209 Figurines from Tlatilco and San Pablo, Central Mexico 1200 – 900 BCE is one of a series of animation installations created by David Lebrun and Night Fire Films. These pieces use high resolution photography and various animation techniques to explore archetypal and often-repeated motifs of ancient art, and to “breathe life” into these static ancient forms.

209 Figurines… is based on figurines in 12 museum collections in the U.S. and Mexico. Using individualized lighting to bring out the detail and personality of each artwork, high-resolution photographs were taken of over 400 figurines. In particular, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Saint Louis Art Museum provided extensive assistance and access to many hundreds of figurines in their storage areas.In post production, these images were grouped based on stylistic similarity, costume and headdress elements, body position, facial expression, color palette and other factors, including general notions of stylistic development over time. Over 300 were then selected for precise alignment, color correction, and digital background removal.

Using specialized morphing software, outlines or masks were then created for each significant iconographic element, for example the eyelid, eye, and pupil. These masks were carefully readjusted for each figure. The goal was to bring the static images to life by creating a natural transition from image to image, while avoiding distortion or digital artifacts.After extensive trial and error, the final sequence of 209 images was arrived at and rendered. This sequence was then adjusted using “time remapping” to create a varied, organic and non-mechanical pace of motion, responsive to the nature and extent of each transition, as well as to the rhythms of the musical score..Four selected frames from the finished transition between two figurines 209 figurines from Tlatilco and San Pablo, Central Mexico is part of a larger project, Transfigurations: Reanimating the Past, an immersive digital exhibition being produced by Night Fire Films. For more about Night Fire Films and the Four Worlds project, click here.