The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello
Encyclopedia
The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello is a 2005 Australian short film. The first episode is labeled Jasper Morello and the Lost Airship.
The film opens in the city of Gothia, a smoky industrial metropolis where steam-powered dirigibles are the primary mode of transportation, and where a terrible flesh-eating plague is decimating the population. The protagonist, royal navigator Jasper Morello (Joel Edgerton
), is deployed by the government to distribute mobile weather beacons along the route of his next voyage. He has difficulty concentrating on the task, however, as he is still stricken with guilt over the recent death of one of his crewmembers which was caused by a mistake in his calculations, and fears for the safety of his wife who remains at home amidst the plague. The dirigible, the Resolution, and its crew is joined by another passenger, the eccentric Dr. Belgon (Helmut Bakaitis
), a "controversial biologist" searching for a cure for the plague because the airmen rarely contract it.
Soon after taking off, the Resolution is caught up in a storm and wrecked in a collision with an abandoned vessel. The crew then prepares to continue on their way in the new ship. As Jasper is powering up the navigational equipment, he learns through a transmission that his wife Amelia, whom he left at home, has contracted the plague, and in a panic, tries to turn the ship around. The others are forced to wrestle him into submission, and he is sedated by Dr. Belgon.
As the voyage continues, a crewmember is infected by the plague. The captain decides to turn around and head home, but they encounter a seemingly deserted levitating island. While exploring the island, Jasper is attacked by a large bug-like creature, whom they manage to kill, despite Dr. Belgon's protests, who wanted to capture the specimen alive. Upon eating the remains of the monster, the crew notices that the boiled blood of the creature cures their sick crewmember. Belgon insists on bringing back some cocoons of the creature to Gothia, in order to establish a breeding colony to cure the citizens.
The cocoons are brought aboard the ship. After Jasper discovers that one of them has hatched, Dr. Belgon reveals to him that he discovered that the creature lives on human blood, and that the other creatures have died from starvation. Belgon explains that he has been feeding the remaining creature with his own blood, as it is the last chance they have. Jasper insists to tell the Captain, but Belgon convinces him that if the crew gets to know, they'll kill the creature and with it, the cure for Jasper's wife. The next day, a crewmember goes missing. The crew concludes that he fell overboard and mourn him. As another member goes missing, Jasper becomes suspicious and looks into the creature's room, where he finds the monster devouring the missing man. He is then ambushed and sedated by Dr. Belgon.
He wakes up chained to the steering wheel of the ship. Belgon, obsessed with his quest, tells him that he sedated the rest of the crew and plans to feed them to the creature, because he sees this as the only way to retain it. He keeps Jasper alive to deliver the ship home. Jasper, without a choice, guides the ship towards home. However, as the days continue and home is almost near, Jasper unexpectedly rams the ship into a nearby iceberg. Belgon falls overboard, but grabs the ledge, and begs Jasper to save him. Jasper, however, is still chained to the deck and unable to reach him. Dr. Belgon is crushed when the side of the ship collides with the iceberg.
The film ends with Jasper, left alone, attaching a blood-sucking machine to his arm to feed the last creature. Knowing that he may not survive, prior to reaching home, Jasper reassures his wife that he will be, with "The great company of souls, riding the borealis to eternity" (a reference to his previous observation, of such a sight). "Perhaps," he muses, "they will require a navigator".
A known enthusiast for keel hauling within the service until the ban of said disciplines by the Authority board in 1271. An aggravatated case of Ruther’s Venereal disease left an already disagreeable disposition in a sorry state. His success though in finding difficult routes through the Goltesh Canyons and the Laurenthial Abyss has made Griswald a valued captain of the service.
Morello’s career was in some doubt after the collision at Weather Station 2C41 in the Lawrencian quarter, and the subsequent loss of a crew member.
Re-instated to the Resolution, after pressure was applied by his wife, Mrs Amelia Morello [surviving daughter of Rear Admiral Balthazar Fortinbras of the Royal Navy] and her society connections. Protest by Captain Griswald has been duly noted.
Found not guilty of rape and debauchery charges.
A Lawrencian émigré to Gothia in the fall of 1272, Kovacs first worked in the Gothian docks where his brute strength and abilities distinguished him.
Graduated Cartographers Culinary Arts Program, 15th class. Competent.
A renowned biologist from the Academy. Only member of the Resolution crew member not of the service. Highly controversial in relation to his views on the Sickness and his many Altitude experiments on animals and humans. His pedestrian work on the study of Ants have been well documented in the Royal Academy Journal, Insectia Scrinium. Not born to wealth as some of his colleagues at the Academy, Belgon rose through the ranks of Academia quickly with the accidental poisoning of the Magister of Insectia Studies at the Academy.
Declared bankrupt January 1275.
A sweet and apparently well-off woman, Amelia cares for those affected by the Plague until she too becomes afflicted.
, where giant mechanical airships are the main mode of transport. The characters are animated in the style of Wayang
(Indonesian shadow puppets) best described as silhouettes. The visual style of the characters is similar to that used by the 1926
film The Adventures of Prince Achmed
(one of the oldest-surviving animated feature films).
The animation production style was essentially 'anymation', using anything that served the purpose. Scenes featuring characters were composed out of a variety of materials, including card cut-outs which were then scanned and manipulated in Adobe Photoshop
, and also various found object
s. The backgrounds are actually 2D, consisting of many layers to simulate 3D. These background layers were later selectively blurred in the compositing application, to simulate distant views. Certain sequences (notably those featuring airships) are entirely computer-rendered 3D scenes using an assemblage of parts from a variety of commercial 3D models of vehicles and ships in the Despona 3DS Max series, textured and animated using 3DS Max. The final product consists of all of these elements brought together using the compositing
program Combustion
. Combustion added the particle effects for smoke and similar, while cloud layers in certain scenes were rendered using Maya.
; developed and produced with the assistance of Film Victoria
and produced in association with SBS
Independent.
Story
The First Voyage - Jasper Morello and the Lost AirshipThe film opens in the city of Gothia, a smoky industrial metropolis where steam-powered dirigibles are the primary mode of transportation, and where a terrible flesh-eating plague is decimating the population. The protagonist, royal navigator Jasper Morello (Joel Edgerton
Joel Edgerton
Joel Edgerton is an Australian film and television actor.-Early life:Edgerton was born in Blacktown, Sydney, to a homemaker mother and a solicitor/property developer father, Michael. His brother, Nash Edgerton, is a stuntman and filmmaker...
), is deployed by the government to distribute mobile weather beacons along the route of his next voyage. He has difficulty concentrating on the task, however, as he is still stricken with guilt over the recent death of one of his crewmembers which was caused by a mistake in his calculations, and fears for the safety of his wife who remains at home amidst the plague. The dirigible, the Resolution, and its crew is joined by another passenger, the eccentric Dr. Belgon (Helmut Bakaitis
Helmut Bakaitis
Helmut Bakaitis is an Australian director, actor and screenwriter.Bakaitis was born in Lauban, Silesia, Germany to Lithuanian parents...
), a "controversial biologist" searching for a cure for the plague because the airmen rarely contract it.
Soon after taking off, the Resolution is caught up in a storm and wrecked in a collision with an abandoned vessel. The crew then prepares to continue on their way in the new ship. As Jasper is powering up the navigational equipment, he learns through a transmission that his wife Amelia, whom he left at home, has contracted the plague, and in a panic, tries to turn the ship around. The others are forced to wrestle him into submission, and he is sedated by Dr. Belgon.
As the voyage continues, a crewmember is infected by the plague. The captain decides to turn around and head home, but they encounter a seemingly deserted levitating island. While exploring the island, Jasper is attacked by a large bug-like creature, whom they manage to kill, despite Dr. Belgon's protests, who wanted to capture the specimen alive. Upon eating the remains of the monster, the crew notices that the boiled blood of the creature cures their sick crewmember. Belgon insists on bringing back some cocoons of the creature to Gothia, in order to establish a breeding colony to cure the citizens.
The cocoons are brought aboard the ship. After Jasper discovers that one of them has hatched, Dr. Belgon reveals to him that he discovered that the creature lives on human blood, and that the other creatures have died from starvation. Belgon explains that he has been feeding the remaining creature with his own blood, as it is the last chance they have. Jasper insists to tell the Captain, but Belgon convinces him that if the crew gets to know, they'll kill the creature and with it, the cure for Jasper's wife. The next day, a crewmember goes missing. The crew concludes that he fell overboard and mourn him. As another member goes missing, Jasper becomes suspicious and looks into the creature's room, where he finds the monster devouring the missing man. He is then ambushed and sedated by Dr. Belgon.
He wakes up chained to the steering wheel of the ship. Belgon, obsessed with his quest, tells him that he sedated the rest of the crew and plans to feed them to the creature, because he sees this as the only way to retain it. He keeps Jasper alive to deliver the ship home. Jasper, without a choice, guides the ship towards home. However, as the days continue and home is almost near, Jasper unexpectedly rams the ship into a nearby iceberg. Belgon falls overboard, but grabs the ledge, and begs Jasper to save him. Jasper, however, is still chained to the deck and unable to reach him. Dr. Belgon is crushed when the side of the ship collides with the iceberg.
The film ends with Jasper, left alone, attaching a blood-sucking machine to his arm to feed the last creature. Knowing that he may not survive, prior to reaching home, Jasper reassures his wife that he will be, with "The great company of souls, riding the borealis to eternity" (a reference to his previous observation, of such a sight). "Perhaps," he muses, "they will require a navigator".
Characters
- Captain Otto H. Griswald - Aeronaut Captain, 7th Class.
A known enthusiast for keel hauling within the service until the ban of said disciplines by the Authority board in 1271. An aggravatated case of Ruther’s Venereal disease left an already disagreeable disposition in a sorry state. His success though in finding difficult routes through the Goltesh Canyons and the Laurenthial Abyss has made Griswald a valued captain of the service.
- Mr. Jasper Morello - Navigator, 3rd Royal Cartographers, Difference Engine Operator 2nd Class
Morello’s career was in some doubt after the collision at Weather Station 2C41 in the Lawrencian quarter, and the subsequent loss of a crew member.
Re-instated to the Resolution, after pressure was applied by his wife, Mrs Amelia Morello [surviving daughter of Rear Admiral Balthazar Fortinbras of the Royal Navy] and her society connections. Protest by Captain Griswald has been duly noted.
- Engineer Kemp - First Engineer of the Ironclad RES
Found not guilty of rape and debauchery charges.
- Linesman Kovacs
A Lawrencian émigré to Gothia in the fall of 1272, Kovacs first worked in the Gothian docks where his brute strength and abilities distinguished him.
- Mr. Emile LeBrun - The ship’s cook.
Graduated Cartographers Culinary Arts Program, 15th class. Competent.
- Dr Claude Belgon - Royal Academy Member, Electrical Aerologist 12th Class, Doctorate of Cloud Biology. KP, RTS, q-23P.g.k.o.
A renowned biologist from the Academy. Only member of the Resolution crew member not of the service. Highly controversial in relation to his views on the Sickness and his many Altitude experiments on animals and humans. His pedestrian work on the study of Ants have been well documented in the Royal Academy Journal, Insectia Scrinium. Not born to wealth as some of his colleagues at the Academy, Belgon rose through the ranks of Academia quickly with the accidental poisoning of the Magister of Insectia Studies at the Academy.
Declared bankrupt January 1275.
- Amelia Morello - Jasper's wife.
A sweet and apparently well-off woman, Amelia cares for those affected by the Plague until she too becomes afflicted.
Animation style
The short films are set in a world styled after mid-Victorian England with Steampunk style, iron dirigibles and steam powered computersSteampunk
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
, where giant mechanical airships are the main mode of transport. The characters are animated in the style of Wayang
Wayang
Wayang is a Javanese word for theatre . When the term is used to refer to kinds of puppet theatre, sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as wayang...
(Indonesian shadow puppets) best described as silhouettes. The visual style of the characters is similar to that used by the 1926
1926 in film
-Events:*August - Warner Brothers debuts the first Vitaphone film, Don Juan. The Vitaphone system used multiple 33⅓ rpm disc records developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories and Western Electric to play back audio synchronized with film....
film The Adventures of Prince Achmed
The Adventures of Prince Achmed
The Adventures of Prince Achmed is a 1926 German animated fairytale film by Lotte Reiniger. It is the oldest surviving animated feature film; two earlier ones were made in Argentina by Quirino Cristiani, but they are considered lost...
(one of the oldest-surviving animated feature films).
The animation production style was essentially 'anymation', using anything that served the purpose. Scenes featuring characters were composed out of a variety of materials, including card cut-outs which were then scanned and manipulated in Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
, and also various found object
Found object
A found object, in an artistic sense, indicates the use of an object which has not been designed for an artistic purpose, but which exists for another purpose already. Found objects may exist either as utilitarian, manufactured items, or things which occur in nature...
s. The backgrounds are actually 2D, consisting of many layers to simulate 3D. These background layers were later selectively blurred in the compositing application, to simulate distant views. Certain sequences (notably those featuring airships) are entirely computer-rendered 3D scenes using an assemblage of parts from a variety of commercial 3D models of vehicles and ships in the Despona 3DS Max series, textured and animated using 3DS Max. The final product consists of all of these elements brought together using the compositing
Compositing
Compositing is the combining of visual elements from separate sources into single images, often to create the illusion that all those elements are parts of the same scene. Live-action shooting for compositing is variously called "chroma key", "blue screen", "green screen" and other names. Today,...
program Combustion
Combustion
Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame...
. Combustion added the particle effects for smoke and similar, while cloud layers in certain scenes were rendered using Maya.
The series
Jasper Morello was developed and produced in association with the Australian Film CommissionAustralian Film Commission
The Australian Film Commission was an Australian government agency with a mandate to promote the creation and distribution of films in Australia as well as to preserve the country's film history. It also had a production arm responsible for production and commissioning of films for government...
; developed and produced with the assistance of Film Victoria
Film Victoria
Film Victoria is a statutory authority of the State Government of Victorian, Australia that provides strategic leadership and assistance for film, television, and digital media production in the Australian state of Victoria....
and produced in association with SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
Independent.
- The First Voyage - Jasper Morello and the Lost Airship
- The Second Voyage - Jasper Morello and the Return of Claude Belgon
- The Third Voyage - Jasper Morello and the Ghosts of Alto Mea
- The Fourth Voyage - Jasper Morello and the Ebenezer of Gothia, in a feature presentation.
Nominations
- On January 31, 2006 it was nominated for the Academy Award for Animated Short FilmAcademy Award for Animated Short FilmThe Academy Award for Animated Short Film is an award which has been given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as part of the Academy Awards every year since the 5th Academy Awards, covering the year 1931-32, to the present....
.
Wins
- Australian Film InstituteAustralian Film InstituteThe Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...
Awards, BEST SHORT ANIMATION, OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CRAFT IN A NON-FEATURE, Production Design, - 2005 IF Awards. Winner, Digital Pictures IF Award for Best Animation
- FlickerfestFlickerfestFlickerfest is an Australian, Academy Award-accredited short film festival. Founded in 1992 at Balmain High School which is now called Sydney Secondary College Balmain Campus, it is held every January in Sydney. The films then go on tour throughout Australia. The Festival Director is currently...
14th International Short Film Festival 2005Yoram Gross Best Animation Award Audioloc Sound Design Award for Best Achievement in Sound - The 29th Annecy International Animated Film FestivalAnnecy International Animated Film FestivalThe Annecy International Animation Film Festival was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring every two years, the festival became annual in 1998...
, France 2005 - Le Cristal D’Annecy - Grand Prix Court Metrage - Worldwide Short Film Festival, Toronto, Canada 2005 - The C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures Award for Best Animated Short Film
- Dendy Awards for Australian Short Film, Sydney 2005 - The 2005 Yoram Gross Best Animation Award
- Sicaf Film Festival, KOREA 2005 - Special Jury Prize
- Dragon Con –Sci Fi USA, 2005 - First Place Animated Fantasy and Science Fiction: Best of Fest award, Best Animated Short.
- Palm Springs International Short Film Festival, USA, 2005 - Runner up Jury Award
- Valladolid International Film Festival, 2005 - 50th Anniversary Prize
- ATOM AwardATOM AwardThe ATOM Awards are a group of awards offered to Australian and New Zealand "professionals, educators and students", honouring achievements in the making of film, television, multimedia, and from 2007 multi-modal productions....
, Melbourne 2005 - Best Short Animation
Festival Selections
- Fantoche International Animation Festival, Baden, Switzerland
- Feile Bochan, Kilkenny Ireland
- Ottawa International Animation FestivalOttawa International Animation Festival-History:In 1976, the Canadian Film Institute founded the biennial Ottawa International Animation Festival . First held August 10 to 15, 1976, the OIAF created a gathering place for North American animation professionals and enthusiasts to ponder the craft and business of animation...
'05, Canada - Athens International Film Festival, Greece
- Revelation Perth International Film Festival 2005
- Melbourne International Film FestivalMelbourne International Film FestivalThe Melbourne International Film Festival is an acclaimed annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1951, making it one of the oldest in the World....
2005 - 14th Brisbane International Film FestivalBrisbane International Film FestivalBrisbane International Film Festival held in Brisbane provides a focus for film culture in Queensland, Australia. The festival has taken place since 1992 and focuses on films from the Asia-Pacific region. The event offers films including features, documentaries, shorts, experimental, silent films...
2005 - Edinburgh International Film FestivalEdinburgh International Film FestivalThe Edinburgh International Film Festival is an annual fortnight of cinema screenings and related events taking place each June. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival...
, UK 2005 - Imago 2005, Portugal
- Animadrid, Spain
- Cardiff, Wales UK
- Buster, Copenhagen
- Leipzig, Germany
- Wiesbaden, Germany
- Redcat, Los Angeles
- Les Nuits Magiques, France
- L’Etrange, France
- Wessembourg, France
- Montreal, Canada
- Chang-Sha, China
- PISAF, Korea
- Asiana, Korea
- Golden Horse, Taipei
- Best of Short Films Festival in La Chiotat, France
- Cinanima, Portugal
- Horror and Fantasy Film Festival, San Sebastian, Spain
- Tollywood, Best of Annecy, Tokyo
- FIFM - Festival international de films de Montréal
- Wiesbaden International Weekend of Animation, Germany
- International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated FilmInternational Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated FilmThe International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film , also known as the Leipzig DOK Festival, is a film festival that takes place annually in Leipzig, Germany. It was founded in 1955 under the name "1st All-German Leipzig Festival of Cultural and Documentary Films" and was the...
- I Castelli Animati, Italy
- InDPanda International Short Film Festival, Hong Kong