My Stop Motion Animation - The Process

The Requirements

In Pairs; Groups of 3; or Individually, produce a short, stop-motion animation film.

It should be approximately 2 minutes.

The film should portray a contemporary issue.

Should include production logos and titles.

A creative opening title must be used.

Light background music/noise, which doesn't overpower sound effects or narration and appropriate in tempo/theme of the video.




Overview

1.Members of group: Just me! At first I was going to work with two other uni friends, but as the Christmas holidays were approaching I decided It may be best to work at home individually. I have downloaded the Zu3D app onto my ipad, so will complete the animation using this.

2.The concept: The idea and story I wish to portray in my animation is that of global unity and peace, in the fight against terrorism. My story will more specifically attempt to portray the tragic and very recent incident that happened in Paris on the 7th of January, when two Islamist terrorists shot 12 innocent people, who were staff working in the 'Charlie Hebdo' magazine headquarters/office. The magazine called 'Charlie Hebdo' was famous for it's satirical cartoons, reports, joke and polemics.

The staff killed included cartoonists, economist, editors, a maintenance worker, a guest, and police officers. Eleven were wounded, four of which were serious. 

Following the attacks, the phrase 'Je Suis Charlie' (I am Charlie), was adopted by supporters of free speech, in reaction to the tragedy and it is this unity I saw by the supporters unity  that I wanted to reflect in my animation.

2.What will the video look and sound like: I feel my concept would be best suited in an abstract and quite simply layed out animation, where the shapes and images will convey the message without needing any narration or sound effects. I would like the animation to be upbeat and motivational, instead of focusing on the negative and making the person watching feel emotional.

3.What characters will I use? My characters will represent the brave people that stood up against the Charlie Hebdo massacre. I will have 3 characters made from play-doh which will be in the colours of the French flag: Blue, White and Red. The different colours will also reflect the different colours; races; nationalities and religions that came together and united as one, against the terrorism that occurred in Paris. 

  
4.What set will I use: For my set, I will be using my wooden flooring. I feel it need to be very clean looking. At first I was going to use my white desk but felt that filming on the floor would give me more space and also a nice textured background to my models.

5. The conflict my character or items are having? The conflict my characters are facing is the fight for peace; freedom of speech and expression and the fight against terrorism.

6. How will the conflict be resolved? The characters will reflect how the real life people supported the Charlie Hebdo magazine and each other by standing together as one and using the slogan 'Je suis Charlie', 'I am Charlie' to show that they cannot be separated and oppressed.  

7. What background sound effects will I use? The soundtrack I will use throughout my animation will be a Red Hot Chilli Peppers son called 'Scar Tissue' in a more upbeat remix/tempo. The track I will be using, although upbeat, has darker and more dismal undertones.; as you can see from some of the lyrics. Which talks about 'scar tissue' and sharing a 'lonely view'.

'Scar tissue that I wish you saw
Sarcastic mister know it all
Close your eyes and I'll kiss you 'cause
With the birds I'll share
With the birds I'll share
This lonely view'

At first I planned to include voice which said 'Je suis Charlie' and 'I am Charlie' but having tried this out, I felt the animation was better without them.

8.What should I avoid when completing this assignment? I should avoid using material I am not so good with, such as plasticine/clay/play-doh etc. I should also try not to be so much of a perfectionist, as this will make more work for myself. I will try and keep it simple!

10. What tips should I keep in mind when completing this assignment?
A huge this I should keep in mind is lighting. I have read up about completing a stop motion animation and found that it is best to complete an animation wearing dark clothes and in a dark room with curtains and blinds closed and only using lamps etc for lighting. I think this is good advice as the changing lighting throughout the day will alter the lighting in the animation, depending on what time of the day I continue the animation at. 

The Process

For me, the process began with brainstorming ideas in my head. Some ideas that I came up with were: obesity/fast food; the future/new technology; terrorism. Below are some photos of models (Burger and Fries)vI had tried out for a previous idea I had.

I then decided to research some other stop motion animations on youtube to find inspiration. There were so many very clever animations out there, I was spoiled for choice!

The next step was to test out different materials to see which I felt I could work with best. I bought children's modelling clay; wooden mannequins; plasticine and play-doh. I didn't have any luck with the modelling clay and could not get it soft enough to mould into the shapes that I wanted. The plasticine was slightly better but I only had 2 different colours and still didn't feel that happy with using it for my animation.  The mannequins were great, however I didn't feel I could get the feeling and message across that I wanted by using this. Although lacking in strength, I settled for play doh as it was very malleable and had bold colours to work with, I believe this was a great choice.

 

I had then decided upon terrorism as my animation topic as this was something I felt more strongly about and felt It was a topic I could work with. Having seen the incident on the news and internet about the recent attack in Paris I felt it was a perfect time and tool to reflect this tragedy.  

As I had the whole animation somewhat drafted in my head, and not on paper, a lot of the animation were ideas that came to mind along the way. Thinking 'Oh that could work well' or actually, 'no that doesn't look so good'. I had seen a really effective youtube video of balls of clay coming together to make certain shapes and this is what inspired me to create the simple stick men.

I began to create the stick men, along with the 'Je Suis Charlie' letters first and researched the music that I felt could work.

To film the animation, I used the software called 'Zu3D' which I downloaded as an app on my ipad. I set up a stool and cleared a space on my floor under the ceiling light. I closed my blinds and curtains to ensure the light was the same throughout the video.

To begin filming I would have all equipment out ready. I would begin my positioning the object, I would then take a photo, put down the ipad and take another photo. This process was continuously repeated. Once I had finished the animation, I added the backing music and fiddled around with some misplaced frames and WALAA, I was done!