Michał Łubiński made his first independent, awarded film "Bed Side Story" as a puppet animation and now uses this technique again. What is instantly visible in stop-motion is the reality of the presented micro-world.
“The set was built, lit with real light, and the characters are puppets in clothes made of real materials. We can almost touch them, we know these textures. We feel the physicality of the world, which I consider to be one of the key elements of engaging the viewer in this story” says the director of the film, Michał Łubiński. “Stop-motion animation also has a kind of nobility. Any apparent imperfection is easier to forgive and even sincerely love” he adds.
The magic of puppet animation is in the details. With such precise and manual work, experience and talent counts. Puppets for the film were made by Lodz-based artists, who are accountable for the success of the Oscar-winning animated film Suzie Templeton - "Peter and the Wolf" and collaborated on Wes Anderson's "Dog Island". The team consisting of Piotr Knabe, Dariusz Kalita, Agnieszka Mikołajczyk and Agnieszka Smolarek, was responsible for building the bodies of the characters. Then, costumers Beata Jarmuż-Socha and Anna Szcześniak took care of miniature outfits.
“Lodz is known to the world for all the extraordinary specialists creating animation puppets” says Katarzyna Gromadzka from MOMAKIN, the film's executive producer. “The “Astra” project has brought together six renowned and experienced creators who worked on each of the puppets for four to six weeks” she explains.
The characters for the film "Astra" were created from a scratch, in other words from the director's original drawings. Later, an executive design was developed, according to which the animation puppets were created that can be used in as many takes as possible. In the process of creating the heads of Astra and Anna puppets, 3D technology was used to print facial expressions replacements, attached to small magnets, thanks to which the protagonists of the film will have very rich mimics. This way, as many as 40 replacement jaws and 21 foreheads for the main character as well as 22 replacement jaws and foreheads for her sister were created. In addition, Astra has a copy, so that both can play their roles on parallel sets.
Together, on set with the little girl, we will see puppets of the Father, Anna, a Scientist, Intern and a friend of the main character - a Goldfish.
“I am convinced that the puppets' designs and their precision of execution will impress all viewers, not only fans and specialists in the field of animation” emphasizes Michał Łubiński.
“Astra” won main prize in Pitching at ANIMARKT Stop Motion Forum 2018. The producer of the film is the Audiovisual Technology Center (Centrum Technologii Audiowizualnych CeTA) in Wroclaw, where also set design and props were made. The film was co-financed by the Polish Film Institute. The premiere is planned for the first half of 2022.
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MOMAKIN connects the world of animated film makers with the international production, distribution and promotion market. Stop motion projects are the specialty. Animations are supported at every stage of the development: from planning and financing to distribution. Also running a talent agency, initiating, and implementing film projects in Poland and around the world. Deals with the education and professionalization of the film industry. It is the organizer of ANIMARKT Stop Motion Forum – the only industry event in the world devoted to stop motion animation.
