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...

The title sequence for the film 'What Kid's Think about UFO's' will consist of paper stop-motion animation, in which objects will be drawn onto paper, cut out and photographed frame by frame. Here are a few of the influences that inspired this: 1. Paper cut-outs - The drawings in this video are childlike and drawn with pencil. This is the effect the film title sequence should achieve but by adding a little extra colour and vibrancy, it should appeal more to children as well as make it more fun and engaging to watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbSbZDnsA-8 2. This film uses coloured paper cut-outs in the form of animated origami. The paper unfolds and refolds to create different shapes and sequences. Added fast paced music also helps to engage the audience and moves with the piece. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJEBbs9X6s4 3. This animation uses tiny objects to create a short narrative such as pennys, pins and different fabrics. The use of sma...

The team decided to interview a range of children between the ages of 7 and 18 upon realising that a diverse choice would provide various answers and give more insight into a child's mind and imagination. The team went in expecting the younger children to be more imaginative and flamboyant than the older kids. But what happened in the interviews turned out to be something quite different. Each section was approached in a specific way: Boys Brigade    The Boys Brigade is a uniformed organisation that is made up of 4 sections: Anchor boys (5-8 years old) Junior (8-11 yrs) Company (11-15 yrs) Senior (15-18 yrs) To cover a more diverse range of children, the team decided to interview boys from the junior and company sections, along with two senior members. The boys seemed quite happy to be interviewed, though some were shyer than others. Since aliens and space is seen as a 'boys subject' it was thought that these kids would have much wilder and more imaginati...

The team decided to interview a range of children between the ages of 7 and 18 upon realising that a diverse choice would provide various answers and give more insight into a child's mind and imagination. The team went in expecting the younger children to be more imaginative and flamboyant than the older kids. But what happened in the interviews turned out to be something quite different. Each section was approached in a specific way: Guides: GirlGuides are a uniformed organisation for girls only, aged 10-14.    The guides were a little shy at first, but after the introductions were made they were quite happy to sit down with the team and have a chat whilst doing the first activity.    They enjoyed creating the drawings of various UFO's and aliens, and discussed the topic in depth with their group. This allowed the team to get to know the girls more before the interviews took place.    Each girl was interviewed individually - which after further ...

How to interview children and young adults Introduction: There is much taboo about working with children in film. As W.C. Fields once said: “Never work with children or animals.” Sometimes they are too lively or energetic for a director to cope with; they may have short attention spans; they are unpredictable. "The audience always looks for the adorable young child or animal - they steal every scene. "many stars will never appear with animals or children in the belief that no adult can compete" has been cited in print since 1931, in a newspaer article indicating that this film tradition carried over from the stage."        - Barry Popik (2012), "Never work with children or animals" (Show Business Adage) But something special happens when you place a child in front of the camera, when you let them take centre stage and unleash their imagination. In taking away the pressure and the script, a filmmaker can use that unpredictability to cre...

Advanced Negotiated Pitch: What kids think of: UFO’s Intro: ‘What kids think of: UFO’s’ is a short documentary-style film asking a range of children what they think about aliens, using different styles of animation to illustrate and accentuate the narrative. The storyline will depend entirely on the children’s response as will the animation. Aims & Objectives: The main objective of this film is to give insight into a child’s mind through a fun subject, by working with a diverse range of young people using interviews and art activities; to research stop-motion animation methods via books and the internet; to test the results before applying them to the finished product. Research and Discussion: The title sequence will be created using paper stop-motion animation – also known as ‘cut-out animation’. This technique consists of making flat paper characters, props and backgrounds that are manoeuvred and simulated to create a simple animation by photographing each frame...

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 ...