Jakob Eiring and Konrad Hjemli seize the wrestle to suppress a yawn at work
Pandiculation, by definition, is the act of stretching that is often accompanied by yawning. It usually happens when you wake up, but it can also be a symptom of office life, especially during very long virtual or other work meetings. The phenomenon is examined perfectly and wittily by the youngest graduates Jakob Eiring and Konrad Hjemli with their animation of the same name.
"Pandiculation is about the inner struggle to suppress your natural needs in order to avoid slight embarrassment or to appear professional," says Hjmeli of her film. "The idea was directly inspired by Jacob's super-intense yawn and expanded into our apartment one morning."
The two had about a week to think about ideas for their latest project, and Eirings Stretch Fest had them excited. “We shared a look and we both knew there was something here. We kept trying to come up with more ideas, but to be honest we got used to these almost immediately. "
Hjemli and Eiring studied animation at Volda University College in Norway and were roommates from their first year. “We talked about the collaboration about half a year before the start of our Bachelor project. I was on an exchange in Cardiff while Jakob was working from home due to illness in the family, ”explains Hjemli. “The exchange was a little shitty and I found it very difficult to work on a large project on my own. That is why I asked Jakob about a cooperation in order to avoid the same stressful situation in the next year. Working together was definitely a very good idea. Since we know each other very well, the communication was very good and we had a lot of fun with it. "
With a shared love of working in 2D, the animators quickly figured out who would take what role, and enabled them to create a dynamic creative process in which Hjemli is more tech-equipped and Eiring has a knack for storytelling. “We were honest about our weaknesses and strengths early on and defined our roles,” says Hjemli.
For Pandiculation, Eiring did the character designs and developed the narrative, while Hjemli spent more time on background design, sound design, compositing and other technical problem solving. “We spent a lot of time animating, mostly skipping the manuscript and storyboarding phases,” says the animator. “The film is heavily based on camera angles and timing. We're both very visual storytellers. Therefore, it was the most effective way for us to put all ideas down directly in an animated form. The fine-tuning took a long time. After we locked the animation, we just started animating all of the footage on a scheduled schedule, and that's about it. "
The style was kept minimal and monochrome to make it easier for the duo to finish on time, but they still had some issues during production. “Finding the right sequence of events in history has long been a struggle,” Hjemli reflects. “Also find the right voice actor for the main character Jan and have a good soundtrack that you can generally animate to. We recorded and finished the audio pretty late, especially for the other two characters who talk a lot. But in the end everything worked out. "
The pandiculation captures the monotony of office life and is a quick, well-observed representation of a universal happening. It's this relativity that makes it so amusing and all the more satisfying when the protagonist finally gives in.
@pinkdoglikecreature;; @ j.sketch