Lost and found

Using stop motion and two colourful, crocheted and endearing lead characters, directors Andrew Goldsmith and Bradley Slabe and producer Lucy Hayes spent four years making Lost and Found, which you can watch here in full.

The shoot took 14 months and the attention to detail is evident, from the back story provided so the audience understands the relationship between the characters through to the custom-built set.

Several handcrafted puppets were purpose-built to handle different animation situations. Lead animator Samuel Lewis was with the project for three years and created water substitutes from heat-warped acetate, bubble wrap, hair gel and personal lubricant. This allowed the waves and splashes to remain rigid long enough to capture the desired frames.

Lost and Found has attracted awards in Australia and across the globe, including the Yoram Gross Animation Award at the Sydney Film Festival 2018 and the AACTA Award for Best Short Animation 2018. Lost and Found was also one of 10 films shortlisted for the 91st Academy Awards in the Best Short Film (Animated) category.