# animate! › Films › As the Crow Flies by Carolina Melis & Susanne Flender › background material Canonical: https://animate.org.uk/films/asthecrowflies/background Discovery terms: 2000s animation, hand-drawn animation, collective memory, participation, birds, participatory animation, filmmaker, illustrator, animation director, graphic designer The following is the archived page text; discovery terms above are separately sourced metadata. Archive status: restored in 2026; historical calls, deadlines and services are closed. --- **As the Crow Flies** a film by Carolina Melis & Susanne Flender 2005, 5 min 20 sec ### production material #### production notes **** ![Itinerary notes for workshops to be visited from Brighton to Aberdeen](https://animate.org.uk/films/downloads/animate_asthecrowflies_itinerary_notes01.jpg) Itinerary notes for workshops to be visited from Brighton to Aberdeen **** ![Itinerary map](https://animate.org.uk/films/downloads/animate_asthecrowflies_itinerary_map01.jpg) Itinerary map **** ![Text of explanatory sheet handed out to members of the public at the workshops](https://animate.org.uk/films/downloads/) Text of explanatory sheet handed out to members of the public at the workshops **As the Crow Flies – Animation Project Details** Members of the public in fourteen country-wide locations (please see map) are invited to contribute to a game of visual ‘Chinese Whispers‘. An illustration of a bird will be shown briefly to the first participant in the first workshop in Brighton – that participant will be asked to redraw the bird as accurately as possible from memory. This drawing will then be passed to the next person and the whole process will be repeated over and over again. This process will continue, travelling northwards all the way from Brighton to Aberdeen and we hope to create up to a thousand drawings. These drawings, a single series created by up to a thousand ‘public illustrators’, will form the key frames to our three minute animated film which will in turn, through our own interventions, reflect the journey of the image as it is passed from hand to hand, from town to town, from region to region. Families who work with us on this unique project can share our excitement as the ‘public illustrators’ become the artists behind this innovative project and see their work screened on national television, in cinemas and at international film festivals. By taking part in this project each participant will become an official illustrator of **As the Crow Flies** and his/her name will be included in the film credits. If families would like to be kept up to date with the progression of the project and be notified of the animation’s screening time and date, parents or carers will be invited to give us an email contact address which we will add to our database. **As the Crow Flies** is commissioned by animate!, managed by Finetake and supported by Arts Council England and Channel 4. More information about the film and the commissioning body can be found at animate.org.uk; the specific details of **As the Crow Flies** can be found at animate.org.uk/films/asthecrowflies/. #### reference images **** ![Pre-production concept still](https://animate.org.uk/films/downloads/animate_asthecrowflies_concept_still01.jpg) Pre-production concept still **** ![Pre-production concept still](https://animate.org.uk/films/downloads/animate_asthecrowflies_concept_still02.jpg) Pre-production concept still **** ![The artists’ original drawing, ‘flashed’ once briefly in Brighton to begin the chain of visual Chinese Whispers](https://animate.org.uk/films/downloads/animate_asthecrowflies_public_original01.jpg) The artists’ original drawing, ‘flashed’ once briefly in Brighton to begin the chain of visual Chinese Whispers **** ![The first drawing made by a member of the public, recalling the previous drawing from memory](https://animate.org.uk/films/downloads/animate_asthecrowflies_public_original02.jpg) The first drawing made by a member of the public, recalling the previous drawing from memory **** ![Drawn by the next member of the public from their memory of the previous drawing](https://animate.org.uk/films/downloads/animate_asthecrowflies_public_original03.jpg) Drawn by the next member of the public from their memory of the previous drawing **** ![The next ‘memory’ drawing…](https://animate.org.uk/films/downloads/animate_asthecrowflies_public_original04.jpg) The next ‘memory’ drawing… **** ![... and the next…](https://animate.org.uk/films/downloads/animate_asthecrowflies_public_original05.jpg) ... and the next… **** ![... and the next…](https://animate.org.uk/films/downloads/animate_asthecrowflies_public_original06.jpg) ... and the next… **** ![A sequence of visual Chinese Whispers from later in the journey…](https://animate.org.uk/films/downloads/animate_asthecrowflies_public_sequence01.jpg) A sequence of visual Chinese Whispers from later in the journey… **** ![... and a further sequence](https://animate.org.uk/films/downloads/animate_asthecrowflies_public_sequence02.jpg) ... and a further sequence #### storyboard **** ![Draft ideas for animation action and transitions](https://animate.org.uk/films/downloads/animate_asthecrowflies_storyboard_notes01.jpg) Draft ideas for animation action and transitions **** ![More draft ideas](https://animate.org.uk/films/downloads/animate_asthecrowflies_storyboard_notes02.jpg) More draft ideas **** ![A sample storyboard page](https://animate.org.uk/films/downloads/animate_asthecrowflies_storyboard01.jpg) A sample storyboard page #### reviews **4-page article on the making of **As the Crow Flies**, including the full sequence of 500 drawings on a single page, in PDF format** [animate_asthecrowflies_review01.pdf](https://animate.org.uk/films/downloads/animate_asthecrowflies_review01.pdf) ### first public screening **Channel 4 Television** 6 December 2005 **As the Crow Flies** film, stills and other materials © Carolina Melis & Susanne Flender 2005