Stems from ainslie henderson on Vimeo.

SKF NOTE – This is video short is a brief look at a sentimental percussion ensemble. “What I love about stop motion puppets is that they have this inherent sadness,” says filmmaker and musician Ainslee Henderson. “They’re like little actors that only get one role. Everything they do is their swan song.”

I discovered this film, “Stems,” on the Vimeo Blog. Blogger Sam Morrill writes:

“The film is a collaboration between [Ainslee] Henderson and the musical artist Poppy Ackroyd who composed the score. However, unlike the traditional process wherein a film is picture-locked and then delivered to the composer for scoring, Henderson and Ackroyd worked backwards. ‘[Poppy] would send separate “stems” — that’s where the film got its name — of each track of music. I would make characters and instruments that looked like they might make each of the sounds she’d given me and we’d go from there.’

“Henderson who is himself a former chart-topping musician likens animation to music. Like music, ‘[animation] comes down to a matter of trying to move people, with what, and for what purpose? There are technical [similarities] too, about rhythm, tone and sentiment. Films have a kind of melody.’”

What if I was able to live as if everything I do is my swan song?