TITLE: gone with the hair
COURSE DOCUMENTATION, STOP MOTION FILM PRODUCTION, INTERNATIONAL OPEN ELECTIVES 2014
GONE WITH THE HAIR
Teacher’s Foreword
Stop motion animation is an art form that requires an endless supply of energy, creativity, and problemsolving. It also requires a wide variety of craft skills, since all the assets are created by hand, from scratch. Also, stop motion requires an undertanding of animation principles and film making techniques. Finally, no stop motion project is completed without excellent department communications, and serious team work. It also helps if you are little bit crazy. Chris has worked extensively as a commercial stop motion animator on a variety of internationally broadcast television programs. He holds an MFA in Film Studies (York University, 2007), a BA in Film Studies and English Literature (Wilfrid Laurier University, 1993), and a Diploma in Media Arts (Sheridan College, 1998). At Sheridan, Chris teaches Animation History and stop motion animation. He also mentors 4th year films, and lectures on aspects of story. Chris developed and now teaches Canada’s foremost college-level stop motion course, with graduates working on major feature films (Paranorman, The Boxtrolls) and television series (Robot Chicken). Chris is an active filmmaker, concerned with themes such as family bonds, fairy tales, and cinema’s role in our everyday lives. His films have been screened internationally, including the Toronto International Film Festival and The Ottawa International Animation Festival. Chris is also the owner of Mad Lab Productions, a small animation studio that specializes in sci-fi, horror, and comedy animation.
Story telling
Having explained on the first day, each group drew out their stories for the second round.
The boards were presented by their creators and discussed by everyone.
PREparation
Once the story was finalized, we made teams, based on skill and interest, for the various tasks that needed to be done.
The boards were refined for clarity of story and visuals; they were essential in planning and carrying out the following tasks.
SETting it up
Set construction was the first step in production; it included building an animation deck and a wall. All the action took place on the deck.
Everyone pitched in with the set pieces. While this was time-consuming, we let our imaginations run wild (within the material and story constraints).
The SETgurus
Aroop used his construction superpowers to make the deck and wall and much more. He totally rocks!
Navin is the man behind the reflective material innovation, he played a pivotal role in set design and visual effects.
Crafting the CAST
To-scale sketches were used as references for the armatures. We used German Steel wire &PU foam for the skeletons and thermocol for the heads.
The puppets were buffed up with foam, fabric and clay and painted with acrylic colours. The fingers of the lady were given multiple coats of latex.
Les PUPPETmasters
Paulomi was the chief character designer; she brought the sketches to life with her magic humour-skills.
Abhisek was the legit costume designer; who with his awesomesauce skills of apparel designing made the puppets lifelike.
The Workstation
The measurements of the set pieces were based on the dimensions of the initial sketches. Chris set up the tech equipment for us to shoot with.
Software workshops in DragonFrame and Premiere Pro were conducted by Chris during different stages of production.
... let there be LIGHT!
Aaditya managed the lighting; He tweaked around with lights and shadows to bring to the set visual perfection.
The lighting and shadows are an important cue; we manipulated them to show different scenarios.
The Dragon-tamers..
Neeraja was the chief of the animation group and she gave it a headstart. Just look at the intensity of her concentration.
Rabbit, eh..Rohit unleashed the animator inside him and gave the first official haircut to our lovely lead.
.. a.k.a ANIMATORS
GOPI
Gopi Chand, a newbie, animated the apple fall gag which led him to discover the wonderful world of animation.
In the process of animating intuitively (even those not in the animation team did a sequence each), we began to grasp basic principles.
the POSTmen
Gopi with his Super-PM (i.e. Production Manager) skills created illusions with sound. See him working his magic above.
Aman got the material, documented stuff in his magic journal and used his awesome editing skills.
the DIRECTOR
Chris was the zen master, guiding us through the whole process with foresight, pragmatic planning and bundles of wisdom.
He also kept spirits up despite the time and resource constraints; he always encouraging us, joining in the fun and cracking jokes.
the TEAM
standing Gopikrishnan Navin Rohit Aman Paulomi Aroop Neeraja Abhisek seated Gopi Chand Chris (course faculty) Kaushik (anchor faculty) Aaditya
acknowledgements We would really like to thank: Pradyumna Vyas, Director, NID Vijai Singh Katiyar Open Elective 2014 team Kaushik Chakraborty ..and a shout out to: Chewang Rekhaben Rahulbhai Valjibhai Kalp Shivatmika and all our friends.
That’s it folks!