Stop motion Videos

Tetriscide - 'Tony vs Paul' - Pixilation

Media: Canon GL1 camera, human figures, natural environment, Final Cut Pro for editing

Techniques: No Green Screens were used in this animation, but the scene wherein the letters are falling from the page sent from Paul to Tony has been animated.

The animated figures themselves were photographed at 15 fps. Both men assumed each pose without any aid from supports or props, including even the 'flying', created by each 'actor' jumping into the air for each photo.

The creators of the animation were also able to use and manipulate their environment with the two characters, to seemingly give natural objects and scenery moving, living qualities.

To create the effect of the characters passing through certain objects (e.g. the wire fence) the actor stands directly behind the fence, as close to it as possible without applying pressure to it. After the appropriate shots have been taken, the actor then moves to position himself directly in front of the fence, aligned exactly parallel to his previous position behind the fence (this could have been marked onto the fence somehow, to ensure the actor would be in the right position) and pressed as far back as possible without moving the fence. The figure could then continue with the movement from that scene.

Another example of the actors interacting with their environment is the scene set in the park. The characters battle and chase eachother using varied parts of the play equipment (e.g. the swings and monkey bars), where each separate movement from and to different areas of the equipment would be photographed.

In my opinion, the amount of detail used in each photograph, creating each frame, is of very high quality and the overall animation flows very effectively, which suggests that the creators have separated the movements and captured every individual one extremely well.

The final animation took 2 months to produce, and contained over 4000 photographs.

Knox's Korner - Klay World 'Glass of Water' - Claymation

Media: Plasticine

Techniques: The idea of moving the clay downwards to show that gravity is moving the objects such as the towel and rope is very effective as it creates a sense of realism, despite the characters being quite unrealistic.

The characters themselves, while not resembling a real form, are effective as unique humanoid forms which can generally appeal to any audience.
The plasticine used to create the characters is quite rough, and it appears that the models lack an armature to support them, which doesn't seem to pose as a problem due to the fact that a lot of plasticine is used to create the fairly thick models.

The lack of real scenery in the background doesn't detract from the animation as the focus of the camera is generally on the characters, but the lack of any colour in the background makes it seem a bit plain, though this could be intentional as the characters are brightly coloured.

Overall this animation is entertaining, but not very professionally done, despite the fact that this is intended. The scenery could be more interesting but as the focus is on the characters this is not necessarily a negative thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUrzcaIaixQ

The Feeling - 'Sewn' - Object Animation

Media: Human figures, environment, pieces of rope, string, twine etc, bed sheets

Techniques: The beginning of the video has been computer animated, whereas the middle of the video onwards includes stop-motion animation of various objects coiling around the members of the band. The stiffer items like rope and twine would stand up by themselves and would be easier to animate rising and coiling, whereas for the string and softer objects, thin wire could be inserted into the centre to make it sturdier.

The use of colours concerning the animated objects is very dull as the room is dark for the majority of the video, but this could possibly be changed (e.g. there could be variations of colours of string) to help the objects stand out a bit more.

The idea of the band members interacting with the objects is very effective, it really gives off the effect of them being ensnared and literally 'sewn'. The more difficult parts of the interaction (e.g. the sewing through the lips) have been computer animated, as it would be close to impossible to animate an object travelling through skin without creating a duplicate of the person in plasticine, for example.

Overall this video is very effective and conveys a very strong message using its animation, both computer-created and stop-motion. The colours could be a little more varied to establish the objects a little better, but otherwise everything is clear and professionally done.

GiR2007 - 'Pancakes II' - Pixilation and object animation

Media: Human figures, food items (ingredients, pancakes, toppings), utensils, environment (kitchen)

Techniques: The use of something transparent to hang the carton of milk from (e.g. fishing wire) has worked effectively to convey the idea that the carton is floating from the fridge to the person's hand. The movement of each of the ingredients between utensils is very smooth, suggesting that a lot of photographs were taken.

The use of the constantly changing camera angles is effectively done, showing the movement of objects from different angles (e.g. the eggs moving around the pan and sink, across the counter).
The scenery and background are bright, which keeps the focus on the video and shows the time of day effectively.

Overall this animation is very smooth and entertaining, and is also educational in an amusing way, which appeals to a wide range of audiences.

'The Adventures of Mark Twain' - Puppet animation and claymation

Media: Plasticine, armatures

Techniques: Clay painting is used to morph the face of 'Satan' into different expressions and forms, which is effectively utilised as it moves smoothly and in plenty of detail. Armatures will have been used to sturdy the characters as they are anatomically correct and need support to stand and move.

The background scenery, although simple, is effective in showing the location the characters are in, and draws the focus to the area of land in the centre of the video.

The use of more clay painting later in the video depicts the grass and flowers growing over the land, which is aesthetically pleasing, despite the scenery and the story itself.
The variety of bright colours used in this animation is very eyecatching and a lot of detail is also placed in textures of clothing, bricks made from the sand, etc.

Also, the use of clay models being created by the puppets has been created very effectively, giving the puppets a more human appearance in comparison.

Although this animation wouldn't appeal to a large range of audiences, it is brilliantly created with smooth animation, creative foreground scenery and interesting characters.