Motion Factory

From April 24th to August 10th, sneak behind the scenes of animated filmmaking! An exhibition, talks, screenings, workshops... and more

Films, making of’s, shooting stills, and storyboards, as well as models, sets, figurines and collages... Go behind the scenes of tactile animation through the extraordinary imagination of an ultra-creative generation of filmmakers. Motion Factory, les ficelles du monde animé takes you on a trip around the world via some fifteen guest filmmakers belonging to a highly creative generation that combines tactile animation technology and traditional craft methods in perfect harmony with the infinite digital possibilities available today. Dabblers and jacks-of-all-trades, these filmmakers make films the same way magic is performed, using tricks and gimmicks and shrewdness and accumulating hours and meticulous movements. For almost four months, they will showcase their imagination, their world, their creations, their techniques, and their secrets to making handmade objects.

Making films like magic tricks

Films, making of’s, shooting stills, and storyboards, as well as models, sets, figurines and collages... Go behind the scenes of tactile animation through the extraordinary imagination of an ultra-creative generation of filmmakers. 

Motion Factory, les ficelles du monde animé takes you on a trip around the world via some fifteen guest filmmakers belonging to a highly creative generation that combines tactile animation technology and traditional craft methods in perfect harmony with the infinite digital possibilities available today. Dabblers and jacks-of-all-trades, these filmmakers make films the same way magic is performed, using tricks and gimmicks and shrewdness and accumulating hours and meticulous movements. For almost four months, they will showcase their imagination, their world, their creations, their techniques, and their secrets to making handmade objects.

The factory

A set that is easily perceived as being all digital suddenly turns out to be constructed out of a lot of know-how, where the emphasis is on raw materials that vary depending on needs: drawings, paper, wood, sand, playdough, puppets... these are the key players here. An international overview of the world of short films, advertising, music videos... from Korea to Ireland by way of Belgium and the United States, each one will reveal his ingredients to us. A panorama of filmmakers that prefer the dreamlike quality of the tactile to the realism of the all digital. Sit back and relax, let yourself be surprised by the diversity of the environments and atmospheres, of the poetry — to each filmmaker his own style and identity — and rediscover wonder and marvel: they are the driving forces at the heart of the painstaking work and expert tinkering that make up animation.

Yves Geleyn, filmmaker and guest curator, has meticulously selected the spearheads of this generation. His choices were based on the diversity of the tactile animation techniques they use. These artists provide an overview of the most innovative and respected forms of artistic expression today.

With Peter Sluszka, Jamie Caliri & Alex Juhasz, Sean Pecknold, Andrew Thomas Huang, Hayley Morris, Sumo Science (Will Studd & Ed Patterson), Mikey Please, Joseph Mann, Elliot Dear, Johnny Kelly, Conor Finnegan, Kangmin Kim, Pic Pic André and Emma de Swaef & Marc James Roels.

5.5 designstudio created the scenography of the exhibition : "We ourselves use a DIY approach to design, and as big fans of «homemade» objects, we were of course especially sensitive to the idea behind his exhibition. To show these objects, we wanted to take visitors behind the scenes, giving them a glimpse of what happens behind the screen to discover a real filmmaking factory. It is thus a large factory of stories presenting these «makers of films» that we installed at Gaîté lyrique for the space of an exhibition."

Kino Factory workshop

In conjunction with the exhibition, KinoFabriK takes over the small gallery, an organization that introduces young and old people alike to animated filmmaking. During the entire length of the exhibit, a permanent film studio has been set up for you to discover: Kino Factory. It is open to all aspiring filmmakers regardless of their age, during the days and hours the exhibition is open, with special initiation workshops Tuesday nights at 7.30 pm.

The book

Motion Factory, les ficelles du monde animé - learn more about the process of animation through 200 photographies and documents - drawings, shooting documentation, work sketches... Découvrez comment sont fabriquées les images animées dans les coulisses des films qui vous font rêver.
In association with Pyramyd. Available from April 24th 2014.