Stop-motion stop living

This thought-provoking new campaign created for Palliative Care Queensland by Cocogun sees a dying man being ushered across the great divide with the help of a little air guitar and 'death metal' drumming. 

The campaign is centred around a stop-motion animation short, directed by Catherine Prowse through Rowdy, called The Cassette, which tells the story of a man who is visited by Death. Surprised that his time is almost up, the patient doesn't meekly bow out, but decides that he wants to go out on his own terms, with one last spin of his favourite tune, Pixies’ classic Here Comes Your Man. 

Cocogun co-founder and MD Chiquita King said, “We needed to approach the topic with the utmost sensitivity and respect, while challenging people’s reticence to talk about the inevitable. Stop-motion animation was a deliberate strategic and creative choice to ensure we captured a story that was relatable, heartwarming and provocative without being insensitive or too confronting. We believe the story we’ve told and the way we’ve told it, lands the message in a unique and memorable way that will have an important impact on the way we think about death as a society.”

The director commented: "It was a wonderful experience directing a film about such an important subject that touches everyone at some point during their lives. My approach was to heighten the emotion and add that human touch by creating a tactile, hand crafted feel across every element of puppet, prop and set design. I'm really proud of the minute attention to detail all the crew brought to the project, and I hope it adds an extra layer of depth to a beautiful story we're telling."