“A Letter from the Western Front” by Ex Mortis Films
Conference:
- SIGGRAPH 1999 More animation videos from SIGGRAPH 1999:


Title:
- A Letter from the Western Front
Director(s):
Company / Institution / Agency:
- Ex Mortis Films
Description:
The haunting narration of a young American soldier echoes across battlefields of light and shadow in this love story set against the sweeping setting of World War I.
Deep in the trenches of Belleau Wood, France, a young dough-boy named John struggles to finish a letter home to his beloved wife, Sara.The soldier has just received orders to charge across no-man’s land and is writing what may be his final words to the woman he loves. After the fight, will his thoughts be heard?
A Letter from the Western Front was produced with Adobe Photoshop, Adobe AfterEffects, and Winsor & Newton water-color paints. After the original paintings were scanned, software was used to composite and transform each element into the
“multiplane” environment of the story.
Produced at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, this student film demonstrates how computer animation can be used to create a dramatic story of love and loss against the historical backdrop of World War I.
Additional Contributors:
Director/Producer: Daniel Kanemoto
Collaborators: Joe Pleiman, Ryan Shore, Brian K. Vaughan