This stylised interpretation of our modern day expresses itself without dialogue with vibrant colours and imagery, mainly the title image of the ‘headless’ population taking from the arch back form of staring down at a phone, aided by swelling music to indicate the negative impact of the device possibly leading to worse things to come.
Whilst its minimalist art style and lack of dialogue may turn some away, I believe it adds to the simple message it wishes to portray, with nature being a serene location early in the film but is replaced by the hustle and bustle of city life, even interrupting the calming music that plays continuously in the background. As the film goes on, the nameless characters become slowly more and more engulfed in their devices, in the gibberish and nonsense of it all, in the words that plaster the screens, not even noticing the billboards encouraging the addiction like propaganda ripped from a dystopian novel. All of this is paired with swelling music and subtle foreshadowing to reach an emotional climax.
Overall, a very enjoyable and humbling piece of art, finding beauty in the simplicity, similar to the natural world that surrounds us, silently calling us to look up.
Produced in 2020 as part of the BBC’s series New Creatives, ‘Headless Population’ is the brainchild of Catriona Carswell, who brought the film to life with fellow animator and producer Eleanor Linder, along with animator Amy Howard and VFX artist Finely Geen, additional animation by Liam Gilby, and the music being composed by composer Calum Carswell.
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