The world's largest stop motion animation!

"Shooting entirely on smartphones, Oscar-winners Aardman break the world record for the largest stop-motion animation set as they create Gulp on Pendene Beach in South Wales." The Telegraph.
'Gulp' is an http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifabsolutely gorgeous stop motion animation created by Sumo Science at Aardman and it was all shot on a Nokia N8 mobile phone. I love the use of real, life sized objects for example the boat that has been cut in half to lie flat on the sand to give us the side view. I also love the fact they had to work around the time of nature such as tide times and weather conditions - "Co-director Will Studd said: "The film was a huge test of planning and coordination with mother nature. We were incredibly lucky with conditions and tide times – sometimes we got our final frame for the day just as the waves crashed in around our set."

After trying to finish my Sonic project where i used stop motion animation i swore that i didn't want to do it again but after seeing this i might possibly give it another try.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/8678632/Worlds-largest-stop-motion-animation-set-created-on-Welsh-beach.html

MILKYEYES

While looking at different hand drawn animation pieces i came across a short animation by Donato Sansone who also uses the screen name/nick name MILKYEYES. It jumped out me amongst the rest because it is basically all the different frames drawn out onto a large sheet of paper covering the floor and it is animated as he moves the sections of paper similar to that of a flip book. (It was described as a painted stop motion by a fan who has commented under the video). I found MILKYEYES on Vimeo and i had a look at some of the other work and there is a wide variety of different things from graphics to live action pieces but all have a sort of surreal/dark feel to them which seems to be Sansone's signature mise-en-scene. In this particular animation the majority of scenes are about violence like cutting people in half and fighting with each other. But what i especially liked about the piece is it reminded me of Manipulation by Daniel Grieves as there is the use of human and animation interaction.

Self Initiated Project...Initial Thoughts

Over the summer i want to focus on what my strengths are rather than looking at all my weaknesses to give me an idea of what i should do for my self initiated project. One thing i think i am fairly good at is drawing so i thought of trying to put that skill to use and see if i can create some hand drawn animations. I know hand drawn animation is very difficult but i want to give myself a challenge over the next week to see if i am capable of creating some good quality tests and to look at my own style of drawing and who influences me.

Project Evaluation

I was a bit upset when i found out i had been referred for my final chunk of year 2 as i then began to panic about whether i would progress into the 3rd year! But as i had a second chance to get a pass i really put my all into it, like i should of done in the first place. I really struggled with the 'competition brief' as i couldn't find an idea to stick with and i almost discarded the project until i eventually ran out of time and therefore handed in an undeveloped idea. I have used work as an excuse for my terrible time management and i feel it has really got in the way, throughout July i said to my manager i could only work the maximum of 2 days a week and i feel that my time management has improved a lot. As a result of this i am only going to be working 2 days a week so i can focus my energy on my degree as it will be my future (hopefully).
This project has been the most unsuccessful to date but i feel it has been a real help to my working method and being referred has helped me to realise what work i have been missing and how to continuously develop my ideas into a finish piece. I know i should of already grasped this way before now but this project i feel has finally lead me down the right path just in time for the most important year!
The things i have done differently this time are: using mind maps to show all my thoughts as last time i didn't note everything down i kept most of it to myself; putting my ideas down into storyboards to make it easier for me to visually see how i need to film/animate; developing my storyboards instead of just filming i have made creative decisions on what i want to change, add or discard of; using animatics as a starting point to my final piece i have found it easier to add into my animatic the final clips of animation so that the correct speed and clips are how i planned them.
Another thing i found very helpful was after i had a rough idea of what i wanted to achieve i went straight out to test and gain some primary research and this is how my final idea developed, instead of being sat in front of a computer i just got on with it and it was easy especially as it was nice weather! I found my tests to be very successful so it was a fantastic starting point as to what i wanted the final piece to look like. After i had some tests i added them together to make short sequences to get a feel of the speed and overall feel/flow of the animation. So when i found what i liked i then started to draw up some storyboards and play with them and as they developed i used photos of the scenes instead of just drawings and drew on where Sonic would go past the camera. This technique was so useful as i could see where i had placed shots next to each other that may look a bit repetitive so i will be using this technique in future to help my project development.
When the storyboards were almost complete i then began to create hand drawn animatics to start to get the speed of the separate clips right and make sure they fit together nicely, since this was developing i then started to use the same photo technique as in the storyboards to give me a clearer idea of what the shot will actually look like. As i got nearer to finishing the animatic i added in clips of my final piece to make sure the timing matched until the whole animatic was the final animation. I felt this method worked well as i was sticking to exactly what i had planned and not just winging it like in some of my previous projects so this is defiantly the way i work the best (and the way it should be done).
The final animation i think has worked well and it is exactly what i pictured, however if i was to do it again i may have picked more locations but i wanted to see how many i could find in one place which i think i managed to do well. I think i have used my time well as i have focus all my energy into it and haven't been distracted, i have to say that the working method i have used within this referred project has been successful and i have stuck to my set time limit. Which i decided on when i gave myself boundaries for the brief. I think this time around the use of my own set boundaries was a great idea because i need some strict guidelines to stop me from losing focus, i planned to start the piece at the beginning of July and have it completed and handed in the first week of August which i have done successfully so in the future i need to set myself guidelines within an open brief as i believe this i how i work the best.

Further Development - Animatics

As i am coming up with more and more ideas for my video i have just kept updating he animatic and it is working really well for me! I have obviously used animatics before but this time i feel i have used them properly to find the right speed and constantly update. Here is another one with the tagline and logo at the end to get a feel of how it works alongside the video.

This is my final animatic and i really think the photo version works well as i can clearly see what is going to happen within the shot. The speed is right and the clips follow in the right order so all i need to do now is replace the photos with the actual clips and i am on my way.

Vernon Mill

I used to visit Vernon Mill regularly to have a mooch at local artists work as i originally studied Art and Design fine art. Me, my mum and Step dad would go nearly every Saturday morning and it has only just occurred to me to go back and see whats going on at the moment. Oh how i have missed this place! It is so calm, quiet and relaxing to ponder around the studios of different artists and designers. One artist in particular that stood out to me was a man named Malcolm Croft (a bit of info about him below i found on the Vernon Mill Artist website)
"Malcolm grew up in the north of England and went to college to study photography in Kent. On leaving he worked as a press photographer in Fleet Street and in Manchester, winning the 1997 Press Photographer of the Year Award for his coverage of the IRA bomb attack on the city.
Unfortunately he was hit by a car while cycling in Derbyshire and, his injuries so severe, forced to retire. After spending a number of years raising his two sons he began painting in 2005 and is self-taught. What started out as a hobby has now morphed to the point where Malcolm finds himself poised on the brink of success, his work hanging in galleries next to paintings worth thousands."I really enjoyed looking at his work because there was such a variety of different images to see but all done in this particular style of bold black outlines and block colour to fill the spaces. They all look fab together as well as they are all placed in white frames with a gold rim, a simple frame to showcase the colourful work within it.
I love to look at other work such as paintings and illustrations as i think they are what i feel inspire me the most, i do obviously love watching animation and film but i think because of my art and design national diploma background fine art and illustration still fascinate me! I love to take drawing styles into consideration to as it is something i can push with my animation and filming style whether it will be hand drawn or computer generated. After heading back to Vernon Mill i defiantly want to keep my eye on what is happening there so that i can keep going back to try and grasp some inspiration or even talk to the artists themselves if they are around for some tips and advise.

Ending the Animation

I have a start to the animation and the middle but i can't seem to find the right ending but would the game always end the same with a different player? .... each individual would surely end it differently and as this is my chosen theme (everyone is different so each game would be) i think maybe speed up the clips as it gets closer to the end until it is that fast it fades to black and the tagline would appear then Sonic 20th Birthday and finally the Sega logo. (Add to animatic). More filming commences tomorrow as i have the whole day to do it so by the end of tomorrow i will have the majority of the animation placed into my animatic and i will have a plan as to what i need to film in Wales when i leave on Monday. I am really looking forward to getting stuck into the final filming tomorrow as i can't wait to see what it looks like put together.