THE FOUNDLING / by Leo Crane

J— dreams of a family where wild birds are his brothers and sisters and he can escape the urban chaos of London. He lives with his adopted dads in a loving home, but can’t forget his past and the violent emotions he feels towards the young mother who abandoned him. In times of anger and sadness, he turns to the piano and the music that allows his dreams to flourish. Film: Leo Crane/Figuration Voice & Piano: J-- Sound Mix: Andrew Hayes Producer: Abigail Addison/Animate Projects Untold Tales: an Animate Projects and Anim18 commission 2018
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THE FOUNDLING
THE FOUNDLING

J— dreams of a family where wild birds are his brothers and sisters and he can escape the urban chaos of London. He lives with his adopted dads in a loving home, but can’t forget his past and the violent emotions he feels towards the young mother who abandoned him. In times of anger and sadness, he turns to the piano and the music that allows his dreams to flourish.

Commissioned by Animate Projects and Anim18.

UK | 1 min | 2018

UNTOLD TALES
UNTOLD TALES

Seven animators have been commissioned to create micro-shorts that give voice to untold stories of life in the UK and explore our rich and culturally diverse communities. The animators are: Jessica Ashman, Leo Crane, Ian Gouldstone, Anushka Kishani Naanayakkara, Osbert Parker & Laurie Hill, and Kate Sullivan.

As part of this, The Foundling gives voice to a boy who has experienced abandonment, separation and loss. Fully immersed in the post-adoption therapy, he is eloquent and forthright in describing his impressions of life, with an emotional range that shifts from intensely vulnerable to fiercely independent. With absolute authenticity, he can expose the need for family, in whatever form it takes.

Animate Projects nurtures creative talent in order to create thought provoking and inspiring projects. Anim18 is a celebration of British Animation led by Film Hub Wales and BFI Film Audience Network.

TECHNICAL PRODUCTION
TECHNICAL PRODUCTION

The Foundling is an animated documentary rooted in a series of interviews with the subject, J—. These interviews were edited into one clear narrative concept against further recordings of J— playing the piano. The sound edit was completed with contrasting noises of the city (recorded on location at Vauxhall Cross) and birdsong (from the British Library sound archive).

Concept images and the storyboard followed, all drawn in charcoal on A2 paper, the same scale as the animation. Before animating, Leo studied the movement of hands playing a piano and birds in flight to familiarise himself with key visual imagery.

The studio was set up with an easel, two lights and a phone on a stable tripod and animation began. Using charcoal and a putty rubber, the same drawing was worked up, photographed, erased and redrawn (straight-ahead erasure animation). Every six to eight drawings, the photos were downloaded onto a laptop and sequenced in Adobe After Effects. Minor adjustments were made digitally, mostly to counteract small movements in the camera, easel or tripod. The paper was changed twice.

CREDITS
CREDITS

Film: Leo Crane/Figuration
Voice & Piano: J—
Sound Mix: Andrew Hayes
Producer: Abigail Addison/Animate Projects

An Anim18 and Animate Projects commission, supported by Lottery funds from Arts Council England, British Film Institute and British Council

USING THE BRITISH LIBRARY SOUND ARCHIVE

The Foundling’s soundtrack includes a number of bird song recordings downloaded from the British Library’s Soundcloud playlist British Wildlife Recordings. They are some of the many sounds available royalty free from the British Library Sound Archive.

EXHIBITIONS & SCREENINGS
EXHIBITIONS & SCREENINGS

Just Imagine Exhibition, World Wildlife Fund
29 Apr 2021 (ongoing)
Part of David Attenborough: Life on Our Planet

Inheritance (Northern Visions, Belfast)
27-28 Mar 2021
Broadcast on 5 local TV channels (UK)

Royal West of England Academy
29 Sept - 1 Dec 2019
167th Annual Open Exhibition

Morley Gallery, London
9 Sept - 19 Oct 2019
Untold Tales gallery installation on multiple screens

Mobile Motion, Zurich
11/12 May 2019
Semi-finalist

Canterbury Anifest
8/9 March 2019
Best of British

Dumbo Film Festival, New York
8/9 March 2019
Official Selection

LUX Moving Image, London
27 Jan 2019
Screening, talks and display of studio material for Untold Tales

Derby Quad
1 Nov 2018 - 3 Jan 2019
Single-screen, looping programme in the Anim18-commissioned VR Gallery

Berlin Flash Film Festival
30 November 2018
Official Selection

British Library
12 Nov 2018
Screening for Digital Research Conference

London Animation Club
6 Nov 2018
Preview screening with filmmakers

PRESS
PRESS

Shorts Corner
Zippy Frames 28.11.18

Interview with Leo Crane
Skwigly Magazine 9.11.18

The Foundling by Leo Crane
Animated Documentary 9.11.18

Animate Projects, Anim18 Select 7 Animator for ‘Untold Tales’
Animation Magazine 6.11.18

Behind the British Animation Renaissance
Drugstore Culture 5.11.18

BEHIND THE STORIES
BEHIND THE STORIES

On Sunday 27 January, at LUX in London, several of the makers of the Untold Tales animations (available to view on Instagram at animateprojectsuk) spoke about the processes, techniques, and the stories that inspired their commissions, as well as giving the audience an insight into how this work fits within their artistic practice more broadly. They also showed some of the original artwork and work-in-progress materials exhibited in LUX's library space.

Here the talks on Soundcloud.

Running order:
00:00 - Leo Crane (The Foundling)
13:51 - Osbert Parker and Laurie Hill (Sir John Lubbock's Pet Wasp)
36:10 - Jessica Ashman (Hold Tight)
57:42 - Ian Gouldstone (144 Units)

Thanks to LUX for hosting the event, thanks to the artists for their excellent presentations, and to everyone who came along to the event.