The 3D movie As The Sun Goes Down: A spellbinding fable exploring the fear of the dark
News . 20 Mar. 2025
As The Sun Goes Down, a short film directed by the 2023 graduating class of ESMA’s 3D Animation & Special Effects students, is inspired by children’s stories to explore the fear of the dark. This timeless feeling, rooted in each of us, is revealed through the eyes of a little rabbit. Between light and shadow, the audience is invited on a sensory and poetic journey where emotions come to life in a captivating game of opposites.
A Night Odyssey between Fear and Wonder
As the Sun Goes Down follows the adventures of Raff, a young rabbit who fears the dark more than anything else. To allay his fear, he captures fireflies and keeps them carefully as nightlights in his burrow. But when a mischievous bat takes possession of his precious lights, Raff has no choice but to face the darkness. In the depths of the night, his quest to find the fireflies leads him to encounter an enigmatic creature, capable of transforming these small lights into sparkling stars. During the course of this unexpected encounter, Raff will learn to perceive the night in a different way and to detect all its unexpected beauty.
Personified NighT : a poetic ode for young and old alike
To intensify the emotion and captivate the audience, the directors have brought the night to life in the form of an allegorical being. This enigmatic figure, who scatters fireflies across the sky to light up the stars, offers a comforting and poetic vision of darkness. Far from being frightening, she is revealed to be gentle and benevolent. As the Sun Goes Down weaves a story in which adults rediscover the echoes of their childhood memories, while younger viewers discover a soothing way to tame their fears. Carried by a range of emotions from fear to wonder, the film invites everyone on an inner journey, between imagination and reconciliation with the night.
A poetic and refined universe
One of the main challenges of the production was to divert the 3D modeling tools, designed for realism, in order to give life to a more expressive artistic vision. Rather than following the conventions of classic three-dimensional rendering, the students explored a more pictorial approach, pushing the limits of the software to shape an organic and stylized universe. The perspectives were deliberately altered, the forms simplified to the extreme and the light treated like a real narrative brush. This work on the image gives the film an immersive and poetic atmosphere, where each shot evokes a moving illustration.
Guided by the simplicity of the story, the students opted for a refined visual style, focusing on the essentials to better capture the emotion. Rather than multiplying the details, they relied on a subtle play of contrasts between shadow and light. The fireflies, sparkling in the darkness, become a symbolic thread, illuminating both Raff’s path and the emotions of the spectator. This minimalist approach intensifies the narrative power of the film, offering a sensory and immersive experience.
A project steeped in human values
More than just a technical challenge, the creation of As the Sun Goes Down was a profoundly human experience for the students. By collaborating on such an ambitious project, they learned to work as a team, to question their ideas and, at times, to put the collective interest before their personal ambitions. This group dynamic gave rise to a project in which artistic coherence is combined with the strength of unity, revealing the very essence of their shared commitment.
A creative team
This film is the result of the talent and dedication of Laurine Bocquet, Ilona Caucal, Inès Fechner, Jahnice Laurent, Sarah Robert, Emma Roussel and Kevin Vandenbeuck. Thanks to their meticulous work and unique artistic vision, they have created a work full of sensitivity and immersion, paying tribute to the poetic beauty and magic of the night. Congratulations to each member of the team for this remarkable achievement!
