Channel Frederator Blog

A while back, I did a post about Steven Scott, and his Channel Frederator Featured Film of Episode 23, “Suburban Harmony”. Steven is part of a band called Telementry Orchestra. Their tunes are catchy, and damn do they have some great animated music videos! Steven alerted me to his friend Dael Oates, who came up with an idea for another on of Telementry’s songs, “Under the Cherry Tree” which he worked on with the help of Animal Logic.

Both 2D and 3D techniques were used in making this video about two characters who travel on two different trains in parallel worlds; the boy from a dirty city, and the girl from a beautiful cherry tree orchard. They end up crossing into each other’s worlds and desperately try to stop their trains so they can be together, only to end up where the other began.

Dael Oates had an interesting story of how he came up with the concept: “I originally based it on two friends of mine. I thought the abstract narrative worked perfectly with their troubled relationship. However, I eventually realized that it wasn’t only about them, it related to my relationship too. My partner Michelle picked up on it straight away, very strange! The character actually looks a little like her too, by accident!

Everything is roses with us now! So there does need to be a scene added to the end where two characters meet up - maybe for the sequal! I learned a lot from this. I was so entrenched in this project and the production that I failed to see what it was telling me until the end.

Funny how subliminally that found its way into the story….. but maybe most relationships have times like this; where people are traveling on different tracks…? It’s a little existential!”

Dael, we love your film, and knowing how it came to be is even more rewarding. Thanks for your candidness!

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Melissa