READING & WRITING

In Liz Blazer’s Animated Storytelling, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the color chapter. I don’t have a background in graphic design so all of the vocabulary and tips were new to me. I have never thought of starting with one color to determine the color theme of a project. I could relate to the color analysis chapter but found the points of using surprising colors or changing the hue very helpful tips in creating a dramatic effect. For example, the tip on desaturating the colors in the background of a scene to spotlight the main characters who are moving is a great idea (Blazer, 103).

When Blazer says, “When you relax and stop worrying about what people are going to think, you’re at your most creative and inventive” (Blazer, 114), I think this statement resonates in all art forms. Finding creative inspiration in all art forms requires experimenting and going full force in the wrong direction in order to find creative ideas. For example, musicians improvise to find their next new melody and actors use rehearsal to explore new inspiration without worrying about what others will think of them in a final production.

I agree with her recommendation to work at the edge of your skillset where you are most uncomfortable to explore and find the most creative inspiration (Blazer, 114). This was one of the most inspiring chapters that was extremely motivating and urged me to go further, have fun, and freely explore more possibilities in my next creative endeavor.

Blazer, L. (2020). Animated storytelling. Peachpit Press.

RESEARCH TO INFORM

This video is a great example of using stop motion to demonstrate every step of a recipe. I love how props are used to illustrate real food but the video still makes the cooking process easy to understand by the step-by-step stop motion style.

This video is the creators first stop motion project. It reminds me of one of the first stop motion historical videos. Although this is a simple basic video, it still looks very time consuming considering its length and many action steps.

This video is another example of how stop motion can mix realism with animated elements. This realistic photo mixed with added animation give the video a fun and relatable tone.

This clip from The Nightmare Before Christmas is an iconic example of how stop motion can be used in feature films. I wanted to share this example because although stop motion existed many years before I was born, this is the first time I recognized this animation style in mainstream film. Tim Burton’s style became so popular from this movie mainly due to popularizing his stop-motion style.

This video uses stop motion to display different positions of the baby and also adds in animated weather effects to create a fun story. I think this video is a great example of using stop motion animation to add in a story to a simple baby in different positions. This video is a great example of how a few photos of a baby in different positions can be elevated by stop-motion animation and create a story.

CREATE 

Storyboard 1: Shoe Love

This was my first idea, which is a simple love story and I plan on making the shoe’s more human like by cutting out faces and adding them to the shoes. I came up with this idea because I have endless shoes in my apartment that hardly ever get worn and they are all so charismatic and different…so they might as well get some use. I was also debating on if it would be easier to take the photos by moving the shoes from side to side or actually wearing them and taking the photos. My guess is that wearing the shoes might be easier to capture each position if I can use a remote.

Storyboard 2: The Origin of a S’more:

This is my second idea, which might be simpler in plot but more complicated in props. I wanted to try a non-linear idea and this was the first one that popped into my head…I might be hungry. This one might be challenging to stick the marshmallow and chocolate to the graham cracker and take pictures in each position.

Sample Stop Motion:

This stop motion sample took a lot longer than I expected. I felt confident about my camera and lighting set up. However, I found it challenging to hold the flowers steady with one hand while I held the “falling” flower with the other hand. This was probably not the best choice of a prop that was not free standing and I could not prop up on anything. I found the frames easy to upload into Adobe Premiere Pro, but I should have taken a few more frames of each step of the falling flower to make the animation smoother and longer. Overall, I found the editing much easier than the actual filming.

This was my second attempt at stop motion. On take 2, I learned to not hold my props and put them on a steady surface and I took many more shots to make the movement smoother. This was a sample dry run for my s’mores idea. Also, please note, these were the only sample props I could find and together they make a very sad sandwich, hence the title.