StoryCorps Shorts: Miss Devine

Last summer POV sat down with the Rauch Brothers, the animating team behind the StoryCorps Shorts. Watch outtakes from their interview and find out how these Emmy-nominated animated documentaries are created.

POV Staff 01.17.11

“There’s no way. It can’t be done.”

When first approached by his brother to work on the StoryCorps shorts, Tim Rauch said that there was “no way” to animate the StoryCorps recordings. However, after completing two, he started to think otherwise.

The Rauch Brothers on their Animation Style

The Rauch Brothers describe how they arrived at their animation style, noting how they adapt it for each short depending on the story.

The Process Behind the Animation

The Rauch Brothers describe their animation process. Using audio recordings from the oral history project StoryCorps, the Rauch Brothers animate radio stories that were broadcast on National Public Radio, drawing from what they learn about the characters through the audio recordings as well as in-person meetings.

On “Animated Documentaries”

Mike and Tim Rauch share their opinions of “animated documentaries.” They explain how animation can sometimes capture aspects of reality that traditional documentary footage cannot.