Steve Warne reveals some of the stop motion tricks used in Pombo Loves You

Animator Steve Warne has an impressive list of credits to his name, having worked on Isle of Dogs, Kubo and the Two Strings, My Life as a Courgette, and Frankenweenie. However it’s his own film, Pombo Loves You which Steve spoke about at Nicer Tuesdays – an incredible feat of stop-motion animation that uses a live-action approach to create its cinematic feel.

The film was made during his time at the National Film and Television School, with a small team that used a range of clever techniques to create its unique style. For example, the “real” world is intentionally muted in colour whereas “Pombo’s” world is crazy and retro, thanks to the use of UV. “When [the character’s] home gets invaded by Pombo, UV was a useful technique we could add and control,” Steve explained, showing behind the scenes of the paper and card set.

Another technique he applied was rear projection for a car chase scene, “which is hard to make in stop-motion,” Steve commented. To give a sense of reality, Steve filmed real-life country roads and projected them, frame by frame, behind the models. “It’s a mixture of two mediums together.”