Soho Square

A logistical tour-de-force, this film went through many stages. First Cavalli took Video 8 footage in Soho Square, a small public garden in central London, near most commercial film and animation activity in the city. He filmed the eccentric and everyday denizens of the Square. Next, he took performers and exagerrated elements of their bodies using prosthetics and props. Choreographed by Jane Turner, the performers were filmed in a stylised interpretation of the character movement from the original footage. The colours were manipulated to make a film with a strong painterly feel. While not completely satisfying as a film (the performers look stagey, and we do not really get an authentic sense of place), one cannot but marvel at the director's ambition.
　　This film was one of the first to be made under the auspices of animate!, the scheme funded by Channel 4 and the Arts Council of England to produce innovative films at the cutting edge of animation. This film truly represents an experimental approach to filmmaking by Cavalli, who has also had a successful career as a commercials director. It is also one of those films that test the limits of the definition of animation - what we see on the screen is mostly live-action performance, albeit recoloured and manipulated.