. “But I’m glad I won, too.”
Struan embodies the indie spirit. He knew that he wanted to get his
comedy out, but he lacked a forum, a medium. He tried to gather some friends to create a video project, but the projects never gained enough momentum to reach fruition. Deciding to take matters into his own hands, he took another route. Lacking the means to make live action films, he turned to animation, and founded Bloodthirsty Melon Productions in 2009.
Having no animation experience was only a minor deterrent. Armed with Adobe After Effects, patience, and online tutorials he taught himself how to put together shorts to showcase his comedy. He understands that there is always room for improvement, and he strives to improve the technical and stylistic aspects of his films. But as long as they deliver his message, the films work. The shorts deliver the laughs, so if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?
comedy out, but he lacked a forum, a medium. He tried to gather some friends to create a video project, but the projects never gained enough momentum to reach fruition. Deciding to take matters into his own hands, he took another route. Lacking the means to make live action films, he turned to animation, and founded Bloodthirsty Melon Productions in 2009.
Having no animation experience was only a minor deterrent. Armed with Adobe After Effects, patience, and online tutorials he taught himself how to put together shorts to showcase his comedy. He understands that there is always room for improvement, and he strives to improve the technical and stylistic aspects of his films. But as long as they deliver his message, the films work. The shorts deliver the laughs, so if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?
“When I started doing animation I tried to keep it as realistic as possible. Sort of deadpan and not too over the top. Nothing too ridiculous. I wanted to make the characters more believable, because that’s where I was coming from; I was picturing it as a live action.”
He still has interest in live action, and hopes to make a short film in the near future. He has yet to cash in his prize from Local Focus, which is a credit at the Multicultural Cinema Club for gear rental. With this equipment, he plans to put something together. Write a script and find some actors. He is attracted to sketch comedy, and is a fan of Picnicface, a Halifax sketch team, so this interest may materialize in his live action
project.
What else does the future hold? Struan is about to launch a website for Bloodthirsty Melon, and intends to produce more shorts. He is also working on a pilot for an animated series. Ideally, this series will find a spot on your favourite television channel. He has yet to make a deal for the show, but realizes that he has a better chance of getting a show made with a pilot than without.
Struan agrees that his sense of humour leans towards the absurd, and “may be a little dark.” Thankfully, he does not worry that people may take his humour the wrong way, or that his satirical approach could potentially limit his audience.
He still has interest in live action, and hopes to make a short film in the near future. He has yet to cash in his prize from Local Focus, which is a credit at the Multicultural Cinema Club for gear rental. With this equipment, he plans to put something together. Write a script and find some actors. He is attracted to sketch comedy, and is a fan of Picnicface, a Halifax sketch team, so this interest may materialize in his live action
project.
What else does the future hold? Struan is about to launch a website for Bloodthirsty Melon, and intends to produce more shorts. He is also working on a pilot for an animated series. Ideally, this series will find a spot on your favourite television channel. He has yet to make a deal for the show, but realizes that he has a better chance of getting a show made with a pilot than without.
Struan agrees that his sense of humour leans towards the absurd, and “may be a little dark.” Thankfully, he does not worry that people may take his humour the wrong way, or that his satirical approach could potentially limit his audience.
“I don’t really worry about it. I think it does limit the audience a little bit, but I want it to be something that I find
funny. When I watch a comedy that’s really broad, sometimes I can enjoy it, but I never love it. It’s never one of my favourite movies or shows, it’s just trying to pander to audiences and be funny to everyone. Basically what I’m doing is trying to make myself laugh.”
funny. When I watch a comedy that’s really broad, sometimes I can enjoy it, but I never love it. It’s never one of my favourite movies or shows, it’s just trying to pander to audiences and be funny to everyone. Basically what I’m doing is trying to make myself laugh.”
