Paper-cut 'shadow play' marionettes take you on a journey into yourself

GINGA KOGEN BEER – "A journey into yourself - with GINGA KOGEN BEER -"

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Production Company Taiyo Kikaku co. Ltd
Director Atsushi Makino

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Credits

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Production Company Taiyo Kikaku co. Ltd
Director Atsushi Makino
Editor Hidehisa Watanabe
Animation Director Takeshi Yashiro
Producer Masami Ouchi
Production Manager Mayumi Kawase
Production Manager Miria Noda
Art Department Takeshi Yashiro

Art Department Yoshihiro Nose
Art Department Izumi Nakane
Editor Tomoya Itabashi
Sound Designer Nanami Kubo
Music Chikara Uemizutaru

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Shadow puppetry has been a storytelling device for about as long as stories have been told, but with the tools and techniques at our disposal now, you might think there's no place for a few well-placed hands and some chopped up paper.

Thankfully, director Atsushi Makino and production company Taiyo Kikaku beg to differ, presenting us with a 2.5-minute silhouette odyssey created by three-dimensional objects, cloth, real liquids, and human hands (and a whole lot of clever framing).

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Above: Some behind the scenes picture of the team at work.

Telling the story of a man's reindeer-led trip after pouring a nice pint, A Journey Into Yourself becomes less about the narrative and more about the incredible way it's presented - the traditional technique mastered with numerous layered elements and the whole thing being given a dreamlike quality.

Impressive and entertaining in equal measure, this stunning animation puts paid to the thought that the new ways are always the best, and casts new light (or shadow) on one of the oldest tricks in the book.