# animate! › Films › As the Crow Flies by Carolina Melis & Susanne Flender › synopses

Canonical: https://animate.org.uk/films/asthecrowflies/synopses

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.

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**As the Crow Flies** a film by Carolina Melis & Susanne Flender

2005, 5 min 20 sec

### animate! synopsis

An image of a bird migrates across the drawings of one thousand members of the public. In a process akin to Chinese Whispers the initial picture transforms and develops, producing an unpredictable narrative flight.

### one sentence synopsis

A bird migrates across drawings from 500 members of the public.

### short synopsis

A bird migrates across drawings from 500 members of the public. In a visual version of Chinese Whispers the image transforms producing an unpredictable narrative flight.

### long synopsis

An image of a bird migrates across drawings from 500 members of the public. In a visual version of Chinese Whispers, the participants briefly observed and then redrew a simple line drawing from memory before passing it on to the next participant. The image transforms producing an unpredictable narrative flight.

The film tracks the drawing as it moves from hand-to-hand and town-to-town on a journey from Brighton to Aberdeen via London, Oxford, Birmingham, Leeds, York, Newcastle, Durham and Edinburgh.

**As the Crow Flies** film, stills and other materials © Carolina Melis & Susanne Flender 2005