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05.31.08
*Chiodo Brothers:
Steve, Ed, & Charlie in Stop Motion Puppet Kitchen ....
I found some short video clips from someone by the name of Doug Tennapel who
visited the Chiodo
Bros. Studio. At first, I did not know who Doug was
until I looked
him up. Usually not too much online of
the
Chiodos brothers revealing themselves, and this is so COOL seeing them
behind the scenes and rolling up their sleeves,
doing hands-on Stop Motion puppet fabrication. This is
part of what Stop motion is about: Nutrient for the brain; the
'process' of
creaton; the journey; hands-on, tactile with real materials, and some
sweat equity effort. Perhaps, a Hell
of a Lot more
FUN than this??
These Chiodo clips are not a 'How-to', but
just micro-glimpses of a Harryhausen-esque animation
puppet
creation at their studio. However, if you are one of the
Lurking Info Spongers™
out here, there are plenty of golden
nuggets of technique revelations in these
clips. How spoiled
you all are  . You are
so
accustomed to
the 'Internet' and you have available at your fingertips,
a plethoric cornucopia of all manner of information on everything
imaginable (or unimaginable!). Stop Motion for example: In
the early days, we only had fuzzy still pictures from magazines and we
used magnifying glasses to study those photos, to figure this out, then
piece together the Stop Motion Mystery-puzzle. Also, in those
days, rare
to see detailed photos of stop motion armatures. Click the numbered links; each
video will then appear in the player window below; then
click bottom left arrow to play video: 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6 - 7.
If you enjoyed
what you have
seen here, give a shout
out
to Doug!
____________________
05.24.08
*Giant Gorillas,
Dinosaurs, Serpents, & Two Dudes ....
There is a common
thread of
what I have been posting the last few weeks here at Stop Motion Works
(read earlier SMW news); Robert
A. Howell, H. Springer, & Brett Piper are about
in their mid-thirties
to over 40 years old. To you teenagers or
twenty somethings, the world does not  revolve around you
even though
mainstream media advertising pre-occupied with focusing on the
youth culture. So, we got two
more, 40+ year old kids 'Representing'
creature style Stop Motion!! One is a die-hard King Kong fan
and his name is Eric
Kessler. He apparently, digs Kong so much, that
he commited $$$ paying for custom fabricated Stop Motion
puppets! Here is a recent spotlight
article about Eric. He is not a professional or
experienced Stop Motion Animator, but I give him high points for his
enthusiasm & perserverance in pursuing his LUV of Stop
Motion. I am confused about Eric's YouTube
page KingKongKessler because not all his animations are
posted there, but instead, posted under other YouTube
profiles/pages, danarrow
& shran33.
Eric, why don't you just post all your animations under KingKongKessler? The other Stop Motionist
is Tim Smyth
who, in his early days has done much ol' school Harryhausen-esque
type stop  motion using Super 8mm movie
film format & classic
in-camera compositing & effects. No computers and
no Stop Motion framegrabbers. I do not know much about Tim, but I think
he has done some professional stop motion work doing commercials (not
sure). Take a look at his animated short Fish Tale
done some years ago, shot using Super
8mm movie film. This is a recent Stop
Motion test, CyKong,
I think shot with DV camcorder. Also at his YouTube page Tims44,
more examples of his much earlier Super 8mm Stop
Motion.I would suggest to Eric and
Tim, to perhaps consider publishing some kind of online
portfolio page so that
the core information about you is somewhat consolidated or
centralized on the internet. Also, cross
posting at specialized online venues such as, at the new Stop Motion Magic
Network and you got StopMoShorts
where one can upload a few Stop Motion examples. 05.25.08*Wireless
SD Memory Card Accessory for Stop Motion? ...
I happened to visit the DarkMatters
blog and saw enthusiastic interest about some new gadget called Eye-Fi wireless camera
memory card. At this time, I do not use a Digital
Still Cam for Stop Motion. For now, DV camcorder is
sufficient for Stop Motion sketching, practicing, tests,
etc.. From my POV, for Stop Motion, the Eye-Fi wireless card appears to
be an optional minor convenience.
Stop
Motion is already a slow creation process anyway, and so, how much
overall
time/labor
savings will the Eye-Fi card give you? What
about reliability
of
the card?  I had previously
been aware of Eye-Fi and first saw it posted at the messageboard back
in
Oct
'07 & just last
month. A possible BIG negative about
Eye-Fi is the slow transfer rate
that is mentioned in some reviews. I
recall, that the Eye-Fi company is vague
about the transfer specs. Read
this CNET
review.If you are into mega Hi-Res Raw Image
capture, sorry ... Eye-Fi captures JPEGS only. I do not
claim computer technical expertise and I am not clear about
requirements for this card. It seems, you must first have some kind
of wireless Wi-Fi internet connection
set-up before
you can use the Eye-Fi?
So that means, in addition to purchasing the Eye-Fi, you
also got to spend more $$$ for the wireless net set-up? The
card comes in 3 versions but it looks like, that their HOME Eye-Fi is the one if you
just want to wirelessly
transfer from the camera to your computer only.This is antithetical to my
KISS philosophy (Keep It Simple Stupid) by introducing an extra
layer of dependence
on a circuitous
method/route
for just merely transferring images from the camera to your computer
which is
only a few feet away. Perhaps, a more direct route-path, might be some
kind of BlueTooth
wireless method? (not
wireless Internet
connection) Unfortunately, briefly looking around, BlueTooth enabled
cameras or BT wireless cam adapters does not seem available yet? IF I
were to get a Digital Still Cam (but I am not, at this time), I would
stay with a reliable & secure
hard wired connection from camera to computer. At $80. to
$100.+ for an Eye-Fi, it is only available
as
a 2-GB card. If you have a fixation into capturing Xtreme
Hi-Resolution, the card can fill up FAST. You can get regular 2-GB SD memory storage cards
for as little as $15. and an 8-GB card for $49. Hey, I am only
the messenger,
so do not kill me! Of course, I would be curious to see if
this Eye-Fi would work glitch-free
for the long haul, under
hard
Stop Motion use. I will send orders to my SMW News Spies, to
monitor/track  DarkMatters.
 How
to set-up & download to computer. My eyes are
starting to glaze over.
05.25.08____________________
05.17.08
Robert created a Monster on the Loose
story and did the producing & directing all
himself; and of
course, executed all the Stop Mo & other effects. I am
guessing, that he was
mostly concerned
with doing it 'cost effectively' and he knew his end
product
distribution. He used a regular
ol' DV camcorder
(good enough format
for intended end purpose). It seems, he has good, general dexterity
&
technical
skills
that enabled him to tackle this, with the help of some
information he
researched online.
In Robert's behind the scenes clip, he states that he found an eye bolts hinge
joint/wooden dowel armature 'how-to' from an online
article. I am guessing that he might be
referring to an Article Stop
Motion Works has had
online
for a few years.
It is from an old Cinemagic
magazine. In addition, he used Stop MotionMaker
for the Stop Motion & other special effects.
Check out Gator. Again, his first time doing
it.
I give it a strong thumbs
up  .
When
clicking on links, video will appear above, then click on lower left
corner
arrow button, to 'Play'. Trailer Part
1
Part 2 Part
3 Building
Gator. If you want to see it again, or a larger
version, you can go directly to Robert's YouTube page. 05.18.08
* Stop Motion Works
online matters, updates, housekeeping, etc. ... SMW has been
internet active, about 8+
years since mid-2000,
but started creating & archiving news in '02. Only true Stop Motionists
will stick it out
and some of you have. Others, maybe so-so or just a mild side interest
and have dropped out or abandoned us. Not a criticism but a factual
observati on. Stop Motion is only for the die-hard passionate.
This is not a mere hobby but maybe a way of life or philosophy. A
metaphor maybe to slow
down and look at Life
One Frame at a Time.
Something is globally changing, we are moving excessively too
fast. I hate it! Science fiction is becoming reality? I just wonder
what kind of society/world the children will inherit from us. Perhaps
we need some greater
power (1
& 2)
to intervene
and jolt us
into reality! We
have to hunker
down and be
prepared for the unforseen. Simplify &
do not be so
consumerist dependent. We had a brief heat
wave in Bay Area here and some momentary power black
& brown-outs. How vulnerable
we are without electricity. Technology
our supposed saviour,
but can be delicate
& fragile infrastructure
especially when we put total
blind reliance on it.
For those of you who are not
website or internet savvy, for about a month, Stop Motion Works has
gone RSS Feed Syndicated.
Click on the
orange Feed Icon  to access it. A
little extra work for me to implement it manually each time
I do the SMW News but it seems that this Feed stuff is the internet
trend.
Those who
use Google's free Blogger, whatever you post, is syndicated automatically. What
is RSS Feed Syndication
you ask? Read brief
summary. Essentially, it is for those who are compulsive Blog
readers  and they need their Fix to check out
& read many
blogs. Because, some people who blog do not post
regularly, if you subscribe to a syndication feed through a Feed Reader, you
will get notification of blog or news posts, then you go
directly to their blogs and get
your fill of Blog-O-Rama.
More of LIO's Observational Mind:
I have a reasonably high speed broadband internet cable connection,
but even with that, sometimes it is not necessarily faster. Website
designers, Webmasters, & marketeers, creating excessively bloated
websites
with way too much
bells
& whistles,
especially, overkill using FLASH.
STOP IT
and Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS rule)! I have received
ocassional minor random
criticism
about Stop
Motion Works
and why it is not fancy-schmancy slick with
the latest website gimmicks. I create this website myself
with basic Html
coding,
simplified navigation
& basic design layout that will be easier for the
global
audience and quick download access. For
me, it is about the most effective relaying of information. I do not
give a Rat's
Ass
about slickification or the flavor of the month, overweight website
designs. Yes, I sometimes even get criticism for a black
background
website! Well, screw you!
Do not lay your mental idiocyncrasies on me. You have black
color phobia
and need help. For me, white or too light
colored websites
causes eyestrain
after staring at screen for awhile.
Dark'ish
color scheme is soothing
on vision. Also, think about this: When you go
to movie
theater
or watch TV, do you not turn down or off, the room lights? Same
principle. A
dark website
conveys same movie
theatrical ambiance
where the images are the focus.
A light colored website is like watching
a movie in bright daylight. PEOPLES, where is
your commonsense!
Other website notes; I added a
few additional blogger
links (scroll to bottom of page) Kevin MacLean, Ken A. Priebe and Andrew Jaremko. In
addition, Kevin just posted a YouTube page & that has some cool
vintage behind the scenes video clips ClayMationKid.
For
you other, supposed 'bloggers', you better start saying something
or else, I am going to think about removing your links . Also, Mr. Cinemagic, John Dods links may
have changed. If you have him listed on your site or blog, update John's link.
Finally; it looks like Marc
Spess has gone big
time and starting a MySpacey-like
social kind of network, but niche for Stop Motion. It is called Stop
Motion Magic. He actually, even had a $custom$ Webhosting Server
unit built
for him, then it was transported to, and now 'server' operating out of
New York CITY  .
Well, Marc has been around the net
just a little longer
than me, so I cannot 'rag on him', too much . He has always been active
with
maintaining
his website & an involved
moderator
at his messageboard.
I am blogged-out, spent .
The things I
(under appreciated) DO for YOU
(in my solo quest to
help keep Stop Motion
somewhat exciting and/or interesting, and in
the public
consciousness!
05.18.08
____________________
05.10.08
* 'War of the Worlds'
Obsession from Toyman Studios aka
H. Springer ....
Now here is a little sleeper incubating at YouTube for what
appears to be a long time but looks like ignored or overlooked by the
masses and Stop Motionists. Not
cool or  exciting
enough for the internet weaned ADD adolescents? No
viral spread of this, however I likes
what he has done. This dude seems to have OCD
about War of the Worlds? As the
name Toyman Studios suggests,
he specializes in Stop
Motion animating TOYs within some reasonably good
miniature sets or chromakeyed backgrounds. Ocassionally he does
cutaways
to ol' live action docu
footage and intermixed with his scenes (interesting technique), does
not do any actual detailed lip-syncing and mostly uses subtitles. Combo techniques
such as some post production
effects of explosions, compositing, and some cut-out
animation
methods.
Overall, very docu-drama
style. No Robot Chicken
style spoofing. What also contributes to the docu-ambience, is his use
of
excerpts from the original War
of the Worlds, 1938 radio broadcast. It enhances that foreboding
feel of fear. Even though, he uses all toy animation, he attempts to do
it somewhat subtle & realistic, and surprisenly, I
actually got immersed in
it
with something that is
obviously UN-Real,
as these are mere 'Toy
figures & Models'?! The
animation is not
hyper slickified smooth and it appears that he did not use a Digital Still Camera,
but instead, maybe a DV
camcorder or even
a Webcam!!  I know,
this
might cause some of you Hi-Resolution
Elitists  to flinch or recoil?? I like, the Rough
around the edges. It can contribute qualities of surrealness or otherworldliness. I am looking at the overall impression
and impact
it
makes on me. The guy does reasonably well editing &
visual storytelling. This low budget technique would also serve well as
a
moving/animatic storyboard, as a prelude for a bigger budget feature.
Toyman Studios,
YouTube ID name
is AONL. He does not
have any profile description
about himself, except for his
age, and also, as far as I can tell, does not respond to any comments.
I picture AONL as sort of a recluse, closeted, unusual (Bruce
Bickford type), working solo, pumping these things
out. At his
YouTube page,
it is kind of confusing, the order
of the video chapters. He has different
series
versions of his interpretation of War
of the Worlds. For your convenience (free @ no charge), I
put them in sequence.
So, after you watch one chapter, click your browser's back button and
return to SMW here,
to get link to next
chapters. War
of the
Worlds 1897: 1
- 2
- 3
- 4.
If that was not enough for you; he did more: War of the Worlds,
Part 1 series:
Chapters 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
. There's more at his YouTube page. This guy is nuts but prolific!
You need to watch this
in late evening, when all is quiet, turn off room light and crank up
the volume and/or wear your headsets. Also, put on your eyeglasses (if
needed) to view the small screen. Tips to enhance your
'viewing
experience'  .
Continuing Chapters,
War
of the
Worlds, Part 2 series: 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
EDIT: 05.12.08
* 2008 Summer's
mega-million $$$ Flicks competing for your attention ....
Of course, no
Stop Motion
but Hollywood Suits
always hated
it. The Stop Motion creation/production process
and/or other former
Traditional special
effects methods, is now considered archaic by the Suits. It is antithetical
and does not fit in how Tinsel
Town likes to manufacture their products via the highly
controllable Almighty God: The
Computer. Even Uncle
Ray had a tough
time selling Stop Motion back in the more
innocent days
before Digital
Schmigital CGI. IMO, Stop Motion Harryhausen-esque may never happen,
mainstream. Maybe some of the All Puppet films,
like the Nightmares Before Christmases
or Aardman's works
will make it to the major market, but unfortunately, not Uncle Ray's brand
which I think will be reserved
for other non-mainstream
venues, for niche audiences, something similar to what Brett Piper does,
however,
he specializes in the very
B-Movie genre.
As I always preached, 'Do
not look to the LA-LA Land
Suits to support or promote Stop Motion'.
Mainstream ultra million $$$
flicks also intended for worldwide audience. They are not yet
jaded by 'Hollywood Products' and still go GAH-GAH for it. In
marketing there's even an Art
& Specialty to making
Movie Trailers, to supposedly make your mouth profusely
froth with bubbly saliva, and get you orgasmically excited about the
movie. Some trailer techniques: MTV-style
hyper
fast quick edits blasting you with montage of micro-second
scenes, the dizzying camera moves, the movie preview
announcer voice, ad infinitum. Also, there
is
a Golden
Trailer Awards. Some of this Summer's Flick trailers, up the Yin-Yang (or up
the Wah-Zoo,
if you prefer): Iron
Man, May 2 - Hellboy 2:
The Golden Army, July 2
- Speed
Racer, May 9 - The
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, May 16 - Indiana
Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, May 22 - The
Incredible
Hulk, June 13 - Batman:
The Dark Knight, July 18. I only
listed the genre flicks primarily & demographically targeted to
the young testorene-oozing, homosapien male species.
Someone just reminded me about
Coraline,
which is
Stop Motion,
however, that is scheduled to be released in February, 2009.
Also, the Hollywood Biz power players are not producing or
backing this animation feature. The Stop
Motion Spirit
and Force is from Phil
Knight & Company (in Oregon-USA, far away from Tinsel
Town) 05.14.08
____________________
05.03.08
* 'A Nymphoid
Barbarian
in Dinosaur Hell' (1991) .... Just received this in my
email bag,
"Brett Piper is out there,
trying in his own way, to keep Harryhausen Spirit alive with direct to
DVD flicks. He does the best he can, with almost zero budgets and
Xtreme
short production schedules. I met Piper on a seven hour bus trip and he
told me his name at the end. We discussed films and more and he is a
fascinating, self-effacing guy. I really want to
correspond with him and hope he contacts me thru my
e-mail. I can hope. In the mean time is there
materials that touches on him?"
So,
you sick & tired of the depressing news, that surrounds us and
everywhere?? Escape,
I say. Prepare yourself .... buy bulk bags of beans, rice,
loads of toilet paper, shortwave
radio, etc and learn self-survival
techniques. Also, another escape
tool ..... HUMOR & LAUGHTER. There is anecdotal
documentation that it is 'Healing'.
Screw the Bureaucrats & Principalities of Powers that
are causing
the Societal downfall .
You should check out Nymphoid
Barbarian. It
may not be available at your local movie rental house but NetFlix may have
it. The
only way to
watch Nymphoid Barbarian,
is with the alternate
soundtrack
narrated by
Brett Piper, the Ray Harryhausen of B Movie Fun. Brett
is hilarious giving his play by play commentary and behind
the scenes
about the making of Nymphoid Barbarian. Not only funny but some
general, cool revelations about the traditional special effects methods
he used. I believe NB was shot on 16mm Film. Lots of in-camera special
effects, forced perspective, matte paintings, hand puppetry, and of
course Stop Motion.
I
posted about Brett in the past, but I feel the need to do it again,
because I CAN, and it's my website. Here is Stop Motion
Works earlier post
on Brett.
A clip from Arachnia
(2003),
Shock-O-Rama
(2005), & Bacterium
(2006). Not for the kiddies.
Mature
audiences. Also, here is, about, a 12
year old article. Hey, I
know it's not Arty
Farty high brow, and we are talking about B
Movie cult/campy stuff. There are no rules and I for one, getting bored
with movie biz
mainstream
homogenization. Preferring to see independent
works that's not gazillion $$ budget and instead they have soul,
creative energy & spirit, resourcefulness, etc.
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