The Reluctant Blogger

To conclude: The style of stop-motion animation is extremely flexible. If the objects are being moved instead of being animated or manipulated it means that they can go anywhere within 2D space. The simple 2D drawings themselves are childlike in appearance but also in essence as they represent the most basic form of animation. Because of the physical involvement of having to use ones hands and fingertips to move every item bit by bit, frame by frame, it is like child's play. The animators hands set the tone of the film. Everything was done in a way that let the children steer the direction of the film by giving them open questions they were free to interpret as well as letting them express their ideas about the subject through art. The film depended entirely on their responses and the activities were carried out in a way that ensured they were comfortable and happy during the process. The initial audience for this film was children and the different animations, style and co...

Production The reality sequences were filmed over two days in West Bromwich Central Public Library and The Pavilion Café in Stoke-on-Trent. These scenes made up the beginning and end of the film. THE LIBRARY In the library the character (Kim) introduces the audience to her world. Scenes of books and pages are shown, and a ghost-like  time-lapse  was created.   Extra sounds were recorded for the library scene in which Kim hears whispers coming from the books like the moment in Inkheart. We had to create a sign for the cafe as there isn't yet one at the library, which then cut to the location in Stoke. The library was really helpful when it came to filming, and the whole scene was shot in about 2 hours. THE CAFE The cafe scene was filmed on a different day to the library. In the cafe Kim meets the Barista, or Atsirab, and orders a cup of tea and a muffin. The timing for the shoot was limited and as we worked on the lighting outside les...

How it all started... Last year my sister wrote a 1000 word short story for the BBC Young Writer's competition. Meanwhile in university the current assignment was to create a short narrative film. At the time I was thinking of creating a half stop-motion animated short, and when I read my sister's story I found great potential. We then collaborated and created a script based on her original piece. In the interview below she talks about her inspirations and how she came up with the idea: Q1: How did you come up with the idea for Writer's Block? A1: Coming up with Writer’s Block was a funny process really. I was trying to come up with a story for a writing contest and nothing I came up with was good enough. I said to my mom I had writer’s block and being the sarcastic lady that she is she said to me "I've never been there, what's it like?" And I thought: ‘What if the Writer’s Block was a place!’ Q2: Were there any other novels, artworks ...

What is Coverage? The original storyboard In professional filmmaking, 'coverage' is a term used to describe the shooting of a scene from various different angles and perspectives. This gives the post-production editor a variety of options when putting a film together. If a scene does not have enough coverage it becomes difficult to make a sequence work. The less footage one has, the less options there will be. Creating a scene with a broad amount of angles is far more likely to keep it's audience engaged than one with just two. In general, good coverage includes a variety of close ups, medium shots, wide angles, establishing (setting the scene) and cutaway shots. The assignment criteria was as follows: "Shoot a short scene of your own devising that will last for around 30 seconds. This must involve 2 characters and must involve a small narrative between them. S hoot the scene with enough coverage that you can provide 2 totally different edits of th...