Rob Munday

Award-winning Estonian animator Sander Joon (Velodrool) returns to S/W with new short Sounds Good. The unusual tale of a boom operator and his quest to record the sound of mushrooms, this visually minimalistic 10-minute short combines abstract storytelling and surreal scenarios to form an absurd, yet hugely entertaining watch.

Motivated to create his short after revisiting Dziga Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera, Sounds Good is a reflection of Joon’s fascination in the use of sound in film and the desire to experiment with audio in his work. With his surreal storyline based on his anxious thoughts, especially a childhood fear of mushrooms growing on his feet (how he viewed athlete’s foot when he was young), his narrative ideas combined with that aforementioned pursuit of innovation and grew into the joyous experience that is Sounds Good.

Joon’s first entirely digitally short, Sounds Good sports a deliberately sparse aesthetic which the filmmaker admits was largely dictated by his decision to animate every frame, at 25 frames per second (“on ones” as it is called in animation). “It’s a bit more of a time-consuming process”, he explains, “but with simple characters, still frames and minimal movements I think I forced myself to find a distinct style for the film.”

Though visually minimalistic, Sounds Good certainly isn’t a short lacking in style, with Joon using this bare aesthetic approach to play with space and perspective. The on-screen design isn’t the production’s MVP though, with the sound work the catalyst for all that happens. Driving the short along with pulsating force, Joon’s throbbing audio work injects the film with the energy needed for it to firmly lodge itself in your mind and leave your head nodding long after its conclusion.

Joon’s next film, working title Rehvivargad, will look to put a surreal spin on the rally world. With his previous shorts popular on the festival circuit, and huge personal favourites of mine, I’m already convinced I’ll love it.