Jess Cope of Owl House Studios Ltd has won the award for Best 3D animation at the British Animation Film Festival at the British Museum in London.
The ‘Beautiful Scarecrow was written and produced by Owl House Studios for the British Prog Rock supremo Steven Wilson, as part of his ‘The Harmony Codex’ album. Jess and Owl House Studios have collaborated with Steven Wilson on many occasions and they include music videos for his classic tracks, ‘Drive Home’, ‘The Raven That Refused to Sing’ and ‘Routine’. Jess has also created videos for rock giants, Metallica and British indie folk singer, Passenger, as well as working with Tim Burton on Frankenweenie and the British classic, Postman Pat.
Jess said “In an age where AI is in may ways negatively impacting the film industry, it is heartwarming to know that ther are people and companies out there that still truly appreciate ‘hand-crafted’ and honest artistic creativity that is the result of pure blood, sweat and tears.
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Owl House previously picked up awards for Best Animated Short Film and Best Animated Music Video at the 2024 New York Animation Film Awards for the Beautiful Scarecrow clip.
The idea behind the video is based around a situation where a highly contagious disfiguring disease has mysteriously appeared in a world dominated by a shady corporation, creating a forced separation between those who are infected and those who are not.
It follows an inventor, forced to hide behind a mask to shield his disfigurement from the society above ground. A victim of the contamination, who has only an old stuffed toy rabbit for company, he is fascinated by the world above and makes scavenging trips to the surface to gather artefacts of a world he cannot ever know, or be part of. One such trip leads to a fateful encounter with someone from his past and a great personal loss.
