Kang Min Kim is a Korean filmmaker and designer born and raised in Incheon, Korea, and currently based in Los Angeles.He has won multiple awards and graduated from SADI )Samsung Art and Design Institute) in Seoul, Korea from the department of Communication design. Receiving a BFA and an MFA from the CalArts experimental animation. He has been concentrating on creative visualization by using handcrafted media with designed backgrounds, as seen in
Deer Flower.
Screening his films at several festivals including AFI, Annecy, Ottawa, Sundance, and more, his independent animation
Deer Flower competed for Best Animated Short against the works from Pixar, Google, and National Film Board of Canada, and was the only one to do so at the 44th Annie Awards. The film premiered at Sundance and won Best Animated Short at Aspen Shortfest and Melbourne International Film Festival both, as well as other awards.
The film is known for its strange approach in mixing 3D and 2D drawn animation and is a personal story about a boy who is forced to consume deer blood in the hopes that it makes him stronger. Now, in an interview with Kang Min Kim, AWN was able to get us inside the creator's head to learn more about his unique style and approach.
So, how'd you make this?
For Deer Flower, I tried 3D printing in addition to the analog methods of stop motion techniques, which took many tests for the puppets and props. I used a combination of stop motion, 3D printing, and 2D animation (paper, drawing) for the film and the layering of techniques is something I like to do a lot in my work. All the puppets are 3D printed. Main three puppets and main sets are full dimension and background puppets, and some props are flat or 2.5D. I modelled the puppets and some props using the software Maya, and then 3D printed them. Once the bodies were printed, I coated the figures with watercolours to keep the digitally-generated dimensionality without sacrificing the hand-crafted texture of the surface material.
Why this technique?
I used a combination of stop motion, 3D printing, and 2D animation for the film and the layering of rechniques is something I like to do a lot in my work. I have always been playing with 2D and 3D spaces because I love how these different elements create unique combinations under the lights on a set. Also they made an unexpected outcome. And actually, I made this film almost by myself and I didn't have enough space for fabrication and I thought 3D printing could save money and space. I took a few 3D classes when I was a student but I have been doing only stop motion since graduate school so I had to study and test it again and again. I learned most of what I needed through YouTube. That is why the puppets have such a simple shape.
How long did it take?
The film has been a labour of love for me as I spent around two years on the project in between feelance works. I spent most of the time in the pre-production stages to figure out the 3D program I wanted to use and the 3D printer. The set building and shooting only took four weeks.
What was the most challenging part of the process?
It was physically and mentally challenging to wear so many hats as the director, animator, editor, and compositor when I have to design and build the sets due to limited resources on a tight budget. I rent space to shoot it but I couldn't ask AC because of my budget so I could barely breathe on the set that was built with curtains, with burning lights blasting at me in the tight studio.
Is there any part that now makes you cringe a bit?
Having bloody stool is the most important sequence in Deer Flower but it still remains as an unsolved problem to me. This is the climax of film and I wanted to make dramatic effect and change. But I could not figure it out so I had to rely on sound effects to create big impact.
Do you feel better having made it?
Even though it isn't my best work, I am really happy with Deer Flower. I have learned so many things from the filmmaking process as an independent filmmaker. It was the first film I made after school, and I could have met so many people because of this film. Making Deer Flower gave me artistic freedom. I could develop a unique approach and have a distinct voice with it. I tried and worked hard to make something that's different, better, and stronger, with more advanced style and more mature filmmaking than my previous one.
What do you think of these comments? Have you seen Deer Flower yet?