STOP MOTION ANIMATION PRODUCTION
Stop MotionA technique used to make an object appear to moving on its own. Stop motion has a long history in
ClaymationClaymation is a form of animation in which each subject or object within the frames are deformable. Objects are usually made from maleable substances.
Claymation works by objects being sculpted around an armature, which is basically a wired body for the c |
PixilationThis is another stop motion technique in which live actors are used as a frame by frame subject in an animated film
Cut OutInvolves the use of animated 2D characters, props, backgrounds usually made from card, stiff fabric and even photographs.
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Cut-Out Animation Review
Review
To get started, i collected different pieces of card and cut out several shapes and sizes of hair, eyes, noses and mouths. I then began to place the facial features on the white oval shaped paper, after doing this i prepared my iPod Touch in order to take the photos. In terms of animating the photos to create a sequence i continuously moved and changed the characters features fairly often for it to look smooth.
i would say that the Lighting in the animation was sufficient and in effect, strengthened the overall short because you could actually see the expressions clearly and were able to coherently understand the character's initial emotion. Although the character's Expression was understood and seen clearly, the actual cutting out and drawing of the features should have been done a whole lot better, as this would have imp[roved the animation even more so. The biggest mistake or downfall of the animation would most definitely be the steadiness of the iPod Touch. I wasn't able to successfully keep it still enough resulting in the actual paper moving around, causing it to look as if the paper or background were animated too. Which was certainly not the plan! As this was my first test, i made the most probably "common" mistake of, moving the features of the character's face too far from the last frame. This in effect made the animation look very choppy and rigid which took away from the very successfully drawn facial features. This brought me to the conclusion that, a "slighter" or thee "slightest' movement will result in a "smoother" sequence. |
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STOP MOTION BRAINSTORM
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STOP MOTION ANIMATION COMPARISON
Bagpuss The Mouse Mill |
Wallace & Gromit |
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Character Creation
Idea Development
1. How can you technically produce the animation?
Will you use: Cut-out, Pixillation, 3D Stop motion (clay, models/toys, ‘real’ objects-pens, laptops, bottles etc)
my initial plan is to produce a Cut Out animation.
2. how long will the animation be?
the animation will range from between 30s - 1.00mins
3. how many frames per second would you be aiming for?
possibly 30 per second in order for the story to be properly understood.
4. who would your target audience be?
my animation will be directly targeted at children / younger teens. i believe that the storyline will appeal more to kids due to the nature or the content (funny, silly, childish, happy, crazy)
5. character sketches (mainly animals)
Will you use: Cut-out, Pixillation, 3D Stop motion (clay, models/toys, ‘real’ objects-pens, laptops, bottles etc)
my initial plan is to produce a Cut Out animation.
2. how long will the animation be?
the animation will range from between 30s - 1.00mins
3. how many frames per second would you be aiming for?
possibly 30 per second in order for the story to be properly understood.
4. who would your target audience be?
my animation will be directly targeted at children / younger teens. i believe that the storyline will appeal more to kids due to the nature or the content (funny, silly, childish, happy, crazy)
5. character sketches (mainly animals)
Initial Character Sketches
Concept's
Two completely opposite zoo animals that become or are already best friends. The main storyline will be based around their everyday life, most specifically how much they argue and cause a scene at the zoo...
"The Shelf"
Set in a desolate living room shelf, home to three lonely toys that secretly come to life during the night and educate themselves with the various books on the shelf.
Stop Motion Animation Soundtrack
Music to create Tone and Mood
"Arrival Of The Birds" - The Cinematic Orchestra |
"Ma Fleur" - The Cinametic Orchestra |
"Cocaine" - The Internet |
"Marriage" - Gold Panda |
"Burn Out" - The Cinematic Orchestra
Dialogue to express speech
"Arrival Of The Birds" - The Cinematic Orchestra |
"Ma Fleur" - The Cinametic Orchestra |
"Cocaine" - The Internet |
"Marriage" - Gold Panda |
"Burn Out" - The Cinematic Orchestra
Dialogue to express speech
Inspiration
Ode to a Post-It NoteOn a cluttered office desk plastered with Post-it Note to do lists, one little Post-it Note escapes on an incredible journey of self-discovery to find his father.
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Adress Is ApproximateStory: A lonely desk toy longs for escape from the dark confines of the office, so he takes a cross country road trip to the Pacific Coast in the only way he can -- using a toy car and Google Maps Street View.
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Experimentation
Before i begin the process in creating my initial animation, i will plan and test the movement of certain objects in order to see how they work in terms of rotation and general movement.
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REVIEW
After carrying out several tests (not actual location), i realised that the camera motion had to be much slower in order for the animation sequence to smoothly transmit from the actual piece of footage. i have purposely chosen three characters that all move or rotate in a different way, in order to give my stop motion animation a sense of variation. For example, r2 d2 has swinging legs, whereas the wolf toy in the middle has a twistable wind-up body. I am very happy about efficient amount of lighting projected onto the characters especially because i was only using one small table lamp.
After successfully reviewing my initial mistakes, i began filming the beginning sequence of my animation in its actual location. I feel that the lighting was spot on in terms of creating the effect i originally had in mind. Not too dark, yet bright enough to see the character.
Proposal
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Final Storyboard
The Shelf
The Shelf (Unrefined Cut)The Shelf (Final)Evaluation |
Questionnaire (please answer all required fields) |