What is the film about?

Kong Studio’s ‘Long Story Short’ series is about showing that truth can be stranger than fiction, and all told in the space of a single minute. The challenge, in this case, is the contrast between Shoichi Yokoi’s long lonely exile, and the film’s rapid running time.

What influenced it?

The film is firmly in the graphic design tradition. Inspiration came from British destination holiday posters of the 1930s and the motif of the traditional illustrated postcard and stamp. Julia Allum was also an influence on the design. Her work is beautiful, clear, precise graphic design based illustration. Simple but perfect geometric shapes create an instantly identifiable picture.

A little background information...

Kong Co-founder Bill Elliott said –

“I came across the so-called ‘Japanese holdouts’ – members of the Japanese Imperial Army who continued to fight or go into hiding until well after Japan’s surrender in 1945. Some of whom didn’t re-emerge for over thirty years. Their stories coincided with decades of technological advancement that would have been unthinkable to them.

I wanted to create a lightning-fast film referring to just how much the world had changed during their self-imposed isolation. From the baffling to the disposable, to the simply unimaginable.

Shoichi Yokoi was not the last ‘holdout’, but his story was certainly (marginally) less grim than others. He retained a sharp wit and went on to become a famous TV personality in Japan. The irony of telling his twenty-eight-year holdout in one minute was not lost on us.”

How was the film made?

Kong Co-Founder Bill Elliott took on the challenge to shrink the 28 years right down, using fast-paced match cuts to describe the progression of time. Rather than focusing on geopolitical events, he describes the changing world through new technology, obscure inventions and seminal moments in popular culture. We see these world events stripped down into single graphic, stamp-like ‘blink and you’ll miss them’ animations – postcards through time.

Fast-changing visuals usually mean a fast-paced script. Getting around all the major events in super quick time would need a person with a particular set of skills. This is where Beardyman, aka Darren Foreman, stepped in with his signature quick-fire delivery to squeeze the script into one minute flat.