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, distressing, 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 pieces of the star patterns. For the larger pieces, I cut them out slightly larger than the pattern, then folded over the extra and glued it to match the pattern. This was to prevent fraying and keep the look of a real quilt. With the smaller pieces, I glued the edges with an anti-fray glue.

From there, I placed all of the pieces onto the quilt base and glued them in place.

Then I sewed all the pieces onto the base with a sewing machine.

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

Quilt Rigging

Before the quilt was constructed, 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 wanted 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. Also, a grid of twisted 28-grade wire was placed in the middle of the quilt to control the movement of the animation.

On set, all of the corner loops were grasped tightly with nuts and bolts attached to polycarbonate 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 out of frame.

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

Pillows

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

Car

Car Chassis

I co-built and assembled the car chassis with Mary Mihalko.

I started by making a grid with the measurements where the car body would sit.

We placed the car parts on the base and drilled all the holes for attachment. Then we cut out the main body of the chassis with a jigsaw.

After that, we attached the wheels and wheel rigging.

Then we added on a slightly angled front and back panel.

Then we cut the panels to match the car’s shape.

Wheel Mold and Casting

I built a mother mold for a 3D printed wheel. I assisted in the planning for the rigging of the wheel during the molding process.

I constucted the box with mdf walls and 3/4 birch tabs.

I clayed up the wheel with a tapering down form the wheel so it key beter into the box. The mold was made so the seam was in the back to make sure it was not visible in the texture of the wheel.

Then the mold injected on a upright stand with erathain plastic.

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.

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.

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.