Dave Alex, Aardman - Cinematographer and Director - Notes
Stared making films when he was young, dad was a photographer so he had knowledge in the field already. Studied at Leeds. After he graduated he was encouraged to go to Bristol for a post grad course. Met quite a few inspiring people. Did a lot of 2D animation but Bristol seemed to draw stop motion animators.
The Bolex Brothers - stop motion animation - didn't need a lot of money, could make on the kitchen table. A lot of Pixilation animation as well as.
Aardman - started animation to recorded sound on BBC. Did a lot of filming at Hyde Park cinema. Bolex camera, made in switzerland. cheap camera, did everything. Using this camera, he made a music video, a pixilation with stop motion, all done in camera, there was no post production work. Experimenting with the lens aperture and exposure to add blurs with very little budget. Took about a week to complete. (Sledge Hammer music video - trying to restore it now as still have the negatives).
Aardman expect an animator to turn out 2 seconds of animation a day. Have to break some scenes apart as the sets are so large.
Morph - first main project for Aardman - very simple set up - table top and soft lighting.
Creature Comforts - animating to dialogue - still rough animation, the finger prints adding to the charm of the animation.
The digital revolution really aided the animation process, didn't have video screen to see the shot for reference until later on. Would hope that the shot would look okay and wouldn't have to retake the shot again until it was right, very time consuming.
Nick Park and Steve Box animating 'Wrong Trousers'. Had quite a low budget. Had a small room, filmed on a side with tall sets. A lot of the chase scenes are filmed horizontally in later films.
Wrong Trousers had no digital edits, it was all done in camera. Made a dolly that would move the characters. Background was blurred, as the shot is filmed, with the character in focus. Did the same in 'Close Shave'.
+ Pirates! - Stop motion and 3D - Every two shots, single camera set up. Problem in early animations with the size of the cameras which resulted in difficulties trying to get close ups of the scene. Had quite a big budget for this animation. Lost that handmade approach - huge sets - wasn't much plasticine in the movie. Did quite a few mouth replacements. The key parts that are plasticine, just the mouths, joints would be painted out in post production.
Chicken Run - About half way through technology advanced and they were able to afford digital editing with the footage. Brought 35 old cameras - dating back to the 30's/50's.
Curse of the Wererabbit was the last film they animated on a 35mm camera. Had trouble with newer cameras as they wanted to keep the chalkiness of the plasticine within the aesthetic - Canon DSLR worked well, had a sympathetic approach.
For sets, Plywood and Jesmonite, as these are sturdy materials able to withstand the weight of the animators walking across and less risk of the temperature warping the sets. For raindrops, clear Gelatin, would stay there and use a straw to make it move slightly. Use bubble wrap for lava with a red backlight.
There was more creativity in the earlier days, cant improvise that much and need to head towards the deadline.
Student to industry - After setting up the Bolex Brothers - easy way to make films to show. Didn't think he would be were he would be - kind of just went with something he loved and made it his own. It is worth pursing - follow it!
"JUST DO IT" - If any opportunity arises go for it!
Aardman need storytelling, coming up with ideas, need experience with stopmotion to be able to feel the medium. Storyboaaaards!
"The more you do, the more you learn."
I talked to Dave after the talk about storytelling, what the internships/work experience is available with storytelling. He was lovely and told me about the story intern at Aardman, I really want to pursue this as I love storytelling.
Tuesday 12 April 2016
Leeds International Film Festival - World Animation Part 3 (2 of 2)
In the Distance (Germany)
I loved this animation. I loved how the animation was kept at the exact same shot throughout the short. It not only gave the character his own awareness of space, but it gave the audience an awareness of the lack of space that the spectator would not be allowed to see. It was definitely a form of narrative retardation but within a visual means. The addition of lack of dialogue added to the alienated atmosphere of the animation. The audience were not allowed to see within the characters home, neither could we see the state of the world that the character could see beyond the viewer.
I was really inspired by this piece, it considered both narrative and visual appeal well and balanced it successfully. The use of the mixture between 2D and 3D methods of animation worked, it was simple but visually effective.
Man O Man (UK)
At first I honestly didn't know what to think about this animation, the puppets had a distinctive style as well as the props and world that was portrayed to the audience. It was very Jekyll and Hyde, with the monster being his inner thoughts, what he truly wanted to do. I still have mixed thoughts about this animation, it is genius with the portrayal of what the main character wanted to be, but at the same time I felt that something was lacking in the narrative. However the ending to the animation was brilliant, it was shocking and funny which made the animation that much more successful. The addition of humor worked well and this animation was more successful in the screening compared to the rest of the animations shown.
Autumn (France)
This 2D animation was very sweet and the movement was very fluid and strong, working well with the theme of the narrative. However I didn't really have a strong opinion on the animation, the storytelling wasn't portrayed strong enough, the actions that the main character did and events that happened were contained within the room which worked well but there were no strong events. It wasn't thought provoking enough, I wanted more from the story as the basis was good, it just needed more powerful events to convey the emotive atmosphere. Having said which the ending of the animation made up for the lacking narrative, it worked with the message they were going for, I just wanted it to be seen more clearly throughout.
In addition the style of the animation was nice, the textured worked well and gave it a tactile approach, it reminded me of a cut out animation where the elements were made of felt and tissue paper.
Paradox (Italy)
This animation was quite bizarre, but the simple style and colour scheme worked with the atmosphere of the narrative. I liked the amount of white space and the lack of background which made you focus on the character more, - with the addition of this character becoming the background scenery.
I loved this animation. I loved how the animation was kept at the exact same shot throughout the short. It not only gave the character his own awareness of space, but it gave the audience an awareness of the lack of space that the spectator would not be allowed to see. It was definitely a form of narrative retardation but within a visual means. The addition of lack of dialogue added to the alienated atmosphere of the animation. The audience were not allowed to see within the characters home, neither could we see the state of the world that the character could see beyond the viewer.
I was really inspired by this piece, it considered both narrative and visual appeal well and balanced it successfully. The use of the mixture between 2D and 3D methods of animation worked, it was simple but visually effective.
Man O Man (UK)
At first I honestly didn't know what to think about this animation, the puppets had a distinctive style as well as the props and world that was portrayed to the audience. It was very Jekyll and Hyde, with the monster being his inner thoughts, what he truly wanted to do. I still have mixed thoughts about this animation, it is genius with the portrayal of what the main character wanted to be, but at the same time I felt that something was lacking in the narrative. However the ending to the animation was brilliant, it was shocking and funny which made the animation that much more successful. The addition of humor worked well and this animation was more successful in the screening compared to the rest of the animations shown.
Autumn (France)
This 2D animation was very sweet and the movement was very fluid and strong, working well with the theme of the narrative. However I didn't really have a strong opinion on the animation, the storytelling wasn't portrayed strong enough, the actions that the main character did and events that happened were contained within the room which worked well but there were no strong events. It wasn't thought provoking enough, I wanted more from the story as the basis was good, it just needed more powerful events to convey the emotive atmosphere. Having said which the ending of the animation made up for the lacking narrative, it worked with the message they were going for, I just wanted it to be seen more clearly throughout.
In addition the style of the animation was nice, the textured worked well and gave it a tactile approach, it reminded me of a cut out animation where the elements were made of felt and tissue paper.
Paradox (Italy)
This animation was quite bizarre, but the simple style and colour scheme worked with the atmosphere of the narrative. I liked the amount of white space and the lack of background which made you focus on the character more, - with the addition of this character becoming the background scenery.
Leeds International Film Festival - World Animation Part 3 (1 of 2)
I only managed to catch the Third part of the World Animation event at Leeds International Film Festival due to how quickly the tickets sold out. However I did quite enjoy the third screening, I noticed that their were far more stop motion animations, which means that stop motion is finally starting to come back into trend with animation. There were a few animations in which I thought were trying to hard to be thought provoking so the actual story was lost.
Here are my quick notes on each short animation at the screening:
The Master (Estonia) (Stop motion)
I loved the style of the animation, it was beautiful with the attention to detail and the movement of the dog and monkey were smooth and worked with the style of the animation. I felt that the actual story lasted for too long, it was too slow and once the pace picked up alittle bit with the dramatic plot, it went back down to a slow pace. In addition some of the scenes weren't needed, it could have cut straight to drama to help the pace of the storytelling but the ending seemed to be lacking in my opinion, it just happened. I understand that the monkey is only a monkey so picking up the gun is understandable, but I would have expected the monkey to swing the gun rather than shoot it. Apart from the ending the living room and kitchen set were what gave the animation that aesthetic appeal. It really aided the animation with telling the spectator what era and what culture the world was built upon. This really was needed with the lack of dialogue the animation was dependent on body language and visuals of the animation.
Air Mail (France and Switzerland)
I really liked the storytelling of this animation, it was simple sweet working successfully with the style of the 2D animation. It reminded me of an infographic through the movement of the characters and the colour palette chosen. I enjoyed the humor in the animation, and how through the characters pets, they met each other. I would have liked the animation to have held more depth, however the style of the animation needed the lack of depth, so the added textures and lack of space in the animation was needed to help create a cut out animation appeal.
Amelia and Duarte (Portugal and Germany)
This pixilation animation was very light-hearted and worked really well with the storytelling. Even though the movements were jagged, expected from pixilation as it adds to the charm of the style, it works with the romantic genre. I enjoyed the narration over the animation, it worked with the story and portrayed the narrative well alongside the movement of the characters.
The overall animation was very charming and made a change from the serious tone of the previous animations.
Wellington Jr (France)
This stop motion animation held a bizarre story but was told quite well, their wasn't too much dialogue in the animation, it was mainly sound effects and ambience which worked with the narrative. I loved the style of the characters and the backgrounds, the humor worked really well with the movement of the characters as well as the narrative. In comparison to The Master I personally felt the main character was easier to connect with and understand the choices that the main character took. The Master pulled the heartstrings with the death of the dog which was more of a shock attempt towards the audience rather than trying to emote and convey a message to the audience.
The animation of the characters were sometimes jarred but it added to the charm of the models and worked with the fear that the main character went through when he was left in the woods.
Haircut (Italy and France)
It is difficult to express what this animation was trying to convey. There are so any themes that this animation could be trying to tell the audience which I personally think the narrative was going for. I think it was trying to show mental manipulation, being controlled by someone or even your own thoughts. Subsequently the method of the animation works well, the use if graphite, the line shading and the constant movement of the background makes the audience uncomfortable. Matched with the lack of sound and ambient backing track it definitely made an impact at the screening.
This animation emphasised to me how important sound really is to animation, how it is dependent to audio, in order to create a completed piece. I need to ensure that the sound effects and general sound is added to my extended practice animation.
Here are my quick notes on each short animation at the screening:
The Master (Estonia) (Stop motion)
I loved the style of the animation, it was beautiful with the attention to detail and the movement of the dog and monkey were smooth and worked with the style of the animation. I felt that the actual story lasted for too long, it was too slow and once the pace picked up alittle bit with the dramatic plot, it went back down to a slow pace. In addition some of the scenes weren't needed, it could have cut straight to drama to help the pace of the storytelling but the ending seemed to be lacking in my opinion, it just happened. I understand that the monkey is only a monkey so picking up the gun is understandable, but I would have expected the monkey to swing the gun rather than shoot it. Apart from the ending the living room and kitchen set were what gave the animation that aesthetic appeal. It really aided the animation with telling the spectator what era and what culture the world was built upon. This really was needed with the lack of dialogue the animation was dependent on body language and visuals of the animation.
Air Mail (France and Switzerland)
I really liked the storytelling of this animation, it was simple sweet working successfully with the style of the 2D animation. It reminded me of an infographic through the movement of the characters and the colour palette chosen. I enjoyed the humor in the animation, and how through the characters pets, they met each other. I would have liked the animation to have held more depth, however the style of the animation needed the lack of depth, so the added textures and lack of space in the animation was needed to help create a cut out animation appeal.
Amelia and Duarte (Portugal and Germany)
This pixilation animation was very light-hearted and worked really well with the storytelling. Even though the movements were jagged, expected from pixilation as it adds to the charm of the style, it works with the romantic genre. I enjoyed the narration over the animation, it worked with the story and portrayed the narrative well alongside the movement of the characters.
The overall animation was very charming and made a change from the serious tone of the previous animations.
Wellington Jr (France)
This stop motion animation held a bizarre story but was told quite well, their wasn't too much dialogue in the animation, it was mainly sound effects and ambience which worked with the narrative. I loved the style of the characters and the backgrounds, the humor worked really well with the movement of the characters as well as the narrative. In comparison to The Master I personally felt the main character was easier to connect with and understand the choices that the main character took. The Master pulled the heartstrings with the death of the dog which was more of a shock attempt towards the audience rather than trying to emote and convey a message to the audience.
The animation of the characters were sometimes jarred but it added to the charm of the models and worked with the fear that the main character went through when he was left in the woods.
Haircut (Italy and France)
It is difficult to express what this animation was trying to convey. There are so any themes that this animation could be trying to tell the audience which I personally think the narrative was going for. I think it was trying to show mental manipulation, being controlled by someone or even your own thoughts. Subsequently the method of the animation works well, the use if graphite, the line shading and the constant movement of the background makes the audience uncomfortable. Matched with the lack of sound and ambient backing track it definitely made an impact at the screening.
This animation emphasised to me how important sound really is to animation, how it is dependent to audio, in order to create a completed piece. I need to ensure that the sound effects and general sound is added to my extended practice animation.
Career Track Tuesdays - Everything Legal
Everything Legal - Keith Arrowsmith
+ Selling your own work (sole trader) - have to pay taxes to the tax man (private) don't have to do anything else...
+ Business Structures
- What type of body do I want?
- Are some types of customers more risky?
- What does 'limited liability' really mean?
- Is a social enterprise model worth considering?
- Can I be a charity to get more funding?
+ Risk of Partnerships - You will have to pay the other's debt as you are liable. There are different structures to help you to avoid this.
+ A slightly more complex structure depending on the job.
Shared companies - multiple people put money into the company - Profit making - these people will be paid in shares of the company.
Companies guarantee - Pay by grants - non for profit - shares lose profit. I personally have slight experience in this area with my volunteer group, Abbot's Staithe with the need to find more grants in order to be able to involve the community.
Considering what structure helps you whether creating two companies one for selling, one for profit etc.
Fraud - if you do not declare things properly.
+ Working for charities - funded/grants - different way of business - maybe run by one person.
Posh words - Incorporation = forming a company - when you form a company officially.
+ Specifications:
- The paper work you must fill in to get started
- The taxes you'll have to manage and pay
- How you can take the profit your business makes.
- Your personal responsibilities if your business makes a loss
Public liability insurance - To stop personal liability for work you have made for other people = £40!
- Some brokers have art catergorised insurance and some have standard packages.
+ Names and Brands:
- You must tell people who is behind the work, who you are! That is the rule.
- You can use a different name as long as it is made clear that you are behind it as well as your business address.
- Checking names! For trademarks, check the database IP office on Gov.uk - A collection of registered companies etc.
- You can also protect a colour, a logo and a graphic. For example Cabury's wanted to protect the shade of purple that they use on their chocolate packaging. This failed. This case is similar with the companies, Orange mobile and Royal Mail.
- You can also protect a jingle as well much like Directline.
- You can protect a smell as well - though not many are registered.
Businesses are in different classes, for example class 25 is clothing.
Every ten years you have to renew your business or it will be classed as dead. Your business will end.
If you want to use your name for your branding, you have to use a different route. Registering at the IP office is the best and secure way of protecting your work. Re-registering your name for ten years = £170. For a web domain name, £10 every year, depending on what deal you have.
For research into company names - Company House at Gov.uk and www.knowem.com checks all social media.
National business register IS A SCAM! DO NOT REGISTER! It is a commercial, volunteer company, that are eeeeevil.
Posh words - Intellectual Property - you can earn money through this - you own this therefore you control this.
+ How to protect your work - Read the terms and conditions!!! Or pay someone to explain it to you. This is your responsibility.
+ How do we protect our ideas?
- Watermark of their name - © Protects the work but not the idea.
- (P) - Protects an invention - you cannot protect the idea - only what you have come up with.
TM - is a freebie! Will protect your reputation but will be hard to approve.
+ Selling your own work (sole trader) - have to pay taxes to the tax man (private) don't have to do anything else...
+ Business Structures
- What type of body do I want?
- Are some types of customers more risky?
- What does 'limited liability' really mean?
- Is a social enterprise model worth considering?
- Can I be a charity to get more funding?
+ Risk of Partnerships - You will have to pay the other's debt as you are liable. There are different structures to help you to avoid this.
+ A slightly more complex structure depending on the job.
Shared companies - multiple people put money into the company - Profit making - these people will be paid in shares of the company.
Companies guarantee - Pay by grants - non for profit - shares lose profit. I personally have slight experience in this area with my volunteer group, Abbot's Staithe with the need to find more grants in order to be able to involve the community.
Considering what structure helps you whether creating two companies one for selling, one for profit etc.
Fraud - if you do not declare things properly.
+ Working for charities - funded/grants - different way of business - maybe run by one person.
Posh words - Incorporation = forming a company - when you form a company officially.
+ Specifications:
- The paper work you must fill in to get started
- The taxes you'll have to manage and pay
- How you can take the profit your business makes.
- Your personal responsibilities if your business makes a loss
Public liability insurance - To stop personal liability for work you have made for other people = £40!
- Some brokers have art catergorised insurance and some have standard packages.
+ Names and Brands:
- You must tell people who is behind the work, who you are! That is the rule.
- You can use a different name as long as it is made clear that you are behind it as well as your business address.
- Checking names! For trademarks, check the database IP office on Gov.uk - A collection of registered companies etc.
- You can also protect a colour, a logo and a graphic. For example Cabury's wanted to protect the shade of purple that they use on their chocolate packaging. This failed. This case is similar with the companies, Orange mobile and Royal Mail.
- You can also protect a jingle as well much like Directline.
- You can protect a smell as well - though not many are registered.
Businesses are in different classes, for example class 25 is clothing.
Every ten years you have to renew your business or it will be classed as dead. Your business will end.
If you want to use your name for your branding, you have to use a different route. Registering at the IP office is the best and secure way of protecting your work. Re-registering your name for ten years = £170. For a web domain name, £10 every year, depending on what deal you have.
For research into company names - Company House at Gov.uk and www.knowem.com checks all social media.
National business register IS A SCAM! DO NOT REGISTER! It is a commercial, volunteer company, that are eeeeevil.
Posh words - Intellectual Property - you can earn money through this - you own this therefore you control this.
+ How to protect your work - Read the terms and conditions!!! Or pay someone to explain it to you. This is your responsibility.
+ How do we protect our ideas?
- Watermark of their name - © Protects the work but not the idea.
- (P) - Protects an invention - you cannot protect the idea - only what you have come up with.
TM - is a freebie! Will protect your reputation but will be hard to approve.
® - Registered and distinctive. Will not have the same problem as TM
Patents - to protect inventions - costs lots - don't tell anyone your idea until you have one the paperwork or it won't be new. If in doubt you can always ask for confidentiality but confirm which in writing or it will be difficult to prove.
Patents - to protect inventions - costs lots - don't tell anyone your idea until you have one the paperwork or it won't be new. If in doubt you can always ask for confidentiality but confirm which in writing or it will be difficult to prove.
Copyright ©
Design rights - there is no symbol, just write design rights - the graphics, your design. You register what makes the design special. A years grace to test in market and then spend money on registering it. You would need one for surface print and the item shape etc.
Copyright protects your work for FREE - and without you doing anything at all. No tests for quality.
© This symbol tells the world that this is your work - if anyone steals your work.. you can send them to jail! You do not need to protect work as copyright does this for you - no registering! no registration in the UK.
If you are employed to create work or a deal, the employer has copyright. HOWEVER THE CREATOR WILL ALWAYS HAVE COPYRIGHT.
The post it trick! Sending your work via post to yourself will give your work a date stamp, which will 100% prove that this is your work in court. However if you open the mail, then this is void.
Copyright Lasts your lifetime + 70 years. What it does stop:
- Any copies (All or Parts)
- Any copies (All or Parts)
- Issue copies to the public
+ Perform/show/broadcast
+ Adapt
Seven per cent rule - is absolutely RUBBISH! It does not exist.
Creative Commons - good practice and great for international works. - Simpler deal maybe easier.
There are more rights that you can look into depending on the work you create:
- Performance Rights
- Database Rights
- Resale Rights (money)
DACS - Every time your work is resold you get royalties. However you must register. So if you sell work professionally for £50 then this person sells for £1,000,000 you'll get royalties, ONLY IF SOLD PROFESSIONALLY - so ebay gets away with it.
Copyright Licensing - in terms and conditions, thats the deal with your rights of copyright of the work you post under the website domain. Exclusive Person owns the work - Perpetual - own it forever. Assignable - to certain people royalty free - no consequences world wide.
If you are selling.. You want non exclusive, time limited, personal, licence fee, limited territory. Make money from licencing, again and again. Make sure you can prove your work and ultimately make money!
Visiting Professional: Barry Purves
A Morning with Barry Purves! - Notes
"I love telling stories"
"Finding a story is easy, making it interesting is the hard part."
+ Started out with wanting to be an actor, stopped breathing when on stage. All he wanted to do was tell stories. Animation seemed to answer storytelling and performance for him. The first oil painting in history, renaissance, showing how he can paint everything. This is what I can do. We want to be noticed. Attention must be made. If we just told our life story, it would be boring, we already edit our story, telling only the good bits. Storytelling has nothing to do with real life.
+ Structure. Storytelling is not just about ' this happened and this happened' its about colour, media, texture and staging. We need something artificial to talk about ourselves. Look at superhero's, they need an alter ego to be a superhero. Even in today's culture we are obstructed by religion, culture etc. It is somewhat safer to find a mask to talk about ourselves. This could be animation.
+ Whenever you write a story, find a device to let the protagonist talk. ironic that the fact a mask, meant to conceal you, actually liberates you. A visual mask that tells, communicates with the audience that they're not who they normally are, they are someone else, they are allowed to behave in that way.
A good story tells us about ourselves. Shakespeare might be a good read, just to tell a story convincingly and attract the audience's attention. Setting up the language of the storytelling, allowing the audience to understand the language. The audience fill in the dots, its not literal, they're not pretending it is real, it is a metaphor. The audience become a part of the of the storytelling.
Due to the lack of budget over the years - created an animation with just a puppet and light, 'Plume'. Purves wanted to see what he could do, if he could create storytelling with just these elements. 'Plume' all about surviving, going over and moving from a tragic experience. Personally through his experience of losing his mother. About embracing - The start of the movie begins with an eye, cliche but its a start, a beginning. The most important part of animation are the eyes. They convey emotion, language and gives them life.
The wings were from a dead duck - the wings are the source of light. Took two shots, one UV to make the duck wings shine white which meant alot of post production work. No set, no geography, which meant the audience were dependent on the movement of the main character. The main character always traveled from left to right, as this is the natural way that the eyes reads.
Puppet was made from silicone. Very heavy material to work with but the material lasts and is easy to clean. If he could make it again, he would use latex, easier to stretch but would mean more repairs.
Didn't want the puppet to have any identity, he was just a man.
A good cut - if you are cutting from a wide shot to close shot, ensure the character is at the same side - you want the cut to be invisible. Eyes help the thought process, connect to the spectator. When animating add more energy think about the movement, from A to B, and make it dynamic, adding extra parts to it, subtle to make it work.
"I love the irony of giving puppets life, It's lovely seeing a puppet breathe."
Likes to work with music, a good discipline to animate to.
"On my budget I have to shoot 12 frames per day."
Feel what is going on in your head, whether it is puppets or a pencil, go with your instinct.
Making the environment simple with storytelling.
Shadow characters -> Feathers -> man with wings
The feathers connected these characters together, the audience know what the shadow creatures want. Stronger body language for the shadow creatures to show how they rely on the other senses, they are blind. Try and have a front of the animation, think of it like a stage. Light suggests hope in this sequence, the darkness a void.
CONSIDER EVERYTHING, EVERY GESTURE NO MATTER HOW SMALL - ADD TO THE MOVEMENT IT IS ESSENTIAL.
Cut the number of characters down, make the characters strong. Budgets are tight, ensure everything contributes to the story. It is all you will need.
Another piece, stopmotion, about classical composers, "The tale of the old Piano" - was the smallest budget he has ever worked with. Not having a piano, allowed fluid movement. Purves still learnt music for the piano so that he knew the notes, the timing, the height and distance that the puppet needed to replicate.
"A bit of Barry-fication" showing the off screen space to the spectator, allowing the viewer to see the darkness surrounding them, the environment. This disorientates the viewer, too much lack of environment - I actually thought the use of the environment outside of the frame being completely void of life and colour worked well. The audience were given an awareness of space that is revealed, becoming a revelation towards the atmosphere and tones conveyed through the movement and narrative of the stopmotion piece.
STORYTELLING IS EVERYTHING. DON'T THINK ABOUT BEING LITERAL. ENJOY THE SETTING. CONSIDER HOW YOU TELL THE STORY.
"I love telling stories"
"Finding a story is easy, making it interesting is the hard part."
+ Started out with wanting to be an actor, stopped breathing when on stage. All he wanted to do was tell stories. Animation seemed to answer storytelling and performance for him. The first oil painting in history, renaissance, showing how he can paint everything. This is what I can do. We want to be noticed. Attention must be made. If we just told our life story, it would be boring, we already edit our story, telling only the good bits. Storytelling has nothing to do with real life.
+ Structure. Storytelling is not just about ' this happened and this happened' its about colour, media, texture and staging. We need something artificial to talk about ourselves. Look at superhero's, they need an alter ego to be a superhero. Even in today's culture we are obstructed by religion, culture etc. It is somewhat safer to find a mask to talk about ourselves. This could be animation.
+ Whenever you write a story, find a device to let the protagonist talk. ironic that the fact a mask, meant to conceal you, actually liberates you. A visual mask that tells, communicates with the audience that they're not who they normally are, they are someone else, they are allowed to behave in that way.
A good story tells us about ourselves. Shakespeare might be a good read, just to tell a story convincingly and attract the audience's attention. Setting up the language of the storytelling, allowing the audience to understand the language. The audience fill in the dots, its not literal, they're not pretending it is real, it is a metaphor. The audience become a part of the of the storytelling.
Due to the lack of budget over the years - created an animation with just a puppet and light, 'Plume'. Purves wanted to see what he could do, if he could create storytelling with just these elements. 'Plume' all about surviving, going over and moving from a tragic experience. Personally through his experience of losing his mother. About embracing - The start of the movie begins with an eye, cliche but its a start, a beginning. The most important part of animation are the eyes. They convey emotion, language and gives them life.
 |
| Plume - Barry Purves |
Puppet was made from silicone. Very heavy material to work with but the material lasts and is easy to clean. If he could make it again, he would use latex, easier to stretch but would mean more repairs.
Didn't want the puppet to have any identity, he was just a man.
A good cut - if you are cutting from a wide shot to close shot, ensure the character is at the same side - you want the cut to be invisible. Eyes help the thought process, connect to the spectator. When animating add more energy think about the movement, from A to B, and make it dynamic, adding extra parts to it, subtle to make it work.
"I love the irony of giving puppets life, It's lovely seeing a puppet breathe."
Likes to work with music, a good discipline to animate to.
"On my budget I have to shoot 12 frames per day."
Feel what is going on in your head, whether it is puppets or a pencil, go with your instinct.
Making the environment simple with storytelling.
Shadow characters -> Feathers -> man with wings
The feathers connected these characters together, the audience know what the shadow creatures want. Stronger body language for the shadow creatures to show how they rely on the other senses, they are blind. Try and have a front of the animation, think of it like a stage. Light suggests hope in this sequence, the darkness a void.
CONSIDER EVERYTHING, EVERY GESTURE NO MATTER HOW SMALL - ADD TO THE MOVEMENT IT IS ESSENTIAL.
Cut the number of characters down, make the characters strong. Budgets are tight, ensure everything contributes to the story. It is all you will need.
Another piece, stopmotion, about classical composers, "The tale of the old Piano" - was the smallest budget he has ever worked with. Not having a piano, allowed fluid movement. Purves still learnt music for the piano so that he knew the notes, the timing, the height and distance that the puppet needed to replicate.
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| The Tale of the Old Piano - Barry Purves |
"A bit of Barry-fication" showing the off screen space to the spectator, allowing the viewer to see the darkness surrounding them, the environment. This disorientates the viewer, too much lack of environment - I actually thought the use of the environment outside of the frame being completely void of life and colour worked well. The audience were given an awareness of space that is revealed, becoming a revelation towards the atmosphere and tones conveyed through the movement and narrative of the stopmotion piece.
STORYTELLING IS EVERYTHING. DON'T THINK ABOUT BEING LITERAL. ENJOY THE SETTING. CONSIDER HOW YOU TELL THE STORY.
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