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A Trio of Stop-Motion Shorts Utilize an Involved 3D-Printing Technique

12 Mar, 2025

This post was originally published on Colossal

Already more intricate than digital techniques, stop-motion animation typically involves sets and characters designed to make subtle movements so that filmmakers can capture minute shifts frame by frame. Directors Jack Cunningham and Nicolas Ménard, of Eastend Western, have chosen the even more involved process of replacement animation for their recent project.

Popularized by George Pal in the 1930s and ’40s, replacement animation involves creating distinctive models for each movement. Where Pal used wooden characters, though, Cunningham and Ménard opted for 3D-printed figures for their new anthology, TRIPLE BILL.

Comprising a trio of films all under two minutes, the collection spans “three genres to survey the atmospheric potential of the technique,” the directors say. The first is “BLUE GOOSE,” a western mocking the current state of social media, that features an enormous cowboy statue that leaves his post at the gas station. Just to have the figure walk across the set required eight unique models.

The second two are similarly labor-intensive. “CLUB ROW” is a dizzying film noir about data privacy featuring an endlessly spinning staircase, and “MYTHACRYLATE” is a fantastic glimpse at the battles we have with ourselves.

As the behind-the-scenes photos below show, each model had to be cut, sanded, and painted individually before being precisely placed in position. Ménard told It’s Nice That that elements like lighting, sound, and camera angles were particularly important to help convey emotion in TRIPLE BILL, which envelops viewers in a hypnotic critique of technology and its effects.

Find more from Eastend Western on Vimeo. For a similar technique, you also might enjoy these bears on stairs.

a behind the scenes image of several red cowboys at various stages of the walking process
Behind-the-scenes
a behind the scenes image of three women at various stages of the walking process as they move down a staircase
Behind-the-scenes
a hand airbrushing a giant red cowboy
Behind-the-scenes
several women in armor with swords fight against an orange backdrop
Behind-the-scenes

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article A Trio of Stop-Motion Shorts Utilize an Involved 3D-Printing Technique appeared first on Colossal.

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Government consulting on sustainable investment labelling

Government consulting on sustainable investment labelling

The Australian Government is starting consultation on sustainable investment product labelling, which is designed to give investors more confidence to put more capital to work in sustainable products.

The federal government said the release of this paper is a key step in implementing its Sustainable Finance Roadmap — designed to help mobilise the capital required for Australia to become a renewable energy superpower, modernising the financial markets and maximising the economic opportunities from net zero.

This consultation paper seeks views from investors, companies and the broader community on a framework for sustainable investment product labels.

These labels are designed to help investors and consumers identify, compare and make informed decisions about sustainable investment products to understand what ‘sustainable’, ‘green’ or similar words mean when they’re applied to financial products.

The government said a more robust and clear product-labelling framework will help investors and consumers invest in sustainable products with confidence and help tackle greenwashing.

This phase of consultation will run from 18 July to 29 August and help the government refine its design principles for the framework.

The consultation paper is available on the Treasury consultation hub.

Image credit: iStock.com/wenich-mit

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