Elise Hoyt - Paper Moon
Paper Moon is a special film for me. It started as a brain child four to five years ago that sprang to life from my love of Greek/Roman and Native American mythology and Asian culture. Mythology has always fascinated me for its storytelling take about how the world works, especially the Native American tales of the Raven’s antics. I was also inspired by the Japanese art of paper folding, Origami, and folding something into another 3D being. I also thought about my relationship changing with my siblings as we grew up and became adults, how it changes things and puts some disagreements into perspective. All these factors came together to make Paper Moon’s story about the actions of two siblings shaping the world.
A story shaped by paper, had to be made of paper, of course! In addition to traditional hand-drawn animation, the unique textures and colors in the film are all different paper textures. The broom’s bristles are paper straws made for recycling in Vietnam, Nikko’s yukata texture is made of paper towels, the mountains and cliffs were made from geode-based wallpaper, and even the scissors Nikko cuts circles with are made of scrapbook paper. I had fun finding all the different unique textures to bring Nikko and Gekko’s world to life. I couldn’t have made such a rich, colorful world without my team helping me, or without LA+D’s resources, so thank you, and enjoy Paper Moon!