Tightrope, Directed by Daniel Robichaud
swamp.org
April 1999
Biography
After earning a BA in Graphic Design from the University of Quebec in 1984, Daniel Robichaud began his nine year career with the CBC (Canadian National Television) in their Computer Graphics department, creating award-winning animated openings for television programs. While in Canada, he also taught at the National Animation and Design Centre. In 1993, he relocated to Chicago to be the Director of Animation at the Film & Tape Works in Chicago, building an animation department, recruiting a team of digital artists and directing commercials while developing independent animation projects. Robichaud relocated again in 1994, this time to Los Angeles and Digital Domain. As Digital Effects Supervisor and a leader of their Character Animation Group, Robichaud contributed to projects such as "Apollo 13" and "The Fifth Element". He also served as Animation Supervisor on the Academy Award winning film "Titanic", creating crowds of realistic digital humans.
About Tightrope
An allegorical story presented in computer graphic animation, Tightrope opens with The Jester, a happy-go-lucky character, moving along a tightrope strung through a mystical, cloud-like milieu. His joyful jaunt is interrupted by the appearance of another man, moving towards him on the same narrow tightrope. The Suit is an ominous character with a gray demeanor, his face obscured by a mask. Our cheerful hero offers the hand of friendship, but The Suit wants only to knock The Jester off the rope. While The Jester uses his magical tricks against his attacker, The Suit has a trick of his own, which may prove to have dire consequences for them both.