Exploring Stop Motion Animation

In class we were set a task, this was to get into groups of two or three and make a stop motion animation based on an original idea in order to explore the field further to see if we might be interested in using this for our final film opening piece. 

I was paired with George Huggins and we both decided to take the virtual game 'Pac-Man" and make that the theme of out animation. We started by making the models out of play-doh, ensuring that measurements and colours were correct according to the original, we added googly eyes to our models and proceeded to make the background set - a maze. After this we set out our characters on the sheet of the A3 paper background, moved them to where they needed to be and took a photograph, we repeated this process until we had reached the end.

The idea of this stop motion animation was that, like in the game, ghosts would be chasing pac-man, trying to trap him so that the individual playing the game looses, we played on this and initially let pac-man run free until he took a wrong turn which lead to his death and loss of game. In the end you will see some shots saying 'Game Over', as the original would had you lost.

As this was practise we didn't want to make the film too long, in fact we underestimated how short the film would be even though we had taken what had seemed like a lot of shots. Through making this film pro's and con's of stop-motion animation films became clearer to us and easier to understand. Below is our final end product (Pac-Man stop motion animation film) and further below it is a list of pro's and con's of a stop motion animation film both in terms of making it and the final result.

Below you can see some pro's and con's I have come up with of stop motion animation...



PROS	CONS
Brings an image or virtual game to life	It takes time to make the models + set and get them the exact way you want
Can be fun to make and watch	If you accidentally move a model too far and take a shot when you play the film the model moves unrealistically quick
It is a different and unique method of making a film	Having too much animations and models can be distracting and cause the audience to lose focus
It is controlled, you do not have the hassle of finding ‘actors’ that may turn out to be unreliable	This genre mainly appeals to children only, which results in a limited audience

Stop Motion Animation

Stop motion animation is a film technique that lets a physically manipulated object appear as if its moving alone in a video. The idea behind this is that an object will be made whether it is virtual, an object out of clay or a doodle, and photos will be taken of this object step by step as the object is adjusted in increments so that when the photos are all joint together and quickly played, it will look like the object is moving.

Examples of existing films that use stop motion are...

Wallace and Gromit
Wallace and Gromit is one of the most well known films and programmes that use stop motion animation. The producers produced a detailed storyboard, set and models of the characters made of plasticine and shot the film one frame at a time (taking one photograph and altering the models position). The cast (voiceovers) include Ralph Fiennes, Peter Kay and Helena Bonham Carter.
Below is an opening to a Wallace and Gromit programme, the production was very clever because the tea pouring out of the mug genuinely looks like liquid flowing out, which would almost seem impossible to shoot one frame at a time.

Coraline
Coraline came out in 2009 as a childrens film, in my personal opinion, even though it is a stop motion animation, I don't think it is suitable as it is relatively creepy, I can imagine this is a type of film that would scare children due to the mystery, deceit, tension and the fact part of its genre is Horror fiction. Dakota Fanning is the voice over for Coraline and Dawn French for Miss Forcible. Below is the opening of this film which includes the following genres:, Horror fiction, Children's literature, Horror, Fantasy and Speculative fiction.

Below are photographs that were taken behind the scenes of Coraline. In the first you can see someone moving the cat ready to take the next frame on the surrounding cameras, in order to have a variety of angles. In the second you can see a man moving just Coraline's hands, this shows just how precise and important each frame is and how each frame is thought about in the detailed storyboard. When watching the film one wouldn't consider the amount of effort that is needed just for a character in a stop motion animation too twiddle their thumbs. In the third you can see the set of Coraline, in the film it appears to be a big kitchen due to the fact the characters are in a realistic proportion to the room however you can see that in actual fact, it is all one small set.

The Corpse Bride
The Corpse Bride is a fantasy, animated and romance film directed by Tim Burton. The cast/voiceovers include Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp and it is a very popular and well known stop-animation film. The plot is that Victor and Victoria have an arranged marriage and whilst Victor is practising lines for the wedding, he is dragged into the land of the dead. A dead girl called Emily witnesses this and assumes she is now married to Victor and so he ends up with a corpse for a bride. Below is the 2 minute opening for the film.

Below are photographs taken from behind the scenes in the making of this film. In the first you can see a man changing the position of the characters neck through a miniature window, one turn of the neck could have taken up to 5 frames occasionally, possibly even more. In the second you can see the set that has been created and the camera that is taking a shot of each frame. Finally, in the third you can see the female character that has been made and the mans hands finalising the detail in the hair.