Trial & Error Animated Short | Protoplanet Studio

2016 | 5:27 min | 4K | 1.85:1 | 5.1 | English | 2D Drawn Animation

Synopsis

Solving a problem often means improvising—a concept that is taken to the absurd in this animated short film. The protagonist of this story is missing a button on his shirt. In search of a replacement, various increasingly bizarre solutions are tried and discarded—until the perfect button is finally found, but it belongs to an old childhood friend.

Credits

Idea, Design & Direction: Antje Heyn | Lead Animation: Alexander Isert
Animation Assistance: Johanna Hochholzer | Words: Jonas Lieberknecht
Voice: Alexis Krüger | Music: Peer Kleinschmidt
Foley Art: Peter Sandmann | Sound Editing & Mixing: Sebastian Reuter
Supervising Cat: Percy

FAQ

How long did it take to make the film?

The idea for the film had been around for a couple of years, patiently waiting to be brought to life. In February 2015, we began developing the script and animatic. After that, we moved into intensive animation work, completing the film in January 2016.

Why did you choose drawn animation as your technique?

Drawn animation is a highly time-consuming process, requiring each frame to be drawn, animated, adjusted, textured, and colored individually. However, it was the most fitting way to tell this story, which is based on an illustrated booklet of mine.

Why is the protagonist only shown from shoulder to hip?

That was a bold creative decision, as it meant conveying emotions without relying on facial expressions. Designing a character with such a minimalistic visual approach was an intriguing, sometimes challenging, and truly unique experience.

Fun Facts

Who is Supervising Cat Percy in the final credits?

Percy is our studio cat, always ready to support us with advice. He loves to talk and shares his opinions on work, play, and, most importantly, food. Most of the time, he prefers sleeping and snoring. But whenever we have to make an important decision, he instantly wakes up and either approves or rejects an idea by meowing loudly.

The most difficult scenes?

Ironically, the most challenging scenes were the ones that don’t even look complicated. We could tell you endless stories about a camera pan that caused a stuttering effect on the cat animation—something that took us ages and thousands of tests and revisions to fix. The fishing rod scene also drove us crazy, as we spent an incredible amount of time trying to get it right.

Management Summary

During production, our team consumed approximately 30 kg of sweets, 250 liters of coffee, and listened to 2,450 hours of music. We experienced 54 program crashes, 18 failed exports, and discovered 4 software bugs—doubling our sugar and coffee intake. We also spent hours acting out the animation in real life: throwing umbrellas and buttons, buttoning shirts, opening boxes, and catching imaginary objects…

★ Awards & Screenings ★

April 2016

May 2016

7th International Festival of Animated Films ANIFILM (Int´l Competition) | Czech Republic
26th FilmKunstFest MV (Short Film Competition)| Germany
2nd Runner Up | 17th Animation Masters Summit, Flying Elephant | India
18th Future Film Festival (Short Film Comp.) | Italy
6th Int’l Festival of Animation The Truca | Colombia
Best Children’s Short Film | 16th Cine a la calle Int´l Short Film Festival | Colombia
13th Neisse Film Festival (Short Film Competition) | Germany

June 2016

40th Annecy International Animation Film Festival (Official Selection) | France
21th Nantucket Film festival | USA
6th Rabbit Fest Int’l Animation Festival (Int’l Competition) | Italy
Best Short Film / Children’s Choice Award | 9th Int’l FIlm Festival KINOLUB | Poland
31st Valencia Int’l Film Festival Cinema Jove (Int’l Competition) | Spain
37th Durban Short Film Festival | South Africa
24th Art Film Festival | Slovakia
19th Brooklyn Film Festival (Animation Comp.) | USA

July 2016

August 2016

September 2016

12th WFAF World Festival of Animated Film Varna | Bulgaria
16th The Night of Animation in Lille | France
10th Animanima Festival | Serbia
4th Tenerife Shorts | Spain
21st Split Film Festival / International Festival of New Film | Croatia
6th AniFest ROZAFA | Albania
Best Animation Film Award | 5th International Tour Film Festival | Italy
11th Shorts Mexico (Animation Comp.) | Mexico
3rd Arkadia Short Fest | Romania
4th Duhok International Film Festival | Iraq
9th Animasivo Int´l Animation Festival | Mexico
21st Split International Festival of New Film | Croatia
9th Animasyros International Animation Festival | Greece
11th LINOLEUM Int’l Festival of Contemporary Animation & Media-Art | Ukraine
10th Jahorina Film Festival | Bosnia Herzigovina
21st International Filmfestival SCHLINGEL | Germany

October 2016

November 2016

December 2016

January 2017

February 2017

March 2017

April 2017

3rd Tlanchana Fest | Mexico
3rd Al-Nahj International Film Festival | Iraq
Reel 2 Real International Film Festival for Youth | Canada
44th Athens International Film and Video Festival | USA
9th Go Short – International Short Film Festival Nijmegen | Netherlands
17th Independent Days Fimfest | Germany
9th CMS International Children’s Film Festival | India
International Film Festival of Lanzarote | Spain
12th Cortoons Festival Gandia | Spain
27th Mediawave – International Film and Music Gathering | Hungary
40th Grenzland-Filmtage | Germany

May 2017

June 2017

August 2017

8th We Like ‘Em Short Film Festival | USA

Seal of Approval: “Highly Recommended”

“TRIAL & ERROR constantly surprises with its dry humor and playful visual creativity. It put the jury in such a good mood that they simply had no choice but to award it the seal of approval ‘Highly Recommended’.”
(FBW Germany)