How we created – a stop-motion paper cutout video for the KKL-JNF!

One of the things I love most about the nature of my studio is the rich diversity of animation styles. Even during my studies, I really liked exploring different animation techniques, trying things I hadn’t seen before (like, for example, a film made of broken glass, an attempt to create stained glass in animation. A film made of peanut butter, after which I didn’t eat a banana for about six months, and other crazy things).

Stop-motion animation essentially allows us to build a world from any material that comes to mind, and turn it into something living and breathing that tells a story. Not least, the material itself contributes greatly to conveying the message in a unique and striking way.

When the charming advertising agency Punia approached us to create a promotional video for an innovative KKL-JNF project, it was clear to both parties that we had an opportunity to present something new, refreshing, and unique. Something that would lighten the heaviness that sometimes accompanies such videos, something that would capture the attention of a young and sharp audience.

A stop-motion paper cutout video is the technique we chose to present KKL-JNF’s new plan for 2040 – Israeli relocation.
So how did we do it?

First of all – the script. We had to lighten the heavy script, and go for a lighter and “friendlier” language. With the help of our stunning narrator, Ofer, we worked on tone and texts that would resonate with a young audience and not bore them. In the “What Do You See?” scene, we tried to revive the concept of thriving cities in the Negev and Galilee through a wilderness within which houses, buildings, trees, and new settlements suddenly “grow.”

After creating a storyboard describing the angles, camera movements, and what we actually see in each frame, we passed it along with the design concept to our super illustrator , Hilli Noy . Hilli skillfully prepared the illustrations, with an emphasis on the fact that all of these would eventually become paper cutouts. The illustrations were created in Illustrator, in vector format, so that we could transfer them to a special cutting print.

It took us a whole week to cut, paste, and prepare all the characters, backgrounds, and props for the animation. We carefully chose the colors of the pages to match our color palette. Every little part of the film is glued by hand. We discovered that the work is more efficient if we use tweezers, double-sided tape, and special glues that dry quickly and leave no marks on the paper. After the craft work, when all the art was ready and spread out before us, it was time to set up a camera and frame it.

When working with paper cutouts, and wanting to create depth in the frame and a more cinematic feel, it is recommended to work with a layering method. On our glass table, we placed 3 layers of tempered glass. On the bottom layer – we put the background, the horizon. In our case, silhouettes of blue/green mountains. In the middle layer, we put the main part of the scene, buildings, trees, etc. The top layer is the foreground layer, which contributes greatly to the sense of depth in the frame. Another advantage of the layering method is that through this division, the animation work is easier, because when a character moves, it does not interfere or accidentally move the background with it. This way, you can actually move several things at the same time – a train on the horizon, buildings rising, and camels walking.
In order to create the illusion that the houses/buildings are growing on their own, we created sets of 5 houses of each model, and each time we cut out a piece of the house until it disappeared. We ran the film itself in reverse, so that you actually see houses growing and appearing.

The distinctive look of the vector design, which becomes the paper cutouts, creates a sense of completeness and precision on the one hand, and a real, breathing, non-computerized material on the other. The warmth of the paper texture creates identification with a manual and real world, and subconsciously causes the viewer to identify with the film and watch it to the end.

Want more glimpses into the process? All the stages of the work and funny behind-the-scenes clips in the story