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Previous News
 03.31.07
* Dark
Overload, Filmmaking Freebies Tips, Stop Mo in Ireland .... You may have already seen it,
but this is first time I seen this posted online; excerpt
of a Stop
Motion creature Link 2, executed by the Tippett'ster
Meister, years ago when he worked at ILM on Howard the Duck.
IMDb,
the supposed online bible of the dry facts about movies,
actors, or anyone who may have received some credit
in the most obscure or biggest films.
They have 'something' that may be of instructive value, Ask a Filmmaker Link 2. If you do not know already, Live
action filmmaking methods can apply
to Animation.
You all zoned out? At
stop motion message board someone posted notification
about a position. Nobody bothered to click through their
site? Some undiscovered
entertaining Stop Motion at Flicker Pix (Flash heavy site). At bottom of their home
page, click on the link that says Reel
and especially the link Old Stuff. Here
is Message Board post from them.
You burnt me
out this month. As I mentioned in a comment last
time; I wonder if you pay attention to any of this, or, am I just
doing keyboarding exercises for an office job? No
thumbnail images to spice up this blog
installment. Got to bounce out of here; my internet
connection has been glitchy for a few days. ' Hasta la vista ' 
____________________
03.24.07
* Rare Stop
Motion you may have not seen .... YouTube is
sure getting interesting to find unique postings of
clips. Kind of weird, how we
endure the small puny player window
video (Tip: wear reading/magnification glasses;
it somewhat helps view it). I am trying to keep this
blog/news short this time and also with less
embedded thumbnail images within the text (takes
 more work), because last blog 3.17.07,
I wrote a dissertation-thesis and it Fried
my brain. Writing does not fluidly come
out of me (many re-edits to get it, sort-of right). I
wonder if you read or get any value from all this texting
verbosity.
Anyway, some juicy
stuff only for the hardcore Stop
Motionist obsessed. Pete Peterson, known for assisting Ray Harryhausen on the 1949, Stop Mo epic,
Mighty Joe Young. Pete continued with some stop
motion after MJY .... The Black Scorpion (1957), The Giant Behemoth (1959); and these I never saw
before, clips of Peterson's Stop Motion test reel
for never realized projects, Beetlmen & Las Vegas Monster Link 2 (in the 1950's).
Want some more? I
always heard about Beast from Hollow Mountain (1956) but never seen it. The end
climax is posted online (almost 10 minutes). It's a
strange one. Somewhat good cinematography for live
action, but the Stop Motion, not the greatest, but
interesting & ambitious.
* Other, not
as well known Stop Motionists .... but nevertheless,
creative & talented and also members of the
forum. Richard Svensson, mostly does not
post at messageboard (What's up with that?). He has had a
website for a few years, called The Lone Animator. He has a banner at top of this page, for
awhile (Geez ... you never noticed?). He lives in Sweden  and it seems, he was into
Lord of the Ring'ish style before it was
popularized by Peter Jackson's Trilogy. Richard has much
inspiration from Ray harryhausen. Rich posted some of his work
online at YouTube. It appears, he shot it with Video
Camcorder (live action & animation); and may not meet
your elitist mega-schmega resolution standards; HOWEVER,
most important; lots of energy, fun, imaginative and
creative storytelling. Check out Rich's work
.... Jabberwocky and Pirate Babe vs Evil Toys. This does not appear recent but
projects that took him a few years. If you wish, give him
feedback.
Dan "The
Man" Anderson ..... coming back to LIFE.
Also, a member of the Stop Mo message board. He does not
say too much but I am assuming, he is busy working on
gigs to pay the rent, and also, a family man
("Kids" more important than Stop Motion?). Dan
is more than just an animator, but eclectic too; graphic designer,
illustration, creative & art director, sculptor,
modelmaker, puppet maker, home brewer of armatures, etc..
He has an unoffical animation handle .... known as Animation
Daddy. They, or actually Dan, has been working
on an ambitious Stop Motion project;
looks Cool. Check it out, The Magic Candles. Okay, I got a little bit of energy and I
will post a thumbnail image for Dan here. Will later post
another link, elsewhere at Stop Motion Works, to attract
interest & inquiries.
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03.17.07
*
Stop Motion and Technology  ..... In the historical
beginnings of Stop Motion, it appeared to be
somewhat primitive, especially when you
compare it to 2D drawn animation (aka
cartoons), which started around early 1900 circa.
With 2D animation, one draws a
frame at a time; but using a lightbox underneath
(or thin tracing paper), you are able to see
through some of the layers of paper
and compare the previous drawings to the
most recent drawing. A very simple
element/principle but it was the core-root
foundation of making drawn animation creatively
controllable by the artist.
In this regard, 2D animation was more
advanced than Stop Motion, in
the area of production methods.
Stop Motion
is usually referred to, as using the straight ahead animation method. As done in the old days;
you pose/move the puppet each frame,
with no solid reference to the previous
frames. It is actually, animating
BLINDLY. You have to strongly rely
on your memory's ability to
internally visualize the animation
choreography. Astounding how Willis
O'Brien, Ray Harryhausen, Jim
Danforth and many Stop Motionists,
mastered this animation method. Much trial
& error to learn it. Also,
the animator had to endure the awkwardness
& tediousness of using surface
guages, which was your primary visual
reference markers for estimating
the general incremental frame-by-frame
puppet movements. Watch Phil Tippett using surface guages.
I look back and think,"Geez!"
It certainly was not easy for me and fried
my brains, focusing very intensely when
working on stop motion shots. Today
.... Stop Motion Software (aka Frame Grabbers) is
essentially, a very simple technology
(compared to complex CGI programs) but has had profound
positive impact on the quality
of Stop Motion and has maybe helped it stay
competitive & marketable with other
animation methods, now. The software
allows you to see the previous
frames and also preview the progress
of the animation AS you are animating;
it gives you instant feedback and accelerates
the animation learning; the software
gives the Stop Motionist much control &
predictability of the finished animation
product. In the ol' school days,
using movie 'film'
cameras, you would have to wait
the next day or longer (for film to be
processed), to see the results
of the stop motion shots, and if you
"Fugged-Up"; you start
over. It is, or was, a masochistic &
tortuous method  to create
your 'Art'.
What other ways might technology
help Stop Motion? In the early days,
there was an attempt by ILM using their proprietary Go-Motion methods. An early form of Go Motion
was actually used on 'Empire Strikes Back'
(some of the TaunTaun striding scenes). Go Motion made
its big splash premier on Dragonslayer feature. Later, Go Mo was
used on Howard the Duck, Golden Child, and maybe Willow (I am not sure). In hindsight, very technically
complex via  mechanical device &
stepper motors and seemed slower than
traditional stop motion; all just to supposedly smooth
out the animation. Back then, from what I read (e.g.,
Cinefex), ILM seemed obsesssed with excess details and
IMO, the general audience would probably not even have
noticed. What has evolved today, that has replaced
the antiquated mechanical Go-Motion (which only ILM used,
many years ago, their complex method), are Blurring
programs or software plugins
that can be added to the Stop Motion after animation is
completed (in post-production). This artificially creates
the illusion of smooth or fast action in Stop Motion, by
creating what is known as, Motion Blurs which is a phenomenon that results
in image smearing when photographing or
filming fast moving objects, people, creatures, etc..
Here is an old article (or directly to PDF link) which is dated but gives you an
understanding of blurs as related to Stop
Motion. Addendum:
Master Stop
Motionist & Special Effect Artist, Jim Danforth used Go Motion-type
Blurring effects for
Stop Motion, well before
ILM, using less complex methods. When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, you can see examples of it.
A trend now, for the cartoon-style
puppet animation, especially for Stop Motion TV
series, seems to be the use of CGI mouths-lips that
are motion tracked onto the faces of the puppets.
After the animation is done, using software in post
production, animated mouths-lips are added. I have some
misgivings about the look of it and
perhaps somewhat contrary to the pure style of
Stop Motion. It is not applicable for
all puppet character designs, but it seems to work for
'some' puppet styles & looks. I suppose, from the
"Suits" point of view, it maybe speeds
up production of Stop Motion. I believe Cuppa Coffee Studio (in Canada) has been using CGI lip-mouth
animation for some of their Stop Motion. Here is a
QuickTime clip Starveillance
At the Stop Motion board, a number of years ago, some topics came up
about some kind of software that will add "inbetween"
frames. So theoretically, you only stop
mo animate, half the number of frames,
then the software is suppose to add
the remaining inbetween frames. Much too long to
explain , but let us enter our time machine
 and return to these topics from the past and
refresh your memory: Stop Motion Synth Program & "In-Between" software for
stop motion. Did
you read it? Nick Hilligoss did not just speculate & talk,
but he sat his butt down and actually did do
tests with the software. Conclusion for now: It
does not seem to work for Stop Motion.
He posted a video clip and summary of the inbetween tests
at StopMoShorts. Basically, the software cannot
deal with complex backgrounds
and appendages crossing in front of each other.
You get strange pixel image artifacts, warping
and tearing. I suggested in one of those topics,
perhaps the inbetween software can be
used for more specific shots and you
would need to shoot the puppets
green/bluescreen to avoid the background
distortion issue. Lets fast forward to
today. It looks like,  some thinking-out-of
the-box creatives at Lumenas Studios (in Utah) are attempting to do
some pioneering & trailblazing with Stop
Motion. They are working on a Stop Motion project and will be using a proprietary
inbetweening software. They have a test online,
but the clip size is too small, and too
short . Maybe as their project
progresses they might be generous to allow us to
have a better sneak peek. Here it is Behind the Scene. It appears that they are using
their inbetween software with the puppet animated
against a solid color or bluescreen
background. Just as I previously predicted, eliminating
the background, then compositing it in later.. MotionPerfect is the software Nick tested and it
is the lowest priced, with so-so results. However, there
is Twixtor & ReTimer Pro which are high priced
(& perhaps better results) and out of the range, of
the budgetly challenged. These time/speed
changing programs are not
specifically designed for Stop Motion but could possibly
be adapted. You probably have to hire a Software
writer/author to custom design an 'Inbetweening'
application that is very specific to Stop Motion
(as Lumenas did).
Stop Motion
is primarily tactile, hands-on, real-world
puppets & environment
(minimal CGI use); and this is what gives it, its own
very unique aesthetics, style, & surreal
quality. 'Technology' can help
Stop Motion but it will
always be somewhat resistant to being taken
over by 'Puters. There will be Hybrid
forms of Stop Motion with the aid
of technology, however, Stop Mo
will essentially remain an Art
form, mostly using old world
skills, crafts, & knowledge.
One can write a few Bible-sized manuals,
about armature fabrication, machining, brazing,
sculpting, molding & casting, puppet making, building
miniatures, etc. etc.. Edit 03.19.07
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03.10.07
* Laika
Studio / Campus Starting to Roll ..... Phil Knight (Nike Athletic
Footwear King) just approved the architects
who will design the all new
Laika.
One of the press release quotes, "A
state-of-the-art feature film animation campus".
On the surface, this does not seem like unusual news. You
saying to yourself, "Oh,
another all CGI Studio. Do we not already have a glut of
'puter animation & digital special effect
studios?" IMO, what is very unique,
is, that Phil is not
dumping Stop Motion but wholly
embracing it. They are actually going to include
Stop Motion production capabilities into
the new campus studio. This is fugg'n rare
for a USA based mainstream-type studio.
Most of the typical, larger studios are obsessed
in CGI only and would never,
ever, never, consider Stop Motion.
In their myopic short term vision, most
Tinsel Town 'Suits' would flush Stop Motion down the
toilet.
Although,
outside the USA, on a bigger
studio scale, Stop Motion, seems to
'somewhat' survive. You have Aardman (the UK), Cuppa Coffee (Canada), Se-Ma-For (Poland), and a few other overseas Stop
Motion studios (the large studio category). A
BIG THUMBS UP
 to Phil for "Walking
the Talk" in fully supporting Stop Motion. One of the few
in the upper echelon that has the forward vision
to see that VARIETY
is what the public is looking
for (people will tire of Copy-cat CGI). Stop Motion is
still a most
viable & marketable animation medium. Read LAIKA Owner Phil Knight Selects TVA
Architects
* High End
Stop Motion in the Outbacks of Utah? Yes indeed. You have the larger
professional Stop Motion production
house, like Laika, but then we seem to
have another trend; the small boutique
Stop Motion studios popping up in strange
places in the USA, so far away
from the mainstream entertainment centers on the West
& East coast. 
A couple of brothers, Nathan
& Chris Smith run a low key, not well
publicized yet, Stop Motion studio, called Ageless
Animation, in Lehi, Utah USA
(near & south of Salt Lake City). They originally
partnered with Lumenas Studio (see last
month's news) who
are also in Utah; and the Smith brothers & crew
handled the Stop Motion for Davie
& Golimyr.
Nate &
Chris are now working on their own projects,
including distribution, under the banner of Candleman
Films; a series of holiday themed
stories via the magic of Stop Motion.
They recently released, The Light Before Christmas and another one called, Jonah: A Great Fish Story. Take a look at their teasers.
IMO, high production values. Also, as
needed, they judiciously sprinkle just a little CGI digital
effects, to only enhance the Stop Motion. They
seem to be creating new Holiday Stop Motion
Classics for a new generation.
Both, Jonah & the Christmas
tale, are slick & finessed. They seem to have
captured a look & style exclusive to
themselves. Even only seeing the brief trailers; it
projects much warmth & nostalgic
feelings similar to those now retro, Rankin-Bass Stop Motion, when you and I watch
as kids. In these hectic & insane
times, a refreshing antidote to escape;
for kids & adults
alike. Nathan & Chris are stepping
up to the plate to fill that need.
Both animated tales are about 1/2 hour long each and can
be affordably purchased online. P.S. Here is their other website,
primarily for investors, Evergreen Holiday Classics, giving more info about the
business side. Some more reads here too, Jonah article & Ageless Animation
____________________
03.03.07
* Tony
McVey's: Ann Darrow attacked by Dino Birds (pterodactyls)
..... You can go back
to earlier blog/news and refresh your memory, Meister
Tony McVey slowly emerging. I stated back then, ".... but
wait until you see what Tony does with this singular
& small (pterodactyl) puppet in the animated
scenes". You know how the lemming-like CGI
special effects practioners are sometimes obsessed
with digitally cloning to produce large
crowds, herds, animals, birds, creatures or
whatever numerous quantities of characters (recent one
was the all CGI & motion captured, Happy Feet)
..... simply because "they can",
but these  plethora of cloned
characters does not necessarily make a better
story. IMO, many times, just eye candy
to show off the special effects
studio's technical ability (yawn). Whoaaa ....
going off topic.
Anyway, cloning
can be done in a Harryhausen-esque Stop
Motion product or what I like to call, Hyper-Harryhausen.
No, not thousands of Stop Mo characters, but nevertheless
effective, if you need to do a few or some
multiples of similar looking puppet
characters in a single scene/shot,
with some assistance of digital post production tools.
Something I am planning on doing in my tests but Tony
beat me to it . Turn up the speaker
volume & enjoy  Skull Island
* Retrospective:
Harryhausen's Jason Greek Mythology Classic .... Found  a 4 part article, originally published for Cinescape
Magazine back in 2000. There
are no photos with the articles, but very detailed and
well written about the production of "Jason
and the Argonauts". The information in
these articles is almost as revealing as the Animated Life book. As I said, no pictures with the
article but the author effectively uses the written word.
It is a good read that you can stretch over a few days,
if you like, JASON and THE ARGONAUTS: A Retrospective by Ted Newsom, Part 2
- Part 3 - Part 4
* USA Analog
TV Broadcasts Ending February 17, '09 ..... Mark your calendar,
TWO years from now; that is what they are
saying. Big Brother interfering and further
impacting your lives by making you unecessarily
spend more $$$ on unecessary
crap and what a half ass job
they are doing publicizing this enforced change. If you do nothing,
after the above date,  your existing or
recent TV of only a few years ago, may not
be able to receive over-the-air
TV signals. This is not about HD
image resolution on your TV, but has to do with
the digital signal
transmission replacing analog;
the type
of television signal being transmitted
over the airwaves.
Many of us have perfectly
working older TVs. They can last
for many years. Typical of planned
obsolescence & waste;
happening at hyper fast rate and now
mandated upon us by order of
the FCC
powers (via our elected politicians). All you, Pro
Eco-Green, Global Warmists; what do you have to
say about this obscene product waste
of functional & working
Analog TVs, Dvd recorders, VCRs, etc.?? I left out
details about this Fed Government law, shutting
down Analog TV signal broadcasting. Google
for yourself and prepare for more fugg'n
hassle in a few years. There should be OUTRAGE
but as usual, apathetic lazy public who only complain
& whine, only when it is too late.
Something to get you started, Analog TV - Ladies & Gentlemen, Start your
Tuners - Planned obsolescence becoming built
into culture Edit 03.04.07
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