Under the dark surface of the river, an inevitable romance unfolds. Two fish become tangled in their attraction. Will the power of love seasoned with pain set them free?

With a fresh approach to sand-animation, Corrie Francis Parks tells this fluid tale of love and entanglement. + more about the film

  • sand-signature

    About the film

    Combining the traditional techniques of sand animation with digital processing, A Tangled Tale, is unlike any animated short film.

    The fluidity of moving sand, hand-tinted with vibrant watercolor makes this a visually innovative film. Match that with a deep and subtle story of love and pain and you get a film that will make a splash!

    sand-signature

    About the film

    Combining the traditional techniques of sand animation with digital processing, A Tangled Tale, is unlike any animated short film.

    The fluidity of moving sand, hand-tinted with vibrant watercolor makes this a visually innovative film. Match that with a deep and subtle story of love and pain and you get a film that will make a splash!

  • 01storyboards

    Storyboards

  • 02pretint

    Pretint

  • 03tinted

    Tinted

  • 04surface

    Fish

  • 05surface

    Butterfly

  • newfishswim01

    Swimming

  • What’s Sand Animation?

    Sand animation was first pioneered in the 1970s by Caroline Leaf in an exquisite short film, “The Owl Who Married a Goose”. The technique involves moving sand on a backlit plate of glass, created silhouetted animation that is captured frame-by frame by a camera above.

    Each frame is destroyed in the process of creating the next so the sand animator must plan her scenes carefully and pray she does not sneeze! Take a peek behind the scenes of “A Tangled Tale” and learn about the different tools I use to animated sand.

    I have always found creative ways to incorporate color in this traditionally black and white medium. Take a look at some of my past sand animation films and you will have a better understanding of the visual history leading to “A Tangled Tale”

  • snow

    Snow

  • trails

    Tracks

mark orton

The Extra Character

Last week I had the pleasure to attend the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. This excellent festival in Missoula, MT is a gathering place for documentary filmmakers, producers and fans for a week of film nerdiness. (more…)

The Deep

Sculpting Backgrounds

Making backgrounds might be the best part of making this film. (more…)

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Talking Tech

For the more technically minded, here’s a few details on the equipment I’m using. (more…)

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Building an Underwater Environment

This week I’ve been playing around with the background imagery, trying to get a better sense of how the film will look when it’s finished. (more…)

working

New Website!

You may have noticed A Tangled Tale has a shiny new website – your source for production and festival news!

(more…)

Funded

Funded!!

Thanks to 149 wonderful kickstarter backers and several other donors who surfaced after the campaign, I can happily announce that A Tangled Tale will be finished and released in 2012!

(more…)

Read more posts »

After a successful Kickstarter.com campaign, the film is moving quickly towards post. More footage, and behind the scenes clips will be posted soon. Until then, you’ve got the fundraising video here, and a chance to be a part of the film’s success by donating below!

Upcoming Festivals

Look for the world premier in summer of 2012!

Awards and Mentions

* TT featured on Mid-Current’s Video Hatch

* Want to find out more about what goes into a Kickstarter campaign? You can read the full report on Corrie’s Blog: Reflections on a Kickstarter Adventure

Download digital press kit

Coming Soon.

Corrie Francis Parks

Director/Animator
That’s me! I’m an award-winning animator, creator of 6 short films and numerous commercial works. I approach each project from a fresh perspective of stylistic opportunity, aiming to strike a balance between communication and visual innovation. When not in my studio animating away, I’m out playing in the closest mountain range.
corriefrancis.com

Mark Orton

Composer
Mark is part of the San Francisco based group, Tin Hat Trio. In addition to his work with Tin Hat, Mark has a vibrant career as a composer, and frequently works with film. In fact, he was nominated for Best New Composer by The International Film Music Critics Association in 2006 and was recently a Sundance Institue Composer Fellow. I’m thrilled to be working with him on “A Tangled Tale”.
markortonmusic.com

Cole Pierce

Sound Design
Cole Pierce is an artist and videographer living in Chicago. He earned his MFA (2007) from Northwestern University, exhibits his work internationally and co-authors Field Mic, a sound art and music blog. He worked on the score and sound design of Life in Perpetual Beta, a feature length documentary and has produced numerous short documentaries of education programs for the Chicago Teachers’ Center of NEIU.
colepierce.com

Backers!

149 people backed the film during our kickstarter campaign and several addition people have dontated ! To see the support flowing in was such an encouragement. Thanks to everyone who pledged and shared the project!