Feb 6, 2024

Brian Leif Hansen, director of Shadowmachine Animation, gives us a behind-the-scenes look at Peacock's stop-motion production "In The Know."

The show, which mocks public radio and contemporary PC culture in equal measure, highlights the hypocritical side of everyone, no matter how well-intentioned they may be in their daily lives. According to Woods and Gardner, "In the Know" hopes to start "funny, scary, friendly conversations" about modern society.

The formula they came up with has had tremendous results: In the Know is funny, fresh, and very contemporary in theme, with really good stop-motion animation and instantly recognizable, though not real, puppets.

To celebrate the recent release of In the Know, Cartoon Brew interviewed animation director Brian Reiff Hansen. He shared some photos from the shoot and talked about how his team brought the series' grounded, multi-layered characters to life.

Hansen: Jan Maas animated a series of shots of Lauren and Fabian giving Barb a hard time for trying to help an unattached gentleman in the bathroom. As always, the important thing for Zach and Brandon is that the characters are not mean. They are so focused on their task that they have forgotten their civilized manners. Therefore, Lauren and Fabian can be as obscene as one can imagine, because they are convinced that Barb's love for them will never be taken away. Jan took that idea and animated this beautiful series of rapid-fire, slightly insane remarks by Lauren.

Jan uses an X-Acto blade to manipulate Lauren's eyelids and pupils. Although it looks a little grotesque, the sharp tip of the X-Acto blade makes it a perfect tool and allows for a firm grip on the eyeball and eyelid. The piece of metal seen below the frame is the rig on which Lauren sits, which allows the animator to manipulate the doll up and down, back and forth, with great ease and precision.

Hansen: Porter Young animated the scene where Lauren takes Gene to the staff kitchen to see the loose-leaf tea he has chosen. Gene, who has promised a large donation to the radio station, has other motives. To get what he wants, he plays the flattery card, and it works for Lauren. He is now doing his best to impress this warm, smart, and insightful man while trying to keep the "unprofessional" staff away from his cool new friend.

Porter does a great job of portraying the slightly lovey-dovey tension between Gene and Lauren, while also making the rest of the cast, including the slightly naive frat boy Chase and Barb, who wants the meeting to go well but is preoccupied with the check Gene has promised, very variety of performances. During filming, animators often have to manipulate several characters at once, so they must stay on top of all the characters and their various emotional states. You will also notice that the kitchen floor panels have been removed so that the animators can get as close as possible to the puppets.

Hansen: Sequoyah Madison animated the bathroom scene in the Thanksgiving episode. Everyone is in the bathroom because that is the only place in the office where the Thanksgiving Day parade can be seen. Sequoyer does an excellent job of portraying the warm and tender relationship between Barb and Carl. It was still early days after Barb's husband was killed, and throughout the episode we could sense a certain chemistry between the two, but they maintained an appropriate distance. This is the first time they touch each other, when Barb helps Carl out of the bathroom. Thus, to say that Sandy's mannerisms and treatment of others is odd is an understatement.

If you look carefully at the top of the toilet, you will see a small hole. These are meant to tie the doll to the floor or other service so that it does not fall over. Every time the animator places his foot on the floor, he is punching a hole in the floor. Also, in this shot, the dolls are touching each other, and the whole shot is made more complicated by the fact that when you touch one doll, the other doll also moves, and not necessarily in the direction you want it to move. On top of that, it is very labor intensive to keep the hands in exactly the right position.