Contre temps is a beautifully designed and wonderfully realized short (8 minute) animated film that was the graduation project of a group of talented French animation students.

It uses 2-D backgrounds and 3-D animation that has been given a hand-drawn feeling.

Contretemps, when used as a single word, means an unexpected or inopportune event. When the two words are used separately in their original French, as they are in the title, they mean “against time”. Here, I think, both contexts are relevant.

The film has a website with a gallery of concept and production art. You can follow links on the Contacts page to the websites of the creators to see more — particularly matte painting and background design by Jérémi Boutelet and Tristan Menard.

[Via @parkaBlogs]