Milk Draft Plan

For my next draft I will make a stop motion photography film of a very simple idiom that would be easy and short to portray. I think I'll do 'To cry over spilled milk' but with no deeper meaning than face value. This will give me the experience I need to ensure that my final product is professional and to make sure I know what I'm doing. This film will simply include a glass of milk being spilled, with a character then crying. I think this is a better idea than having a draft with no relevance to my final piece as I previously suggested because it will be more beneficial to me, as I will be able to see the exact process I'll be doing for my final piece.

1st Draft- Room Animation

For this animation I used the normal stop motion technique, of photographing the scene then altering something. I used my bedroom for the subject then photographed it roughly 450 times portraying the movement of it being tidied. I then put all the pictures into a film format so one image would follow another in quick succession. I altered things such as the bed getting made, clothes folding themselves, and CD's being arranged. Even though these are very minor adjustments I feel they were effective due to the detail. I am pleased with the outcome as everything runs smoothly, and there are not many things I would change if I were to do it again. The only main issue I had was with the camera positioning, as because of the awkward angles I used I photographed without a tri-pod. I don't feel this let the animation down as the images were still quite fluid and the jerkiness of the images reflected the hand held photography. However I would still like to experiment by using a tri-pod to see the difference it would make.

First Draft Plan

I have decided to create a stop motion animation using photography, to see how the whole process works. However this will not be in keeping with my theme of idioms as I am mainly interested in seeing the logistics of the process, and so have decided to photograph my room being tidied. I plan to make very minor adjustments between each photograph to ensure that the film runs smoothly. However I don't feel that a storyboard will be necessary for this particular animation as I will see what can be altered and moved around on the day. One of the main things I will be concentrating on will be the amount of photographs taken. I predict that to create a minute long animation I will have used around 400 photographs, and this is the main thing I wanted to focus on as I will be developing these photographs for my final piece.

Experiments

When I first decided to use animation as my channel of media, I made two very rough drafts and improvised the content, for the soul purpose of gaining experience with animation. These following two videos were simply made on the program 'Pro Animate' by taking around 20 photographs for each using the in built camera on the computer, and using 'onion skinning' to make sure the images didn't jump around too much. This is a process that shows the last image taken at a low opacity so you can line the camera up. The content of the videos has no relation to anything, they were just convenient and short and easy enough to do on the spot. It showed me that I need to use a lot more images than I previously thought, but I understood the general principle of stop motion.

Flower Stop Motion

Pro animate

Existing Similar Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzWiug-PIaE

I think this is a very clever interactive video. Its contents are of people acting out an English idiom, and at the end the viewer guesses which idiom they were portraying. It has multiple choice answers, and whichever you press, it tells you if you were right or wrong. After this there is another display by the actors either congratulating you or being disappointed corresponding to your answer, then takes you to another idiom. I think this is a very clever way of getting people to understand idioms, but not exactly what I plan to do. What the actors do is interpretive, whereas my work will be very obvious and less ambiguous. The method used to film the video has no relevance to my project, but I thought doing research into idioms and how other people may have portrayed them would be beneficial to my work. This video is more informative and meant to teach people about the nature of idioms, whereas my work is for entertainment purposes. The similarity between the two is how the idiom is portrayed, as both have actors playing out the idiom. I think mine in some cases is easier to understand as the idiom is very obvious and could not be construed as anything else, whereas the interactive video could be portraying any of the multiple choice answers given.

David Shrigley

David Shrigley is a Glasgow based animator. He's been featured in many exhibits, and has had a lot of his work published, as well as being a magazine illustrator. Three of his more basic work is as follows which are the pieces most relevant to my project.

Laundry:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LKnbI-bNJE&feature=related
Bad Elephants:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgF-M5458dk&feature=related
Home Alone:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fr42JFShkM&feature=related

All of these works are very similar to each other, from the way they are drawn and animated to the sound used. They all use very basic line drawing and as little detail as possible, which is probably because in this case Shrigley was more interested in the animation than in the artwork behind it. This is how I plan to do one of my animation drafts, that I will probably also include in my final piece. I want as little detail as possible as art is not my strong point, but it gets the message across. The actual animation is very fluid, but as the focus of the videos is more on the sound element it doesn't need to be very particularized or detailed. I think this is a clever way of animating as the video runs smoothly enough for it to work well, but as the sound is so important the other elements of the animation compliment each other.

Idioms

I have decided to use an idiom as the base of my story and did some resarch into different idioms that I could use, but this is a very broad list. I refined the list from a collection from the website www.idiomsite.com and copied the definitions also. I will refine this list at a later date when I am looking to start my drafts.

I decided idioms would be a good basis for a plot as they will be easy to construe and won't have to include a detailed storyline. I was aiming for something that didn't need a lot of frames to easily portray the story, but detailed enough that it actually has a plot to work with. I feel a saying/idiom was the best choice as it is a good medium. Whichever I choose will have the content literally portraying the idiom, which is long and blatant enough to be understood, yet short enough to be only a few minutes long. As this will be my first time doing a project like this, I think it best that I start short and simple.
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Saga Cruises Advertisement

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V25pHKePk98&feature=channel

This advertisement for Saga Cruises is very alike to the 'Olympus Pen' advert. In both adverts images were developed then placed next to or on top of the previous to convey motion. The video uses the same techniques as I will use for my final product in the way it is laid on a surface and photographed again, but I could only find two animations that used this method. In this particular advert you can see how many photos were actually used just for the first few seconds, which implies it would have been quite a large project. This is one of the reasons I have decided to keep my own animation fairly short, as I feel the longer it is and the more photographs I require, the more chances there are for it to fail. If I had more experience in the animation area and had more resources available to me I would love to make something this advanced and detailed as opposed to just stop motion photography. However I don't think I have any programs or software available to create these transitions.

Stop Motion Advertisements

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PERiTMZ626M
This advertisement for the 'Kindle' uses very fluid stop motion photography. For an advert is relatively short, at 30 seconds, but is still effective. The content shows all the different ways you can use the Kindle but in quite an ambiguous way. The viewer is more focused on the animation than on the meaning behind it. There are quite a few images used for this animation, which is why it runs so fluidly. This is how smooth I am aiming for my final piece to be, which will require a lot of work. I think the actual actors in the film are laying on the floor which has objects on it to give the impression of it being a background. This would make it easier for the actors to move around and do things such as roll, or seemingly defy gravity, and you'd be able to capture the image with no trouble. I think this contains some resources that would be unavailable to me which is why I would not create my animation this way.

Examples on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnIhN8mMpcY
This is a video on the internet of a man recording images with practically the same method as I intend to use. It has the same principle, as he is recording movement via still images then playing these images back. Although this animation is fairly amateur, it does portray the process I will also be using. The images that the animator uses are also heavily edited simply for effect which would have worked better in my opinion if the images had been jerkier. This is what I plan to do, except I shall be photographing this process, so it's slightly more complicated. I found there weren't that many videos on the internet of the process I plan to use but I tried to look into it anyway for the sake of research. These videos help give me an idea of how to plan and storyboard my own idea.

Olympus Pen

This commercial is exactly what I had in mind when I planned my project. This is the process I will use, except my developed photographs will not move. I either plan to have the photographs on a flat surface and re-photograph them from above, or have them in a photo frame so that it appears that the contents is moving. This would also help keep the photographs in position and make the whole process seem more professional and neat. There is a short section in this animation that includes this, which I think would've worked better if the camera had been on a tripod to keep the camera still so that the main focus is the content of the photographs as opposed to the surroundings. I think this advertisement is very unique in its processes and has many original features. The content is of a character going through life in a succinct manner. I think this is quite a modest and quaint plot, and has portrayed the passing of time very well. One of my favourite parts is where at the beginning it shows the child wearing old fashioned clothes and to show what era he's in, the images are in black and white which switch to coloured soon after to show the passing of time. The photographs move all over the surroundings, from down table legs to up walls. I think this is very imaginative but would require a lot of work and would also present more opportunities for it to go wrong. As I want my own animation to be as fluid as this it will require a lot more images than I had originally predicted, but my video won't be as long as this as my storyline isn't as complex and detailed. I think if I use this commercial for reference then my final product should be very professional and well planned.

Music Videos

1986 music video:

This music video for 'Sledge Hammer' by Peter Gabriel is quite well known. Some people who were involved in animating it were 'Brothers Quay' and Aardman Animation, one of the companies who contributed in animating Wallace and Gromit. The video won Best British Video at the 1987 Brit Awards and I think it's one of the best examples of stop animation as it is detailed and consistent for the duration. I like how surreal the video is and how none of the content relates to anything else. I'm intrigued by how the video is made. I think one of the options is that most of it is just one film of him singing, which was then cut up frame by frame when edited. However another option is that it was created using stop animation, by photographing each shot with movement between. I think the reason the animation was so popular is because nothing like it had been created before. The content is quite eccentric and unrealistic although it still reflects the lyrics. The animations fit what is happening in the song which I think makes it flows quite well. There are also a few references in the video, such as 2:26 there is a face created out of fruit, which was originally created by Giuseppe Arcimboldo. There is also quite a lot of different animations used, from photographic to clay, and some irrelevant digitalised/ claymation at the beginning. The animation flows very well, as each seperate animation morphs into something else very fluidly, and I think this is one of the reasons it is such a success. The ending essentially is the same as the beginning, as they both flow from darkness to spotted lights.

Nick Park

Nick Park is one of the better known stop-animators of this generation. His work is known by adults and children alike, and has created works such as the Wallace and Gromit films and series, Creature Comforts, Chicken Run, and Shaun the Sheep. He also helped create the Peter Gabriel music video of 'Sledgehammer', also linked in this blog. I feel Nick Park is a key figure in animation which is why I researched him, as he was one of the first people to make a feature length film through stop animation that was this much of a success. I was also considering doing stop motion animation with material figures just like Nick Park but I think it would require a lot more research, planning and time than doing it photographically.

Quay Brothers

Timothy and Stephen Quay are identical twin brothers known in the stop animation business as 'Brothers Quay' or 'The Quay Brothers'. They are well known English animators and are known for several short films, most of which are made using doll parts, sometimes disassembled, in a 'dark moody atmosphere'. Nearly all of their films have no spoken dialogue at all, as they are highly reliant on their music, usually composed specifically for them.
As the brothers were originally professional illustrators, they already had a lot of artistic talent. I think this shows in their work as they have a very distinct and practiced style that is seen throughout their productions. As well as many animations, they've also created two feature length live action films, and worked on several music videos. In particular they worked along side Nick Park on the 'Peter Gabriel-Sledge Hammer' music video, but they felt their work was too alike to Jan Svankmajer's, a major influence of their.

J. Stuart Blackton

J. Stuart Blackton is known as the 'Father of American animation', as he was one of the first animators to use stop motion and drawn animation. In 1900, Blackton explored the concept of animation, after appearing in and directing several short films, made with a process created by Thomas Edison. He created a video (featured below) named 'The Enchanted Drawing', which was made using stop motion filming, making alterations then continuing filming. This is the general idea I will be using for my project, except I will be using photography.
In his early years he attempted to make money by performing an act with two friends, where Blackton would rapidly draw and narrate a succession of pictures called 'lightning drawing'. After this failed to earn him a living, he became an artist. This would explain why his next logical step was animation, as he already had the art background that would be needed to make it a success.

Eadweard Muybridge

Eadweard Muybridge became pivotal to the creation of animation because of a man called Leland Stanford. Stanford wanted to scientifically answer the query of the time; 'Do all a horses legs leave the floor simultaneously as it gallops?', and hired Muybridge to help him prove it. Firstly, Muybridge proved his theory with a photographic negative in 1878 of a horse mid-gallop, with all his legs off the floor. This negative was lost, but Muybridge, spurred on by Stanford, expanded the project by taking a series of photographs of a moving horse named 'The Horse In Motion'. This series of photos stands as one of the earliest forms of videography. He then also made the same video but of an American bison cantering. This wasn't the only form of animation that Muybridge used, as he also practiced with a phenakistoscope portraying a couple waltzing. I am also keen on experimenting with different types of animation before definitively deciding on which style to stick with, although the basis will most probably be of photography stop motion I am interested in exploring different mediums.

Mindmap of Ideas

The first mindmap is of my initial ideas, covering the different types of media that I could choose and use as my final piece. I wanted to see everything that was available to me so that I wouldn't be too hasty in choosing a project that I'd be doing for several months. I created this to cover all bases and to get to my final decision: animation.

The second mindmap consists of my original ideas surrounding the animation topic. I felt that before I could start my project I should explore different thoughts and ideas that I could use. This covers the different types and styles of animation there are, and ideas related to that. I felt by doing this I could cover all my bases and not regret my choice of project at a later date.

Project Proposal

For my Extended Project I have decided to do a version of stop motion photography. I will photograph a series of movements, for example for my test I will photograph a man walking along a path. I will then develop all these photographs, and lay the first image on a surface. I will then photograph this, then add the second image on top of the first, then photograph this. I will do this for every image, then attach all my photographs to a film file, so that when it plays back it will seem as though the photographs content (a man walking) is actually moving. The camera and photographs will stay in the same place, as I will be using a tripod. I will also consider using a photo frame to keep the images in place rather than just have them on a surface, as this will seem more professional and tidy.

I think if I complete the test shot exactly to plan, then it should come out professionally and well done. I will create several different types of animation, such as photographs, Flash and drawn to see which comes out the best and which is the most successful. For my actual project I will be using photography stop motion the same as my first draft, except this will have more of a story line and will be considerably longer than the test shots. I have a vague idea what I will base my film/animation on, but will expand my ideas later on in my project.
I have decided to use this idea as my project because I want experience in another field of the media, as opposed to doing photography by itself or art instead. I think this will be beneficial for me as if it is a success I could use the same method for future projects. I have never done anything like this project before so it will take a lot of planning and drafts to ensure nothing goes wrong.

I think this idea will be both entertaining and informative and could be used for educational purposes. I think in particular foreign people could view my animation to better understand English idioms. At the beginning of the project, before I decided on creating an animation, I brainstormed different ideas covering film, photography and art. I felt I should look into other different channels of media that I could cover rather than just doing the first idea that came into my head. By doing this I could see which projects would play to my strengths, and see what I'd had the most success with in the past. From this research I decided to use an outlet that I was good at, photography, and also have the chance to experiment with a new form of media, stop animation.

For the animation I will not need a lot of resources. Just a camera, tri-pod, and editing software. I will also need actors to star in my drafts and my final, and props for them to work with. The skills I will need would be a photographic ability, and also the patience for the final piece to come out smoothly. I will also require a basic understanding of the editing software I will use to have the best possible outcome.