[ explorations in audio and moving imagery ]
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…
More test footage with the forest and house.
In addition to making tiny steps toward the completion of Vitruvius I’ve also started pre-production on some other projects. Part of the process is getting familiar with the HV20 and further development of the sets. Doing these tests help determine composition and lighting but instead of just taking a single photograph I animate several seconds…
I tried out the dolly and confirmed that the current tripod mount is unstable…although I kind of like the uneven quality of the movement. I’ll probably try to mount the whole track on something more stable. Click to view
Update. I did another test tonight and got the motion smoothed out. This is more of the effect I was aiming to achieve. WATCH MOVIE Here is my original post and first test: Another test clip. I am finishing the assembly of the stage curtain and wanted to see how it would animate. The answer…not…
Tonight I continued to put my set pieces back together and started shooting test photos to check alignment and spacing between the background, the stage, and the camera.
I’m hoping to get back into production on the Vitruvius film in April. I’ve started to re-build my sets in my new studio. The following picture captures my carts and stages better than previous photos.
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…
A couple of quick behind-the-scenes photos of the Serlio prologue stage sets. I’m in the process of shooting footage with the Serlio books and will finish the set design for the Serlio puppet when I begin shooting those scenes next. You can see my set framework in these photos which is constructed with pine…
View Quicktime Movie I used the Flash pre-visualization test (see previous post) to assist with a very short test using my actual set and objects. I printed out the Flash movie as a series of small thumbnails on 8.5″ x 11″ paper. I then used the printed sheets of individual frames for visual reference when…
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…
REVISED UPDATE – NEW PHOTO OF SECONDARY SET: Update to my update. I’m playing around with a desk, chair, and props for the puppet. ORIGINAL POST: The secondary set is almost done. It is a minimal and basic set for the Serlio character which is also being modified a little. I need to make 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…
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…
I needed some trees for the set have more detail set so I got some poly-fil and something called “cluster stuff” which looks like very tiny cotton balls. I’m using a flat green interior latex paint for coloring the ground and foliage. I’m waiting for the paint to dry and will then attempt to put…
I sometimes paint on canvas with acrylics. The big easels at the art store always grab my attention but they can cost a large sum of money. Some time ago I stumbled across this web site with plans on how to build your own easel with 2×4’s. The advantage is that you can build an…
I’ve finished my draft set design and now I’m working out the composition and refining the dimensions and space needed for the objects of the set and the background.
I recently completed my draft set design. (Photos 1 and 2) I used a sheet of foam insulation and hot glue to form the basic shape. (Photo 3) I also threw together some architecture props to see if using foam and watery putty was going to work. (Photo 4) I covered the foam with two…