A young person takes a sip of a mysterious green liquid, which causes a reaction that allows them to discover a universe of personalities, all dwelling within. A second sip releases another torrent, more drastic than the first, but this time in reverse order. We are left with the exhausted host, the personalities now all dormant. As he stumbles away, the triggering liquid gives off a few extra carbonated bubbles, until another semi-unwilling host approaches.
The idea of people crawling out of other people has an obvious meaning and metaphor. Our experiences through life shape the person we become, and there are multiple variables and possibilities to the type of person who emerges. A super hero, an old man, a musician, a criminal, a cop.. Any one of these has the potential to shape the host, or rather, remains inside the host for all of their time.
Director Notes:
Created to illustrate a variety of multiple personas that can inhabit the individual, many of the characters are drawn from my personal life experience, and are perhaps a bit cryptic. This was the first film I ever made, and it can be difficult to digest decades later.. both in content and technical execution. I created this film while working at MTV, after hours and in the mornings while directing "Daria" and "Downtown" during the day. I remember the time well, waking up at 6am to get a few hours of work in before heading off to MTV. Those were awesome days in New York City, one of the best era's of my career. The production was halted 3/4 way in, when I decided to travel to Indonesia for several months. When I got back I added a few additional characters including the Balinese "Kecak" dancer. I finally completed this in 2000, to a modest festival reception. It did, however, get shortlisted for an Oscar, after qualifying via "Spike and Mike's Festival of Twisted Animation", who had purchased the film. I owe Spike a debt of gratitude to this day for believing in me and promoting this film. "Drink" was quickly followed up with "Delivery", "Handshake", "Puppet" and a few other hand drawn films, all done with a pencil on paper. My last film to be done with way was "Masks" in 2011. Currently, I work exclusively on the Wacom Cintiq.. I do miss paper though. Perhaps some day I'll go back.
-Patrick Smith #patricksmith #animation
Awards:
-Oscar Shortlist, best animated short.
-Best Debut Film, New York Film Expo.
-Winner, "Oz" Award, Chicago Animation Festival
-2nd Place, ASIFA-East Animation Festival.
-2nd Place, ASIFA-San Francisco Animation Festival.
-Best Animation, Myrtle Beach Film Festival