Brand Spanking

Great quality short animation about the opening of a new privatised school. The school seems to resemble one of the new City Academies being introduced across London. The school is pasted with all sorts of corporate branding and sponsorship.

The story follows the escapades of one rebellious student and his rejection/denial of the subliminal marketing techniques of the corporations. The short seems to suggest that this is something that will inevitably happen. While of course this subject is a politically important issue and one that is very much in the public eye(at the time of writing), the tone of the piece is very cheeky and manages to pull it off superbly.

The film was made as the final project of students enrolled on the National Film and Television School's Masters of Arts postgraduates.

I saw this film a while back at the "Eat my shorts" film festival in London.

It was the film that stuck to the side of my face and wouldn't let go when I left the theatre.

The film portrayed life in an everyday school controlled by logos and brand names, a "manufactured" school if you like.

The "hero" of the story being a student who inadvertently brings down the corporation because he doesn't adhere to the trends and propaganda tactics of the brand names...

Great film, if I could see it again, I would without fail.