The Gravedigger - Vancouver Film School (VFS)

[halfheavy]

I expected to see wings unfold from one of the dudes getting thrown out at the end, that'd have been neat.

[transdrole]

I'm thinking about the city backdrop here. It's like a wall; an indistinct 'other place'. The tendency for people or society to shun the elderly is suggested there, whether intentional or not.

[greckuz]

What is the name of the song in the background??

please

[VolcanoRoses]

@greckuz If you would have watched the video until 3:05...

[themodernorpheus]

I love the music. Who composed the score?

[VancouverFilmSchool]

@themodernorpheus Thanks! The score was composed by Brett Anthony, formerly of the Sound Design faculty.

[VolcanoRoses]

@themodernorpheus Yes, you loved the music soooo much that you couldn't wait until 3:05 to post your comment.

[semo2010]

I duno if it was a well crafted short or raw luck, but you hit a very high emotional bit at the end there .... well done !

[deadrabbit30]

very beautiful :']

[elabecedario1985]

I seen this before and I m still half crazy for the video and the song It give an idea to create something new

[SalPal]

wow horrible vid

[pixalgrafix]

Vancouver has got the ability to adopt innovative styles of animation, that is place where greatest artists are nurtured. This short got a melancholic mood and takes the viewers into it. The Music ads up to overall feel.

[WOWJBEOWULF]

The Gravedigger is interesting video. It represents a childish fantasy that we can fly away from our problems of death. There is nothing simple about life, and the Robot represent the machine of society processing the dead to be consumed by the Earth. You should see cancer patients, lost 5-pints blood, wild bleeding, stomach cancer removed to live another month (only the immediate threat, everywhere), cannot lift up head for two-weeks, claims will live years: This childish fantasy is common.

[Arunictrichloride]

amazingly beautiful animation. very strong

[LegendaryGoldDragon]

Truly influential!

To eastern cultures this would be an apocracy, because the elderly are treasured and considered part of the immediate family.

To western cultures this seem either amusing, or confusing depending on disposition.

My applause to the music choice, and suttle message implied in this film!

[LilDruid]

The animation combined with the music just makes this feel very powerful. Wonderful.

[Cherabreena]

Wow, until the ending, that was the saddest cartoon I've ever seen. :'(

But amazingly brilliant too.

[IdealesNegros]

¡este es el mejor video que he visto!

this is the best video I've seen!

[mac13able]

That's so beautiful

[davidrosales1985]

Esta excelente el video y aparte indescriptible porke me da cosas no lo se pero hasta lo sake en piano en sintetizador pero el video buenisismo eh? very good awesome

[rhandros]

I love the song

[gearsmate]

good work, but i don't understand... could someone explain?

[Skizzit24]

Dying in the vacuum of space where you would be preserved for all eternity. Seems like a more unique burial. Or none burial. I don't know.

[vickaronomie]

This is an amazing and powerful animation. :D

I wonder how the Vancouver Film School puts out so many skilled animators... and I wish I had the money and resources to enroll there. <:'|

[fuzzywzhe]

@vickaronomie "I wonder how the Vancouver Film School puts out so many skilled animators... and I wish I had the money and resources to enroll there."

ALL these animations are simply advertisements to get more students.

[myfinalfantasy12]

The whole dead people thing is kinda morbid so i'm gonna have to give this vid 9 and a half/10

[kojo1324]

sensitive

[4uky]

Anime already uses alot of 3d in it and alot of computer animation. Anime has always been the lead in using computer animation. That's the only way they can create the episodes fast enough to air every week.

[StevoE26]

i totaly agree that there should be more hand drawn animations by disny. but, as an artist i can apretiate the extreme tediousness and stress that comes to drawing the same image over and over and over and over and over wit hsuch detail, only moving one simple part every time, i tried this for a simple flip book and nearly went INSANE... so yeh, i there should be more cartoons but cgi is a very welcome break to the profetional artist ^_^

[drstrangeman]

well the good thing about computers is you could take 1 hand drawn charator and move it around and use the computer for the animation but still keep the hand drawn feel and look that's my point disney has lost the feel and look that we all love, remember, and miss.

[StevoE26]

you make a good point and i do think that disney has lost the magic, but as a artist i have to adress the laboriasness and tediousness that comes with hand drawn animation, its so boring, stressfull and annoying to draw one picture over and over and over moving an arm or leg i milimeter at a time. surely you can understand that?

[drstrangeman]

you could marry the 2 and scan the pics and animate them via computer but keep it all 2d. i understand i tryed to do a comic book and i ended up burnin' that sucker after three panels just tore the page out and burnt it with a match. india ink burns red and it smells like petrol or there abouts. but i do not object to computer usage but usein 3d graphics only get's dull all i'm sayin is one could just use an animation program and a scaner to make the movements and other animations a tad quicker.

[StevoE26]

well faire enough, i supose your right, although i like 3d graphics, the cartoony style are a bit boring after a while. i myself am a huge anime fan, and anime would suck in 3d!

both methods are good and have advantages and disadvantages, it just depends on personal preference i supose.

[drstrangeman]

ok i think i may have a mis communication issue. i'm not talkin' about trunin it into 3d just keep 2d but use a computer to animate it. and if you like anime cool for you but personaly i don't i like the marvel comics/dc comics and top cow comics styles (mostly the people have actual noses and i can better reconize the facial features. i even liked scanner darkly's art style along with serenity those left behind. just for their artistic style. oh and check out bernie wrightson's art style.

[StevoE26]

theres no misunderstanding, i understand you completly, the point im tryin to get across is that its more personal preference weather you like traditional animation or 3d animation, and yes animating a drawing through a 3d program is fine, but also takes time and is quite difficult, iv tried, i studied animation in colledge, iv tried my hand at most forms of animation so i can say with expiriance that i know what your talking about and what your trying to say but i can also say its hard.

[drstrangeman]

ok cool we got that cleared up. ok. that would make sence.but i thought it was not a bad thought but things like never go as smooth in reality as thaey do in thought.

[StevoE26]

i couldnt have said it better, if life went as well as it does in our heads we would much better off, and yet the world would be boring!

[drstrangeman]

heh. you haven't looked in my head...kinda strange place...mirrormask-ish witha touch of violence and middle ages stuff...like i said strange...but i do wish things went a tad smoother than they do now.

[StevoE26]

true, u think your heads bad, try a day in the life of me, im allways dreaming weird stuff up, from complex theories as to how the sychie works to thinking up spaceships and how they would work (im an artist im aloud to be creative^_^) and yes the world would be better if not dull, if everything went how we planned there would be no unexpected events, no element of surprise. would get repetative and boring... although the way the world works today sickens me to my stomach!

[drstrangeman]

it's in a message.

[FallenFewdman]

Amazingly piece of work. I like the part where he gets his wings. :D

[onceuk]

fantastic

hmmmm i'd like one pair of those wings though when my time comes he he

[Pivotmaster34]

wow amazing I hope to go to Vancouver film school one day

[smilie120]

Amazing work.. Very moving.. Very emotional.

[tqvivaperu]

beutiful

[xXOne4UXx]

Tbh i kinda miss theese kinda "films" you know... films not being 3D Dx F.x disney kinda lost their spirit after all this 3D stuff you dont get the "Family/disney" feeling from 'em anymore =( Like in Snow white and all other old movie.. or maybe its just me being old (even thou' im only 14 XDDD!) Anyway.. Nice vid :) a lil' sad

[xXOne4UXx]

(sorry i am not very good at english)

[drstrangeman]

yeah word. it's a shame that every thing is cgi but they still do good work but it's just not the same. and dude i'm 20 and i feel the same way like aladin, the sword and the stone, sleeping beauty, beauty and the beast, hunchback of notredame, and so many more they made good family movies but it's not the same any more.

[kakburken]

I agree. We should almost make a petition for it :P

[BobTheHappyGoth]

It i so nice to see someone doing hand drawn animating again, cgi is okay but it has nearly killed the art form of hand drwn animation.

[Fallencypt]

Nice !!! Total Proness!

[inkink911]

beautiful..

x)

[davidrosales1985]

this song seems psikedelic from band for example PINK FLOYD if you listen ATOM HEART MOTHER you will be release but its great

[Kiyamlol]

very nice it has a lot of meaning and is quite sad

[TowfeeDigital]

nice!awesome short!

[ayramSeven]

La música, la trama, la muerte...

La muerte... me hizo recordar ese trágico momento, no quiero morir, es mucho para mi, pero, no puedo negarlo, bastante poético, muy romántico. El sepulturero me hizo figurarme en el, quiero vivir, vivir libre y nunca morir.

¡¡¡Bellicimo!!!

[transdrole]

Imo, it's not so much 'to get to heaven' as jesilfa wrote, but merely to have some control over one's own destiny; to reject the sad, rotting, forgotten end in the ground in favor of something befitting a free spirit.

[rl876]

dark sense of humour but i get it.

really liked the music, what is it?

[gearsmate]

why so phylosophic? why so depressing?

CAN'T IT JUST BE FUN!!!

[shadowsecter]

I think its the fact that someday stuff like that will probaly happen>.>

[gearsmate]

who knows...

[sophie8977]

the Dedal and Ikar's myth is one of my fav so I really liked this story

[5658971]

this is great, its one of the best i've ever seen. it has good story,deep meaning, its just awesome

[mangaatbagoong]

nice story, nice video

[Kerplup]

Wow... absolutely... Just wow... Great work. I love the story in this. Amazing, simply amazing.

[someman7]

to be honest. bad music, author kinda sick, simple backgrounds (like 6 or so), i didn't even like the story, just like i didn't like "kiwi".

[m4ndycandyblog]

that was amazing

[Acclimator]

Great short, the music is excellent too.

[jesilfa]

I understood this short perfectly. The grave digger is sad; the way the robot just tosses the bodies in the graves, without dignity, bothers him. He thinks it's a horrible resting place. He imagines himself down in a grave (that's the black and white part, kids) and it terrifies him. So he builds himself wings and finds his own way to get to Heaven.

That's just beautiful, I loved it.

[armageddontri7]

nice interpretation

[AutumnGracy]

@jesilfa A place where the body cannot possibly decompose and never needs to be covered ^_^

[gordonfreemannr2]

I love it!

[TransientSylph]

:'(

[jacho80]

i didnt get it!!! did he die tryin his new wings, and his soul thought he was in heaven or something, or maybe baronvonvoe is right. liked it anyway, lol that guy's ears were funny

[Mattnek]

he was free he was flying he was in heaven to be free = be in heveaven

[fericire7]

wow, I'm sold aheh :)... I'm gonna make me some wings :D- just kidding .. maybe :P; fantastic idea, I simply love this*L*

[ooppkkooppkk]

Oh..dis is sad..n lonely..

[PaLiFoNk]

loved it!

[AkanemaruNayuchi]

hannah montana is a slut...I prefer things that arn't pointless crap.

your kinda tardy...

[Gormourn]

I don't quite get it.

Has something to do with freedom and such, but what's the connection between that and grave-digging/death?

[baronvonvoe]

He did not want to end up rotting away in the ground so he made the wings and flew into space where he will never rot.

[drunkgoat]

haha well said

[wishingclouds]

Wow, very nicely done.

It made me very sad when the robot tosses the dead ones into their graves. Reminds me of our world's structure.

[Sakura2387]

wonderful .....I love the robot he puts this sad face when someone dies... <3 everyone deserve a glorious ending ..

[liko2006]

i like your perspective and also your story attract me, it makes me wonder what will happen and keep watching. Good work~!

[alessandrabertrand]

wonderfuul vviiddeeooo

[Thewaterofthepool]

oh that's so sad :(

hate the robot ¬¬!! i mean.. who would like to watch dead old people being thrown to the air? XD

well... good vid anyways XD

[hexhelios]

the music goes well with the animation although the chucking of the bodies into the empty graves is a little bizarre...its very well done though.

[wadetimebaby]

its the grave digger from zelda, i never knew his boss was such a jackass

[Aelitafan13]

That was depressing. I think I get it though. Nicely done ^-^

[SallyTheSeven]

wow...very touching!!

[ReesesMonkeyXP]

my dad was a grave digger for a while

nice film

[Ivoryheart1313]

very sad and very beautful! Original to say the least.

[Dniprenko]

Though I can't say the style of the animation is to my taste, there is no denying that there is a very rich quality to it. I found the image of the robot hurling the dead out into pre-dug graves to be very beautiful and very haunting. I find it to be in the spirit of Studio Ghibli.

[xu3yj6]

nice story and nice music are excellent film.

[stargirlsusan]

this one was sad

[runespaze]

ah......very nice

[Heart69Felt69Wish]

this was very well animated and it shows great talent.i greatly adire this because the general concept was well put together and the characters easily endearing.

[natetheflip]

they're just heavy sleepers!!!!!

[luchan988]

I sense a lack of optimism in regards to the future of senior citizen care, but the art is very well done and the characters quickly enduring.

[Kingdomheartsbabe101]

vancouver art school students are obviously taught very well, because ive seen many good animations from there. whatever it is they do there, they do a heck of a good job.

[xddlol]

What's it like to feel left out by everyone and to desire nothing more than to just fly away from all your troubles?

I want to experience the same thing as the old man did when he flied away from that dreadful place

[mythical1artist]

awesome, very good for classical animation.

[ulculberry]

I almost cried when he seemed eager to fly.

[TisshaJulia]

I WANT TO SCAPE OF MY HORRIBLE WORK, LIKE HIM. I GET THE MESSAGE. pretty cool work. really

[lamx12345]

i love this^^ so sad bit tho so lovly

[mikew909]

its like a polish futurama

[yanndick]

May I say (OK : write !) this is a really "nice" animation ?

Excellent piece of work and art ! Bravo !

[Miguel9kb]

Nice animation masterpiece, the texture and the animation are simple incredible. 5/5

[DemonAng3l11]

wow how sad...a place to bury retired peeps....*snif* they just sit and die there

[Hyperactivexp]

amazing

[JordanPhillips92]

i love the scene where he first akes off, it is amazing.

[girlanony]

Ohh! this was so touching! He wanted to be free!

[garlicNeggplant]

I still really love this one. My favorite out of the VFS bunch.

[MDCM]

truley beautiful...

[ryovan]

goes very well with the animation...esp the music chosen :)

[rawrimillion]

that was depressing...

[urdoll4ever]

beautiful,I think it's a type of hope and dream about the older people....

[Bloo1black]

i will rescue too

[Veronikiux]

Generalmente los alumnos de la VFS animan bien, narran mal y tienen malas historias. Pero este es un caso de mala animación y peor historia.

[urdoll4ever]

ehmm... más bien usted carece de imaginación y su punto (aunque muy válido) no deja de ser subjetivo... y no Generalize por favor, ya que la mayoría de los alumnos pretende hacerle reflexionar respecto a situaciones (por ejemplo: usted cuando sea vieja e inútil, que piensa hacer al respecto?)

[Veronikiux]

Si mi punto de vista es válido ¿sólo por el me tacha de carente de imaginación? Y eso de que la mayoría de los alumnos pretenda "hacerme reflexionar" es una estupidez del tamaño de sus pobres años. Esta historia no me hace reflexionar un carajo sobre mi vejez ¡y cuánto desprecio por una edad, a la que con suerte llegará, al llamar viejos e inútiles a los ancianos! Si usted piensa eso de la senectud, el video no está cumpliendo su cometido de hacerte reflexionar. No sea contradictorio, chamaco

[AdeonC]

how stupid... you didn't even try to interpretate the image the author wants to show you

i'm answering in english because my spanish is pretty bad

[VolcanoRoses]

...But your reply is pretty good, AdeonC.

[AdeonC]

wow hehe, thanks for posting this, so I was warned by email and remembered this vid again ^^

it've been soo long i don't see any good videos in youtube anymore =s

[mexzum]

simpatico

[WoWanate]

I have never seen such an amazing piece of art. This animation blew my mind away. The sounds, music, details, and feel of the piece fits together like a puzzle. I think it in general give hope to those of us who have dreams, but I havn't heard anyone talk about it in other context. I believe this piece is relevant in many cases. Society as a whole treats most things with this mundane and thoughtless process that is sometimes not seens as such. This shows us the human spirit overcoming that.

[hulkthefuror]

these is a very interesting video, keeps you woundering the whole time!!

[joster917]

favorite animation out of all VFS's

[uStIyOnV7384]

Having worked at a retirement home, it's hard to see them at times. Absolutely loved the video, and touches the soul every time I watch it.

[annielovescandy]

beautiful

[starmoonraven]

muy bonito.. te felicito...

[ulculberry]

Expressive. It even makes it more lively when the old man clenches his fist as he looks up before he takes off.

I wonder how I'll die.

[rosegirl153]

The message, the cartoons are beautiful... Really good job

[balamanti2]

for those hwo did not understand this is a symbole of christian faith. notice in the end before he flies, there are three stylized crosses and the stone close to the light is like the cross

[drstrangeman]

so.

[Elliot221]

It doesn't have to be a symbol of Christian faith. It can be anything we interpret it to be, different opinions result in different views. Regardless, this is a beautiful piece.

[tillyandmisty]

I think the next goal for this school is to put more than one song in the animations.

I really liked this animation!

[firebirdca2066]

Well.... that started off so morbid. But interesting ending.

[ermie54]

this is excellent. but so sad. :(

[Kenji000]

no matter how bleak and dismal our future may look, we can always follow our dreams, no matter how crazy...

Kudos VFS, Kudos...

[Arthurpenhalfan566]

depressing. so sad.

i almost cried.

[loribit85]

Wonderful. Has a very 'Brazil'-like feel to it. Nice job.

[noodleguru]

Absolutely wonderful!

[UchiaMadara]

really nice..quite touching

[Dkatie1]

SO beautiful. So sad.

[mynameisrowland]

i almost cried.

what a beautiful concept. and the MUSIC!!

son of a bitch that was good music...

[mr1337pants]

pretty cool

[Zaafy123]

On of the best videos I've seen on Youtube.

[toamax2]

"stratches head" i dont get it

[rathole5]

freaky

[improvetheworld]

so beautiful... I loved it!

The music is perfect ;)

[iceyxsoul3]

god that was freaky

[Pyromaania]

Mortifying.

Atleast he broke free of his nightmare ...

seeing as how many graves there were...

[Rjina211]

Ah...

You have definitely created something here.

Beautiful work.

[gicutza007]

excellent job

[9freakydarling9]

This is so unbelievably sad, but so good.

[piper1800]

its sad

but the ending is beautiful

what is the name of the music you used?

if so, can you post it out so I can have a listen!

its beautiful music

really

fantastic, truly marvellous

makes you think....

love the ending, perfect touch

[AdeonC]

i think it's a particular VFS music... i do think it's beautiful too... and i love this movie...

[Drakoman07]

this is depressing

[AdeonC]

very depressing!

[Faythalie]

Amazing, very good work!

[myecotpia]

Interesting however I don't understand what was happening when he looked down at the graves. What was with the doodles?

[katie4movies]

I could be wrong totally, but I think it was him seeing himself decaying in the grave at that horrible place just like the people he was burying.

[Arthurpenhalfan566]

theyre dead ppl you idiot

[LonelyKitty33]

interesting