The Domino

This animated short follows a film editor being driven around the bend by the domino effect of various intrusions, which prevent him from getting on with his work. Animator Bob Stenhouse (later Oscar-nominated for The Frog, The Dog and The Devil) dramatises the challenge of maintaining creative focus while facing Kafkaesque bureaucracy, noisy interruptions and form-filling. Aside from exploring the psychology of creativity, the short is also a primer for how productions were edited in the pre-digital age: showing film physically cut and pasted together with a splicer.

...a satirical take on the role of proliferating bureaucracy in thwarting an individual’s ability to get on with the creative work.

– Description of the film on producer Hugh Macdonald's website

Key Cast & Crew

Bob Stenhouse

Director, Animator

Hugh Macdonald

Producer

Kit Rollings

Sound

Nicki Dennis

Camera

Steve Robinson

Composer

Martin Townsend

Original Idea