Smith & Foulkes for PLATFORM

One of my favorite animation/direction duos, Smith & Foulkes (of Nexus Productions), has decided to jump on the stop-motion bandwagon in this title sequence for the first PLATFORM International Animaiton Festival.

I guess the reason I love Smith & Foulkes so much is because regardless of what medium they work in—stop-action, CG or cel animation—they manage to inject a healthy dose of fun into everything they do. I mean, this title sequence is essentially about following a box as it traverses the world, but in the hands of S&F it turns into a kooky series of unexpected happenings. The matryoshka effect was also a great way to add a little visual interest to what would have otherwise been one lonely little white box.

Some semi-technical details:

“Smith & Foulkes used a Canon Digital SLR camera linked up to a laptop allowing them to capture frames and play them back checking the shots as they went along. By shooting digitally Smith & Foulkes ended up with a much larger image size to work with when compared with the normal 35mm motion picture frame. These frames were then taken into After Effects and Photoshop for a clean-up where people and rigs from shots were removed. A final grade was then added in Flame.”

Smith & Foulkes will be talking about their work and influences at the festival this Saturday, June 30 from 11:30 am – 1pm in the Winningstad Theatre, Portland, Oregon. More about the PLATFORM International Animation Festival here.