Why army men?
T: My choice to use miniature army men allowed me to convey a visually child like take on war, but shoot intentionally as one would a Hollywood war picture, where it feels beyond intense and catastrophically real. The materials had to be quick and easy since we only had a limited time. Luckily, we are dealing with a war in a desert where sand is not only aesthetically pleasing, but a great material to keep toy army men steady. Most of the stuff that I used were generic toys from downtown LA, which I could easily weather and paint in order to get a more realistic look, which was the vision: to make toys feel real. The best thing I found downtown was this oil slime which allowed me to forego any clay oil effort. The slime moves very slowly which means I could animate it frame by frame. I’m sure it’s actually horrible for our children.
