Derya Ozparlak Charlotte Lavoie Auspert
Frances& Margo
Animation
2025
Stop- Motion Animation
1920x1080
00:07:42 [hh:mm:ss]
This piece is a collaborative work created with Charlotte Lavoie Auspert. Together, we worked in tandem as co-directors on the film. My primary roles were set design, puppet design and creation, prop making, and fabrication, while my partner Charlotte focused on stop-motion animation, production, and costume and prop fabrication.This project pushed both of us beyond our limits. We aimed to make the film as close to professional practice as possible, using ball-and-socket tie-down armatures for the puppets, a series of replaceable faces for expressions and lip-sync, and realistic props and sets appropriate to the era in which the film is set. We even sourced secondhand fabrics featuring patterns and materials that were popular in the 1950s."Frances and Margo" follows the story of Detective Frances, who must return home and begrudgingly team up with her estranged sister Margo. Together, they are tasked to fulfill their late mother's final wish: return a poetry book to their mother's secret lover. In their quest to find the mysterious stranger, they discover their hometown'sunimaginable secret..."Frances and Margo" is an intriguing stop-motion animation, exploring sibling dynamics, woman hood and the breaking of social conventions through the 50's detective noir genre.
““Frances and Margo” is a 7 minutes and 42 seconds stop-motion animation that follows the story of two estranged sisters who are tasked with delivering an Emily Dickinson’s poetry book belonging to their late mother, Bridget, as her final parting wish. The two sisters, Frances and Margo, must come together to find and deliver the book to the mysterious lover. Their journey becomes more than a simple delivery; Frances, a passionate detective, and Margo, her by-the-book older sister, are forced to confront each other and their past. The title “Frances and Margo” highlights the contrasting nature of these two central characters and symbolizes the multifaced nature of womanhood. Through their different experiences, the animation reflects how societal expectations shape female roles and how these roles often clash with personal freedom. The narrative is interwoven with themes of queer identity, feminism, self-determination, sacrificing, family bond and dynamics, and critique of social norms. Frances works with an enthusiasm and determination in the male-dominated world of detective work, persisting even when she is unnoticed and undervalued. On the contrary, Margo adopts a femme fatale persona in an effort to gain societal approval. Their mother’s past, however, offers a powerful contrast - she is portrayed as a woman who chooses to embrace her queer identity instead of suppressing it. This quiet but profound act of resistance is passed on to Frances and Margo through the will, serving as a legacy of self-acceptance. The animation positions their personal stories within a broader political context of the 1950s, presenting the complexity of family relationships through the film noir genre. Visually, the film combines stop-motion animation with an experimental aesthetic, creating a unique and creative visual language. The high contrast black and white cinematography is essential to the animation’s mood and narrative style, punctuated by striking red colored elements adding to the tension and visual intensity. The animation is created using frame-by-frame in Dragonframe software, with Arduino motorized camera movements. The film uses stop motion, an unconventional animation practice, to tell the character’s unconventional stories. The animation’s stylistic foundation is deeply rooted in the cinema style of the 1950s. Everything from costume design and hairstyles to car models, typography choices, interior/exterior sets, and architectural details are authentically recreated and reinterpreted through modern techniques. Although the animation carries a melancholic and serious tone, it also features moments of warmth and humour through the sister’s sincere interactions. The lighting, shadow play, composition, and dialogue style pay homage to the noir aesthetics of the era. Techniques from 1950s cinema were adapted with today’s technology, serving as a respectful nod to classic 1950s filmmaking traditions. The animation aims to leave lasting impression: both visually and intellectually, by addressing topics of gender roles, patriarchal structures and queer resistance. It weaves passionate storytelling with an experimental style offering a powerful narrative that resonates across multiple layers of tension. “Frances and Margo” is a 7 minutes and 42 seconds stop-motion animation that follows the story of two estranged sisters who are tasked with delivering an Emily Dickinson’s poetry book belonging to their late mother, Bridget, as her final parting wish. The two sisters, Frances and Margo, must come together to find and deliver the book to the mysterious lover. Their journey becomes more than a simple delivery; Frances, a passionate detective, and Margo, her by-the-book older sister, are forced to confront each other and their past. The title highlights the contrasting nature of these two central characters and symbolizes the multifaced nature of womanhood. Through their different experiences, the animation reflects how societal expectations shape female roles and how these roles often clash with personal freedom. The narrative is interwoven with themes of queer identity, feminism, self-determination, sacrificing, family bond and dynamics, and critique of social norms. The high contrast black and white cinematography is essential to the animation’s mood and narrative style, punctuated by striking red colored elements adding to the tension and visual intensity. The animation positions their personal stories within a broader political context of the 1950s, presenting the complexity of family relationships through the film noir genre. Techniques from 1950s cinema were adapted with today’s technology, serving as a respectful nod to classic 1950s filmmaking traditions. The animation aims to leave lasting impression: both visually and intellectually, by addressing topics of gender roles, patriarchal structures and queer resistance.”
