Meanwhile, in Another Part of the Forest

My newest micro-mini film is finished! In an earlier post I documented the making of the costume and the transformation of Eric Generic into Shakespeare; now on to the actual film.

I love "A Midsummer Night's Dream", but always felt you needed a scorecard to keep track of the four story threads. In this film, Shakespeare attempts to make sense of the comings and goings in one of the threads, and contemplates how to ensure a happy ending. All that in a minute-and-a-half mixed-media animated comedy.

I'm pretty pleased with the stop-motion aspects of this film, and instead of using greenscreen went with building a set. I wanted atmospheric lighting (which can be tricky with stop motion). Here's an early test-shot of the set with Will:

That's an actual mini oil lamp, lit!

In the finished film, it would be much darker and more Rembrandt-y, which is what I wanted:

It took about a week of tests to get the lighting just right. Frustrating, but enlightening (pun? What pun?). Lots of strange fixtures, indirect setups, coloured bulbs and, of course, an actual lit mini oil lamp (which I've had sitting around doing nothing for years. First rule of independent filmmaking - never throw anything out that might remotely be useful in the future). That was a brilliant move, as the flame barely flickered - just enough to give an interesting feel to the scene and, unlike a candle, wouldn't burn down rapidly in stop motion (although that's fun to do, too).

More stills:

The opening shot features some other "familiar faces" and establishes the Shakespeare character.

The key to a happy ending!

He writes!

And here is the finished film. Hold on to your hats.


Meanwhile in Another Part of the Forest from Deborah Ethier on Vimeo.