Style: Film references

Using our new Format (see previous post) we found some good film references; some past, some upcoming and some behind the scenes.

The first is Coraline (2009) which is “hand crafted in Stop-motion animation”. The author, Neil Gaiman, says that “Stop motion is such an interesting Medium because there is a realness, but you can also stylize your reality”. Stop motion therefore lends itself for mine and Hannah’s project as we really want the gritty textures of puppets but with that realness of stop motion movement. As said it also allows the reality to be stylised which is a key area in our design concept. In Coraline they also used Post Production effects to remove all the joins from Corallines various face moulds they used- this idea of using CG to enhance the stop motion is something I want to use for the set designs.

“It doesn’t try to be human...it is what it is, it’s very clever and slightly disturbing” Ian McShane

The next film is Frankensweenie (2012) a new Tim Burton film due for release this year. It is another stop motion film with a Post Production finish adding extra details and erasing marks. It looks crisper then a standard Stop Motion render and as said this is something I want to make use of. Its other unique feature is that it is in Black and White. I will be using a similar de-saturated look for Charn when I design it.

ParaNorman (2012) is from the makers of Coraline. It uses Stop motion mixed with some special effects. The movement, especial facial movements, in some of the scenes in the trailer look stunning and quite lifelike while still maintaining their character and texture of stop motion puppetry.

"It allows us to unite the versatility in design and mechanics of CG with the richness and solidarity of physical objects" (themakingof.com)

This final video is a short film by Carlos Lascano; A Shadow of Blue. It’s beautifully made using Stop Motion elements with CG backgrounds, Models, Post Production Animation and Live Action shadows. This is a good clear example of the techniques me and Hannah will be using for our telling of the Magicians Nephew. The puppet and its immediate surroundings, in this case the bench at the start of the film, will be stop motion animated and miniature set builds, with then fully CG backdrops. I also like how they use a key colour of blue near the end of the film, this is the same idea I will use for designing Charn but Red instead of Blue.