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Hippie Way or the Highway

'Hippie Way or the Highway' is a commissioned film that was directed and produced by Lilly McPake and myself. This film is inspired by the research of History PhD candidate Molly Mckew on the history of counter-cultures in Melbourne in the 1960s-'70s.

In this film we wanted to particularly capture the relationships between roommates of these housing communes, which was both good and bad. The stop motion focuses on the two women in the centre of the screen having a conversation that quickly escalates into a more heated debate reflecting their different views. As their argument intensifies the space becomes more chaotic to the viewer. As the day quickly passes by, the room mates are seen to be going about their daily routines. 

 

Fun facts about the film: The people are created through a process called Pixilation. Pixilation is a form of stop motion where live actors are shot on a frame by frame process in front of a camera and in this case in front of a green screen. 

 

The background was a miniature dolls house size set that was filmed in stop motion. This enabled the handmade objects to be moved around the set, lighting to be modified to create a sunset and the clock to be slowly increasing in speed. 

 

2D computer drawn animation was then added over the top for detailed sections such as the water in the glass, steam from the kettle, rain outside the window and dirty footprints on the carpet. 

 

Another thing to note is that everything in the background (besides a few doll clothes) was hand carved from balsa wood and was then hand painted. The scale of the set is difficult to comprehend, but the real life measurements are reflected in the paint brush in the opening scene that is 4cm in length and the radio that is 2cm in height.

Mikayla
Hotton

Lilly
McPake

Credits

Directors: Mikayla Hotton and Lilly McPake

Actors: Lilly McPake, Amy Manson, Jackson Cook and Mikayla Hotton

Research: Molly Mckew

Funded by: School of History & Philosophical Studies Faculty of Arts (SHAPS) and The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA)

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