Uncle Silas Gets Animated
After the success of winning the Stan Cross Award in 2011 for Comic Book Artist from the Australian Cartoonists Association for his graphic novel Uncle Silas: Genetis, Dave directed this short animated trailer to help promote the popular* book.
Working closely with Watermark animators Mike Boyes and Tessa Monash, the team focused on conveying the atmosphere of the mysterious nano-enhanced greenhouse and the drama of siblings Selena and Tommy as they quest to find their missing genius uncle.
Compared to most 'animated' book trailers for graphic novels and comics out there, where artwork from the book is used with simple camera moves to suggest a bit of action and movement, Dave wanted this to be properly animated to show how alive the forest in the book really is.
Enhancing the visuals is the terrific soundscape created by Scott Illingworth at Best FX, suggestive of both the digital forest and the sense of wonder and suspense felt by the kids as they explore the quickly evolving forest.
Uncle Silas: Genetis was published by American giant Dark Horse Comics in 2010 after Dave won a publishing contract with their New Recruits program for 2005 and is available from their website (www.darkhorse.com) as a book and a digital download. Reading it on in iPad works a treat as you get to see all that background detail up close.
Dave's currently busy working on the sequel Uncle Silas 2: Earth thanks to a grant from Arts SA, and it's promising to be bigger, longer and better than the first book.
*One parent described the book as 'like crack for 8 year old boys' after his son sat still in complete silence for an hour reading it from cover to cover. Another parent told my local comic shop in Adelaide that her daughter reads it every week. Another boy sat in the cold family car in the garage at night after a road trip until he finished reading the book. Even my local school library had to purchase a second copy after a primary school boy refused to return the first one.
Click here for the Animation
