SoDaze<\/a> Studios chose to begin the ad, as well as a second one for Strathberry\u2019s Mini Tote, with the behind-the-scenes small details: the tools of the trade.<\/p>\n\u201cWe wanted to show the beauty of the craft itself,\u201d she told us, \u201cthe parts that normally stay backstage. A finished campaign shows you the bag; we wanted the stitching, the painting of the leather edges, the small gestures a maker actually does, slowed down frame by frame until they turn hypnotic.<\/p>\n
Stop-motion is the one technique that lets you sit inside those tiny movements.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two short craft films, \u201cCrafting the Mosaic Nano\u201d and \u201cCrafting the Mini Tote,\u201d were part of a commissioned campaign for Strathberry. \u201cEach film has its own hero,\u201d Golovlova said.\u00a0\u201cIn one, a spool and its thread lead the way\u2013the thread sketches the design, embroiders, lines up the leather and stitches the bag together. In the other, the Patacabra (the leatherworker\u2019s tool) drives it, tapping each piece into place.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven the titles are handmade: one is embroidered, the other laid out letter by letter in\u00a0thread. Everything on screen is the real object; nothing is generated\u2013embroidery thread, the gold hardware, the leather tools (Patacabra, edge-painting wheel, needles) and the finished bags, are all shot frame by frame.<\/p>\n
In terms of challenges on set, she told us, \u201cThe whole job was animating things that were never built to move. Getting a piece of leather to lift and hold a pose in mid-air took a run of different rigs and pins before one held. To make the thread bend and keep every position, we ran a fine wire through it like a skeleton. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe embroidery shot was the tricky one. It was stitched by hand off-camera but every stitch left loose, then frame by frame we reached under the fabric with tweezers and pulled each one tighter by a millimeter. There were six days of pre-production, shooting, and post-production\u00a0for a second and a half on screen. The gold shimmer in one shot was made with beads nudged by hand\u2013this alone took two days straight!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n