[ explorations in audio and moving imagery ]
FADE IN INT. ANIMATION STUDIO – NIGHT An experimental animator posts a final blog update about writing a script in one month for something called Script Frenzy. A printed copy of his final script sits nearby waiting to be read. Empty stage sets from some unfinished stopmotion projects hug the nearby walls. Puppet parts huddle…
Seventy-six pages done! I continue to write my script non-linearly. As one scene is written, the dialogue or descriptions will spark ideas that are incorporated into other scenes. Celtx has an index card view that lets you drag-and-drop scenes anywhere in the script. It is a great feature and is similar to moving video clips…
I made it past page 50 this week for Script Frenzy! I spent some time this weekend using MindMeister which helps since I dove right in on April 1st with no real character or plot outlines. So far, the combination of mind-mapping in MindMeister and writing the script in Celtx seems promising. The mind map…
Sometime on April 1st I learned about Script Frenzy via news feeds and tweets and looked into it further. For several years, I have had one idea for a feature length, live-action film so I decided to sign up for the frenzy to see what I could come up with. I usually storyboard my animation…
I viewed a work in progress video by Justin Rasch and Shel Wagner Rasch recently. The support rig is still visible, which is fascinating to see. What appears to be a free weight is being used for the base. I had previously been drilling holes in the floor of my sets to hold wire support…
Watch on Vimeo My short experiment titled VICTUAL 1 is now online. I did the animation one evening during the week and completed the audio tracks this weekend. Sven Bonnichsen’s recent “mutate” project inspired me to try something quick and improvisational. I haven’t worked with clay before, but wanted to try something simple and organic…
I did an animation tonight using the pop thru ideas mentioned in the previous post. Here is the result. Plant a Tree – An Arbor Day PSA and Pop-thru Animation Test
Sven posted some intriguing ideas about utilizing pop-thru in a project as the actual method of animating for stopmotion. The idea appeals to me especially in terms of time. Wanting to see what it felt like to I threw my character on the stage and tried some poses and here is the result. The total…
There is a thread on stopmotionanimation.com about walk cycles. Here is a test that I did many months ago. I used the trial version of Stop Motion Pro and my web cam.
The Sword of Damocles is a short stop motion animation that was made in response to the StopMoShorts December 2006 contest. The contest provided three words (sword, cave, and fear) to inspire animators. I focused on the sword with the idea of doing something related to the legend of the Sword of Damocles. I would…
The secondary set (aka the Serlio Set) is almost done. Part of this secondary set development includes another minimal set that will be used for my prologue. I want to include some form of introductory segment in the Vitruvius film. The idea for a prologue emerged after listening to comments from people who saw my…
May 2006 was character development month complete with armatures, mask-making, and clothing. The puppets for the Vitruvius project are made of aluminum wire and epoxy putty for âbonesâ? in the arms, torso, pelvis, legs, and feet. Iâm using the Nick Hilligoss T-shaped tie down method for the feet. The head construction starts with balsa wood…
View Quicktime MOV (approx 4MB) Prior to 2003 I had been working with Lightwave and 3D computer graphics as my medium for independent film projects. As it turns out those projects never left the pre-production phase because in 2003 I made a wooden ball-and-socket joint to see if it would simulate the function of a…
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…