Falling

I put the edited images onto an app called ‘Flipagram’ as this was the only app that would allow me to display each photo for less than a second. It also allowed me to put on a strobe light effect which I think makes it more engaging.

Transition scene

To achieve the loop video I want, I needed a way to get my character from the fair ground to the grave yard. I’ve decided to fashion an Alice in wonderland type scene of my character falling into a scary dark place.

I couldn’t film this like the other scenes as she can’t float on air for me to take a picture…SO, I made the dark hole/ void, and took pictures of it going down and turning (13). Then I took 13 pictures of my doll on white paper and super imposed each image individually.

The app I used to edit the photos is called ‘SuperImpose’. I will then put the photos one after another to create the illusion of movement.

Feedback

We had a group crit which lead to some interesting ideas.

The main comment was that having my sets displayed underneath the video took away some sort of mystery- which I completely agree with. Having the sets there bought the whole thing into a more real and accessible place- and I don’t want that; I want the animation to feel other-worldly.

The second most interesting thing that was said was about the ending. I explained that I hadn’t filmed the final scene- but it would be the mister leading ingrid to her death. It was suggested to me that I should instead make the video as a loop, and have the video end the way it started. I love this idea- but it’s going to take slot of work to achieve.

The first scene is from my original animation ‘I miss you’. The set has been in storage and I destroyed my little boy in the process of filming; so I’ll need to make another figure- as well as resurrecting my graveyard set.

Formative exhibition

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I have decided to display my film on a plasma 50 inch TV (mounted) with my set underneath.

I am not sure if the set adds or takes away from the animation it’s self, but I will get feedback and make a decision before the final exhibition.

Zealous Creative

Their films have gone viral online, picked up 37 international film festival awards, and have been nominated for an Australian AFI and Academy Award.
‘The Maker’, has garnered such a following, it inspired a diversity of fan projects including illustrations, paintings, costumes, a game, a cake and even tattoos! Because the film has been so popular, they expanded the world into a novel called ‘The Magnum Opus’ which won three awards and is rated five stars on Amazon.

This animation has been an inspiration. I especially like the creation of made-up characters not seen in this world.

Robert Morgan

Robert Morgan (born 1974) is a British filmmaker, director and writer. He is most known for The Cat with Hands (2001), The Separation (2003) and Bobby Yeah (2011) which between them have won over 30 international awards.

This animation has had a long lasting effect on me personally, and not in a necessarily positive way. It plays on my mind and gives me feelings of anxiety. So from a viewers point of view, I hate it and wish I had never came across it; but from an artists point of view, the animation is extremely effective, and would love my own work to have such a profound effect. I think it was mainly the storyline that made it so horrible, which is different to other animations I have looked at, so I’ll definitely look into that more.

I also thought the audio was effective, the fact the characters didn’t talk but there was a constant eerie music was good. I also like the fact that the whole story line only showed two characters even though other people had to be involved. my own animation has just two characters, and I’m hopig tat the aufience will form a similar connection.

 

David Firth

Firth is an English animator, writer, musician, actor, voice actor, filmmaker, video artist and broadcaster. As a cartoonist, Firth’s work is largely distributed via the Internet, most notably through the popular Adobe Flash animation website Newgrounds and his own personal websites. Several of his works in Flash animation, along with multiple music videos and works of video art, have garnered large followings.[1] Since the downfall of Flash animation, David now mainly uses After Effects.

His creepy animations tend to have a very uncomfortable effect, which is what I am aiming for in my own practise. In this particular animation, he uses random noises and footage- which I really enjoy, and the sporadic style is something that id quite like to adopt as I think it is very effective.

Video editing

I have used two apps to do the basic compilation: ‘Stop Motion’ and ‘Splice’. I will use a computer software to edit the final film.

I have worked with 5 frames per second- which makes the film fluid enough, while still having the unnatural juttery feeling that I wanted.

Curation

I have decided to display my work in what we are calling the ‘nightmare room’. It is a dark room full of scary things e.g. a peppers ghost. I feel like my piece would fit well in this eerie atmosphere. We are also hoping to to a joint sound piece as a group to fill the whole of the room, to create a creepy setting.

The first draft!

I haven’t filmed the final scene as it involves destroying my character. I need to make sure I don’t need to re-film any part of it, or add scenes in. I have had positive feedback so far.

I will speak to my tutor on Thursday about what needs to be done to improve the animation before I take the final steps in completing the piece.

First scene

I’m still working on the transitions between clips, and filters. But I think this is a good start. (I may add or take away elements yet).

Ready to film!

I am using a softbox light in a dark-room (so I have complete control over the light) with an iPhone 6 camera (so it can go into the set easily).

Street of Crocodiles

This odd animation has a similar vibe to the animation I am striving for. Street of crocodiles has given me some animation inspiration, as well as the accompanying audio.

This series of weird sounds and music is something I’m definitely going to look into.

The making of my character (Ingrid)

to make the doll I used: a polystyrene ball, wool, acrylic paint, pipe clean wires, Clay, buttons and paper for the eyes.

Ray Harryhausen

Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British artist, designer, visual effects creator, writer and producer who created a form of stop-motion model animation known as “Dynamation”. During his life, his innovative style of special effects in films inspired numerous filmmakers including George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, John Lasseter, Peter Jackson, John Landis, Joe Dante, Henry Selick, Tim Burton, James Cameron, J.J. Abrams, Guillermo del Toro and Wes Anderson.

Harryhausen was a massive influence on the film world and animators world wide, and I consider him to have influenced me also. He put his mark on the film industry with his innovative animations.

Although I plan to work on a much smaller scale and in more of an art context, Ray Harryhousen should get mentioned as an influencer of my work.

Thinking about curation

My friend is also looking at stop motion animation. We thought we could work together to curate our videos. There was also discussion about collaborating our filming, for example having my monster go into her video. However for now, I am just going to take some photos of her monster and put it on the walls of my living room set, and she is going to have cave paintings of my monster in her set. I think this is a subtle and charming way of working together.

We are also thinking of having a room to ourselves and creating a joint sound piece as both of our videos are meant to make the viewer uncomfortable. So filling the room with eerie background noise/music.

Clay work

A lot of my living room set involved small features that I made out of clay. I have said this earlier on, but these things could be deemed art objects in themselves.

There are many details that have gone into the set construction, I hope that they pay off in the final animation.