Kirsten Lepore is an American stop-motion animator who has been interested in this type of animation since she was just ten years old. She initially created short films for fun, until she decided to upload them onto Vimeo, a website that allows artists to collaborate and share videos.
She soon went viral and has recieved five “staff picks” awards, that eventually led her to a career that included animating for Cartoon Network’s “Adventure Time.”
Watch this recent video for a quick synopsis of her work and why she makes it the way she does! Click here.
Story from North America was one of Lepore’s first-ever animations. She demonstrated her technical drawing skills and her interest in film making. It was awarded as a Vimeo staff pick and eventually turned her hobby into a career.
“Bad Jubies” is an episode of the cartoon Adventure Time that was entirely produced and animated by Lepore. When the creator of the show discovered her work on Vimeo, he loved her quirky style that was similar to the show’s and had her use her talent to reanimate the cartoon as a stop motion film. I watched this show when it first aired and admire the colorful, free-spirited characters that Lepore has brought to life.
Bottle is one of Lepore’s films that was created on different beaches. It is one of her few works that was not filmed on a pre-constructed stage. Similar to Pixar’s well-known shorts, there is no dialogue between the two characters, yet they are able to tell a story. This was one of my favorite videos that Lepore has made simply because of the overall storyline and emotional attatchment I gained from watching the animation. Here is a behind-the-scenes clip of how Bottle was made!
Move Mountain, as Lepore describes it, is about “a girl [who] journeys through a vibrant, pulsing, macrocosmic landscape, but a precipitous incident compels her to venture up a mountain in an attempt to save herself. A story about illness, perseverance, and our connection to everything around us.” This animation was revolutionary in Lepore’s career, being awarded as a Vimeo staff pick. This film is filled with symbolism and adventure, two difficult things to portray in stop-motion animation. It took 2.5 years to create the full ten minutes of the film! To see how it was made, click here.
The unsettling, yet interesting film Hi Stranger has the main character talking directly to the audience, which Lepore has never done before. It became an internet sensation once she released the video on Vimeo. The character is naked and vulnerable, allowing the viewer to feel more comfortable and let their guard down. During her interview with CNBC, she says that the creation of the video was inspired by “going to therapy for a year and also just being kind of creatively exhausted.”
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