“Le Gouffre” Looks Beautiful and Was Made by Just 3 Artists

When French Canadian animators David Forest, Carl Beauchemin and Thomas Chrétien started a Kickstarter for their short film Le Gouffre earlier this month, they set a modest budget of $5,000 Canadian. The figure was just enough to cover the costs of completing the eight minute piece, which they have been working on full-time since quitting their jobs in January 2012.

The film, about two travelers building a bridge across a vast chasm, reached 200% of its funding goal in less than two days, and has gone on to raise over $19,000, or nearly 400% of its goal. Picking up attention from sites like Branchez-vous and the Québécois edition of The Huffington Post, as well as being featured as “Project of the Day” on the Kickstarter website and receiving a contribution of $1,000 from the animation department of the trio’s alma mater, Cégep du Vieux-Montréal.

Work-in-progress clips and images of Le Gouffre are being posted on the team’s production blog, including the progression of a more “painterly style” that they are attempting to add to the look of the production, by way of reprojection camera techniques.

With the campaign running until October 9th, the trio has set their stretch goal at $20,000 to help enter the film into festivals, launch their next project, and assist in paying off their debts accumulated during production.