[ explorations in audio and moving imagery ]
VITRVVIVS screened during the Experimental Block at the 2009 Rome Georgia International Film Festival on September 11, 2009 at 11pm. I estimate that between 20 and 30 people attended the block. Many thanks to those that came out to see and support the experimental films at the festival. The live-action-stop-motion film cycle.break. by Stephanie Shadden…
VITRVVIVS will be screening at the Rome (GA) International Film Festival on Friday, September 11, 2009 at 11pm. It is part of the experimental block…and a nominee for that category! I am humbled and excited that they selected my film. It looks like Mythic Journeys is also playing (and a nominee for american documentary) which…
While backing up my VITRVVIVS files I reflected on my Sony Vegas file naming convention. The file names are listed below to illustrate the incremental numbering for each session so I can rollback if something goes wrong: VIT-EDIT-FINALCUT-01.veg VIT-EDIT-FINALCUT-02.veg VIT-EDIT-FINALCUT-03.veg What this means is, with the date modified system info as well as my file…
Festival Entry Specifications Title: VITRVVIVS Running Time: Approximately 17 min 35 sec Format: DVD, NTSC, LETTERBOX, COLOR, STEREO Language: Esperanto Subtitles: English Date Completed: September 2008 Now that the film is completed I am burning DVDs to send to a few festivals. I have plans for a future official DVD release which will have a…
I captured my editor workspace tonight and this is what it looks like. That’s the whole film across the top…about 17 minutes at this point but that may change. I think screen caps of editing workspaces from other animators would be interesting. I may have to check flickr to see if there is a pool…
Vitruvius is still being edited in between other activities (including prep work for the next project). I actually find taking time away from a project to be good because when you view it again after weeks or months of absence you can view it fresh and sometimes differently. As I recall, it was almost a…
Slowly I am getting back into the Vitruvius project. Most of the puppet filming is done and now begins the task of creating the assets for post-production compositing. The Flash animation below is a test for the various line drawings that are planned for the film. The idea is to export animations such as this…
I have all but finished the filming for Vitruvius except for some pick-up shots. There is one more sequence to shoot and then I’ll be taking a break during most of July and August before starting post-production. During the fall I’ll begin editing and working on post-production effects as well as revisiting the audio portions…
Forty years ago today Sgt. Pepper was released. My favorite tracks are Getting Better, Lovely Rita, and A Day in the Life. The album is going to be on repeat as my background music when I work on Vitruvius later today. I think Justin and Shel may put videos on in the background when animating.…
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.
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 following links play very short clips of footage from the Vitruvius project. The files are Quicktime movies at 320×240 resolution. Unfurled Writing Book IV The Orders of Antiquity The Books of Architecture More to come as filming continues.
The lighting that I have been using for my films so far consists of incandescent bulbs and inexpensive Clamp Lights that you can get at hardware stores. I believe Karl at Between the Frames may be using the same lighting system. I modify them by putting 4 holes around the rim which allow me to…
Listen to an MP3 of the Chord Progression Motif In between trying out the new Zigview video assist and doing other things I’ve started working on the musical score for the Vitruvius film. The motifs are being constructed in the key of G Sharp Minor and in the Dorian Mode. Why? Because that is the…
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…
I spent [another] hour with Macromedia/Adobe Flash tonight to experiment with animation timing and choreography of multiple objects. The result is the clip you see above. I used motion tweens to smooth everything out and added rotation to the objects to make the movement more dynamic. View the first version which was has very rough…
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…
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…
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’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…
I’ve been working on my armature development for the current project. The picture above ( click to enlarge) is of my latest armature tests. I’ve been using the aluminum wire and epoxy putty to make the skeleton of the armature then I use Sculpey Super Flex Bake & Bend to add muscles and body mass.…
I have been working with wire, Sculpey, and liquid latex to test armatures for my main character. I’ve also begun to try some animation tests to see how my armature will behave during production. Here is the first picture of my prototype character with costume. Vitruvius Project History (draft version while I revisit my notes…
This is the first post of the Objects at Rest animation studio blog. I recently completed my first short animation film titled “Man Drawing a Reclining Woman” which is based on a Durer woodcut and will be submitting it to film festivals. Currently I am in the development stages of my next project which is…