Poster art by Greg Knight
More Praise for Riddle of the Black Cat
“Riddle of the Black Cat is very well written, beautifully designed,
and with an excellent sound and music track.
It is in the same class as the classic UPA Poe film The Tell-Tale Heart. A fine film.”
— Tom Smith, producer and former general manager of Industrial Light & Magic
“Nice!”
— Dennis Muren, senior visual effects supervisor, Academy Award–winner
and with an excellent sound and music track.
It is in the same class as the classic UPA Poe film The Tell-Tale Heart. A fine film.”
— Tom Smith, producer and former general manager of Industrial Light & Magic
“Nice!”
— Dennis Muren, senior visual effects supervisor, Academy Award–winner
The horrifying 150-year-old mystery of Edgar Allan Poe’s perverse masterpiece—solved at last!
Legendary detective C. Auguste Dupin matches wits with mastermind Prisoner X.
After several brutal crimes have been committed,
Dupin must reveal whether the perpetrator is an insane victim
of the supernatural—or a psychotic genius.
Elegant visuals and haunting melodies intertwine
to breathe new life into an eerie tale of rotting flesh.
Legendary detective C. Auguste Dupin matches wits with mastermind Prisoner X.
After several brutal crimes have been committed,
Dupin must reveal whether the perpetrator is an insane victim
of the supernatural—or a psychotic genius.
Elegant visuals and haunting melodies intertwine
to breathe new life into an eerie tale of rotting flesh.
Festivals and Exhibits
All art and poster art by Greg Knight
Riddle of the Black Cat, our animated short based on a classic Edgar Allan Poe tale--is now available as an enhanced eBook--and more!
A Poe Mystery, Solved?
June 2012
I was a teenage Poe nerd. For my Bar Mitzvah I was given a two-volume complete works of Poe, and read them cover to cover, enthralled by his command of horror and storytelling, his inventiveness. As an adult, I read many of his short stories several times. While painting and teaching in Paris, I lectured on “The Black Cat” and decided to really take the story apart word by word. In doing so, I realized that there was an intriguing game being played within the tale.
Years later, having transitioned from painting to writing, it occurred to me that this game might be illustrated as an animated short. On vacation in the Yucatan, I adapted Poe’s story into a rough script and storyboarded out the shots in crude thumbnail sketches. It was fun to visit, nearly everyday, the fantastic pyramids in the jungle and then, back at our rental, to write and draw. I’d call it Riddle of the Black Cat.
Back in the Bay Area, I felt that the artwork could be done with a number of key frame drawings—perhaps 50—enough to convey the mood and action without getting into cost prohibitive digital animation. The trick would be to find an exceptional artist who would be interested.
It turned out the artist I sought was taking the bus with me to work everyday. We both were commuting to Lucasfilm in San Francisco. Greg Knight was crazy enough to immediately share my vision. As he started, I asked Greg to be uninhibited—we weren’t making a photo-real film after all. We could do strange things. I gave Greg reference images from Murnau, Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc, Doré, and others. Greg was also inspired by Käthe Schmidt Kollwitz, for her passion and accuracy; more German expressionism; Van Gogh, for the environments, “twisting perspectives from an unstable mind,” as Greg says; as well as Frank Brangwyn and Edward Gorey.
I felt that we would be following in the footstep’s of UPA’s classic adaptation of Poe’s “A Tell Tale Heart.” I’d seen it in high school, back when we used to lug 16mm projectors to classrooms, and I’d been very impressed. Of course I grew up heavily influenced by the great Warner Bros. cartoons directed by Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Clampett, McKimson, and others. We didn’t do Disney in my family when I was a kid, but as an adult I marveled at the work of that studio’s masters, particularly Ub Iwerks’ early Silly Symphonies. I also love the work of Fleischer Studios: Some of their Superman cartoons are masterpieces—and the Betty Boop shorts with Cab Calloway are inspired lunacy and high art.
As the months went by, the hardest part of making Riddle of the Black Cat was waiting for Greg to have the time to work on our project—as 50 drawings became 250 shots—and it wasn’t exactly a paying venture. For a while, he went to work at ImageMovers Digital on A Christmas Carol and Mars Needs Moms, while I was writing The Making of the Empire Strikes Back and a couple of TV screenplays. But every now and then, for about two years, a wonderful thing would happen—I’d get an email with a zip file, which meant a batch of new, really exciting drawings.
Slowly I pieced them together into a rough cut using iMovie as we revised and revised and brainstormed. It was creeping forward, but at a certain point I realized I had to finish this thing or go insane. I took what was left from a writing project fee (I was putting my oldest through college, so…) and Greg somehow found the time to finish the artwork. I recently heard about kickstarter.com and immediately checked out their site
In the final stretch I hope to compensate for our lack of digitally rendered, pricey animation with good-old-fashioned storytelling, creative sound design, a few After Effects, and inspired voice work. Instead of dozens of crew, we have five besides Greg and myself: Chris Vibberts is doing the sound design, Foley, and score; Dave Sidley is the editor; and three voice actors. A talented and all local crew.
So far, a number of people have told me that the short is similar in conceit to La jetée, Chris Marker’s haunting short film made primarily with still photographs. We’ll see… My hope is that by re-interpreting Poe’s “The Black Cat” we’ll spark another generation to take a renewed interest in his writing. Someone (Gombrich?) once said that when a new artwork pays homage to an old one, it revives the whole lineage. I think that’s true and I think our short will send people back to view the UPA animation and all the artwork mentioned above.
And I hope we find an audience. If our work meets with our vision, we’ll see you at the Festivals…
June 2012
I was a teenage Poe nerd. For my Bar Mitzvah I was given a two-volume complete works of Poe, and read them cover to cover, enthralled by his command of horror and storytelling, his inventiveness. As an adult, I read many of his short stories several times. While painting and teaching in Paris, I lectured on “The Black Cat” and decided to really take the story apart word by word. In doing so, I realized that there was an intriguing game being played within the tale.
Years later, having transitioned from painting to writing, it occurred to me that this game might be illustrated as an animated short. On vacation in the Yucatan, I adapted Poe’s story into a rough script and storyboarded out the shots in crude thumbnail sketches. It was fun to visit, nearly everyday, the fantastic pyramids in the jungle and then, back at our rental, to write and draw. I’d call it Riddle of the Black Cat.
Back in the Bay Area, I felt that the artwork could be done with a number of key frame drawings—perhaps 50—enough to convey the mood and action without getting into cost prohibitive digital animation. The trick would be to find an exceptional artist who would be interested.
It turned out the artist I sought was taking the bus with me to work everyday. We both were commuting to Lucasfilm in San Francisco. Greg Knight was crazy enough to immediately share my vision. As he started, I asked Greg to be uninhibited—we weren’t making a photo-real film after all. We could do strange things. I gave Greg reference images from Murnau, Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc, Doré, and others. Greg was also inspired by Käthe Schmidt Kollwitz, for her passion and accuracy; more German expressionism; Van Gogh, for the environments, “twisting perspectives from an unstable mind,” as Greg says; as well as Frank Brangwyn and Edward Gorey.
I felt that we would be following in the footstep’s of UPA’s classic adaptation of Poe’s “A Tell Tale Heart.” I’d seen it in high school, back when we used to lug 16mm projectors to classrooms, and I’d been very impressed. Of course I grew up heavily influenced by the great Warner Bros. cartoons directed by Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Clampett, McKimson, and others. We didn’t do Disney in my family when I was a kid, but as an adult I marveled at the work of that studio’s masters, particularly Ub Iwerks’ early Silly Symphonies. I also love the work of Fleischer Studios: Some of their Superman cartoons are masterpieces—and the Betty Boop shorts with Cab Calloway are inspired lunacy and high art.
As the months went by, the hardest part of making Riddle of the Black Cat was waiting for Greg to have the time to work on our project—as 50 drawings became 250 shots—and it wasn’t exactly a paying venture. For a while, he went to work at ImageMovers Digital on A Christmas Carol and Mars Needs Moms, while I was writing The Making of the Empire Strikes Back and a couple of TV screenplays. But every now and then, for about two years, a wonderful thing would happen—I’d get an email with a zip file, which meant a batch of new, really exciting drawings.
Slowly I pieced them together into a rough cut using iMovie as we revised and revised and brainstormed. It was creeping forward, but at a certain point I realized I had to finish this thing or go insane. I took what was left from a writing project fee (I was putting my oldest through college, so…) and Greg somehow found the time to finish the artwork. I recently heard about kickstarter.com and immediately checked out their site
In the final stretch I hope to compensate for our lack of digitally rendered, pricey animation with good-old-fashioned storytelling, creative sound design, a few After Effects, and inspired voice work. Instead of dozens of crew, we have five besides Greg and myself: Chris Vibberts is doing the sound design, Foley, and score; Dave Sidley is the editor; and three voice actors. A talented and all local crew.
So far, a number of people have told me that the short is similar in conceit to La jetée, Chris Marker’s haunting short film made primarily with still photographs. We’ll see… My hope is that by re-interpreting Poe’s “The Black Cat” we’ll spark another generation to take a renewed interest in his writing. Someone (Gombrich?) once said that when a new artwork pays homage to an old one, it revives the whole lineage. I think that’s true and I think our short will send people back to view the UPA animation and all the artwork mentioned above.
And I hope we find an audience. If our work meets with our vision, we’ll see you at the Festivals…
Cast & Crew
Writer-Director: J. W. Rinzler
(as based on "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe)
Author of the The Making of Star Wars and The Complete Making of Indiana Jones, New York Times and London Times Bestsellers, J. W. Rinzler has also written for the Emmy award-winning animated TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. His adaptation of George Lucas’s rough draft of “The Star Wars” was awarded the Diamond Gem Award as Best Licensed Comic for 2013. He is currently writing a novel and working on a children's book with Greg Knight, which will be appearing soon.
Art: Greg Knight
At first, Greg Knight was involved on Riddle of the Black Cat as the set and character designer. As the mystery of the story took hold, he was soon contributing all the art for the short. During lunch breaks, long bus commutes, and early mornings, Greg merrily toiled on his images of mood, gore, and murder. In-between these sessions, Greg illustrates books and animated films, and art directs video games for companies such as Disney and Lucasfilm.
Editor: Dave Sidley
Dave graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in Film Production. Later he was drawn to 3D animation, which he taught himself at home, making an award-winning short called “One Lucky Night.” Dave worked at as animator at Industrial Light & Magic from1998 to 2007, and his film credits include the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. In 2007, Dave co-founded Lightstream Animation Studios, where he does everything from character rigging and animation to compositing and video editing.
Sound Design and Music: Chris Vibberts
Chris’s music has been featured in a number of award-winning short, documentary, animated, and feature films, as well as projects for ESPN, AAA, National Geographic, and Sector 9. He also currently writes, records, and performs with several rock, soul, country, and experimental bands, including Arann Harris and the Farm Band, Rose Logue, and Ragas to Riches. Besides composing and performing, Chris's expertise extends to producing other artists in his studio, sound design for film, and mixing. “This was a terrific project to work on. I spent many months pulling out oddball instruments like the ocean harp and zurna, coaxing disturbing sounds from cats, and re-creating a symphony orchestra in my studio.”
Producers: Lina Dhingra, Roger Christian, and J. W. Rinzler
Lina Dhingra, producer, and Academy Award-winner Roger Christian, producer, of karmaPRO Entertainment Group in Toronto and London, have created numerous international projects, including award-winning feature films and documentaries. Lina develops films from early funding, through production, and global marketing. Roger is widely recognized for his work as a director and art director and for his creative collaboration with directors such as George Lucas and Ridley Scott. His feature directing work includes an Academy Award for The Dollar Bottom. Lina and Roger will contribute their individual and collective expertise to Riddle of the Black Cat through the global release of the animated short.
Associate Producer: Geneviève Rinzler
Prisoner X: Tom Fiske
Tom Fiske is a voice actor based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has experience on the stage and in voiceover for commercial, narration, and video games. Tom’s favorite movie is The Sound of Music.
Dupin: Mark Barbolak
Mark Barbolak has helped bring life to a wide range of characters in computer games and products for Electronic Arts, LeapFrog, Telltale Games and others. He has also done voice over for national commercials and narration work on a number of commercial and industrial projects. Mark is also a lawyer, which especially attracted him to the dynamic role that C. Auguste Dupin plays in the film.
Defense Attorney/Judge: Brian Sommer
Bay Area native Brian Sommer has a decade of voice acting experience. He has voiced a wide variety of characters (from cute and cuddly to downright nasty) in nearly 100 video games. As an instructor, Brian shares his passion and knowledge of the craft with his students at Voicetrax, the well-known voice over academy in Sausalito, California
General Info
Running time: 9 minutes 33 seconds
Format: 16 x 9, color
Coproduction: USA-Canada
Running time: 9 minutes 33 seconds
Format: 16 x 9, color
Coproduction: USA-Canada
