# The Hungry Corpse

> A short animated film about a talking corpse and a pigeon in London.

Canonical page: [The Hungry Corpse](<https://gergely-wootsch.com/projects/the-hungry-corpse>)

Project ID: bea\_hun

Year: 2013

Role: Designer & Director

I designed and directed the film, and animated characters as one of seven character animators.

Work: The Hungry Corpse (2013)

Production: [Beakus](<https://www.beakus.com/>)

Commissioner: Collabor8te

*The Hungry Corpse* is a short animated film about a talking corpse and a pigeon in London, written by James Pout and developed under Collabor8te, Rankin's 2012 short film support scheme. Beakus produced the animation, with Bill Nighy voicing the corpse and Stephen Mangan the pigeon.

I designed and directed the film and animated characters alongside a team of character, 2D, and 3D artists. The film played festivals through 2013 and 2014 and won Best Animation at the Limelight Awards.

## The Film

[The Hungry Corpse: The Film](</media/video/bea_hun_edit.mp4>) (Beakus for Collabor8te)

## Stills

[A figure sits on a stone plinth beside a tall column under a full moon and stars.](</media/image/bea_hun_still11_xxl.webp>) (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[A tall thin figure looks through a telescope beside a column, a stone lion, a bus and circling birds.](</media/image/bea_hun_still3_xxl.webp>) (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[The corpse, with wild white hair and a long wooden neck, stands in heavy rain.](</media/image/bea_hun_still6_xxl.webp>) (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[A hunched old man in a dark coat kneels beside a gravestone, tending a small seedling in pale mist.](</media/image/bea_hun_still1_xxl.webp>) (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[Close-up of the corpse lifting a telescope to his eye beside a stone lion.](</media/image/bea_hun_still4_xxl.webp>) (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[A small black pigeon with a large round eye sits on a scratched gray surface.](</media/image/bea_hun_still5_xxl.webp>) (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[A small figure with a pale head stands beneath a huge bare tree in fog, with rooftops behind.](</media/image/bea_hun_still2_xxl.webp>) (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[The corpse and the pigeon stand before iron railings, with dark rooftops rising behind.](</media/image/bea_hun_still10_xxl.webp>) (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[Close-up of the corpse with spiked white hair and a torn jacket under a starry sky.](</media/image/bea_hun_still12_xxl.webp>) (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[A tiny figure climbs a stone plinth beside a tall column under a dark sky with street lamps.](</media/image/bea_hun_still7_xxl.webp>) (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[The corpse stands with the pigeon perched on his shoulder, before street lamps and dark rooftops.](</media/image/bea_hun_still8_xxl.webp>) (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[The corpse stands legs apart in a glowing haze, with the pigeon lying at his feet.](</media/image/bea_hun_still9_xxl.webp>) (Beakus for Collabor8te)

## Making Of

The film was made by a small crew on a tight budget and schedule. I was one of seven character animators, working alongside 2D animators and 3D modelers. The images below show the studio, notebook plans for shots, feathers, and rigs, the sound mix, and the character turnarounds.

[Animation software on a monitor showing a 3D scene beside a camera view of a character.](</media/image/bea_hun_bts1_xxl.webp>) — Working on a shot in 3D. (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[Seven members of the crew pose close together in a dark studio.](</media/image/bea_hun_crew_xxl.webp>) — The crew. (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[The Hungry Corpse: Full-body turnaround](</media/video/bea_hun_turnaround1.mp4>) (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[Notebook pages of handwritten shot notes on pacing, close-ups and the corpse and pigeon dialogue.](</media/image/bea_hun_bts10_xxl.webp>) (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[The Hungry Corpse: Pigeon turnaround](</media/video/bea_hun_turnaround3.mp4>) (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[Notebook pages with plans for time-lapse opening shots and a sunrise, alongside a small storyboard sketch.](</media/image/bea_hun_bts12_xxl.webp>) — Planning notes for the opening loops. (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[A man in a dark jumper sits in an armchair beside a folding bicycle and a flight case.](</media/image/bea_hun_bts2_xxl.webp>) (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[A long wooden desk with monitors, a drawing tablet and papers in the studio.](</media/image/bea_hun_bts3_xxl.webp>) — The studio desks. (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[An animator seen from behind at a desk, with a second monitor showing a character model.](</media/image/bea_hun_bts4_xxl.webp>) — An animator at work. (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[Notebook pages of rig math, with vector formulas and a target and locator diagram.](</media/image/bea_hun_bts13_xxl.webp>) — Rig notes. (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[A fox with glowing eyes on a night pavement beside a wheelie bin.](</media/image/bea_hun_bts5_xxl.webp>) — A late-night visitor. (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[Editing software showing an export dialog at four percent with 34 minutes remaining.](</media/image/bea_hun_bts6_xxl.webp>) — Exporting the edit. (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[The studio at night with Christmas decorations, desks, monitors and office chairs.](</media/image/bea_hun_bts7_xxl.webp>) — The studio at night. (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[Two men talk across a mixing desk in a dark sound studio, with three bowls between them.](</media/image/bea_hun_bts8_xxl.webp>) — The sound studio. (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[The Hungry Corpse: Head and pigeon turnaround](</media/video/bea_hun_turnaround2.mp4>) (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[A sound engineer at a mixing console faces a screen showing a frame of the film.](</media/image/bea_hun_bts9_xxl.webp>) — The sound mix. (Beakus for Collabor8te)

[Notebook pages with a pigeon sketch and notes on modeling feathers with particles.](</media/image/bea_hun_bts11_xxl.webp>) — Pigeon feather notes. (Beakus for Collabor8te)

## Links

- [Project on beakus.com](<https://www.beakus.com/work/the-hungry-corpse>)

## Recognition

- British Shorts Summer Edition — 2014 — Screening — Berlin, Germany — August 8
- Limelight Awards — Winner — Best Animation — London, UK — June 9
- City of London Festival — 2014 — Screening — London, UK — June–July
- International Shortfilm Festival Landau - La.Meko — 2014 — Screening — Landau, Germany — May 5–10
- Newport Beach Film Festival — 2014 — Screening — Newport Beach, USA — April 24 – May 1
- Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film — 2014 — Screening — Stuttgart, Germany — April 22–27
- Filmfest Dresden — 2014 — Screening — Dresden, Germany — April 15–20
- Deadline\_Award - Landshut Short Film Festival — 2014 — Screening — Landshut, Germany — March 26–31
- MONSTRA — 2014 — Screening — Lisbon, Portugal — March 17–26
- 16th MECAL Int'l Short Film and Animation Festival — 2014 — Screening — Barcelona, Spain — March 6–30
- "British Shorts" — 2014 — Screening — Berlin, Germany — January 17–20
- British Animation Awards — Screening — London, UK — January 17–20
- London Short Film Festival — 2014 — Screening — London, UK — January 10–19
- Bath Film Festival IMDb New Filmmaker Award — 2013 — Shortlisted — Bath, UK — December 8
- International Short Film Festival Leuven — Screening — Leuven, Belgium — November 29 – December 7
- BUtiful Film Festival — 2013 — Shortlisted — Bournemouth, UK — November 22–24
- 15th Cinessone - European Film Festival in Essonne — Screening — Essonne, France — November 12–24
- Leeds International Film Festival — 2013 — Screening — Leeds, UK — November 8–22
- Multivision Festival — 2013 — Screening — St. Petersburg, Russia — October 31 – December 10
- 15e Rencontres Cinema et Video à Nice — 2013 — Screening — Nice, France — November 28 – December 1
- up-and-coming International Film Festival Hannover — Winner — Hannover, Germany — November 21–24
- 10th London International Animation Festival — 2013 — Screening — London, UK — October 25 – November 3
- KDIAF - The Kuandu International Animation Festival — 2013 — Screening — Taipei City, Taiwan — October 20–26
- Colchester Film Festival — 2013 — Screening — Colchester, UK — October 18–20
- 14th FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Horror Film Festival — 2013 — Screening — USA — October 17–20
- 7th BALINALE International Film Festival — Screening — Bali, Indonesia — October 4–10
- TOFUZI — 2013 — Nominee — Best Film for Adults — Batumi, Georgia — October 3–5
- shnit ANIMATES — 2013 — Screening — Bern, Switzerland — October 2–6
- BALKANIMA — 2013 — Screening — Belgrade, Serbia — October 1–5
- Raindance Film Festival — 2013 — Screening — London, UK — September 25 – October 6
- Leamington Underground Cinema Festival — 2013 — Winner — Best Film — UK — September 23–29
- Van d'Or Awards for Independent Film — 2013 — Winner — Best Animation — London, UK — September 19
- Encounters Short Film and Animation Festival — Screening — Bristol, UK — September 17–22
- 10th Jameson CineFest International Film Festival — Screening — Miskolc, Hungary — September 12–22
- Cally Fest - Caledonian Road Festival — 2013 — Screening — London, UK — September 8
- Animacursed / ANIMALDIÇOADOS — 2013 — Screening — Brazil — September 7–15
- Peckham Film Open — 2013 — Screening — London, UK — September 7
- Ars Electronica - TOTAL RECALL: The Evolution of Memory — 2013 — Screening — Austria — September 5–9
- The Smalls Film Festival — 2013 — Winner — Best Animation — London, UK — September 2–6
- 14th Lucania Film Festival — 2013 — Screening — Italy — August 10–13
- 4th Anibar International Animation Festival — 2013 — Screening — Kosovo — August 9–14
- 17th FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival — 2013 — Screening — USA — August 6–11
- 21st Anima Mundi — 2013 — Screening — Brazil — August 2–18
- 17th Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival — 2013 — Screening — South Korea — July 23–28
- 2nd Scratch! International Animation Festival — Screening — Third Place — Italy — June 13–15
- 67th Edinburgh International Film Festival — 2013 — Screening — UK — June 19–30
- 19th Palm Springs International ShortFest — 2013 — Screening — USA — June 18–24

[The Hungry Corpse poster: the corpse with the pigeon on his shoulder above a printed credit block.](</media/image/bea_hun_poster_xxl.webp>) (Beakus for Collabor8te)

## Credits

- Voice Of The Hungry Corpse: [Bill Nighy](<https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0631490/>)
- Voice Of The Pigeon: [Stephen Mangan](<https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0542118>)
- Original Story And Screenplay By: James Pout
- Designed And Directed By: [Gergely Wootsch](<https://gergely-wootsch.com>)
- Producer: Steve Smith
- Senior Executive Producer: [Rankin](<https://rankin.co.uk/>)
- Executive Producers: David Allain, [Jess Gormley](<https://www.theguardian.com/profile/jess-gormley>)
- Music Composed By: [Tim Goalen](<https://www.timgoalen.com/>)
- Sound Design And Mix: Barnaby Templer, Fonic
- Casting Director: [Amy Hubbard](<https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533747/>)
- Production Manager: [Laura Thomas](<https://www.behance.net/laurathomasproducer>)
- Character Animators: [Jason Robbins](<https://www.engine-house.co.uk/>), [Emanuela Gatto](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/emanuelagatto>), [Darren Green](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/darren-green-09b30911>), [Marc Stevenson](<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdDhTb0YNzZPGqRRbbnxR1Q>), [Ionna Themeli](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/ioannathemeli>), [Marie Verhoeven](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/marieverhoeven>), [Gergely Wootsch](<https://gergely-wootsch.com>)
- 2D Animation: [Jing Li](<https://www.rca.ac.uk/students/jing-li/>), [Mak Ying Ping](<https://makyingping.com/>), [Andrei Sopon](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreisopon>), [Rosanna Wan](<https://rosanna-wan.com/>)
- 3D Modeling: [Dilara Arin](<https://dilaraarin.myportfolio.com/>), [Kiana Firouz](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kianafirouz>), [Jiri Siska](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/jiri-siska-943b0a42>)
- Technical Assistant: [Emanuela Gatto](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/emanuelagatto>)
- Story Editors: Tristan Goligher, Valentina Brazzini
- Collabor8te Head Of Development: Will Massa
- Thanks To: Andras Hamori, Oscar Rickett, Alex Searle, [Joseph Tate](<https://cargocollective.com/josephtatate>)
- Script Development In Association With: The Bureau