Stop Motion Filmmaking

Based on a world-class curriculum and cutting-edge industry practices, Stop Motion Filmmaking offers step-by-step instruction in everything from puppet making and studio set-up to animation and filmmaking. Reflecting exciting advancements in the medium, animator and educator Christopher Walsh focuses closely on digital filmmaking techniques, and offers specific instruction for creating 3D designed and printed puppet components as well as hand-crafted elements. The book is enriched by exclusive online content in the form of detailed tutorials and examples, and by dynamic sidebars and inserts. Further accented by interviews with leading professionals from both the independent and major studio worlds, Stop Motion Filmmaking is designed for dedicated students of the art form, and provides invaluable training for any serious artist who is driven to bring frame-by-frame worlds to life through puppet animation.

Based on a world-class curriculum and cutting-edge industry practices, Stop Motion Filmmaking offers step-by-step instruction in everything from puppet making and studio set-up to animation and filmmaking. Reflecting exciting advancements in the medium, animator and educator Christopher Walsh focuses closely on digital filmmaking techniques, and offers specific instruction for creating 3D designed and printed puppet components as well as hand-crafted elements. The book is enriched by exclusive online content in the form of detailed tutorials and examples, and by dynamic sidebars and inserts. Further accented by interviews with leading professionals from both the independent and major studio worlds, Stop Motion Filmmaking is designed for dedicated students of the art form, and provides invaluable training for any serious artist who is driven to bring frame-by-frame worlds to life through puppet animation.

Stop-motion Animation explores how all the elements of film-making - camera work, design, colour, lighting, editing, music and storytelling - come together in this unique art form. With tips and suggestions to help you get the most out of your films, and with examples from some of the masters of the craft, Barry Purves shows how to make the most of the movement, characters and stories that typify stop-motion.With dozens of beautiful new examples from around the world, this new edition includes a project in each chapter, with pointers on finding a story and characters, developing a script and storyboard, constructing puppets and dealing with the practicalities of film-making. These projects combine to lead you through the creation of your first one-minute stop-motion animation.

Take an in-depth look at the art and techniques of stop-motion animation. The Advanced Art of Stop-Motion Animation helps experienced stop-motion artists enhance their craft by exploring the professional methods and advanced technology used by top film studios today. This book features expanded coverage of the basic principles of animation, including specific applications for character performance and visual effect compositing techniques. All the newest technology is touched on, including detailed information on camera rigs, effects, and shooting stop-motion in stereoscopic 3D. Discover new puppet building techniques, including the technology behind the rapid prototyping of computer models for stop-motion production. You'll even find a thorough history of early feature-length stop-motion films. The practical techniques and skills presented are enhanced by interviews with many of the most celebrated stop-motion artists as well as coverage of the work of several artists working in the online stop-motion community. Whether your focus is low-budget indie filmmaking or big studio productions, The Advanced Art of Stop-Motion Animation provides a comprehensive look at both the latest methods and the artists who are driving the revival of stop-motion animation.

In a world that is dominated by computer images, alternative stop motion techniques like pixilation, time-lapse photography and down-shooting techniques combined with new technologies offer a new, tangible and exciting approach to animation. With over 25 years professional experience, industry veteran, Tom Gasek presents a comprehensive guide to stop motion animation without the focus on puppetry or model animation. With tips, tricks and hands-on exercises, Frame by Frame will help both experienced and novice filmmakers get the most effective results from this underutilized branch of animation. Practical insight and inspiration from leading filmmakers like PES (Western Spaghetti Creator, Time Magazine's #2 Viral Video of 2008), Dave Borthwick, of the Bolex Brothers and more! The accompanying website will include further content driven examples, indexes of stop motion software, a recommended film list and tools and resources for the beginner and intermediate stop motion artist, animators and filmmakers.

Have you ever wondered what your LEGO creations would look like on the big screen? The LEGO Animation Book will show you how to bring your models to life with stop-motion animation—no experience required! Follow step-by-step instructions to make your first animation, and then explore the entire filmmaking process, from storyboards to post-production. Along the way, you’ll learn how to: –Create special effects like explosions and flying minifigures –Convey action and emotion with your minifigure actors –Design sets for animation—make three buildings look like an entire city! –Light, frame, and capture consistent photos –Add detail and scope to your films by building in different scales –Build camera dollies and rigs out of LEGO bricks –Choose cameras, software, and other essential animation tools Dive into the world of animation and discover a whole new way to play! For ages 10+

To make great animation, you need to know how to control a whole world: how to make a character, how to make that character live and be happy or sad. You need to create four walls around them, a landscape, the sun and moon - a whole life for them. You have to get inside that puppet and first make it live, then make it perform. Susannah Shaw provides the first truly practical introduction to the craft skills of model animation. This is a vital book in the development of model animation which, following the success of Aardman's first full-length film 'Chicken Run',is now at the forefront of modern animation. Illustrated in full colour throughout you are shown step by step how to create successful model animation. Starting with some basic exercises, readers will learn about developing a story, making models, creating sets and props, the mechanics of movement, filming, post production and how to set about finding that elusive first job in a modern studio.

Stop-motion puppet animation is one of the most unusual and demanding art forms in the world. It uses a variety of skills, including design, sculpting, metal work, mold making and casting, taxidermy, filmmaking, storytelling and acting, and can be seen in the simplest commercial spots on television to more complex animated shorts and science fiction and fantasy feature films. This work, with over 200 photographs and illustrations, demonstrates the construction of armatures for film industry stop-motion puppets and the technical aspects of how to machine metal into the desired shape. It describes in detail the milling machine and the metal lathe, the two main tools used in constructing the armature, other cutting tools, and how the anatomical makeup of the puppet determines the armature design. The book then examines the six main types of joints used in armature construction: the sandwich plate ball-and-socket joint, the ball-and-socket collet joint, the step-block ball-and-socket joint, the swivel joint, the hinge joint, and the universal joint. Also described are the different types of metals used in armature construction.