Documentary CHICAGO 10 explores the trial of 10 protesters at the 1968 Chicago Democratic National Convention, combining archival footage and motion-capture animation for a unique look.
It hits select theaters in California, Illinois, New York, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. this Friday. It will also show in Colorado, Maryland, Oregon, Texas and other states starting March 14. Go to www.roadsideattractions.com for release cities and theater locations.
Director Brett Morgen's provocative and controversial anti-war documentary bears the distinctive stamp of Curious Pictures.
The New York-based mixed media and animation studio contributed almost 30 minutes of motion capture animation for the film, which relies on these segments to recreate the documentary's courtroom scenes.
The documentary explores the trial of protesters Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, Bobby Seale and others who were arrested at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and charged with conspiracy.
While there was a surplus of archival materials about this seminal period in American history, cameras were not allowed into the trial courtroom at the time, creating a major creative obstacle.
In press interviews, Morgen explained that conducting on-camera interviews to re-create the courtroom scenes wouldn't fit the non-traditional approach he wanted to take for the narrative.
The only other option seemed to be dramatic reenactments, but Morgen dismissed the idea, feeling that the physical differences between the participants and the actors portraying them would be jarring.
"Then one day I read a quote from Jerry Rubin where he described the trial as a 'cartoon show,'" Morgen said. "It was so obvious. By animating the trial, I would not only avoid cliches, I would be able to make a statement about the circus-like nature of the courtroom."
"Brett came to us with this challenging opportunity; to accurately recreate this seminal event, using animation to portray well-known historical figures," said Curious Pictures partner Richard Winkler, who served as executive producer on the project. "On top of that, this was going to end up as the narrative spine of the film. The hybrid mo-cap and animated process we developed enabled us to accomplish that."
The Curious team, led by Lewis Kofsky, partner and director of computer graphics and visual effects, used innovative motion capture techniques coupled with proprietary animation systems to produce scenes that have the look of a three-dimensional graphic novel come to life.
Kofsky and his animators and programmers worked closely with the director to create the overall look of the animated sequences.
"We started with a lot of archival footage of the characters, and utilized a combination of techniques in order to create a very unique, handcrafted animation style that brings many of the human subtleties of these people to life," Kofsky said. "At the same time, because it's animation, it preserves the image of their larger-than-life personas and makes them more into heroes than merely historical figures."
Working from a script based on actual court transcripts, Morgen and the Curious team not only animated courtroom scenes, but also animated a series of phone calls between Abbie Hoffman and New York disc jockey Bob Fass, as well as a number of Hoffman's stand-up nightclub monologues.
CHICAGO 10 is being released by Roadside Attractions and presented by River Road Entertainment and Participant Productions.
It was produced by Morgen and Graydon Carter, with executive producers Bill Pohlad, Laura Bickford, Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann, Peter Schlessel and Ricky Strauss.
The film opened the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, and was only the second documentary to do so in its 30-year history.
