I have always had a deep love for Stop-Motion as an art form, and over the course of my time in college I have grown to really enjoy paper-craft. So, when approaching my student film, I of course wanted to use these techniques. I feel the paper puppets created for the different characters also helped to re-enforce the idea of being trapped or controlled by an unseen oppressive force; which is one of the main themes of 'ESC'. Horror and stories that try to disturb or disarm the viewer have also been interesting to me, despite my squeamish nature. So for my film 'ESC' I wanted there to be moments that were dark and borderline gory while still feeling satirical and laughable. I wanted to create a film that people who hated their dead end job or continuous daily routines could relate to. I myself hate getting stuck in routines, as I feel I get to comfortable in the misery and wish I had something to break me from it. So 'ESC' in a way was an attempt to show myself how to not get comfortable repeating the same day, everyday. Whilst working I was inspired by the work of Lottie Reiniger and Alan Dunne who are both wonderful paper-craft animators, but I would say I was most inspired by the studio Beyond the Bark, as the owners Emma and Ivan Fisher-Owen have a talent for creating beautiful, unique and sometimes slightly eerie pieces of Stop-Motion work. Seeing their work inspired me to push myself further than I ever have before, and without the influence of their work 'ESC' would be a very different film.
