 |
Previous News
 12.30.06
* Last Blog
for '06: Americanized Aardman, The 'Junks' in Bulgaria,
and 'Stasis' ....
I am trying to blog only once a week, in my
constant efforts to minimize being consumed
by this 'Puter in front of me. Animate
Clay's Marc Spess posted earlier in the week about this. I had that info too,
but sticking to my once-a-week blog, however, I will also
post here, to further spread the word. A series
in production at the CBS network (in USA). They are
importing new episodes of Aardman's Creature
Comforts series, but with Yankee-American
dialogue. Understandable I suppose, why the
"suits" do it. There are many 'live action' TV
series, first done in the UK, then Americanized versions
re-done here. A teaser clip. Some behind the scenes
uncompleted animation takes 1 2 3 4 5 6
Moving right along
....an inprogress all Stop Motion
project from some creatives/artists in Bulgaria.
 I recall this one a few years ago and
apparently, they are still working on it? Where are you
"Suits"? Sheeesh.... have some
guts and be bold, and take a
chance on something 'different'. It
looks cool. An odd
assortment of Stop Mo characters. The
puppets (except for the bunny) all kind of organic and
grungy. Absolutley NOT like the typical bright, shiney,
& pristine puppets as done in USA & Europe, BUT
also, it is not so rough or etheral
looking like the non-commercial stuff such as from the
Brothers Quay. These Bulgarian created puppet
characters live in a Junk Yard; a rugged
& jgritty environment and
you can see that the characters are descendents from that
world. Check it out The Junks; plenty of links and also teaser clips.
Here in America,
another non-mainstream very independent darkish
& Sci-Fi'sh all Stop Motion project, created by Jason A.
Hite, who was or is still working in special
effects makeup. He completed a surreal quasi-photoreal
futuristic Stop Motion short. From the behind the scenes
pics, looks like shot inside his home.
The sets & puppets are huge  . A teaser clip of Stasis. Looks interesting. I know, it is
easy to be a 'critic'. IMO, the images maybe look just a little too
crisp & sharp. Maybe in post, it
could be overlayed with mist, fog,
smoke, or 'something' to soften the
images. Anyway, it looks like it was an ambitious
project. Brief Stasis article and Jason Hite's website with plenty of stuff to look at. I
believe you can buy a Dvd of this 8 minute short and includes, behind
the scenes. If you got any extra 'coin', maybe you might
consider buying a Dvd and give a Stop Mo Bro
some confidence.
* On E
Entertainment Network, 'Starveillance' all Stop Mo series
... Cuppa Coffee in Canada did the hands-on work.
They sure are cranking out a lot
of Stop Motion in upper North America. Starveillance premieres Jan. 5 See some teaser clips. It plays
back a little rough, but watchable. I am sure the
animation is smoother than what you see online.
* Okay, I
quit ....
you won't see me until next
year. Perhaps 'you all' will be more cyber
virtual talkative and
participate more at the message board, instead of just lurking & hoarding all
the tips, advice, wisdom, volunteered by the very
few dedicated SMA members. I do not want to hear
any whining, that you are too
busy. I know you check your
email regularly and then you quietly lurk
at the message board. It is your choice to be apathetic
and non-involved, but just remember;
there is no guarantee that the message
board or Anthony Scott, myself,
and other Stop Motionist notables will be here tomorrow. So,
speak-up & contribute. "Hasta
La Vista". Maybe, "I'll be
back"  Addendum: Geeez, I just re-read the above
mini-rant. I bet you think I am going to apologize now? Hell
No!  BTW, help
Anthony and BUY the SMA.com Crew Caps & Winter-style Beanies.He is not going to get rich off
it, but it would be a symbolic testament
of your support
for the Stop Motion message board (somebody
is paying for it to be online) Edit 12.31.06
____________________
12.23.06
* CGI losing
appeal? Maybe it needs to REST & allow OTHERS in the
'Game' ....
With CGI, it seems like we
are not as impressed so much by "it".
Perhaps, the excess of it or
the formulaic, homogenized
stuffed pumped out by mainstream,
and maybe, especially, so-so, mediocre stories.
Initially, CGI wowed us
 and me too, but I
became numb to it, real fast. Hmmm ....
perhaps the public subconsciously sensing that CGI
has an assembly line, manufactured
quality? (the 'formula' feel to them)
Stop Motion
is rooted in 'ol' school' ....
still mostly hand-made and today, with
perhaps 'some' assist of technology, IMO, can still make
an impression on the big screen.
Stop Mo has gravity-weight,  soul, warmth, , real-world
& tactile ambiance. Some of the ol'
school special effects can still
work in the digital-schmigital 21st century.
DO NOT let the Technological
'pushers' brainwash you, that classic
& traditional is dead. Foreground
miniatures, forced perspective
and maybe even glass paintings
are still viable. Somehow, to me, I am more
impressed by the creativity, inventiveness,
and problem solving (compared to sitting
on your butt mouse clicking methods) that it takes to
produce ol' school special effects.
Perhaps someday, the box office hit wannabies (the
suits) will see that CGI itself,
is no guarantee. CGI Gone Awry: The Worst Special
Effects of the Computer-Generated. Hey, I did not write that
article. Free Speech, you know?  If you want to whine  ,
send your complaints to Rob Wright @ Twitch Guru. Forum discussion about article.
* Old world
'Trompe L'Oeil' (to trick the eye) .... A French word
referring to an art technique involving realistic
imagery in order to create the optical
illusion that the depicted objects
really exist, instead of being just two-dimensional
paintings. There is this  sidewalk street artist
who does amazing stuff with chalk
drawing-illustrations. For some of his work, he
uses the technique of anamorphosis to further create a 3D
illusion effect of the flat chalk
drawing, where it appears to pop-up
from the sidewalk. His name is Julian Beever. Here is a video slideshow of his work, also one at YouTube. At Planet Perplex some more pics with comments there
and a quick explanation & pics how it's done. Julian's Website Portfolio. NO mouseclicking
photoshop pixel digital-schmigital manipulation. All ol'
school, traditional,
low tech and keeping-it-real baby,
but the finished product has tons
of awesome creative bang! Keep this in mind with
Stop Motion; it is a powerful
"Art form" and can entertain
or make whatever statement you desire.
* Trailer-teaser slamming CGI .... Something I
thought of doing for my own opening of my B-movie
trailer tests, but not dissing
CGI. Perhaps in the opening credits, hyping
Stop Motion & Ol' school
methods, similar to Ray Harryhausen's
Classics, "Presented through
the Miracle of Dynamation!"
sort of thing. Kind of a marketing gimmick but
also fun and retro. Here it is, a teaser
for a feature animation coming out in '07,
Quicktime small med large Addendum: CG pics winning big, but 2-D can still hit a
Homer Edit 12.24.06
____________________
12.16.06
* Corpse
Bride Online & Free .... Google recently
forked over $1.65 Billion to OWN YouTube. I can see the value,
fun & entertainment
of teaser & trailer clips being
shown online, but the 'entire' Fugg'n Movie?
Well, you can watch all of Corpse Bride in 8 parts. If this kind of excess
copyright abuse by only the few
continues, I am guessing stiffer policies &
terms may be implemented by YouTube,
especially when Google fully takes over
behind the scenes. Like always, few scumbag
A-holes make it bad for the rest
of us. Right now it is sort of the wild
untamed territory with online Video
Sharing. So, if Google/YouTube
gets hit with more frequent
lawsuits, it will not be the same in the future.
I suppose, one can say at this time, just "Enjoy it
while it Lasts". Some reads for you 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 Edit 12.17.06
* The Good
Stuff about YouTube .... 'Tons' of so-so
videos and dry & dumb home vids, but
much in the spirit of fun. Everyone
having a few megabytes of cyber-virtual
video fame. There are however, some very
creative & interesting gems out
there. Online video sharing sites are
sort-of an equalizer-democratizer for Artists
of all varieties to expose one's talents
or skills to the masses (if there is true talent
there). No longer does talent or
exceptional skill have to be filtered
or censored through talent
agencies or the few media/showbiz power
players,  'choosing' for
you. You can make
your own decisions and hopefully recognize
good or unique upcoming
talent, material, entertainment, etc. But sometimes I
question what becomes momentarily popular on YouTube;
some pretty stupid stuff. Then you got the new
phenomenon of Viral Marketing.
Remember last month I
spotlighted here, Lasse Gjertsen from Norway? He seems to now be getting a
little bit of notoriety in the
mainstream circles. Read Unrefined Musician Uses Stop-Motion
Video To Play a Catchy Tune. Some of Lasse's works are very
creative and other's, well, kind of low
brow but he has a core spark-energy
that will probably evolve. BTW, if you did not see yet,
here is one of Lasse's other, better works I'm Taking a Walk. In the overinflated costs of
mainstream showbiz & ad market, something similar to
this piece, might cost a few million $$$
to produce. IMO, the writing, creativity, direction,
design, and finesse execution that Lasse demonstrates
here, is what brightly shines through
and most likely done, very cost-effectively;
in a corner of his bedroom on his computer!! Also, here
is another good read YouTube not just for stupid videos Edit 12.17.06
* 'Annie
Awards' Nomination for Best Commericials .... This award is like the Oscars,
but for animated works only. In general,
I do not pay attention to 'awards' that much.Plenty of
creative talent & works out there under
the radar of mainstream suits &
studios and not recognized. Anyway ....
Some nominated Best Tv ads. I posted these in past blogs but because
the internet is ephemeral and also, in this modern but getting
crazier culture, many of the public's brains seem to be
afflicted with ADD  ; I will post here
again. One is the Laika made, ESPN Stop Motion "Believe"
spot, The Making Of & finished
Believe ad. The
other nominated one, the "Dragon"
ad for United done by Duck Studios, also using Stop Mo animation techniques.
At United website you can see the making of
(a whopping 30mb download) and the completed Ad.
Duck Studios, does a wide variety of
animation styles & techniques. This particular demo
reel shows the Stop Motion samples Addendum: Okay, I re-edited the above and
toned down my ranting stye rhetoric. There is perhaps
some value to being recognized
by your peers via 'Awards';
IF it does not get too nepotistic, elitist, or political. Stop Motion needs
every shred of public exposure. Someone
emailed me this .... also nominated for Best Commercial, Seamus Walsh & Mark Caballero work on the Candy Factory spot. The complete '06 Annie's nomination list. Edit 12.17.06
* LIO's Third
Secret
Missing Tool .... In last week's news/blog
(12.09.06), I gave you an update about where I am heading
and short term goals with regards to Stop Motion. I am
trying to establish some kind of shooting/animation
production work-flow, so that each
project, tests & experiments
will hopefully be efficient, easy
& quick to set-up.
I cannot guarantee it  will work, but something that I am
striving for through trial & error.
Well, I kind of whined
last week. I had a specific tool that
was essential to the 3 major
parts to my workflow: It was the Sanyo IDshot camera, Stop Motion-Maker Advance Software, and I
finally received delivery of the final
component to the LIO Recipe  . I complained about the company
being slow to ship it, but as I suspected, it was merely
due to the Holiday period causing delays. I will reveal
to you what it is but not just
yet. When it is exposed, you might say, "What
the Fug? Is that it?" Ahhh .... but that
will just prove 'your'
shallow & neanderthalic mind! Tools or techniques
DO NOT have to be High Tech Complex or
Xtreme (that is a clue). In many different aspects of Life,
the principle of 'Less is More' is
applicable. Also, this item was
mentioned at the Stop Motion forum (July '06) with a posted link
but it slipped by most of you. I initially missed it too,
until I took a second look and did my usual Sherlock
Holmes-style deep research
& investigation Edit 12.17.06
____________________
12.09.06
* Marvel
Heroes Ani-Move Studio review (part 1) ..... I briefly mentioned
this new product a few
months ago.
Recently, the Jazwares company was generous to provide me a test
model. Very eye-catching packaging for
the kids. Practically no assembly. Just pull it out of
box and install the batteries and with the RCA
video & audio plugs connect
to any TV and you get an instant
image on the screen. Internally, it stores only
44 frames, however the camera
has a slot to accept an optional SD
memory card and it can store almost
unlimited number of frames. It plays back at 6
frames a second. So that means it takes 75%
less time to animate for one second.
The results are not so smooth, but remember this was designed
for kids. The Ani-Movie Studio comes
with Marvel character cut-out cardbard flat
figures that one has to punch out and  assemble. I have to say, they are delicate
and I think in the hands of kids, these flat
cut-out figures might get pretty well beat-up
or parts lost. Also, the cut-out figures seem too
large to lay against the base
& supplied backgrounds.
IMO, the way
Marvels Hero Ani-Movie Studio is designed, it is
more suited to 2D or
flat style animation, whether cut-out,
drawn, animated finger painting, flat clay animation on
the base, or maybe some kind of
rotoscoping-tracing animation. The camera
is attached to a neck
and is in vertical position and shoots
downward towards the base. You can try Stop
Motion with it by swiveling the
entire neck to the horizontal side position. It only gives you one main axis
of camera adjustment (via the neck), but
unforunately, the 'base' is
very visible in the scene. There is not
enough movement of the
camera head for more positioning
adjustments to compose scenes
for Stop Motion. IMO, the camera
head or neck part should have another
main axis of adjustment; or
maybe could have been designed so that the head
can be removed from the
neck-base and then some cables to
re-connect the camera to the base
or neck. If the camera head
had more omni-directional adjustments,
it would be more user friendly for Stop
Motion or other animation options.
Someone who is a hands-on tinkerer can probably do these
home brew simple modifications.Also, I think maybe small
Stickfas-type poseable figures
in the form of Marvel Characters could
be part of the package.
I do not know if there
will be later versions of Ani-Movie
Studio, but this is certainly an interesting
start. Very slick
marketing too. I think the inventor may
have something and perhaps
might develop other products? I am
thinking about a very economical LunchBox-type
unit that connects to TV for the
animation market? Also, using memory
cards for frame storage instead
of a hard drive.You know where to reach
me, if you need
any designing help, advice, or consultation.
Here is Jazwares website (flash-heavy), still in the works, about
the Ani-Movie Studio. If you click
the 'videos demos' link, it will be more
clearer to you about my comments. Discussion at Forum. In a later blog installment
I will offer some more thoughts. Also,
believe it or not, I can see the possible application of
this unique "toy",
as a useful pre-production tool for
storyboarding & timing of your animation
project ( Hint: Animatics). Stay Tuned! Edit 12.10.06
* Overdue
Update: StopMoWorks aka LIO Debut .... What can I say? I cannot help
that real life  gets in the fugg'n
way  . Do not
point your finger at me
saying, "What the hell is taking you so
long?" There are three of your
own fingers pointing back at yourself
and I can say the same about you.
Also, do not second guess and mistakenly think that I am
not doing anything behind the scenes. I got plenty of ideas,
tests, experiments, techniques, all percolating
and I write them down and they are not
just floating vaporously & aimlessly in my head. My
style in most everything I do is kind of slow &
methodical in the beginning. I take the time to first visualize,
rehearse (in my mind), and
lots of thinking with a pencil.This
has sometimes been frustrating to my past bosses or
co-workers (at regular jobs) because they are conditioned
to be impatient and hyper
stressed. It is like the Hare
... they are all Hurry-Up and do
plenty of Screw-ups. I am probably more like the
steadfast Tortoise who will win
in the end and then I soon become consistently
proficient
& productive  .
I have not actively
sought animation related work. I still get some requests
to do custom Stop Mo armatures but I will not sell myself
short. Many times the inquires are expecting Wal-Mart
prices  . Only if it is an interesting
project and it if I am compensated
for it, I might consider it. In addition to
the vicissitudes of Life, taking
on other side projects can create further delays. I have
sometimes accepted some armature work, when I knew I
should not have.
Stop Motion is
so damn time consuming. My overall
objective is to have some kind of production
set-up where I can crank-out
Stop Motion reasonably fast.
and still, somewhat have slick production values.
I do not want to be stuck with one
project that will consume years.
I have no single project, but more of a potpourri of different things I want
to attempt. I do not want to be bogged-down
with complex workflow such as this obsession
that some beginners have with Digital Still Cameras. Also, all the time
& labor in creating involved miniature
sets, is not for me. I know
what my end distribution will be, and TV
resolution is still good enough
and acceptable. These will be my main
key tools; using the infamous Sanyo iDshot as my primary camera
and Stop Motion-Maker Advance. I want to see how much
I can "push" them.
For me, one of the other challenges will
be, trying to get the biggest bang for
the $ Buck $. I have on order, another
important and not expensive item-tool,
that will be essential to my
workflow formula. I have not received it yet and
'they' seem to be taking long time to ship it. Maybe it
is because I just recently ordered it during the
conjested Holiday period. At a later time, I may reveal
the mysterious "third
element" . Anyway, that is the
latest from StopMoWorks Edit 12.10.06
____________________
12.02.06
* Bent Image
Studio does TV commercial Ad for South America client ..... IMO, many times ads that
are of the 'International' market seem more
interesting, daring and with different
sensibilites than the stuff made
for the Yanks. A formulaic style or pattern about USA
made ads, or maybe a somewhat self imposed
creative restriction by the ad agencies, suits, etc
? This Bent Image (Portland, Oregon USA) produced ad was for
a client, I believe in Argentina, S.A..
It combines Stop Motion with 'some' CGI,
but the computer stuff is very subtle
and compliments the Stop Motion
and still preserving the organic-ness tactile
feel & qualities of it.
Check it out, it is called, "Lux Provocateur" OT player, or YouTubified version. I am not sure if this is for TV,
Internet viral marketing, for USA viewing or just for
South American audiences. Why was it done in English? I
hear there is a Spanish version. I am not aware if there
are any behind the scenes about this project. I do know
that Chel White directed it and someone by the name of Jim Clark & link 2 did some concept work for this. Well, up to
you to do your own searching and maybe post at message boards, if you like.
* Stop Motion
Studio still going since 1947! You say what? Yes an animation
studio that has been around 60 fugg'n
years! You ask, where? Well ...
definitely not here in the USA. You
already know, historically in good ol' America,
the mainstream Suit's rejection of Stop
Motion and 'they' still generally eschewed it. Grandpa O'Brien & Uncle
Ray  struggled
with Stop Motion and studios
were verrrry cheap with
production budgets.
Anyway .... the name
of the Studio is SE-MA-FOR Film Productions which is in POLAND!
They do variety of classic style
animation techniques and special
effects. In the USA we are so  ego-centric & myopic
and we forget that there is a vast
world & variety of 'culture' out
there. That is one of the benefits of the Internet,
I suppose; becoming more of a Global Village
and maybe jogging our memories that the USA
is not the center of the world.
You might recognize Se-Ma-For past works
or heard of them indirectly. They just completed the Stop
Motion Peter & the Wolf, directed by Suzie
Templeton, which has just been released in Europe on DVD. Also, some years ago, Sem-A-For,
was involved with an unusual stop motion
animation, of almost full human size
puppets. It was called DIM.
They have plenty to read at their site and at bottom
of their home website page there are some teaser
clips. Here is one to start you off Maru
* JibJab's Cut-Out Style Animation ...
HOT! You hear me boiling
sometimes about Flash enabled
websites. NO GOOD if used excessively. Screws up
efficient site searching & navigating and it can get
too gimmicky and gets old. A pain in the ass waiting for
each Flash page to load, even with broadband connection.
However, Flash does seem to be a very effective
& creative tool for a certain kind
of animation style. Flash Animation is
kind  of a high-techy version of
ol' school Cut-out Animation as used by many animators of past
& present and by the well known Classic &
Cult, Monty Python Flying Circus, with
Cut-Out animation done by Terry Gilliam.
Weird Al Yancovic recently released a music video parody
of 'American Idol' winner, Taylor Hicks' song,
"Do I Make You Proud". Here is a news item about Weird Al & JibJab Studio. Al calls his
version, "Do I Creep You Out". Looks like JibJab
has a nice little niche going. No hyper
realistic CGI excess but simple flat 2-D
Flash/Cut-out Animation style. It is the Creativity
& Freshness of their product
that sells it. Seems suited for
internet, as one can probably pump out
Flash animation way more quickly
than other animation methods, and especially, Stop
Motion, which is possibly the most labor intensive. ____________________
|
|
