Animators Nicolas M\u00e9nard and Jack Cunningham are kindred spirits.<\/p>\n The two met at Nexus Studios in 2014, and began collaborating in 2019. Now, they have formalized their creative partnership by launching as the directing duo Eastend Western<\/a>, repped by Nexus.<\/p>\n Both are based in the U.K., although M\u00e9nard is Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois and was born in Montr\u00e9al before attending the Royal College of Art in London. M\u00e9nard\u2019s 2016 short Wednesday With Goddard<\/em> won best animated short at South By Southwest film festival. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Cunningham\u2019s work has included projects for Google, Vitra, The New York Times<\/em>, and an augmented-reality app for the Obama Administration, 1600<\/em>, that allowed viewers to conjure 3d animation of the White House from a dollar bill. <\/p>\n To celebrate the debut of their partnership, M\u00e9nard and Cunningham have released Triple Bill<\/em>, a trilogy of short animated films, each under two minutes. The shorts \u2014 unique mood pieces that M\u00e9nard describes as \u201ca Western, a film noir, and a fantasy film \u2014 continue the filmmakers\u2019 fascination with replacement animation, using delicately-rendered miniatures to bring to life stop-motion characters.<\/p>\n![\"Nicolas](\"https:\/\/www.cartoonbrew.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/menard_cunningham.jpg\")