Subconscious Password

201310 min 55 secFilm: Animation

G

Direction: Chris Landreth

Production: Marcy Page (National Film Board of Canada)Mark Smith (Copper Heart Entertainment Inc.)Roddy McManus (National Film Board of Canada)Steven Hoban (Copper Heart Entertainment Inc.)Mark Jones

Script: Chris Landreth

Produced by the National Film Board of Canada with the participation of Copperheart Entertainment and Seneca College Animation Arts Centre.

In the middle of a crowded bar, Charles finds himself feeling increasingly desperate. The cause of his misery is an old friend he’s just run into; his old friend... you know... what’s-his-name...
Directed by Chris Landreth, the filmmaker behind the Oscar®-winning short Ryan, Subconscious Password uses a common social gaffe—forgetting somebody’s name—as the starting point for a mind-bending romp through the unconscious. Inspired by the classic American TV game show Password, the film features a wealth of animated celebrity guests, plus Charles’s mother and his childhood babysitter, who try (and try, and try) to prompt him to remember his friend’s name. Charles, Landreth’s alter ego, somehow fails to grasp even the most obvious clues. As his frustration increases, the film’s 3D effects become more pronounced, mirroring his growing psychological imbalance. Finally, he realizes he will simply have to surrender himself to his predicament.
Subconscious Password is a playful and irreverent take on a familiar experience. It may not help you jog your own memory, but it’ll make you more inclined to forgive yourself for struggling with the dreaded question: “What’s his name? What’s his name?”

Other versions


Subject categories


  • Psychology and Psychiatry > Psychological Processes
  • Media Education > Film AnimationFilm and Video Production
  • Arts Education > Visual Arts

Credits


writer
Chris Landreth
director
Chris Landreth
producer
Marcy Page
Mark Smith
executive producer
Roddy McManus
Steven Hoban
Mark Jones
cast
Don McKellar
Ron Pardo
Patrice Goodman
Ray Landry
Tony Daniels
Athena Karkanis
Nanci Pach
Kedar
Denise Olivier
Dwayne Hill
Chris Landreth
John R. Dilworth
casting
Jody Terio
original music
Daniel Janke
sound design
Andy Malcolm
Pierre Yves Drapeau
animation director
Sean Craig
layout
Sean Craig
production manager
Shawn Swartz
pre-visual design supervisor
Jim Graves
storyboard artist
Belinda Oldford
Naseer Pasha
character design
Dongshin An
Aaron Garcia
Naseer Pasha
Min Zhou
concept design
Dongshin An
Aaron Garcia
Naseer Pasha
Min Zhou
lead for modeling/rigging
Zane Kozak
modeling
Joseph Kim
Mark Schmidt
additional TD
Nevil Sidhwa
Brandon Tasker
cg animation
Stephanie Braithwaite
Nogol Doosti
Martin Ferland
Aaron Garcia
Seong Ah Han
Tahereh Salimi
Nevil Sidhwa
Brandon Tasker
SANDDE animation
Munro Ferguson
2D animation
Craig Small
lighting supervisor
Steve Kahwati
Kyle Menzies
lighting technical director
Steve Kahwati
texture artist
Alice Ho
Dongshin An
Timothy Dormady
Zane Kozak
Adam Peerbaye
Nevil Sidhwa
Brandon Tasker
lighting artist
Alice Ho
Dongshin An
Timothy Dormady
Zane Kozak
Adam Peerbaye
Nevil Sidhwa
Brandon Tasker
VFX artist
Sean Craig
Zane Kozak
Nevil Sidhwa
Brandon Tasker
lead for compositing
Joe Raasch
lead compositing artist
Munzer Halime
Abhyuday Ranjan Karn
additional compositing
Aneesh Bhatnagar
Vikram Chandran
Alice Ho
Zack Lovatt
Filip Pandovski
Thomas Trindade
render wrangling
Kyle Menzies
Timothy Dormady
Alice Ho
titles
Gaspard Gaudreau
credits
Gaspard Gaudreau
stereoscopic grading
Éloi Champagne
Zane Kozak
stereoscopic output
Éloi Champagne
Zane Kozak
digital consultant
Éloi Champagne
Randall Finnerty
computer support
Pascal Filion
Bruno Gervasi
Jozsef Horvath
Adrian Klymenko
Luis Marmelo
Pierre Pilote
network support
Pascal Filion
Bruno Gervasi
Jozsef Horvath
Adrian Klymenko
Luis Marmelo
Pierre Pilote
production assistant
Timothy Clark
voice recording
Kyle Peters
Teresa Morrow
music recording
Geoffrey Mitchell
Mathieu Leroux
Luc Léger
musician
Hélène Beaulieu
Chet Doxas
Mark Fewer
Jennifer Bell
Mike Cartile
Chloe Dominguez
Jim Doxas
Daniel Janke
Bill Mahar
Dave Martin
Karine Rousseau
Ken Searcy
Mana Shiraishi
François Stevenson
Adrian Vedady
Cameron Wallis
foley artist
Andy Malcolm
Goro Koyama
foley assistant
Sandra Fox
foley recording mixer
Don White
Jack Heeren
recording assistant
Stephen Muir
final mix
Serge Boivin
online editing
Denis Gathelier
technical coordination
Steve Hallé
production coordination
Elaine Largie
Rosalina Di Sario
Sophie Dupuis
Simon Zaurrini
administration
Victoire-Émilie Bessette
Gisèle Guilbault
development support
David Verrall
administrative coordination
Anna Kalika
rights researcher
Elizabeth Klinck
legal
Peter Kallianiotis
marketing
Melissa Wheeler

Awards


  • The Cristal for Best ShortInternational Animated Film Festival
  • Honorary MentionPrix ARS Electronica
  • Silver DoveInternational Festival for Documentary and Animated Film
  • Audience Choice Award for Best Animated ShortInternational Film Festival
  • Silver Spike Short AwardInternational Film Festival
  • Best Animated ShortCanadian Screen Awards
  • Best Short AnimationFilm Festival
  • Best Animated Short FilmCinequest
  • Grand PrizeNY Shorts Fest
  • Best AnimationNY Shorts Fest
  • Best 3D Stereoscopic Film AwardInternational Animation Festival
  • Public PrizeFestival international du cinéma d'animation