“Feels Like We Only Go Backwards” by Becky & Joe

Tame Impala’s new video “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards” stands out for its fresh and clever take on clay animation. The concept—recursive heads fading “backwards”—is simple, and perhaps could have been explored further conceptually, though it’s fine for what it is. Directed by Becky and Joe (the handle of British animatoros Becky Sloan and Joseph Pelling), the video is comprised of one thousand separate plasticine collages. The filmmakers are selling the plasticine artwork for £10 a frame through their website.

I wrote about Joseph Pelling’s fantastic animated holiday card back in 2010. Since then, Pelling and Sloan have had a major short film hit with Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared. What impresses in all their work is the thorough command of different animation techniques and their interest in expressing ideas through these various approaches. Certainly, they are developing a unique voice as filmmakers.

“FEELS LIKE WE ONLY GO BACKWARDS” CREDITS
Designed and directed by Becky Sloan & Joseph Pelling
2D Animation: Joseph Pelling
Plasticine collage animators: Becky Sloan, Azusa Nakagawa,Theo Nunn.
Assisted by: Ben Austin, Ellie Pritchard, Matt King.
Compositing: Joseph Pelling, Theo Nunn.