A bird's eye view of Tobias Eckerlin's YDA win

Have you always wanted to be a director? What has your directing journey been like so far?

I think it was probably there subconsciously, but for a long time it was nothing I actively thought about. When I made my first live-action films during my Communication Design studies, it was simply about making films and learning the craft, without really thinking about roles. 

Over several years, I learned and worked across different disciplines: photography, cinematography, VFX, and CGI. But throughout that time, I always had the desire to create projects I truly believed in that reflected my vision and values. 

 I love finding solutions together, working towards a shared vision, and pushing one another to achieve the best possible result.

I started to consciously pursue directing when I joined Filmakademie. The first project I co-directed there was also the first time I had worked with a larger team I had never worked with before. It was an incredible learning experience and an important step in my journey. After working on several other projects as an artist, I realised that directing was what brought me the most joy and where I felt I could contribute the most. 

It’s not only about bringing ideas to life, but also about collaborating with a team of people who are experts in their fields. It also forces you to constantly step out of your comfort zone and face new challenges. I love finding solutions together, working towards a shared vision, and pushing one another to achieve the best possible result. 

That was the moment when I really knew that directing was the path I wanted to pursue, and I started working on A Sparrow’s Song.

What does it mean to you to win a YDA?

It means a lot to me! Winning a YDA is a fantastic recognition. It gives you that extra boost of confidence that you're on the right path. Thank you, YDA!

I kept coming back to an illustration of a dead bird that had been hanging above my desk for years.

Above: Director Tobias Eckerlin, whose film A Sparrow's Song won a YDA Gold in the Film School category. 

How did the concept for A Sparrow's Song evolve? How did the idea first come to you?

At the beginning, I went through all the notes and collections I had gathered over the years. During that process, I kept coming back to an illustration of a dead bird that had been hanging above my desk for years.

That might sound morbid, but it's a very melancholic and poetic image that inspired me. I started researching the symbolism of birds and came across a small article about Clare Kipps and Clarence the Sparrow - the real-life figures behind the film.

 Feathers and wing folding are among the most complex things to create in animation.

I was immediately fascinated and wanted to learn more because I couldn't believe it was a true story. I ordered Clare Kipps' diary from an antique shop in London and read it. It affected me deeply on multiple levels, and it became clear that I wanted to turn it into a film.

Research remained an important part of our process, especially when it came to recreating the historical setting. Once the script was written, the animatic became a crucial step in shaping the film, from pacing and sound to the overall visual language.

Can you walk us through the technical side of the animation and production

The production took around three years, with approximately two years of hands-on production. Our core team consisted of six people: Vincent Maurer (Lead Technical Director), Elias Weber (Lead Character Artist), Lilli-Luisa Heckmann and Jiro Magracia (Lead Animators), Rebecca Liebelt (Lead Groom & Feathers), and myself. This core team accompanied the project throughout production. Depending on the production stage, more or fewer artists joined the team.

The production followed a classic pipeline. We started with the beat board and animatic. At the same time, we developed the concept art. Based on the animatic, we created the layout and started modelling, texturing, shading, and rigging the characters and props. In parallel, the music was composed, which was also important for the animation. The entire film was animated by hand, without any motion capture. Overall, no generative AI was used.

Conceptually, the sound design represents the war, while the music represents life. The relationship between the two was carefully balanced.

After animation, we moved into lighting and compositing, where a large part of the look and atmosphere was created. The final stages included grading and mastering. In addition to the standard version, we created a Dolby Vision HDR version. The sound mix was delivered in Dolby Atmos.

In total, we had 72 shots, multiple locations, a large number of characters, and the sparrow. Feathers and wing folding are among the most complex things to create in animation. But we had an absolutely fantastic team that solved these challenges. More details about our workflow can be found online in making-ofs and interviews. 

As there’s no dialogue, the story is told as much by the soundtrack as the imagery. How did you go about developing the music along with the story?

Music and sound design were incredibly important elements, and we started working on both early in the process. The music was composed and performed by Dominique Girod, while the sound design was created by Marc Uhlherr.

As soon as we had the first version of the animatic, Dominique started working on the music. The first piece she wrote was for the very important scene where the widow and the sparrow play piano together for the first time. This became the foundation for the score.

One of the biggest challenges for me was convincing people that the project was actually achievable, because it was quite ambitious in scope.

We spent quite some time finding the right sound for the sparrow, as its voice is both sound design and music at the same time. We mainly used recordings of a linnet mixed with sparrow sounds, slightly offset from the music to keep it feeling natural.

Conceptually, the sound design represents the war, while the music represents life. The relationship between the two was carefully balanced. As a starting point, we used the temporary sound design from the animatic. Marc worked together with Vladyslava Kandyba to record Foleys and did an incredible job creating the atmosphere and all the small details that make the world feel believable. 

Did you come across any unexpected challenges or lessons?

The project came with quite a few challenges, not only from a technical perspective but also from a director’s point of view.

One of the biggest challenges for me was convincing people that the project was actually achievable, because it was quite ambitious in scope. Since I was in the project-based studies at Filmakademie (a shorter 2.5-year program, plus an additional year to complete the project), I didn’t have much time to build a network within the school before starting production. Because of that, it took me a while and many pitches to build a team.

In the end, a motivated team can achieve incredible things, even when a project seems impossible.

One of the biggest lessons here was the importance of patience, persistence, and understanding what your team needs. Especially in student productions, nobody is obliged to work on your film, so a lot depends on what you can offer, the trust you build, and how you treat the people around you.

You have to be able to motivate, take responsibility, and truly believe in the project. At the same time, it was also an unexpected but wonderful moment when we reached the turning point and the project gained momentum. The team found its flow and started to feel like a single organism, with a lot of excitement and motivation. In the end, a motivated team can achieve incredible things, even when a project seems impossible.