Whether it’s discovering a new shop in town or going on a roadtrip with friends, experiences are a major source of material for self expression through art. This is clearly shown in Greg McLeod’s animation, 365, where a day becomes a second in a film about experiences.
Premiering last year and now available online for free, 365 is a seven-minute montage of one-second animations produced daily in 2013. Created by Greg McLeod, one of the two brothers who make up the award-winning studio, The Brothers McLeod, the film’s production began on January 1, 2013 and ended on December 31 of the same year.
The film’s press release cites that the production took “over 1000 hours of work” which “culminate[s] in a 6-minute film [representing] a whole year’s worth of visual diary entries.” Each second of the film was inspired by daily events and experiences, “with a little artistic license for good measure.” The film bears the tagline “One Year, One Film, One Second a Day.”
There is no central theme or consistent narrative—every second is an individual experience.
The hand-drawn visuals and chopped up sound design of 365 takes you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions with each second presenting its own unique story. There is no central theme or consistent narrative—every second is an individual experience. Despite this, the creators believe that viewers could “find connections to create narratives and hidden meanings which may or may not be there.”
Split into each month of the year, parts of the film are seen as fun and lighthearted, while in other areas, dark and strange. The studio creates an excellently surreal depiction of the year from their perspective, in effect providing an analogy that is relevant to one’s own life experiences.
What makes 365 so compelling apart from how it was made was the fact that the studio was able to weave different stories into one package without anything looking out of place. Mixing up innocent and childlike themes with the weird and almost taboo is a formula that people may find off-putting, but one that worked excellently for the film. The animation style and excellent use of color make for a visual treat that draws you in, while its unpredictability keeps you on your toes, giving you no time to guess what will come next.
…while we can share our experiences with others, it is our own version of it that remains the most vivid and the most memorable.
The montage ends with a short but sweet goodbye, leaving you to evaluate your own experience. After all, we process our experiences uniquely, and while we can share our experiences with others, it is our own version of it that remains the most vivid and the most memorable.
365 achieves a newfound appreciation for the everyday by deriving its message from it. When you finish watching the film, perhaps you may see and realize that our daily lives matter just as much as what we strive for.
Photo from The Brothers McLeod
