DeadFish | Short Film

Dead Fish is a short film I finished while in attendance at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. I started the project as a storyboarding exercise in fall 2022 but finished it spring 2024 as my thesis film.
It focuses on the frantic shift of a butcher working in a busy fish market as he faces increasingly distressing orders in his workplace.

Audio
Bees Buzzing. Sound Effects Pro
Kitchen Ambience. Free Audio Zone
Water Splash. Kensound FX
Heart Beat. Soundious

[Manwoker]

I liked how no one else there thought anything was off - while I know its probably just a moment of 'it's all in their head' I like to think of those times where you wonder how everyone else doesn't see what you see.

[fruitcakerambler]

I kept expecting the sting ray and the fish to go back to normal, like the person was going crazy, but they never did. Creepy!

[BloomBlanche]

I once had a dream that I had to move a fish from one aquarium to another by carrying it in my hand. Then, I zoned out a little and accidentally took a bite out of the fish. I felt incredibly guilty and didn't want the fish to suffer any further, so I panicked and continued taking bites until I ate it completely.

This animation reminds me a lot of that dream. It's amazing, the way it evoked the same emotions that I felt.

[HG_Creates]

This is a really cool concept, I can see it being an RPG horror game where the delusion gets worse and worse

[Silver-Rexy]

You're telling me I can go there and buy a whole Seaman? Incredible, truly a market that caters to my needs.

[guacdahuman]

The faces of the fishes reminded me of that indie game where a fishermen is fishing from a boat, and as the game progresses they can see faces and even whole humanoid bodies in the fishes as it gets put on the hook. Really cool stuff!

[SentinelSurge]

For some reason this artstyle is reminding me of the indie game called, "Dead Plate".

[LamplightProductions]

The line boil really adds to the sense of anxiety and panic, even, and perhaps especially, when the main character isn't doing anything.

[snailsnip]

I love how unexplained this is. People have already mentioned how the fish never go "back to normal", but you'd at least expect the butcher to try to get his coworkers to react, except he never does, either. Does he not want to be seen as "crazy", or is what he's seeing exactly the same as what everyone else sees? If so, why is he so shocked? There's so many questions to ask, and each answer you can come up with contradicts another one.

[faebunnix]

This short really reminds me of the game “Mourning Tide” with like the same premise as this !! You could really feel the horror through the screen as the hallucinations got more and more vivid !! THIS IS SO COOL AHHH i just love concepts like this really great work !!

[regi]

ohhhh you cooked with this one . the main character's design differing from everyone else just to further show his inner guilt and anxiety in every single shot was an amazing move. priceless work, this deserves an award from me personally.

[creisoldacc]

I want to give the main character a hug, they seem like they desperately need it!! :(

[DustBunny]

This is so uneasy feeling, the color and animation is fantastic! I love the design of our "main character" so to speak, but the fact that what they're seeing doesn't go away when they look away and look back feels so _wrong_ but in a good way, it feels like these weird things with these fish could very well be what they actually look like, but only from the reaction of others does it make us second guess ourself, maybe these fish really are _normal, _ maybe _we're_ seeing things.

[RlsForRyan]

I actually like this a lot. Portrayal of true fear of having to face slicing/butchering something to turn into EDIBLE eats! Can be PRETTY unnerving!

[averagecupoftea]

THE SHORT FILM IS AMAZING OH MY DAYS :DDDD I love how smooth the animation is and the stingray and the fish really gave me the shivers!! I can feel the discomfort of the butcher when he cut up the stingray and fish, great work Rix!!❤❤❤

[U_]

めっちゃ好き。
環境音とガヤの声と…言葉が無いのに伝わる冷たさが良き良き。

[flameheart]

I did not expect to be so freaked out by fish today.

[sjfjdhg]

OHHHH I LOVE THIS SOSO MUCH this actually in some parts was so satisfying to watch i adore the way you in general draw meat food, etc.. and the horror here is illustrated so well the face fish's movements and design were so disturbing i love it

[gilbertgooseyy]

as someone who used to experience hallucanations, the anxiety i felt through watching this was real. peak horror.

[TwnkleMeow]

This seems like a play on how animals have feelings. Because he was hesitant the moment they became 'alive' and how the fish with the humanoid face looked like it was in pain.