The Legend of the Scarecrow

The Legend of the Scarecrow from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.

In my recent travels through the world wide web, I came across The Legend of the Scarecrow.  It is a short animated film about the life of a lone scarecrow.  Although it is in a language that I cannot understand a single word of, it was because of this film that I was reminded that design need not be only in English.  In the overall scheme of things, design is a universal language.

Carlos Lascano, the creator of this short film, is a multi-faceted artist who has successfully combined several different forms of art and come out with his own techniques and styles that are amazing to view.  Through the combined use of animation, vivid facial expressions, music, and an expressive narrator, The Legend of the Scarecrow was born.  In my own personal experience, the narration remains a mystery to me, but the other elements of his film tell a great story.  The life of the scarecrow is shown in vivid detail.  It's despair at the obvious hostility and fear that the birds have for him serve as a great starting point for this story.  As the time passes, you begin to understand why the birds have such reservations for him.  Lascanos is able to portray this in the scene with the fallen bird.  Using images of a ferocious scarecrow, it is implicit that this is the view in which the birds have of him.  This feeling of negativity is furthered when the citizens of the town gather to destroy the demonic scarecrow.  Ultimately, the scarecrow is torn down, but his death is only a thorn in his side in comparison to the scarecrows own personal devastation.  His want to be wanted is agonizing and only in his death does it seem that he may be missed.

Lascano's ability to deliver such a heartfelt story in this finite amount of time is a great feat.  Through his images, I was able to comprehend the subtle changes in the scarecrow as time passed.  The narration was there, but it was not necessary.  It was a language in which I could see and understand.

To view more of Carlos Lascano's work, go to http://www.carloslascano.com/carloslascano/works.html