Stop Motion Animation

A Pinch of Movie Magic

Having watched all kinds of animations in my childhood and even nowadays (not to mention animation is something I wish to pursue professionally in the future), I was looking forward to making my own and sharing it with others! Having watched The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and Coraline (2009) at least a thousand times by each point, as well as some behind the scenes footage they shot during the production stage, I am in awe of the style as a whole and just how mind-blowing the whole process is! When I'm watching the films themselves, the figures they use to move so smoothly that it's almost as if it were all CGI, but when looking at how even a shot was filmed and put together (not to mention the tiny scale of it all), it shows off just how much time, care, and effort goes into making a stop motion film, as does ANY animation you make!

When I first approached this project, I was honestly intimidated, to tell you the truth. Despite my love for all things animation, I was afraid of not being able to execute my ideas properly in such an intricate process. Once I dipped my toe in the water and got the ball rolling, I was geeking out like you would not believe!

The program we used to make our projects is called "Stop Motion Studio," a free app that you can download on the Apple App Store!

I didn't need to do as much inspiration for this project as the others because my mind is constantly spewing all kinds of animation ideas at me every day. My mind tends to have too many ideas for an animation! I can hardly keep up with and doodle out in my sketchbook! One day, I hope to be able one day bring these ideas to life and share them with the world to help inspire other aspiring artists and bring smiles to people's faces!

As is with any project, however, I experienced a few hiccups. My first attempt at a stop motion animation was a triumphant failure, but a rather funny one! So amusing that I thought I would share it with you here!

We had a recipe for disaster with my mom at the end of the hallway, me directing from an imaginary go-kart, and a rogue squirrel crossing the road! It goes by the fitting title "Go Kart Khaos."

Watching my first attempt after we had finished filming was hilarious yet frustrating at the same time. Why did that squirrel have to be crossing the road when I was filming? In all seriousness, though, I was amazed that I could make stop motion of my own. I am enamored by watching the magic of a project such as this come together and take pride that I could make it myself, though the camera is admittedly a little shaky Next time I get around to making more stop motion, however, I hope to have the equipment necessary, so the quality is a little cleaner.

For my first stop motion creation, I remember having my "eureka" moment in the middle of the night. Springing up out of bed, I grabbed a Yoshi plush of mine, and a basketball chew toy that belongs to my dog and tip-toe ran into my living room to film. I decided I would use this particular plush because he is a character I love from a video game franchise that I love, bringing him to live with my very own animation. The concept was that he and I were playing a game with the ball and passing it back and forth after it caught his interest as it rolled past him. Initially, the animation ended after I had moved the ball back to him and he saw it, but that seemed a little too dull, so I went a step further with it by having Yoshi roll the ball away, waddle up to the camera and give the camera a kiss for a little wholesome cuteness.

My second stop motion animation that I submitted is like its very own mini movie. I decided to have much fun and take some bold risks. Sticking with my Mario theme, I decided to grab a Mario chess set that I got when I was ten years old and put it to use once again. Since I was working with still figures for this animation, I was unable to move their arms and legs around to give them more life, but at the same time, it was a fun challenge to find different ways to bring more life and energy to them and the overall story. This got me thinking of various camera angles to film from to spice things up, as well as the types of movements I could give them so viewers could get a sense as to what the relationships are between the characters and what the story is that I am trying to tell without using any words. After I finally wrapped up production on it and watched it back for editing purposes, I was awestruck watching it come together piece by piece. It is, without a doubt, my favorite of the two submissions. "Yoshi Havin' a Ball" is far cuter, in my opinion.

The clip above shows my favorite shot from "Mario's Fall Feud," my second stop motion project. I am still impressed that I could capture this tender moment between Mario and Peach without getting my hand in the shot while moving the Peach figure down to kiss Mario's nose. It makes the moment all the more magical!

This was unquestionably my favorite part of the class, as I previously stated! I have a newfound love for stop motion animation as a whole! It made me appreciate the creative process of making them even more and sparked an interest in doing more of them for practice! Who knows! Maybe I'll get the chance to work on a full-length stop motion film in the future! Honestly, that would be a dream come true!