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Joan Ashworth is a director and designer of animated films. She has worked in the industry for 20 years, specialising in puppet animation during that time and more recently in digital 3d. Currently, she is Head of the Animation Department at London's Royal College of Art
Mushroom thief
Pixellation and stop frame animation,
based on a memory of almost being caught stealing mushrooms from another farmers field.
synopsis and trailer
Bang! They are shot. They tumble into the earth. The girl wrestles with her wildness to subdue him and to pay for her mushrooms.
crew
statement and stills
The film uses the techniques of pixellation and stop frame and was shot in the little known area of the trough of Bowland, Lancashire England, and in the studio of the Royal College of Art London. The actors were cast from a local school in Lancashire and shot in their half term.
Festival screenings
statement and stills
The production method of this film, mainly computer-generated, was developed through time spent as Artist in Residence at Loughborough University developing ink-in-water and moire pattern mattes for use in computer representation of water.
Further research for this film was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB). Production co-financed by the Film Council, Seedfold Films and support from the RCA.
Main Festival Screenings
credits
watch movie
statement and stills
It is 18 minutes of dark gothic psycho-thriller based on a section of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast trilogy. Three people are trapped by their own rituals and inter-dependance in a crumbling edifice. The Earl, guarded by Flay and fed by Swelter, dreams of escaping. Meanwhile, his servants plot to destroy each other.
The film was shot on 35mm film at the National Film & TV School.
Festival Screenings
credits
watch The Web (3 min cutdown)
Ashworth studied at the National Film and Television School graduating in 1987 with her short film The Web. Ashworth co-founded 3 Peach Animation through which she directed many projects including the opening titles for Tim Burton's Batman 1.
Ashworth joined the Royal College of Art in 1994 as Professor of Animation. In 2002, Ashworth completed How Mermaids Breed inspired by Bronze Age Cycladic fertility figures and the drawings of Henry Moore. Mushroom Thief is an encounter shot in a lush green meadow in Lancashire, UK.
Ashworth joined the Royal College of Art in 1994 as Professor of Animation. In 2002, Ashworth completed How Mermaids Breed inspired by Bronze Age Cycladic fertility figures and the drawings of Henry Moore. Mushroom Thief is an encounter shot in a lush green meadow in Lancashire, UK.
How Mermaids Breed and The Web are now available to purchase on one DVD
The easiest way to buy is using your credit card through PayPal. If you would prefer to pay by UK cheque or Postal Order please email us.
Mushroom Thief now available to purchase on DVD
Cast
Girl: Clare Bennett
Boy: James Hutchinson
The film uses the techniques of pixellation (animated actors) and stop frame (articulated puppets) and was shot in the Trough of Bowland, Lancashire, England, and in the studios of the Royal College of Art London. The actors were cast from a local school in Lancashire.
Royal College of Art
Located in the heart of London, the Royal College of Art is the most influential, wholly postgraduate
university of art and design in the world
The Animation programme
Located in the heart of London, the Royal College of Art is the most influential, wholly postgraduate
university of art and design in the world
The Animation programme
Suzie Templeton
An Oscar-winning writer and director specialising in stop-motion animation
An Oscar-winning writer and director specialising in stop-motion animation