“The Man Who Shot The Man Who Shot Lincoln” by Drew Christie

Printed books don’t seem to be good for much nowadays, but animators can use them as art supplies, as Drew Christie did for his excellent short The Man Who Shot The Man Who Shot Lincoln. Animated with charcoal, pastel and crayon, the film required twelve paperback books. He writes, “The driver’s side window of a box truck was used as the light box for animating because I made the entire thing while I was at work (a job I no longer have).”

Animating on a book isn’t a new idea, and the gimmick quickly takes backseat to the well-told story of Boston Corbett, the mentally unstable soldier who knocked off Lincoln’s assassin John Wilkes Booth. Christie’s artwork is simple, but he pairs it with sophisticated filmmaking ideas and story presentation. The music by Spencer Thun and sound by Ian Picco both add a lot. If you want to know more about Corbett’s life, as I did after watching the film, read this piece in American Scholar.

(via Drawn)