Portlandia
‘Zero Rats’

Portlandia, the IFC comedy series about Portland, challenged Bent to create segments featuring the shows comedy stars Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein as stop motion rats. The show’s creators wanted the rats to be both realistic but also resemble the well known comedians. To achieve this, Bent’s director Rob Shaw turned the character development process on its head and first filmed the actors recording their lines. Rob then used the look, mannerisms and style of the comedians for creating the stop motion rats. The comedians are famous for add-libing and Rob worked hard to keep that feeling of free styling and impromptu in the rat’s performance. The result was a loveable cast that returned for encores throughout the shows’ seasons.