TRICK AND TREAT — Four&Sons

Four&Sons

Art&Culture

TRICK AND TREAT

A cast of 11 dogs put on their best performance on this mesmerising film by Pleix.

s READ MORE
CLOSE

TRICK AND TREAT

WORDS BY Four&Sons

Naivety, freedom and happiness, three blissful mind states the artists at Pleix (a virtual community of digital artists based in Paris), set to explore when creating this self-generated short film. The inspiration came from Magritte’s juxtaposition of familiar objects in an unfamiliar context. ‘We didn’t want to push the funny aspect already in the film. We wanted to go further, to transform dogs into creatures, into strange shapes’.

The repetition and sequencing makes ‘Birds’ pretty mesmerising to watch, with the slow motion adding to the awe and magic it projects. Shot over two days at a 2000 frames/second speed to capture the dogs ‘in flight’ (in real time the action was really quick) and with a cast of 11 dogs of different breeds, some of which were not ‘professional’ camera hounds. Leti from Pleix explains: ‘We did research on all dogs breeds, trying to find the ones that had a strong personality. Dogs have sometimes more charisma than people, they are really sensitive, instinctive and emotional beings. They have this naivety that could be compared to little hairy children’.

However, there was bound to be some challenges to get the right performances on demand from such eclectic cast. ‘There was so much lighting, as if the sun was shining directly on them, all the dogs went really quiet. They were not scared, as if they already knew they were the stars of the film’ Leti adds. The team at Pleix explored different ways to make the dogs jump, yet ultimately and surely enough, giving them treats did the trick. No pun intended.

The score by Vitalic was selected for its 80s dance floor tempo (peppered with moments of euphoria): an electro track with a sense of melody  which complements the use of the graphic laser lines that punctuate the film.

—
Images courtesy of Pleix
pleix.net

—
Credits Birds (2’34”), directed and produced by Pleix. Music by Vitalic (Pias Records). Editing by Neil Smith at ‘The White House’. Téléciné by ‘The Mill’. Special effects by ‘Mac Guff Line’. DOP by Tim Green. Distribution by Pleix.

CLOSE
, ,

PACK OF DOGS

Have you ever imagined Amy Winehouse or Nick Cave as a Chihuahua, Neil Young as a Vizsla, or PJ Harvey as an Afghan hound? That’s exactly what San Francisco-based artist Michael Gillette has done through his unique illustration project, blending beloved, iconic music legends, both past and present, with their dog counterparts. Pack of Dogs, our first foray into book publishing, is a celebration of pup and pop culture for music and dog lovers alike.

August 25, 2020

JUMP FOR JOY

Photographer Rebecca Rinaldi knows that to capture a dog’s true essence, play is the key ingredient.

July 13, 2023

,

PLAY DATE

An antidote to mass-produced dog accessories, MiaCara’s range of carefully crafted toys are designed to surprise, endure and delight.

July 12, 2023

POODLE ELITE

Jouk Oosterhof photographs Amsterdam’s beloved family members (with a dash of lifestyle accessory).

May 3, 2023

,

TEAM EFFORT

What started as a fundraising effort to save photographer Kristoffer Paulsen’s beloved dog Josie, morphed into Melbourne’s most in-demand pet portraits.

March 31, 2023

THE DOG MAKER

Thanks to hungry wolves and ancient humans, there are over 350 dog breeds in the world today. Artist Hosung Jang offers more.

February 27, 2023

Loading...
Loading more posts...