Human Resources

Human Resources is a mockumentary film about a man who attends a peculiar recycling appointment. It was created by Trinidad Plass, Titouan Tillier and Isaac Wenzek as their third year project at French school EMCA.

Three main characters (plus one supporting character), Pythonesque humor, a fake documentary approach and a focus on environmental themes are the main elements of the short.

Human Resources is staged mostly indoors in an urban space and combines a retro aesthetic with a modern invention. Only two external conflicts surface, none overly strong. The film is rooted in its absurd dialogue and the outrageous plot points the story unveils.

A stylized aesthetic is employed with good effort dedicated to character and environment design. Outstanding work has been dedicated to creating a documentary-style camera that seamlessly integrates stop motion animation. Surprisingly enough, all camera moves, zooms and shifts in focus were created manually, as part of the stop motion process. According to the authors, no compositing or post-production software was used for the task, and this was the biggest challenge of the movie.

One shot, no cuts, which makes filmmakers pay attention to blocking and offscreen space. Since camera moves were created manually, the choreography of the characters plus camera must’ve been particularly intricate to produce. Visual rhythm is high and handled through camera moves, zooms (changing shot sizes), shifts in focus and motion within the frame.

What makes Human Resources work so well? Standing in line with Python’s sketches such as the “Argument Clinic”, the film offers a highly creative script, subdued acting, surreal humor and plenty of surprises that hook the audience. It’s one of those shorts whose plots and endings are completely unpredictable.