The Lost Seahorse is a stop-motion short film set in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. It tells the story of a white seahorse that struggles to blend in amidst a colourful coral reef. When an anchor hits the reef, the seahorse is swept far from home and must survive the dangerous return journey. Along the way, he encounters fearsome predators, cleverly camouflaged creatures, mysterious garbage and a mangled fishing net. When the seahorse returns home with new knowledge, he finds that the reef has changed, and his world will never be the same.

This film is for anyone who has felt excluded for being different. But it is also a story that reminds us to reflect on the ecological damage we have inflicted on our oceans. All of the locations and characters seen in The Lost Seahorse are inspired by real creatures and places in the Bird’s Head Seascape. Everything from the scales on each fish, to the individual strands of seaweed, is meticulously fabricated by hand and brought to life one frame at a time through stop-motion animation. By far, this is the most ambitious project we have ever set out to create.

I grew up near the ocean, and spent my childhood exploring its tide pools and shallows waters, drawing the creatures that I saw. I had a tape camera and would make little animated films filled with strange creatures, based on the ones I’d observed. This was the start of a lifelong passion for filmmaking, puppetry and animation. 

The Lost Seahorse has given me the opportunity to tell a universal story in a new and unique way. While the film is about one small creature struggling to fit in, it is set in front of a much larger backdrop of ecological change. My hope is that this film will take audiences on a journey through a striking underwater world, and along the way, remind them of the beauty and importance of our oceans and the creatures that inhabit them. 

The SEA People is a small organization based in Raja Ampat, Indonesia, where The Lost Seahorse takes place. They work to restore and protect coral reefs, establish a sustainable tourism industry and support the local communities. Our goal with The Lost Seahorse is to raise environmental awareness. But now that we’ve partnered with The SEA People, we can do more than raise awareness. With your help, we can take action and create positive change.

That is why we are donating 25% of EVERY donation to The SEA People. These donations will go towards restoring a reef in Raja Ampat and supporting the local communities. If we reach our crowdfunding goal, we will be able to restore up to 100 square metres of coral reef in the most biodiverse ecosystem on the planet. 

(Photo Courtesy of The SEA People)

40% of this donation to The SEA People will go directly towards the livelihoods of the local communities. In addition, The SEA People will be constructing a reef structure in the shape of a seahorse on our behalf. Over time, this structure will be colonized by corals and provide a home for thousands of marine species, including over 1,300 species of fish, 5 species of sea turtle and 13 marine mammal species. Donors will receive regular photo updates from The SEA People who will document the growth of this reef. Your donations will truly make a lasting difference.

For more information about The SEA People, please visit their website: www.theseapeople.org. The footage in our video is courtesy of The SEA People and FEROXED Naturally Wild Films: http://feroxed.com/. 

We started The Lost Seahorse in August 2020, and we have shot half of the film so far. But there is still a long way to go. Our budget consists of the regular expenses of making a film, such as camera equipment rentals, production design, set dressing, editing equipment, transportation and craft services costs. However, expenses for making a stop-motion film also include puppet materials (armature wire, sculpting materials, silicone, paints, etc.), motion-control systems, rigs and winders for animation, and VFX costs. 

The Lost Seahorse is a student thesis film, primarily funded out-of-pocket. Here is our financial breakdown:

Director and Producer Savings: $6,000

Sponsorship: $2,500

Indiegogo: $4,500

Total Budget: $13,000

Indiegogo Donations to The SEA People: $1,500

We have our most complex and challenging scenes ahead of us – the scenes with the coral reef. Our art department and puppet department are going to need more materials to build this coral reef and fabricate the sea creatures that live in the reef. That is why we need your help.

By donating to our project, you are helping us tell this important story. Your contributions will go towards the construction of our remaining underwater environments and the unique sea creatures that inhabit them. Your donations will also go towards helping restore a real coral reef, in the same location where our story takes place. The SEA People will receive 25% of your donation and use it to restore up to 100 square metres of coral reef. If you like the sound of our project, or if you want to make a lasting positive impact on our oceans, or if you just really like stop-motion filmmaking, please consider donating to The Lost Seahorse’s Indiegogo.

There are other perks to donating too! From our digital film poster, to a hand-drawn storyboard panel, to an original hand-drawn piece of concept art, there is so much to choose from. We have a perk where your name is entered into a raffle for the chance to win one of the GARDEN EEL puppets. Our ultimate perk is the opportunity to receive an ORIGINAL SEAHORSE PUPPET used in the film! Please check out the respective perks on the right for more details and select the one that interests you.  

We want to introduce you to the key creatives behind The Lost Seahorse:

Benjamin Fieschi-Rose: Writer / Director / Character Designer

Benjamin Fieschi-Rose is a filmmaker, creature designer and visual artist from Vancouver, B.C. He is studying both Film Studies and Design for Arts and Entertainment at Ryerson University. Ben spent his childhood exploring the ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest, and his passion for the natural world finds its way into much of his creative work. He won “Best Picture” at the Vancouver Student Film Festival for his directorial work, The Animals in that Country (2017). He was a featured artist in Kaleidoscope Magazine and in the Ryerson Art in Colour exhibition in 2018. As the Character Designer on The Lost Seahorse, Ben oversees and participates in the design, mold-making, casting, painting and fabrication process of every puppet made for the production.

Kirsten Brass: Writer / Producer

Kirsten Brass is a film producer, director and writer from Toronto, Ontario. She is currently completing her BFA in Film Studies at Ryerson University. Kirsten’s films are often full of magical elements or creatures of the unknown. She frequently works with child actors, animals, and many kinds of puppets. She was awarded the Jack Kuper Film Award from the university for demonstrating creative potential and ingenuity in film production and writing for film. Her short film Monster (2021) recently won “Best Voice Over Performance” at the Acting Awards Festival.

Akash Jones: Director of Animation

Akash Jones is a filmmaker and animator currently studying at Ryerson University. He loves communicating stories through the animation of inanimate objects. Akash animates and directs videos for his YouTube channel, Akash Lego Productions, that has amassed over 124 million views and 190 thousand subscribers. His recent works include animating for the hit Amazon Prime TV show, The Boys, and animating for Stoopid Buddy Stoodios on their upcoming show, Ultra City Smiths.

Emily DeBackere: Director of Photography

Emily DeBackere is a cinematographer and director studying at Ryerson University. Her focus outside of school consists of assistant camera work on music videos and commercials. She enjoys working with analogue film and other technical aspects in camera and lighting. She believes that good storytelling goes hand-in-hand with strong visual aesthetics.

Amelia Blaine: Puppet Fabricator and Armaturist

Amelia Blaine is a puppeteer, prop-maker, designer and stage-manager from Toronto. She is a recent graduate of the Ryerson School of Performance for Production and Design. Some recent film credits include the music video La Cumbia Del Oso (2020) by The Pazific as the Puppet Designer and Lead Puppeteer, the short film Monster (2021) as a Puppet Builder, and the short film Fish Out of Water (2019) as the Principal Puppeteer. Amelia loves art that makes you believe in magic.

Olivia Weatherall: Production Designer

Olivia Weatherall is a production designer and art director based out of Toronto. From a young age, Olivia developed a passion for storytelling through books, art and film which she is currently pursuing through a BFA in Film Studies at Ryerson University. Olivia is passionate about designing sets with a purpose and that contribute to telling a meaningful story.

Justin Smith: Art Director

Justin Smith is a filmmaker who specializes in production design and art direction. Justin has attended both Wilfrid Laurier University and Ryerson University for film production. Throughout his undergraduate career, Justin has worked within a wide variety of styles and has created numerous sets for fiction films, music videos and documentaries. His passion for art has led him to enrol in professional drafting and design courses. 

Arnaud Weissenburger: Editor

Arnaud Weissenburger is a fourth year Ryerson Film Studies student. Since a young age, he has participated in numerous projects in order to specialize in directing for screen, as well as being trained in video and audio post-production. His first short film The Explanation (2013) received a local television station award for “Best Youth Production”. Arnaud has directed and worked on over a dozen short films and commercial projects. Paris, Ontario is his latest directorial work, and The Lost Seahorse is his latest project as a video editor.

Joseph Procopio: Post-Production Supervisor

Joseph Procopio’s film works have screened at over 100+ film festivals and have won over 45+ awards. eHero (2018) is his directorial feature film debut, which received the “Next Generation Award” at the Rhode Island International Film Festival along with “Best First Feature” at the Worldfest Houston Film Festival. Joseph is currently in development on three feature films and a mini-series. He lives in Los Angeles, California, and is finishing his undergrad in Film Studies at Ryerson University.

Andrew Barton: VFX Supervisor

Andrew Barton graduated from Ryerson University in 2019 with a major in Film Studies. He is the Visual Effects Supervisor and Lead Artist for The Lost Seahorse. He also enjoys working as an editor, photographer (for weddings, events and film festivals) and producing video advertisements for businesses.

Luis Miguel Gomez: Composer

Luis Miguel Gomez is a composer and musician from Barcelona, Spain. He has trained as a guitarist since a very young age, as well as developed his own composition of flamenco guitar songs. He has performed in places such as the Palau de la Música in Barcelona, Teatro Poliorama, Harlem Café or El Molino (all in Barcelona), as well as in Italy, Kuwait, Montenegro, Paris and various theatres within Spanish territory. His investment in other musical and instrumental styles led him to form the Inquiethalma Trio, a Trio of Spanish guitar, electric guitar and percussion.

Harrison Clark: Marketing Director

Harrison Clark is an artist and filmmaker studying film at Ryerson University. Harrison is a content partner for Neverthink.TV and creates comedic content on YouTube, which has generated over 15 million views. In early 2020, Harrison became a contributing editor for the artist collective “Everything is Terrible!”. His goal for The Lost Seahorse is to showcase this film to as many people as possible.

On behalf of everyone working on The Lost Seahorse, we want to thank you for donating to this project. We have never created anything like this before, and your support means so much. If you are not able to donate, that’s okay, sharing this page on social media is also much appreciated. You will be spreading the word of our project and this campaign. Thank you so much, and we can’t wait to show you The Lost Seahorse when it is ready for the big screen!

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