An Exclusive Interview With the Director Charlotte Webb, on her Animation Film "(ECM) Electronic Crime Music"
Hi Charlotte, thank you so much for joining us for the interview!
Logline:
3 wanna-be gangsters, DJ Solar System, Bare Fresh Brian and Abeh, hang out at Abeh’s flat to reminisce on their past crimes… before going to commit another one.
Can you introduce yourself and tell us what inspired you to become an animation filmmaker?
My name is Charlotte Webb and I am a Multi-Award-Winning Animator from the UK. I became an Animator because I love telling stories and drawing and I wanted a career that does both.
What inspired the idea behind Electronic Crime Music (ECM), and how did the story first come to life?
Electronic Crime Music was inspired by the locals in my hometown. In my hometown you’d find a lot of rough people who act tough, smoke illegal substances and overall aren’t pleasant to be around. I wanted to make characters that surround that stereotype as well as making them entertaining to watch.
The film follows three wannabe gangsters reflecting on their past before embarking on another crime. What drew you to this unusual premise?
I wanted to create the moral of the story to be ironic, and so that it shows the stupidity of the characters not learning from their mistakes. This is a common practice for many people so I wanted to make the idea as comedic as possible.
The title Electronic Crime Music is intriguing. What does it represent, and how does it connect to the story?
Since the leader of the group, DJ Solar System, is a DJ and music producer, I wanted to create the title to reflect on that. Since she is going to make an appearance in my Animated show, I wanted to link her music creation to ECM.
Your biography mentions creating films that are "weird, whacky and wonderful." How does ECM reflect your creative style?
ECM reflects the whacky side of my work with slapstick violence and funny accidents in the film. Each of my films takes one part of the weird whacky and wonderful and I believe ECM takes on the whacky perspective.
How did you approach balancing comedy, crime, and animation to create the film's unique tone?
I balanced the comedy using the voice actors, as their delivery of the lines helped influence the humor in the apartment scenes. The Crime helped influence the comedy in the flashback sequences and I tied it all together using the animation by using visual humor.
Can you tell us about the visual style of the animation and the creative decisions behind its look?
My artstyle is inspired by Japanese anime with a touc of my own style. I wanted to make DJ Solar System’s design to be as outlandish and vibrant as possible to make her stand out amongst crowds and show her confidence. Bare Fresh Brian’s design was heavily inspired by stereotypical road men with a hint of comedy due to his love heart underwear. Abeh’s design is half influenced by female road men and half influenced by an art trend using the tiny hoodie. I wanted the design of the apartment to be quite rough, with cigarette stains on the walls to show that the characters smoke alot.
What were some of the biggest creative or technical challenges you faced while making this film?
Animating DJ Solar System was quite hard due to the complexity of her design. Also, I lost most of the film during production because my USB stick decided to die on me half way through the project.
How important are music and sound design in Electronic Crime Music, and how did they help shape the atmosphere?
The sound design helped a lot with the comedy as the crashes, smashes and other sounds helped to hit the jokes harder without the use of dialogue.
What do you hope audiences take away from the film after watching it?
I hope that the film influences the audience to avoid following in the characters footsteps and avoid doing crime.
Has working on ECM changed the way you approach storytelling or animation?
I believe that creating ECM has helped shape the way I approach comedy, by not always using dialogue to tell the jokes but rather show the joke with visuals.
Who are some filmmakers, animators, or artists that have influenced your work?
I am a big fan of the Australian indie animation company, GLITCH, as they hve created animated shows from small budgets that are beloved by people across the globe. I am also inspired by Edd Gould, the creator of the Web Series, Eddsworld, starting from the ground uo, making silly episodes with his friends. These 2 creators inspired me a lot to create my own work as they started from the bottom and worked up to fame.
What advice would you give to aspiring animators who want to embrace unconventional and imaginative storytelling?
If you have an idea, go for it. You never know what you will bring to the table, creating is a lot of fun and its so worth the journey to get to the final product.
Finally, what projects or creative adventures are you hoping to explore next?
I am working on an animated show called “Herd Adventures” and am also working on my first ever feature film called “The Survivor”. Both projects are very big and I’m hoping that they do big things.
(ECM) Electronic Crime Music Trailer
