Stopmotion

Okay so, the last couple of weeks i've been sitting through some seminars in which we explore the world of animation, the first being stopmotion.

I thought I knew most of the types of stopmotion but this presentation showed some styles that I'd never even heard of like, Strata Cut and Clay Painting.These were under the subheading of Claymation but there was many more as well.

Here are just a few of the styles and videos that took my interest starting with Dante's Inferno, which is a freeform claymation.

Sadly, this video isn't permitted to be played on here so here's the link instead: Dante's Inferno by Alexis Waller

I really like this piece because the style and aesthetic look to it is very striking. The movement in this animation is jerky at times but overall I think the animation is surprisingly fluid. I really like the transitions between all the scenery and figures  and the way that the clay has been modelled. One of my favourites being from 1:15 - 1:40.

Another great thing about this video is that Alexis really uses the clay to it's fullest by moulding it in such a way to create some really lovely textures especially when doing the rocks and the ocean. It shows such attention to detail and I think it deserves a lot of credit.

Now moving onto another really lovely piece by Joan Gratz called, 'Mona Lisa Descending A Staircase'.



This is one of the styles I didn't actually expect to be classed as a form of stopmotion but after watching it and reflecting on it a little more, for me, it kinda reminds me of J.Stuart Blackton's 'Humorous Phases of Funny Faces'.

All these animations show a certain degree of talent which is undeniable but in this piece, what stood out to me more is the attention to all the transitions from one work of art to another. There's a really nice and subtle transition between every piece but just for an example, from 0:22 - 0:28 the details and the shadows are taken out leaving you with a flat image until it eventually fades away. And going a little further on from 0:28 - 0:35 the figure moves into position for the next image which really gives you that sense of continuity throughout.


So after looking at some of the videos I was briefly shown in the seminar I decided to search for some more videos that I found quite interesting.



Most documentaries, especially that of David Attenborough feature the time lapse, which is basically a stop motion that's done over a vast period of time.  I thought I'd find something a little more now, so I decided to take a clip out of BBC's Frozen Planet which has been on since last month and just ended recently. I really enjoyed this documentary. I'm a love of nature documentaries anyway but some of the shots in this and the time lapses are really amazing. What I also love about this particular series is that, at the end of an episode it will show you how they managed to record particular stuff, what equipment they use, and basically show the lengths they go to to give us this incredible footage.


Khoda from Reza Dolatabadi on Vimeo.

This is a really beautiful piece by Khoda. I was pointed in the direction of this video after taking an interest in the Mona Lisa piece above because this 5 minute video was animated using 6000 oil paintings. The detail in this is just stunning and like Joan Gratz's animation the transitions were well thought out but, I'd say that Khoda's approach to animating paintings has more of a cinematic view to it.

The music to this animation is really good.. The atmosphere and the suspension creating by the sounds really made my heart race. The impact it has on you as a member of the audience really is something and I think that it shows without a doubt the amount of effort that was put into this. Amazing.