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* Forced Perspective
Effects Orgasma-Rama ..... Ol' school classic special
effects can STILL be applicable in this current 'mouse clicking'
generation that sit on their butts, staring at monitors and
'click-synthesizing' digital imagery. Real
Men 
.... build stuff, sweat, get bruised & cuts, drink
beer, light-up cigars/pipes, and pig-out
on cheese & pepperoni pizza  . No 'girly man'
munching of raw
carrots
or leaves (salads). To survive, we are
designed
to consume just about anything (omnivore).
 Those who mouse click synthesized 'Puter imagery and/or animation, IMO, I sometimes sense they have an ego inflated sense as being superior to the ol' school  real
artists &
craftsmen who create via the TACTILE REAL with their
hands. I notice at times, the CG'ist
can get thin skinned sensitive if you criticize their
biased view: When they claim
that 'their mouse-clicked work' is BETTER than the Craftsperson
Artists who design & create Special Effects via Real Objects
& Things. I already know their worn-out talking
point arguement,The 'Computer'
is merely a 'Tool'  . I have witnessed
& sometimes
partaken in heated debates at
messageboards about Ol' School vs. 'Puter Mouse Clicking
School. When
the visual effects is based on the REAL (or most of it 'real'), I
intuitively always sensed that the public can
subconsciously accept ol' school special effects (if done
well) as maybe
more believable depending on context of
story (the foundation of quality flicks). A past
article that SMW News posted is related The
Yoda Factor: CG or
Puppet? and validates what I have suspected for years.Anyway, REAL aka practical effects, forced perspective, foreground miniatures and other ol' school methods can be applied to the Art of Stop Motion and especially doing Harryhausen-esque stuff. Shooting your 'live action' you can use these classic effects technques such as foreground miniatures. Back in the studio, if you have a number of Stop Mo puppet characters, you can create illusion of different scale sizes between puppets using forced perspective. Also, part of your miniature set can be a glass painting to 'extend' or give 'scope' to your set .... all done in-camera with maybe only minimal use of software tweaking in post. I am not dissing 'Puter as tool for creative work but in my view, it should not dominate. Ubiquitous CG content has homogenized and more sterile feel to me. You all already know how much I have ranted, 'MIX-UP & COMBINE the Special Effects Methods'. Wisdom from Professor LIO: Evolutionary speaking and/or by design, our roots/genetics is to work with our hands and get dirty & sweaty  . An expressive
creative
form much more nutritous for our brain cells and soul. Watch
the following clips and maybe you lurking CG mouse-clickers
might
get motivated to interact with the
REAL & TACTILE. Some examples .... a few are beginners playing
around with
classic perspective FX techniques and having FUN 1
- 2 - 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
EDIT:
11.01.09 ____________________ 10.20.09 * Alternative to Wall
painting Animation ..... Sometimes Cut-out
and Pixilation
animation can get old or not enough creativity. I am not dissing them
bu  t sometimes
copycat
versions get stale. I suppose though, it does motivate others
to take-up
something that is
hands-on & tactile vs. staring at a frigg'n
monitor such as computer gaming compulsion. Nothing wrong with gaming.
Everything in moderation! Here's interesting variation ..... outdoor
animation and design by
Sjors Vervoort. Sound and SFX by Steven Aerts Cardboard:
A Cardboard Animation This other one from a few
years ago, IMO is still kinda fresh & original The
Making Of The Cardboard Animations* StrataCut Animati  on
revealed ..... Well, not completely. The master of
Stratacut himself, David
Daniels, around 2000
apparently
did some overview videos
about this rare animation method. Good read then scroll down to
bottom of page and click the hyper-linked photos to view Daniels
rambling about Stratcut and samplings of his past work. Freaked
(+ David Daniels interview) My only concern
is, with this Eco-Green
pre-occupation being pushed hard & forced on us by Big Brother
Gov't, how do you effectively
Recycle Clay to
separate
and preserve
the individaul
clay
colors, if
all the colors are bunched-up MIXED??  * Dragon Stop Motion 2 Software ..... Becoming the elite tool used by professionals. Two brothers are behind this  product,
Dyami and Jamie Caliri.
All kinds of bells & whistles up the wah-zoo (or if you prefer
'up the ying-yan'). I'm busy at times and have not
updated
their listing yet at the infamous Stop
Motion Software page. Even their website as a rich &
luxurious ambiance Dragon
Stop Motion 2
for Mac & PC Here's Jamie in a video expounding about
an interesting niche his studio is successfully using the Stop Motion
technique Forget
the Film, Watch the Titles I am an equal opportunity appreciater
of all the software authors who
produce the variety of Stop Motion software products. You are the
unsung heroes, giving life to the Stop Motion resurgence.NOTE: HEY.... no time to stick images/photos inside the above text. It's suppose to get your attention and get you all excited. Geeeez, how do the millions of other bloggers spend so much frigg'n time on this? It's a struggle for me to just do these short news & commentary stuff here. I've been doing it for years. See what I do for you? All taken for granted my the masses out here  Update:
Okay, I received some complaints.
I added thumbnail
Images
within the text  EDIT:
10.22.09 ____________________ 10.07.09 * "We're not in
F*****g
Harryhausen mode any more" ..... I did not say
that but
it's a quote from the 'Actor God', Sam
Worthington, who is playing the Perseus character
in the 'Clash of the
Titans' remake.
Original Clash was released back in 1981, almost 29 years ago. STUPID
to make direct comparisons of films back then with curre  nt stuff
'Tinsel Town'
churns out. It's comparing apple to oranges. Not saying the
1981
Clash was a classic or something of serious drama, but it reflected the
period/era of the early 1980's as an entertainment escape product
leaning towards
Family targeted entertainment, as most of Uncle Ray's other
classic movies
filling that niche. Hey, loudmouth Worthington, you are
typical
of the general
public with old concepts of early Stop Motion. Although,
likely
not your fault, as you, like the moving going audiences, have been
indoctrinated through the
mainstream media and especially from CG studio's PR people, pushing their holy
grail of
homogenized mouse-clicked pixelized synthetic imagery manufactured
products aka CG. Audience not necessarily to blame for their unintended
ignorance but they are merely the victims of being 'Fed the Glut of
CG'. They
are not given
choices. Unfortunately, there is
NO current ADVANCE Stop Motion Creature style animation in mainstream,
to use as a more equal
comparison
against CG. Well, even without Uncle
Ray's involvement, the Clash remake 'suits' getting marketing mileage by
repeated mention
of original Clash
& Ray. We're
not in Harryhausen mode any more - More
Pics
from remake - The ignored by 'Suits' Remake
Appeal* Henry Selick departure from Laika ..... Good, bad, or cutting costs? Laika has already made commitment to focus on Stop Motion as per last month's SMW News and also, there were 65 laid off from their CG department. Maybe this is part of Laika's restructuring to run 'Leaner & Meaner' in these general very tough economic & volatile times (being exacerbated by Washington DC bureaucrats, in my view). In many jobs and especially the Arts & Entertainment, you are hired under Contract and perhaps Henry's was not renewed for whatever reason and it's not necessarily negative or bad. Coraline's director, Henry Selick, leaves Laika - Laika statement * 'Robot Chicken' & 'Titan' laid off staff at beginning of Summer ..... I got this from one of my underground sources  who must
have been in the 'bunker' facing enemy fire
and so, the informati on might be
slightly
disjointed but this is interesting buzz. As follows from my source, "Apparently,
Shadow Machine laid off a lot of people and got cheaper
labor. Interns are now filling in for the puppet fabricators. Most of
the original animation crew is gone, but some of the
directors
are still there. Writers were also let go. The cheaper labor was hired
from out of state. Lighting, camera, puppets, et al are now people from
Oregon. Well,
at least
some people found work. And
GET THIS-
Shadow is adding CG to both shows" I cannot
confirm from other news sources, but I am not surprised by layoffs.
Stop Motion at a 'TV series level' can be PRICEY especially when you
have to compete
with CG or 2D
that is outsourced
overseas. Shadow Machine is a
production house
in 'Tinsel Town' area that I do not hear from much and they seem to
'lay low' or 'in the shadows' with regards to
publicizing/marketing themselves Shadow Machine site.
So, maybe
a
re-structuring move to save costs in these tough times?Update: It appears my 'underground source' is still a rookie in journalism reporting because of not completely checking the facts as follows: Some of Shadow Machine's projects are TV Series which is seasonal work for specific number of shows and therefore, when project ends, there is a period of normal layoffs. It might have been a pissed-off Shadow Machine ex-employee who gave misleading info to my 'newbie source'. Shadow Machine has the 'Stop Motion Works 100% Seal of Approval'  EDIT:
10.09.09> 'The
NeckTie' (2008) - Apparently
winning some awards Teaser Behind
scenes
Website
About 3 years ago, armature I made for main character 1
- 2 - 3 > 'Nightmare Before Christmas' (1993) - Opening scene Making of Part 2 Part 3 
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