Stop Motion

Refreshingly we have a studio that is bold enough to make a super villain the lead character in a film, especially an animation for children. Let me introduce you the the very excellent new animation in 3D of course  “Despicable Me”. This is a ploy that plays on the notion that children are more fascinated with the villain in a film than they are a goody two shoes superhero.

“Despicable Me” is the first but will not even be the last animated film this year to place a super villain in the lead. Later this year Will Ferrell will voice headline another evil-doer story, “Megamind.” But to call these characters really is a farce when you get down to it.

In “Despicable Me” Steve Carrell voices Gru who has the physicality of a James Bond villain from the Sean Connery era but seems to be as threatening as a kitten when it comes to personality. To further humanize Gru three orphan girls are placed in his care as part of an evil scheme. The interaction between Gru Margot, Edith and Agnes achieves this in terms of character and is also satisfying in terms of entertainment.

That being said, however, Gru’s minions are what every kid, and even most of the parents, will be talking about after they see this film. I would say that they are what everyone will be quoting but they speak their own sped up minion language that is difficult to understand, let alone translate.

But you do not have to understand the minions to get the full effect. Think three stooges, only there are hundreds of them, they’re the size of a two year old and are the color of yellow plastic kitchen gloves.

Probably 95 percent of the film’s humor comes from the minions as the rest of the story lacks anything else worthy of quoting. Gru’s rival Vector, voiced by Jason Segel, occasionally draws laughs but not as much as an important character like that should. The bland comic nature of the film really does not matter because the minions truly are funny enough to carry the movie.

Turning “Despicable Me’ into a franchise may be difficult, because of a lackluster story to start off with, but studios have turned much worse into long-running franchises before.

And the 3D only really comes into play during one scene where Gru and the girls visit an amusement park. Other than that it is an excuse for the filmmakers to think up different spear-like objects that they can have stick out at the audience.

But does the 3D add to the story, make the minions even funnier or the interaction between Gru and the girls more heart-warming? Yes it does…it brings the characters to life even more than they are in 2D in my opinion. Making them more appealing and full of life!

For younger readers of this blog why not try the Despicable Me Minions site!

Early in July this year ( 2010) , fans of stopmotion action figure animated television programming heard on the grapevine that their favorite show that is to say Robot Chicken!, was finally getting a set of collectible playthings based on the series most popular characters. Likewise, we also hinted at an exclusive “Nerd” figure that would be available at the San Diego Comic-Con, which brings us to the present, and our first look at that mysterious plastic masterpiece.

From the folks at Jazwares and Cartoon Network Enterprises comes the Toys “R” Us exclusive Robot Chicken “Convention Nerd” action figure, available only at Comic-Con and (starting July 21) via toysrus.com’s collectibles store. “Convention Nerd,” (honestly, guys — that’s like calling a figure “Hospital Doctor”) comes complete with a top hat, sandwich, Adult Swim swag bag, a Comic-Con 2010 t-shirt (armpit stains not included) and, of course, a jar of Magical Unicorn Mayonnaise. Fans clamoring for “Convention Nerd” should head over to the Entertainment Earth booth (booth #2343) with $20 in hand, and if you’re really looking to up the eBay value, you can have the figure signed by show creators Seth Green and Matt Senreich, appearing at the Entertainment Earth booth on Friday, July 23 between 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM.

Naturally, the figure will be limited, so true fans will want to hop on this fast because, after all, who wouldn’t want a small, plastic version of their inner-selves as a desk toy?

The Twilight (Eclipse) blockbuster movie released this weekend will provide the backdrop to an educational cartoon from Cumbria in the UK , urging learners in school to overcome obstacles.

Twilight: Eclipse, the multi-million dollar vampire franchise, hits Cinemas.

And its first appearance in Carlisle, Cumbria will be accompanied by another premiere – Vampy’s Choice, the latest animation from Cumbrian multi-media artist Louise Kneath and screenwriter partner Ian Gilbertson.

Louise, 24, created a series of ghoulish characters called The Creeps to urge learners to overcome obstacles on their way to getting a valuable higher education.

“We’re really excited about this new short film as it takes the Vampy character in another direction,” said Louise.

“It pokes fun at the rivalry in Twilight: Eclipse between Jacob the werewolf and Edward the vampire for the hand of a girl called Bella.

“I’ve given it an unexpected twist which is a bit of a shock for Vampy who is the ‘Bella’ of my film.”

The film – and a second one by Ian parodying the horror hit film  ”Paranormal Activity” – were commissioned by Cumbria Higher Learning after the the success of five shorter cartoons which Louise created in 2009.

Louise, a local graduate in multimedia design and digital animation, created five 30-second animations that will be on YouTube from October 31. Vampy’s Choice adds a new addition to the series.

Louise added: “After launching them on the internet at Halloween the feedback was incredible.”

“A school’s drama students even used the characters in a live play for their exams.”

Helen Gudgeon, of Cumbria Higher Learning, said Louise and Ian’s animations have breathed new life into higher education campaigns.

“So much traditional marketing materials can be very dated and off-putting,” she said.

“These animations are fun, lively, quirky and likely to appeal to a young audience.”

So you are itching to get your hands on a new Apple iPAD just so you can take to bits..! I don’t think so. But if you are like the guys at TechRestore then they know how to do it and put it back together all in Stop Motion?

A quote from TechRestore

“Ever wonder what it would look like if your consumer electronics could disassemble and reassemble themselves? Well, wonder no more. Because the folks at TechRestore have posted a stop motion video showing an Apple iPad coming out of the box… and then out of its case.”

A competition has been announced by the makers of stop motion movie ” A town called Panic” Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar The text of their announcement is shown below.

Dear Animators,

In celebration of the launch of our new stop-motion animated film, A Town Called Panic, Zeitgeist Films is holding a stop-motion video contest open to beginners and experts alike! The winning film will be included as a special feature on all A Town Called Panic DVDs released in the U.S., as well as on the film’s website. Videos must be loosely created around the theme of “panic”, and should be a maximum of three minutes. They will be judged mainly on creativity and content, but craft will certainly not be disregarded. This contest is a great way for you to have a chance to be exposed and critiqued by the widely acclaimed animators of A Town Called Panic, Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar!

Full details on entry requirements, prizes, and submission dates are available via the film’s website http://www.atowncalledpanic.com, on our fan Page http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Town-Called-Panic/171898410739 or by following twitter.com/panicthemovie.

A Town Called Panic is opening at Film Forum in New York on December 16 for two weeks only before opening around the country. See http://www.atowncalledpanic.com for other playdates around the country in 2010, and for updates as more dates are announced.

We look forward to seeing your ideas come to life!

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Wallace & Gromit, the webmasters over on the W&G website asked members of the website to submit their questions to Nick Park. Twenty of the top questions were selected and put to Nick in a special video interview shot in the new Aardman cinema! Here is a transcript of the questions. Check out the video below for the answers!

What was your inspiration behind creating Wallace and Gromit?

Do any of your characters represent your own personality and if so which one?

What Wallace and Gromit animation is your favourite and why?

Did you think Wallace and Gromit would be so popular and what was it like winning your first Oscar?

I was browsing on the internet and saw a topic about you planning a second movie, is this true?

I have always wondered what age Wallace and Gromit are, do you know yourself , or do you think it is better not to say?

Are there any plans to bring back Fluffles?

How did you get the idea of a penguin being the villain?

What made you decide that Gromit didn’t need a mouth?

Why did you change Gromits appearance after a Grand Day Out?

I always wanted to know how did the cooker get up to the moon, and why it was coin operated?

Are there any new animation techniques you would like to learn and develop?

Did you take any courses or was it just something you just picked up naturally?

What is the greatest advice you have ever received in regards to animation?

Given your existing use of animals in your work what is your favorite animal?

Have you ever thought of giving up animation and moving in to something else?

Before you became an animator did you want to do any other jobs as a child?

Do you dream of Wallace and Gromit and if so what do you dream?

When you worked with Julian Knot on the music for you films, do you give any suggestions to him or do you hand him the script and let him have a go at it himself?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Wallace was Prime Minister and what laws would he pass if elected?

Stop motion walking tutorials are plentiful on the internet, some better than others. So in no particular order of preference because everyone has their own preference, here is my top 6 stop motion brickfilm walking tutorials.

Nathan Wells is a well respected brickfilmer. I would say if I have a favourite walk cycle it would be his one.

MagicofLego ( MOL Productions ) has a step by step version with text for both running and walking at 12 and 15 fps.

xxxFancyPantsxxx gives an excellent tutorial here on running (rather than walking ) and also talks about the importance of “ease in and ease out” as he calls it in stop motion. It’s well worth checking out this one.

BlobstudioALT does not make the minifigure arms move in this stop motion tutorial but the result is still reasonably good. His channel also has some other useful tutorials for those starting out.

Kevin Macleod aka Rsteenoven has a very excellent tutorial on running here at 15 fps.

I would advise you to try a few of the different exercises shown above and find one that suits your needs. Nathan’s version is in my opinion the best one to aspire to however some say his running cycle looks a little bit like skiing. I wouldn’t agree but it’s up to you.

We decided because of the recessionary times we live in to test out two big name entry level webcameras for under $25 for stop motion use. We have just purchased the Logitech Webcam C200 and the Microsoft VX-1000. We already reviewed the VX-1000 on the stopmtioncentral site some weeks back but we thought it was about time to review the lastest compeditor on the market.

The results are quiet surprising. We did state that the VX-1000 was a very decent webcam for the price. And we still stand by that assertion. However once we ran the same tests on the Logitech C200 it was clear that it was much better. Compare the two images below. The first is from the VX-1000 and the second is from the C200.

The main difference is in the clarity at close range. The C200 is better. However in fairness to the VX1000 the color is a little truer than the C200. Also the C200 has a easier to use manual focus. The clip on the C200 is also more awkward to secure than the flat base that is on the VX-1000. But when it comes to sharpness of image I would have to come down in favour of the C200. Both images were capture at 640×480. Both cameras have built in microphones. Also both claim to capture video at 30fps at the maximum resolution of 640×480

Laika, the makers of Stop Motion animation movie Coraline have decided to move away from CGi animation techniques in favor of stop motion going forward. As a result they have laid off 63 staff from their computer animation department in Portland Oregon. They will continue to use some CGI as part of their advertising work and to supplement their future stop motion movies releases.  Phil Knight, (founder of NIKE -one of the rishest men in the world) and Laika’s Owner, while still celebrating the 120 million dollar success with Coraline in the US and overseas has always favored stop motion. He promoted his son Travis ( a stop motion animator) to CEO of Laika in March.

Phil and Travis Knight

Travis started his animating career in Will Vinton Studios in Portland in 2003. The studio was renamed Laika (pronounced LIKE-uh) in 2007.

These recent layoffs reduce Laika’s work force from 243 to 180. Last December, the company laid off 65 after scrapping a computer-generated feature called “Jack and Ben’s Animated Adventure”

A Danny Turner from SunnySideUpFilm youtube channel posted a very nice stop motion and a behind the scenes movie called “The adventure of Olga’s Story” on our forum today. I watched the behind the scenes documentary with great interest. I always love to see how stop motion animators create their movies. The approach they take , materials, sets etc.

And the behind the scenes movie below.

Great work Danny..oh and Olga..nice job