David O’Reilly: Please Say Something

Posted by Lauren Indovina

If you keep tabs on our Quickies, you saw fans of David O’Reilly’s “Please Say Something” pleading with us for a more detailed look at his amazing short film.

pss

Motionographer community, you’re right. It’s a brilliant piece of art, and we’re glad to hoist it up and interview the man himself.

Unlike Octocat (O’Reilly’s output under a teenage pseudonym), Please Say Something is a sinister story of love. Characters shuffle between states of consciousness, explore O’Reilly’s common theme of absent love, and live in a crudely rendered world that feels simultaneously empty and lush.

Doing what other people don’t is how O’Reilly rolls. Narrative risk-taking, boldness in aesthetic simplification, and self-imposed creative rules lead to epic creation. PSS is strange, insanely original, and some of the most authentic storytelling you’ll ever see.

Read our interview with David O’Reilly here.

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25 Comments

anamous

YES! To me personally, probably the most deserving front page entry… ever. needs more praise! :)

ocelot

amen.

waytogocowboy

I love pretty much everything I’ve seen from O’Reily and PSS just cements my appreciation more so.

dieLAMB

Amazing as always David!

Simon Robson

a writer for the next century

Simon Robson

…and to add, watching David O’Reilly’s work makes me feel i can be brave in my own work

mate

…watching David O’Reilly’s work makes me wonder where I took the wrong turn and ended up in advertising?

lindovina

so true, man. i quit this biz!

justin

Nicely put, Simon. There’s something very emboldening about David’s work. Makes me want to throw in the Motionographer towel and get to work on a film! ;-)

hoeveler

I don’t get it. Did I wake up in some alternate universe? Why is THIS heralded universally by the motionographer community as genius, and Psyop’s “Inferno” is overwhelmingly SLAMMED? I was waiting for it to get better…

(crickets chirping)

…or is it just ME?

mks43094

I agree. I liked the piece and the look (which was new to me so I found it unique), but I didn’t find the piece as a whole “groundbreaking,” “insanely original,” or the most “authentic storytelling” I’ll ever see.

lindovina

i know what you’re driving at, but putting inferno in the same sentence as PSS is like comparing obama to alaska- or something

i also interviewed the guys behind inferno. in each, the creators are coming from completely different ends of the creative spectrum, with one common thread- they created gripping stories

i believe the motionograher audience is to attracted to O’Reilly’s work for a few reasons, the most obvious being that PSS is truly the work of one artist, confining himself to his own mind to make something great. it takes a lot to believe in your vision and execute it the way O’Reilly does.

also- i’ll echo what simon wrote earlier- this ability to believe in your work gives others courage- courage by association

gattogermer

yes, it’s just you.

hoeveler

…Also, don’t think that I meant that I don’t “get” the story. But “insanely original… most authentic storytelling you’ll ever see?” I think you might want to read a book once in a while.

And as far as this “incredibly unique” style, hasn’t anyone heard of John Maeda?

It is just beginning to feel like it’s cool to crap on the bigger studios, but the more “underground” the better, regardless of content. If enough people say something’s “good”, then everyone’s supposed to agree? Emperor… clothes… get it?

DanielKing

You cant compare a book’s authenticity to a film’s.

lindovina

thank you.

again, that’s like comparing bruce springsteen to andy warhol

lindovina

you may be right- people will always route for the underdog. (Not that O’Reilly’s an underdog, he’s just not a big studio).

while your point about the emperor’s new clothes is interesting and often true in some circumstances, people that typically vote on these forums are visual artists, film makers, etc, and come with an onslaught of opinions. i doubt they are influenced by the voting system- they just like shit when it’s good shit

ocelot

i showed this to several people, some of which dont even have anything to do with graphic design, and they all LOVED it and in most cases it even sparked a discussion about it. everyone had their own interpretation of the story, found their own little details they fell in love with. thats what makes this for me truely groundbreaking.
its NOT about hating on the big boys, but when you bring up the pysop bashing, i think its mostly about people kind of wishing pysop would do the stuff they used to do way back, when they were releasing awesome clips with silhouettes, npr and playing with negative space, etc.etc. these days seemingly all they release is polished good cg.. which is fine and dandy.. but which surely wont get anyone really talking or excited.

lindovina

agreed. i, too, showed this to several “non-visual” people- people who’s only understanding of animation is Disney and Pixar. even with this limited animation understanding, they loved it. just goes to show you how universal great storytelling is.

hoeveler

Well, thanks for the conversation. I guess I was just surprised by the initial comment of ‘no, it’s just you’. Which I think is never a healthy attitude in a forum of artists.

Cheers, mates.

hoeveler

Oh… and one more thing before I take your collective kick in the ass on the way out the door… I think it is also a healthy artistic exercise to compare everything to everything.

lindovina

comparing everything to everything will lead you to madness, friend ;)

hoeveler

You say that like it’s a bad thing. Madness is nothing but lucidity mixed with fear and lack of logical thinking. Add logic, remove the fear, and you have something magical. Understanding THAT will lead you through some incredibly inspiring creative journeys. The likes of which inspire the creation of such unique perspectives as “Please Say Something”.

lindovina

yea, you’re right. mixtures of mayhem and lucidity will make magic (or mess). but we weren’t talking about mixing pss with inferno, the conversation was more comparative, and i was saying it’s impossible to compare the two. now, if you mixed them, that would be interesting (and probably completely sick).

anyhoot, great point though about removing the fear from madness regarding creation. pretty neat idea.

lindovina

i just want to say to everyone here, great conversation. and thanks to david for not only creating something great, but something that encourages people to engage and debate

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