UNL scholars and professors worked remotely to create new animated film
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A group of UNL scholars and professors worked remotely to create a new animated film that will be released next week.
The movie called “The Bell Affair” was created by Salt Marsh Productions, which was started by Michael Burton, Kwakiutl Dreher and William Thomas.
The film will premiere at a free screening at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center on Sept. 21. Tickets are available at the Ross’ box office.
The movie follows the story of Daniel and Mary Bell, slaves in Maryland, as they fight for their freedom using the court system.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, UNL students, graduates and faculty collaborated remotely across the country to produce the film.
Actors filmed themselves in their own homes and then editors used rotoscoping to animate the scenes in post-production.
“I realized that we weren’t going to be able to get 40 actors, plus crew, into the studio over two weeks at the beginning of the pandemic,” Burton said. “We produced this much differently than we anticipated or planned.”
You can read more about “The Bell Affair” here.
