By Tallest Heights was painstakingly made by filmmakers Becky & Joe, who employed an old filmmaking technique that reached the height of its popularity in the 1960s and 70s – physical manipulation of actual analogue film. They scratched, painted, bleached and drew on each individual film cells of 16mm, 35mm and Super 8 film, and combined that all together into the final product. Watching Tallest Heights on the computer is fun enough, but I’ll bet this short film would be best enjoyed directly from it’s celluloid origins.
The physical manipulation of film was first brought to major critical attention by the many works of Stan Brackage which use and explore this method extensively, though Becky & Joe also cite works by Man Ray and Len Lye as influences.
Click through to watch a making-of video I’ve included below, which details some of the ways in which Becky & Joe made the film as well as provides a glimpse into their adorable studio.
[via Vimeo]