DIRECTOR | ANIMATOR | SOUND DESIGN

Allbirds makes shoes that are both stylish and sustainable. This short stop motion animation highlights their use of natural wood fibers as a material in their footwear.

I have experimented with using stop motion to animate many different materials including paper, dirt, and even bologna, but it wasn’t until I had the idea of an exploding/imploding log that I got the motivation to animate wood. I figured it would be cool if the animation resolved in a wooden logo, and after a little research I decided Allbirds would be a good fit.

To start, I mocked up the animation digitally in After Effects, which would serve as my guide to create the stop motion. Then I spent several hours hacking away at some old logs with a chainsaw and hatchet to create the various wood pieces. Finally, I moved to the studio (garage) to photograph the animation, one frame at a time, and I used a laser cutter to cut the Allbirds logo out of a thin sheet of birch. I think all in all, along with post production and sound design, the video took me about a week to create.