Bleach (referring to its properties; corrosive, toxicity, cleansing, disinfectant and its possible fatality) combines the exploratory nature of camera-free animation with digital film software. Combining two completely different approaches to filmmaking, namely the directness and intimacy of camera-less/handmade animation with the technical capacity of After Effects/digital media software program into a finished film, Bleach is as challenging as it is beautiful.
The film was inspired by Best’s interest in exploring thoughts and the nature of mortality. This topic relates to the director’s aesthetic of working with archetypal subjects of moral dreads like death and insanity. The filmmaker’s previous disciplines of drawing and painting inform the way the work functions on both symbolic and psychological levels. The visual techniques, including using a bleach solution on found/household objects then applying said objects to 35mm processed films, are complemented by the equally experimental sound. The sound was created by a process of sampling and manipulating found sounds, such as altering the pitch, layering, and playing sounds backwards, as well as adding reverb, echo and distortion.
Born and raised in Pincher Creek, Alberta, Don Best attended the Alberta College of Art and Design and the Banff Centre of Fine Arts. He started animating and making films in 1992. Since then, he has created several award-winning short experimental and animated films that have enjoyed screenings both nationally and internationally.
