Stop motion set fabrication class review

For my "partner in crime" in this class, Soha who has unfortunately been under the weather, which always sucks.Ii have been sick myself and not feeling up to the high standards I aim to keep. I know she regrets missing the class as much as we miss having her participation. Also to the the rest of my beloved students in hopes it helps remind them in some part of all the things we covered since we were without equipment to film the process for future reference. Also, as always my blog is for anyone and everyone out there who loves to learn more about the stuff I am so passionate about. So on with the show….

First I gave a general overview of the lecture. We discussed how to set up the table before and set up the camera and choose lenses we begin construction of the set pieces. The most important thing is to have a space and table that doesn't move. A good animation table is steel and sandbagged to fastened to the floor. You can top any table with a 4 X 4 piece of 1 nice plywood raised and fattened to 2 X4's. You can drill thru your table directly and skip building the platform if you can reach underneath and drill thru it to attach your tie down screws.  Remember when planning, framing the shot and building your set to try and best match your storyboard plans.

You probably have a lot of the tools you need for this portion but there a re a few good things you'll definitely need when working with the various materials such as rigid or floral foam. I got my folding japanese Dozuki from Lee Valley. Its a dangerous store to go into if you one tools as much as me, they have a great online service where your an order first then go in quick to pick up and get out before you break the bank. Have a good knife and scissors and a bunch of tools you've already been using for other projects in the class. Set building and fabrication is a huge subject and really depends on your goals but I attempted to cover some blanket techniques that are useful to everyone no matter what their end scene may be.

first we used cheap materials like foam core and cardboard to block out the elements and to see what scale they may be for their placement and how they look on camera. I can't emphasize the importance of preplanning. It'll save you time and money so don't skip this step.  I explained the idea of constructing islands as they are extremely versatile. The basics are make them on a surface like wood that can eventually be fastened to the table, yet they can be moved around and used to cheat shots since they are mobile. You can use a variety of materials like rigid foam, wood, papier mache, clay, plasticine etc to build them. Fasten them to the wood base for greater stability.

After a demo and giving the students some time to build elements we moved onto the next section which is to paint and texture their creations. This is one of my favourite steps and really adds to the quality and realism of the set elements. You need to know your products so that you can get the look that you want and so that the surfaces stick and hold up to the rigours of shooting. On the board are the steps we followed throughout the hands on demonstrations of various set piece examples.

These are the main products I use and they really aren't that expensive. To the far left is my new favourite spray adhesive by 3M, I picked it up at home depot and it is far superior and much cheaper than the stuff one can get at art supply stores. Then glue, and any glue from the cheap white glue to modge podge and/or wood glue is fine. I have my satin or matte medium from Golden for sealing and applying pigments. Pure pigments from pro tints. They are expensive but go a long way. You can also use any other paints you are comfortable with, like acrylic but you need to know the process and how to ensure they adhere t the many materials you may be using on your set construction. Some effect finishes to the right which patina silver and then baby powder or other release or anti tacking material.

this was a quick example I demonstrated with. carved foam with dollar store stir sticks, some paint effects after giving everything a hard sealing coat made with white glue mixed with water. The sphagnum moss and flocking give it an aged look. I did some splatter paint and marbling effect as well as dragged some halloween spider webbing across the gate.

Here are some other examples I used, a foam core silhouette piece to get the proper size for creating set pieces though arguable this can be used in the far background of a shot if need be. I created a fence piece with dollar store stir sticks and floral wire. The fun fur was an example of how to adhere it to the foam and stain it quickly for a more realistic grass look. I would recommend tan fun fur instead of the scrap of bright green, as the roots of it after painting will resemble dirt and look more natural on camera. We will continue with more examples for foliage, and how to cast and set up the backdrop and more when we reconvene for next weeks class. Ciao for now :D

Lucky Bunny Part 2

What I do with the Lego gift is the exciting part, and the extremely nerdy part. As an artist and animator I can't help but set up my gear on night and time lapsing the assembly of my new toy. What can I say?! Afterward I pump it into After Effects and use some of my skills in the digital realm to put it together into a pretty package, check it out below!

Enjoy!
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Got Nerd?!

Even just a little bit?

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Last week I posted a Lego Star wars B-wing Starfighter assembly time lapse animation.  I added the Millennium Falcon kit to my collection. I had to pay full price and choose this kit because of it's classic appeal and multiple mini figures. It has a Darth Vader, Obi Wan, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca and of course, Luke Skywalker.  I have so much fun putting these together that I just have to share. I  love Lego!  Enjoy my 1 min. stop motion animation.

PS: if anyone has any Lego they want to send to a loving home, I have open arms eagerly waiting and ready for Lego donations, wink, wink.  =;D

ink trees

Mostly I'm spending hours on this laptop putting the many pieces of my animation together.

I painted my main intro title frame by frame on this black and then fit it into my timeline.

 I wanted some trees to grow as they zoom past the camera in the foreground. I intended to shoot them a variety of ways in black on white and drop out the bright. Since it is frame by frame it will appear to grow organically.

 I made an elaborate set up consisting of a fish tank with a glass bottom being shot up toward so that I can paint with ink onto the back of wet paper towel, allowing it to soak thru and bleed.

I also decided to do a few trees as top down progressive animations. I based some of my trees off of bonsais from my book collection.

Here is one done in ink on animation paper. They turned out alright, the experimenting allowed me to come up with a variety of things for my animation that I would never have thought up to do. This opportunity has been an incredible opportunity for experimentation.

Golden Giraffe

Here are some progress shots from my final week of production.

I stretched and stapled my green screen fabric over my studio wall so it stayed flat.

I set up my system for the grueling task ahead.

I started applying gold leaf frame by frame as I maintained the stop-motion movement. The size can take up to half an hour to get tacky before applying the leaf. Then I take a picture, apply more of the glue, wait a bit then apply the leaf move the parts and take the next picture. Then repeat.

I started with the back legs then the front and slowly moved up to the body where the spots really begin.  I left the spots free of glue to reveal the dark wood between the gold pattern.

Slowly but surely I complete the body as it walks. It is ridiculously late and I'm losing focus. Now onto the hard part. The neck.

Finally after a grueling and late night/morning I have the first stage done all the way up to the head. I continue the stop motion movement in another session and tidy up the gold leaf. Wish I had a leaf blower. lol.  This is a big  climatic 15 second shot in my film and I'm glad I've got it in the can.

The sound of one hand clapping

Closing reception tonight 7 - 8 pm. 
For my UAS + 15 window exhibition. It has been a long haul trapped in the airless, hot little fishbowl of a window.

 am a week away from finishing the production portion of this project and then I'll move into two weeks of post production. I sent the rough cut off to render last night and it is a beast, my After Effects ended up crashing.

Its hot in here

......this tiny little space has no fresh moving air and it really heats up during my animation sessions.

Epcor centre for the Performing Arts - UAS +15 Window Space Gallery

Here is the powerbar I've had from my dad since I was a young boy. I had to rig an ingenious set up in this small space. I used an old Ikea curtain rod attached to the ceiling as a bar for the green screen and lighting, as well I have this power box and the cables tucked neatly away near the ceiling space.

Here is the hanging when I first got into the space. Lots has changed as I progress after the first month of production on this project. Almost at the half way point already.

 Here you can see the horse I am working on in front of the green screen backdrop.

This moody pic I title: "Silence of the phant"

Here is a view from outside my fish bowl. The monitor in the middle shows a live feed from my laptop while I am working and shows my frame by frame process as well as the exposure sheet. I do this when the black curtain is closed and you cant see what is going on. I need the black curtain so that I don't get florescent light spilling in from the hallway compromising the image quality.

Horsing around

To my amazement I am renewed with vigor with my project and super stoked about the gear and Dragonframe capture program. I spent some time re-arranging my set up and took a bunch of stuff out of the space and to the studio for painting.

Here is as empty as it will be for the month this long week-end as I spruce up items in the studio to be returned tomorrow and revamped for the CAOS media Release on Tuesday morning.

I was horsing around, got a few hundred out of 666 frames shot of the horse walking. The space gets really hot with the lights and I shut it down for the evening taking the majority of the gear with me to set up in the studio to work on the effects shots this long week-end.

I snuck in a quick visit to the Telus Spark science centre for some inspiration. First to visit my pal Ola as she hosted a felting creature event in the exhibition hall, so cool. The show is all about animatronic effects for Hollywood. Fitting/good timing for my project. There was an original 1930's Willis H. O'Brein stop motion armature on display. DINORIFIC!