How Wes Anderson Directed Fantastic Mr Fox

The production process of stop-motion animation has always fascinated me. It's such a time intensive process that I've never really understood how a director manages it all. Last month some people were shocked to learn that Wes Anderson wasn't even on set much for the filming of Fantastic Mr. Fox. The fuss was caused by a comment Cinematographer Tristan Oliver made in Empire Magazine, which insinuated that the director was not on set directing the animators, but would instead send over notes after reviewing footage.

A new featurette on the making of Mr. Fox titled "Cutting Edge" indeed acknowledges the absence of the director on set, but also offers some insight into the process, and shows the technology that made it possible for Wes to direct 30-something stages at once from a different location.