Minotaur
2016 | Canada | Directed by Munro Ferguson | Produced by NFB | With music and without words
7 min
Licensing
The archetypal hero takes a journey through seven stages: birth, childhood, mission, labyrinth, monster, battle and death/rebirth. Through purely abstract, moving images, the corresponding emotional states are conveyed: calm, love, joy, surprise, fear, anger/hate, and death/rebirth leading again to calm.
The Minotaur project was created in three different versions: First conceived as a 3D stereoscopic film, it is also available in 2D Dome (shown at the Société des Arts Technologiques in Montreal), and 360° virtual reality (VR) formats.
Credits
A film by
Munro Ferguson
Original Music
Kid Koala
Sound Design
Jan Pienkowski
Music Production
Vid Cousins
VR Producer
Jelena Popovic
Music Production
Vid Cousins
Musicians
Kid Koala
Vid Cousins
Sound Assistant
Jessica Borowska
Final Mix
Jean Paul Vialard
Online Editing
Denis Pilon
Technical Direction
Éloi Champagne
Digital Imaging Specialist
Randall Finnerty
Credits
Mélanie Bouchard
Technical Coordinator
Steve Hallé
Senior Production Coordinator
Rosalina Di Sario
Studio Coordinator
Simon Zaurrini
Administration
Victoire-Émilie Bessette
Executive Producers
Roddy McManus
Michael Fukushima
David Verrall
Producer
Marcy Page
Monro Ferguson
Director
Munro Ferguson, born in New York in 1960, developed a passion for cinema and animation at an early age. In 1994, he joined the English Program Animation Studio at the NFB, where he wrote, directed, and animated How Dinosaurs Learned to Fly (1995). He is also the creator of Falling in Love Again, which won the Genie Award for Best Animated Short in 2004, and June, an elegy dedicated to his friend and mentor, artist Joyce June Wieland. The latter premiered at the Art Gallery of Ontario and was featured at numerous international festivals and exhibitions, including SIGGRAPH. His work Minotaur offers an abstract interpretation of the mythic hero’s journey through death and back, accompanied by an original score by Kid Koala.
Eloi Champagne
Technical Director
Born in Montreal, Éloi Champagne studied typography, photography, and 3D animation. Before joining the NFB, he spent nearly 20 years helping agencies and companies push their creative boundaries. Since 2011, he has been the technical director at the NFB’s English Program Animation Studio, where he brings his expertise in visual effects and problem-solving creativity to numerous award-winning short films. He is currently working on a range of projects, from interactive animated films to virtual and mixed reality experiences, using technologies such as laser projection, sensors, game engines, and immersive headsets. Éloi also serves as an expert at L’Atelier Grand Nord XR, where he mentors Quebec and francophone creators in the development of VR, AR, and MR projects.
Jelena Popović
VR Producer
Jelena Popović is an award-winning producer who has been active in the fields of animation and documentary for over a decade. She has contributed to several acclaimed short films, including Misérable miracle by Ryo Orikasa (Grand Prize at OIAF), Meneath by Terril Calder (New Voices Award at Tribeca, TIFF Canada’s Top 10), Hedgehog’s Home by Eva Cvijanović (Annecy, Berlinale, Zagreb), and Manivald by Chintis Lundgren (Zagreb, Ottawa, Hiroshima). She also directed the documentary The Knights of Orlando and edited Sunday by Patrick Doyon, which was nominated for an Academy Award. In addition to her work in traditional animation, Jelena also served as the virtual reality producer for the short film Minotaur, an immersive piece that explores the hero’s myth through an abstract visual approach.