The Secret Kitchen of Animation
Behind every animated film, there's more sweat than magic, and the exhibition at the Lavoir Numérique in Gentilly proves it until August 17. Under the name Behind the Screen, the space reveals how those imaginary worlds that entertain us so much are made. Spoiler: there are no magic wands, just heaps of hours of work and empty coffee cups.
Techniques that Bring the Inanimate to Life
The exhibition breaks down three ways to create illusion:
- Stop-motion: where a puppet can take longer to walk than a human baby
- Traditional 2D: because someone has to draw each one of those 24 frames per second
- Digital 3D: where animators pretend to understand complex programs while looking for the "undo" button
"We animate not because it's easy, but because we like to suffer creatively"
Student Projects: Love and Sleepless Nights
The short films from the Georges Méliès School demonstrate that animation is equal parts inspiration and perspiration. From Goodbye Mamajee to other anonymous but equally meritorious works, each project represents:
- Sleepless nights
- Numb fingers
- A new record for caffeine consumption per square meter
A Work Created to Suffer Live
Oriane Gros, curator and brave animator, decided that the exhibition needed something special: creating a stop-motion film during the exhibition itself. So visitors can see in real time how:
- An animator loses their sanity frame by frame
- Puppets develop more personality than some actors
- One minute of animation requires more hours than a transatlantic flight
Practical Information for the Brave
Entry is free, because charging to see so much effort would be cruel. Hours:
- Wednesday to Friday: 13:30-18:30 (the time when animators usually wake up)
- Weekends: until 19:00 (when they start their night shift)
Upon leaving, only one certainty remains: you'll never see Mickey Mouse the same way again. Behind every animated smile, there's someone who cursed their career a few times. As any professional in the field would say: "If animation were easy, it would be called live-action" ✏️