Already more cumbersome than digital techniques, Stop-Motion animation usually includes sets and characters that are designed to make subtle movements, so that filmmakers can capture the stall for the frame of minimal shifts. Directors Jack Cunningham and Nicolas Ménard, van Eastend Westernhave opted for the even more involved process of replacement animation for their recent project.
Made popular by George Rel in the 1930s and 40s, replacement animation includes creating distinctive models for every movement. Where Pal wooden characters used, however, Cunningham and Ménard opted for 3D-printed figures for their new anthology, Triple account.
Consisting of a trio films that are all under two minutes, the collection “three genres to investigate the atmospheric potential of technology,” say the directors. The first is ‘Blue Goose’, a western that mocks the current state of social media, with a huge cowboy image that leaves his mail at the gas station. To make the figure run over the set, eight unique models required.
The second two are labor -intensive in the same way. “Club Row” is a dizzying movie noir about data privacy with an endlessly rotating staircase, and “MyThacrylate” is a fantastic glimpse of the fights we have with ourselves.
As the photos below show behind the scenes, each model had to be cut, sanded and painted separately before they were placed exactly in position. Ménard told It’s nice that that elements such as lighting, sound and camera branches were particularly important to carry emotion Triple accountThose viewers envelops in a hypnotic criticism of technology and its effects.
Find more of Eastend Western on Vimeo. For a similar technique you can also enjoy these bears on the stairs.
