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.
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 Carter Chadwick 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.
In addition, I helped make some road panels when the road was visible.
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 with help from Mane, who painted it.
Car
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.
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 small piece of MDF, 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 MDF 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.
Tess Smigel 