Latvian-born animator Signe Baumane is creating an animated feature for adults: a funny film about depression.
Brooklyn-based Latvian-born animator Signe Baumane is creating an animated feature for adults: a funny film about depression. Billed as “a visual adventure that will make you squeal, weep, cringe and laugh,” Rocks in My Pocket mixes hand-drawn 2D animation with stop-motion techniques for a unique look.
Each of the 129,600 frames inRocks in My Pockets has been hand crafted. First Baumane created papier-mâché sets -- rooms, forests, city streets -- which were then lit and shot with a digital camera either as still pictures or as stop-motion sequences, creating a 3D effect. Then, on paper, Baumane hand-animated the 2D characters walking, talking and interacting with the stop-motion sets.
After the animation was completed, each drawing was scanned and colored in Adobe Photoshop. Then the sequence was imported into Adobe After Effects for compositing and output. The final edit is being completed in Apple Final Cut Pro. Rocks in My Pockets is 90 minutes long, and has 20 episodes comprised of 669 scenes. There are 28 stop-motion papier-mâché sets and approximately 23,000 drawings.
Watch the trailer, below:
Rocks in My Pockets is a story of mystery and redemption. The film is based on true events involving the women of Baumane’s family (including herself) and their surrender to madness, with names changed to protect innocent bystanders. The film is packed with visual metaphors, surreal images and Baumane’s twisted sense of humor. If you love animation, art, women, strange daring stories, Latvian accents, history, nature and adventure, find out more at www.rocksinmypocketsmovie.com.
Source: Signe Baumane
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
