Objects At Rest

explorations in audio and moving imagery

Author: Grant

  • Atlanta Film Festival News – Opening Night and Puppet Screening

    I went to the opening night event and got my filmmaker badge and the program. Tonight is a screening at the Center for Puppetry Arts called “Handmade Puppet Dreams” which I plan to attend unless it has sold out since I didn’t know about it until last night.

    Before the event there are tables out in the lobby with handouts, programs, and other goodies. I did notice that some films (including the stopmo film Ichthys from Poland) had postcards and flyers. Very similar to miniature movie posters. I collected a handful for reference since they help “sell” the films and look really nice. I didn’t make any materials like that for my film but will probably consider it in the future. I particularly like the Ichthys (view the film makers site) flyer since it is printed on card stock and has a mix of contact info, production info, goals, inspirations, and story of the film, the biography of the director, and selected shots from the film. I can see how that would work well since it is a single document that can be used as both a press kit and also as a flyer/poster to advertise the film. Here is what it looks like:

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    They used a camera from the 1930’s. I can’t wait to see it later in the week and the puppet films tonight.

  • Durer Project: Behind the Scenes

    Here is some more production information about the Durer project which is complete and being submitted to various film festivals.

    The armatures and puppets are made out of bass wood, wooden beads, and threaded rods. The smallest bolts I could find are used to clamp the wood plates around the wooden beads that make up the character’s joints. It’s very similar to a metal armature but instead of aluminum or brass it is made out of wood. It works pretty well but the puppets have to be handled carefully and if you apply too much tension at the joints the wood plates start to crack. The masks and clothes are made out of craft foam sheets and hot glue. I also used acrylic paint to add shading and color.

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    I don’t recall having a written script or storyboard sketches for the Durer project but at least I found these sketches of set design ideas.

    For the stage and set construction I used a metal shelving unit on wheels and a sheet of MDF board with pre-drilled peg holes for the floor. I made the covering for the floor and the walls out of matt board. The table and props are made out of basswood and matt board. Finally, I used hot glue to join everything and acrylic paint for color, shading, and texture.

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  • Vitruvius: Set Development Update

    The main set for the Vitruvius project was constructed between April and May 2006. The following is a general description of the process and some photographs.

    Materials used:

    • Pink insulation board for making set mock-ups, the background hills and buildings
    • Durham’s Rock Hard Water Putty to cover the insulation that make up the background hills
    • Acrylic modeling paste for smoothing out areas that were too textured from the water putty
    • Balsa and pine wood for constructing the temple ruins
    • Epoxy putty (called Quick Wood at Home Depot) for detailing and smoothing some parts of the set pieces
    • Shades of green and brown acrylic paint
    • Poly-fil and spray adhesive for making foliage and wire covered in liquid latex for tree trunks (see previous post)

    The stage is made out of pine and mounted to a metal shelving unit on wheels. I used insulation board and hot glue to mock up some architectural ruins and explored composition by using the camera viewfinder to check for positioning. For the initial test of the stage and materials I used pink insulation foam and water putty to make a sculpted background.

    I found the materials and stage to be adequate and proceeded to work out the final design. I sketched rough visuals of set pieces that I would need and compositional arrangements for the overall set design.

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    The foreground architectural pieces were made from balsa and pine wood and carved with a Dremel. I chose wood for the foreground elements because it affords some strength and stability during the animation. I also think that wood is easer to modify and repair in case I need to drill, carve or glue things during filming.

    Insulation board covered in water putty was used to build up the vertical dimensions of the stage floor, especially to either side of the central area. The idea is to break up the ground from being a totally flat plane which should help the foreground visually blend into the background. The background is made of 3 planes of insulation board covered in water putty. The buildings are also made of insulation board covered in a plaster-of-paris fabric wrap. Everything is smoothed over with acrylic modeling paste and then painted.

    For the trees and foliage I used poly-fill and wire coated with liquid latex (see previous post). Once all the set pieces were constructed, textured, and painted, I secured everything with wood glue, hot glue, or screws.

    Photos of set development.

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  • “Man Drawing…” to Premier at the Atlanta Film Festival

    It is official. My short film “Man Drawing a Reclining Woman” will premier at the Atlanta Film Festival on June 15, 2006. It is part of the Animation Extravaganza which screens a group of selected shorts in a 2 hour venue.

    I’m looking forward to seeing “Ichthys”, “Dragon”, “Loom” and “The Wraith of Cobble Hill”.

    Links:

  • Armature Anatomy and Proportions – Updated

    example

    example

    These are the anatomy pattern sheets that I have been using for my wire armature development. I looked through some “anatomy for artists” books and made the figure design based on 1″ units for the male pattern and 15/16″ units for the female pattern. The nice thing is that I can just pick any size unit and then by applying that unit of measurement from dot to dot I can create armatures of any size and keep the proportions in the anatomically correct relationships (or at least close enough). It turns out that each measure is made up of equal units or halving the units at the point where I make a mark or dot. Very much like connect the dots. When finished, I know how long to make a piece of armature wire for the arms, legs, back and so forth.

    The female armature is constructed in a similar manner to the male but the unit of measurement is 15/16″ and some adjustments are made in the measurements at the chest and the pelvis. I start with the 1 position like the male pattern but when I get past the 4th dot and enter the chest area I measure 1 unit then move back 1/2 space then move forward 1/2 of the remaining space. That marks the center of the upper chest. It results in a smaller shoulder width than the male pattern. In my pattern sheet you can see the tiny dots flanking the center dot. Once I have the upper chest marked I continue down marking the spaces like the male pattern and continue down to the end. At the number 3 position I halve the unit of measurement and work my way back up through the head. For the female pattern I used a full unit of measurement to the left and right of the pelvis section which makes the pelvic area wider than the male pattern which uses a total of only 1 unit of measurement.

    I can’t say that these patterns are biologically correct but at least this method helps get the armature construction moving and I can do slight tweaks to the puppet until it looks right.