Moticos

Moticos is a surrealist senior film set in the Texas landscape about a breakup. Utilizing a road trip to show the progressive unraveling of the main character’s mental state. It is written and directed by Paige Meakin. I currently work as a set and prop fabricator and have helped set dress.

Quilt

I sewed and rigged a quilt that was animated to emulate the breathing of the characters sleeping under it. I’m responsible for the construction, distering, and rigging of the quilt

I started by taking the pattern for the linework onto the fabric, then I sewed the fabric to a quilt backing to get the look of a quilt. The quilt was designed to be in a forced perspective, so the pattern got smaller as it was farther from the camera.

To achieve the green color we wanted for the stars, I dyed a fabric to match the color script. Next I cut out all of the pecice to the star paterns. For the larger pieces, I cut them out slightly larger than the pattern, then folded over the extra and glued it to match the paper. This was to prevent fraying and keep the look of a real quilt. With the smaller pieces, I glued the edges with an antifray glue.

For there i placed all of the piace onto the quilt base and glued them in place.

Then proceed to sew on all the pieces with a sewing machine.

After assessing the quilt, I distressed it in the washes of paint. And I further weathered the quilt in camera as well.

Quilt Rigging

Before the quilt was a concept, I made a test quilt with wire rigging to develop a plan for the hero assets. Through trial and error of animation tests, I created a rigging system that works with the animation style.

I used 1/8″ wire with loops on the corners and other points where we want to have a strong contact with the quilt. This frame was completed with a triple twist of 28-gauge wire along the top edge where the puppets would be. This was to allow more flexibility for animation. and a grid of twisted 28-grade wire was placed in the middle of the quilt to control the movement of the motion.

On set, all of the corner loops were grasped tightly with nuts and bolts attached to polycaobaminte blocks on brass square tubes that were held by C-stand arms mounted to the table. This was so it could be posed into the desired framing. The points at the top close to the puppets were attached to a burkey system hardware on rods on weights, as well as two more points of support in the middle of the quilt. These were added for extra support and used small hardware going through the quilt just off the camera.

For the perspective that was decided for the shot, the puppets’ heads were at an angle; they would have to be separated for the bodies, so the bodies were not used, and instead I made armatured foam arms to animate the qulit agents.

Pillows

I constructed 4 upholstery foam pillows with 1/8″ wire rigging so the pillows could be posable and anmiatable. I also made pillows cased with 28-gauge wire, lining the openings so the cases could also be posed. And I make a stand for the pillows to attach to.

Parallax Background Set

For this film, we used rear projection to create scrolling backdrops seen through the car’s windows. I worked on a team to set dress and troubleshoot the parallax set for multiple scenes. I worked primarily on the 3/4 angle shots, jumping off the techniques designed for the first loop (the left flat loop).

Every change in the camera’s angle dictated a different background loop. I worked primarily on the 3/4 angle shots. Each new angle brought new challenges and techniques to create the perfect look. The three to four rows of looping background panels move at different intervals per frame, creating the illusion of distance.

I also helped animate a couple of the loops, including the left-side flat view and a few of the 3/4 angles.

Set Backdrop

I also worked on designing and assembling the backdrop canvas and stand.

Car

Radio

I made a 50% larger-scale car radio for an insert shot that matched the scale of the puppet’s hand. The radio needed to have a functional knob and channel wire. It is primarily constructed from MDF, with propoxy for details and polycarbonate for the rigging.

The station window was made by layering a small sheet of PETG in an indent between the MDF base and the top radio panel. Another indent was carved into the back of the base to fit a laser-cut acrylic sheet, which would display the radio channels and house the moving wire for changing stations.

This was achieved by creating a small horizontal cut in the acrylic so that a T-shaped wire could pass through and be secured to a base to tension it in place, and for the animators to guide it side to side.

The whole radio and dashboard base was painted to match the smaller-scale version used for all the car interior shots.

Car Dashboard

For this film, most of the car parts were 3D-modeled and 3D-printed. I worked on a team to prep the parts for use. I worked through a process in which the parts were sanded, Bondo puttyed as needed, and spray-painted, then sanded and repeated until smooth.

After the pieces were smooth, they were modeled and cast in polyurethane plastic.

After they were cast, they were prepped through sanding and painting, and then given their hero paint jobs.

I took two of the dashboard pieces through the whole process and worked on many other parts at various stages, including the door handle, window crank, and one of the windshield halves.

Side Mirrors

I created the car’s side mirrors from carved polyurethane foam using mechanical drawings. After it was carved, it was sealed with paint and molded.