Watch This: Eric Power's 'The Inventor'

Eric Power (aka Eric PowerUp) is an independent animator whose work we have been following for some time now. He first came to our attention when he made the adult animated samurai action feature Path of Blood, and we've been following his work ever since. Using a form of stop-motion "cut-out" paper animation, his work has a unique style we can't get enough of.  Recently he has been trying to get a new animated feature off the ground, and has completed a scene as proof of concept, in the hopes of attracting funding for the full-length film.

Unlike Path of Blood,  the new project The Inventor is a family film. It features a plucky young girl named Amira who escapes from an orphanage. She lands on her feet and manages to get a job with the eccentric, eponymous Inventor, assisting him preparing his flying machine for an upcoming race.


Power will be the animator and director on the project while Andreas Peterson will provide the screenplay. Independent musician John Dixon is on board as composer and sound designer.

"I've been wanting to make this film for some time.  Last year I created a short teaser for it, which showcases part of a scene that takes place a bit before the one I just released", Eric tells AFA. "I had been in talks with various producers since I released that clip and eventually it has led to the funding of this scene.  The hope is to take it to various studios or investors in order to find the funds to finish."



The scene gives us a taste what seems like it will be an incredibly charming adventure, with a plucky young female lead  Hayao Miyazaki would be proud of. Check it out, below.


The Inventor - Flight Scene from Eric Power on Vimeo.

The scene took 2 months to produce. Eric documented its production in a series of video diaries. "The idea is to make the film out in the open." he explained, " I plan on making frequent production diaries, live animating, etc during the making of the film.  These diaries were sort of like a practice round to see how production would flow.  Basically, I wanted to test out what it would feel like to work on the film proper and also be able to release behind the scenes on a regular basis". So not only is the film itself something to keep an eye on, it looks like it will be a unique opportunity to really see it take shape. Check out the first video diary here.

We really hope that this comes to fruition as it really looks like it could be something special.

Visit Eric's Website for more and follow him on Twitter to keep up with the movie's progress!