The Tree Officer

A worthy winner of the 2004 Jim Poole award for short film, this claymation study of a man stuck in the wrong job is highly entertaining. Shot in a documentary style reminiscent of The Office - although with much more likeable characters - it traces a day in the life of Gary Dremmel.

He is the local council officer tasked with the care and removal, where necessary, of the trees in the area. Trouble is, he's rather fond of them. This is a beautifully crafted slice of office life, with Gary's colleague Avril ("she's quite often punctual") who has a static charge which shorts out electrical equipment a particular gem.

Full of excellent one-liners and wry observations ("Titchmarsh is a very clever man... but so was Hitler"), the animation style mirrors the dishevelled and harassed feeling of the action perfectly. Let's hope Neil Jack gets a budget for something a bit longer next time.