Twenty Tapping Toes

This project, prompted by a film school application in October, quickly consumed my life for over four months.

I have always been fascinated by stop motion animation along with storytelling under constraints, so I took the 90-second limit for the TMU film school application as the perfect opportunity to explore both.

I built the 3 x 3 foot plywood set completely on my own, decked out with hinges to open up the room and fold down the walls --- all so I could make space for the shots I planned. I created most of the set pieces from scratch, including the costumes, the furniture, and many of the dolls.

Now the film wasn't all about physical production, really the idea came from the question I had: "how do you tell a story without any words?" I made this film without dialogue because I wanted to explore how I could get a story across without having to say it --- using body movement, environment, and editing to communicate the plot.

I chose to center the film around Tap dancing because, as a kid who did dance for many years, I have always had a special love for Tap. I was mesmerized by the combination of movement and music-making. After deciding this year I would no longer do Tap classes, I wanted to stay connected to the art form. The dance numbers in the film are choreographed by me, and the Tap you hear in the film are recordings of my own dancing. I knew Tap would be a really fun style to portray in stop motion, and I thought its use of sound would work especially well for a film without words.

I really loved making this project, even in all of its tedious tasks. Since submitting this film for university applications, I have decided to go back and touch up various parts of it, getting it as close to perfect as my critical eye will allow. After pouring so much hard work, love, and four months of my life into this project, I am not ready to leave it behind. I hope I can give this film a new purpose and platform, and that watching it makes you smile.