STOP MOTION
Stop motion animation is a technique which manipulates objects to seem as if they can move on their own . A collective of images are used consecutively to create a smooth, realistic movement. It has been used in all sorts of media such as cartoons, advertisements and channel idents. TV animation is commonly produced in 2D and 3D. 3D stop motion animation is typically targeted at younger audience, such as children and toddlers whereas 2D animation tends to be targeted at an older audience.
Cartoon |
Stop motion is used in television programmes such as Morph and South Park. Morph is a good example of how 3D animation can be used to target a younger audience as a Plasticine object is brought to life. South Park is an animated series solely for adults. The 2D adult sitcom was created using construction paper cut outs animated via stop motion.
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Advertisements |
In the early 1930s, animation and stop motion tended to only be used in cartoon and comic strips; advertisements were commonly theatrical broadcasts with an actor persuading you to buy a product. However in the 1940s, stop motion slowly became an art within the advertising industry. The video on the left features a cigarette advert from the 1940s which uses stop motion to open the cigarette package at the beginning of the advert. This would have been a new and exciting experience for the audience as this type of cinematographic technique they had not seen in an advert before.
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The McDonalds advert on the right shows how stop motion is still a popular approach in advertising today because it gives a modern twist on the technique that has been used for almost 100 years. Stop motion may also increase a customers interest in the product because we can see how much attention to detail this type of animation requires |
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Channel idents |
A channel ident is a short visual image that usually features between TV programmes that create a logo and remind the audience what channel they are watching. The Channel 4 ident was extremely successful because it was easily identifiable, as the logo stayed the same, yet each ident was different in the way the logo morphed together. This meant Channel 4 could keep on creating idents with the same style and logo, but could feature huge differences in setting, scene and characters but the logo would always end up morphing together. |
Film |
Stop motion animation has been used in the film industry since its foundation in the early 20th Century. It has been the sole cinematographic technique in extremely successful films such as 'Wallace and Gromit' and 'Fantastic Mr. Fox'. In both films, classic handmade stop motion techniques are utilised to tell stories to a young audience. A lot of time is put into sculpting characters, objects and sets which is where the quality of the films comes from, making them so popular. |
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Types of stop motion
Claymation |
Clay animation is a unique form of stop motion where clay is sculpted into figures. It started in 1897 when modelling clay was invented and is still a popular type of animation today. Multiple stills of the sculptures would be taken , moving the character slightly between each image. As the images were displayed consectutively, it gave the impression the figure was alive or moving.
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Simliar to Claymation, Puppet Animation uses characters and set that have already been made but instead of using modelling clay, puppets are used. In most cases it is more practical than modelling clay because the puppets dont have to have every part of them sculpted, they have human like qualities and can be moved freely to show different movements. Puppet animation can also limit the characters expression where as claymation can offer complete freedom with a figures expression, movement and size. |
Puppet animation |
Cut out animation |
Cut out animation is a 2D stop motion technique that uses flat characters, props and setting from materials such as construction paper, photographs or fabric which are arranged on a flat surface, manually re-positioned to prompt animation. |
Pixilation is a style of animation that uses humans instead of figurines, puppets or objects and animates them giving a surreal look to a real life image. This form of stop motion animation dates back to 1910 and can be challenging because the actors have to be still between images or while the setting is changed. This can be impractical or discomforting for actors but the product may appear to flow if they move |
pixIlation |
object animation |
This involves the animation of non-drawn objects which are non fully malleable and are not are not designed to look like an animal or human. |
Silhouette Animation is commonly presented in black and white, with a dark (usually black) cardboard silhouette on a white back drop. This type of animation relies solely on motion, pace and time to convey emotion with silhouettes. |
SILHOUETTE animation |
Why animation?
Animation is a unique way of broadcasting abstract concepts and takes the audience to where live action couldn't. It gives the creator complete freedom to make the impossible possible which cannot be done when shot live. This can be shown when we take cartoon characters into live films where they are played by actors; the audience does not see the character they saw in the cartoon because something from a higher dimension has been brought to our dimension. This causes the audience to need explanations for the impossible which is natural in the animation world. It is because of this animation continues to thrive in media, for example, animation is a dynamic way to present research , especially in schools where it can be used as a learning tool and motivates students to learn in an entertaining, engaging manner.
Materials
This animation is extremely effective because the images taken change at a fast pace which causes the film to appear almost natural as if the figurines were alive. The animator also pays attention to movement of the camera as if it were a real film. At 0:05 it appears as if the camera pans in on Iron Man giving us a clear mid-shot of the figurine. I think this contributes towards creating a realistic film-like scene, making the film more exciting to watch
and leaves an effective impression of a fight on the audience. When the footage is slowed down, we can see how each image changes as the fight progresses. I noticed that that images do not always transition smoothly however because the footage is faster, it is hardly noticeable. This shows the practicality of shooting a fast pace scene in the sense that the images do not have to be exact when transitioning, but if lots of images are show per second, the films flow exceeds a film where there are less per second. The fact the characters in this film are figurines makes creating the action a lot more practical than, for example, Plasticine because the figures can easily be shaped into human like positions and the animator does not have to worry about proportion and sizing of the characters body parts. |
'iron man vs bruce lee' - patrick boivin |
'WEstern spaghetti' - PES |
In this video, object animation is combined with pixilation to create a life-like picture with inanimate objects. What makes this piece particularly effective is the attention to detail which makes this a really convincing piece. My favourite part was at 0:15 where the human pumps 'oil' into the frying pan. PES does a brilliant job of giving the tin foil liquid properties as it simmers in the pan. This would have taken a long time to create because liquid flows and to give the audience the impression the tin foil is a liquid, the frame rate of the film would have to be increased otherwise the foil would almost appear to jump and the effect would be lost. I also think including pixilation sets the style of the short film as real life objects are doing impossible things yet we do not question it because, although we seem close to real life, at the start of the film we saw the arm move as if were an animation and not shot live.
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This video is extremely satisfying to watch because the marker seems to flow around the whiteboard as if it were made on a computer. Using a whiteboard to create a stop motion animation is an efficient, cheap and fairly easy way where, just like all animation, the only limit is your imagination. Something I find interesting about this style of animation is how the camera can seem to move when neither the whiteboard or the camera have been moved; an image is just enlarged and the audience is tricked into thinking a movement has taken place. This can be seen at 1:42. Another way this piece is effective is how object animation has been integrated into it. Objects in this video such as the iPod or the playing cards appear to have a relationship with this marker pen that is constantly moving. I like this because it draws objects from our world into this impossible whiteboard dimension and really expresses the endless possibilities animation can bring to the film world.
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Stop motion whiteboard video |
Batch processing
how to batch process in adobe photoshop
For this example, we are changing the resolutuion of the images from their camera quality to a 1080p stard video resolution. Click Image, Image size. Change the resolution to 1080 (pixels). Click File, Save as and save the image as a new file. Go back to actions and press stop. The action will now stop being recorded. |
Stop motion project
Brief plan |
Two guys are walking over some hills on a sunny day. The walk up one of the hills and find a large spherical object. One of the characters runs over to kick it and it does not budge. He really hurts his foot. The other walks over to the ball and tries to push it. The sphere doesn’t move. Both characters try to push the sphere yet it still doesn’t move. The two walk back down the hill and return the following day to find the sphere has disappeared. They look around and find the sphere has moved to another hill. They run over confused as the sphere still won’t budge. One of the guys runs off and brings back a jack hammer. He starts to aim it at the sphere when a head pops out (it is a tortoise). As the jack hammer touches the sphere the tortoise lets out a huge scream. The guys are startled and go running home.
My target audience is children and possibly young adults who would also find it amusing. The lack of speech should appeal to a younger audience as the action and sounds in the animation will be their main focus and what they find entertaining. |
apply understanding of a range of processes from stop motion
Materials |
Object animation is a good way to bring inanimate objects to life. Although they are not fully malleable, I could spend less time modelling than with clay, and more time working on a story line or the setting. It is also quite hard to maintain the shape of a clay figure if it is squashed or knocked whereas an object's shape will remain the same. In contrast this can be a problem if I want to make the object change shape as its flexibility can be limited. Another advantage of object animation is that the lighting, camera movement and spatial relationship are not virtual so images can be taken the way the creator prefers. However, it can be challenging to tell a story with objects because they cannot show facial expressions.
Cut out is a fairly simple animation technique where 2-D characters, props and setting are created from card, paper or fabric. Characters are usually divided into smaller segments to make their body movements more natural and gives the creator more freedom when animating. One of the main advantages of cut out animation is that it requires fewer drawing than say an animation made with a whiteboard because one character is cut out, then each segment is moved to bring it to life. A short movement of a character in a cut out animation would be a lot less time consuming than one that was drawn because the segments are already there and do not have to be drawn again, making the process generally quicker. A disadvantage of cut out animation is that it is difficult to achieve smooth movements and projects may appear jumpy but I quite like this style and the way it flows. |
SurveyI conducted a survey to decide whether cut out animation or object animation would suit my narrative. Although object animation would practically be less time consuming to create, I feel cut out animation would be a more interesting way of telling my story because I have more freedom and choice creating characters who are relevant to the story line.
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South Park |
South Park is an award winning animated series that has been around since the 90s. It was originally created by Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Brian Graden using cut out animation with construction paper. For their pilot episode, the animation team had to print out every character onto construction paper with around 8 -12 different mouth expressions and replaceable body parts so their characters could move.
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As shown here in the pilot, everything, was created using construction paper. This meant swapping out bits of paper every time an image was taken. The South Park creators spent 3 months producing the pilot which they realised was going to be impractical if they wanted to start a series. Since then, the South Park creators have used computer programs such as Maya, a powerful 3-D animation programme, to make the extremely popular series. However, the original construction paper used in the pilot episode has been scanned into a large computer database so they could keep the same textures for almost 19 years.
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For my stop motion project I would like to create a cut out animation with a similar style to the pilot episode of South Park, using lots of pieces of construction card that can be swapped in and out of a scene to create a story. |
How my narrative would suit my target audience
My short animation will feature little speech and focus the entertainment on my characters movements and actions, suiting my target audience of children. The use of cut out animation means the characters are humans which can be understood however they have infinite possibilities which is where children would find the film appealing. For my animation I will be using construction paper to create my two characters along with replaceable body parts so they can be moved as if they were alive.
An example a successful animation with little speech is Tom and Jerry. It has been around for over 70 years and has entertained every generation of children since the 40's. The cartoon features almost no speech what so ever which is why I think it is so successful. It can be understood by anyone because there is not a language barrier and is entertaining for adults and children. |
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Production plan
I will be shooting my animation at 25fps. This is so the stop motion appears smooth but is practical to the timeframe I have to make the film. If I were to take more pictures per second, I may find myself rushing the project and produce a piece of lower quality.
The material I have chosen to use for my animation is coloured construction paper. I will need blue and green to create the hillside setting. For the character Steve, I will use yellow (for the skin) light blue (jacket) and a deeper blue (jeans). My second character, Mike, will need yellow (skin) orange (hair), red (top) and green (trousers). Instead of purchasing black card I will use a permanent marker on other construction card for the shoes, Steve’s hair and pupils for all characters. For the tortoise I will use green card (skin) and light blue (shell).
As my stop motion uses cut out animation, almost all of the project will be shot in 2-D which means I will be taking photos from a high angle. To ensure my lighting stays consistent, I will shoot in a room where the natural light source can be adjusted to none so I have full control lighting each scene. I will turn on the rooms light so I can clearly see what I am doing when I shoot but to avoid shadows appearing over my set, I will use a bright light mounted on top of the camera.
All of my production will be shot in my house as the locations are man-made sets.
The production will require a lot of extra sounds. I will need to record:
The material I have chosen to use for my animation is coloured construction paper. I will need blue and green to create the hillside setting. For the character Steve, I will use yellow (for the skin) light blue (jacket) and a deeper blue (jeans). My second character, Mike, will need yellow (skin) orange (hair), red (top) and green (trousers). Instead of purchasing black card I will use a permanent marker on other construction card for the shoes, Steve’s hair and pupils for all characters. For the tortoise I will use green card (skin) and light blue (shell).
As my stop motion uses cut out animation, almost all of the project will be shot in 2-D which means I will be taking photos from a high angle. To ensure my lighting stays consistent, I will shoot in a room where the natural light source can be adjusted to none so I have full control lighting each scene. I will turn on the rooms light so I can clearly see what I am doing when I shoot but to avoid shadows appearing over my set, I will use a bright light mounted on top of the camera.
All of my production will be shot in my house as the locations are man-made sets.
The production will require a lot of extra sounds. I will need to record:
- Characters lines
- The sound of kicking a rock
- Jackhammer
Timetable / Source of action
Timetable / Source of action
Monday: Creating Characters and Set
Tuesday: Photographing, Edit Segment 1
Wednesday: Photographing, Edit segment 2
Thursday: Recording sounds
Friday: Finalizing Edit, add sounds.
Monday: Creating Characters and Set
Tuesday: Photographing, Edit Segment 1
Wednesday: Photographing, Edit segment 2
Thursday: Recording sounds
Friday: Finalizing Edit, add sounds.