Video Sound and Production - Final Project

24/06/2024 - 22/07/2024 (Week 10 - Week 14)

Wong Jia Yi Carmen (0357198) | Bachelor Of Design In Creative Media

Video and Sound Production - Final Project

Final Project: Stop Motion

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INSTRUCTIONS

fig 1.0 Video Sound and Production Module Information (?/?/2024)

Timeframe: Week 05 - Week 14

Deadline: Week 14

Description: We are required to produce a stop motion video by given theme. Voice over, sound effects and music can be used to tell a compelling story. No more than 2 characters and locations and only 1 event in less than 15 shots.

We were asked to watch some stop motion video and choose 3 of our favourites during week 1 before we start our project.

1. Bench

fig 1.1 'Bench' Stop Motion Video From YouTube (27/04/2024)

Link

The beginning of the video already attracted me, with the clay moving for the title 'Bench'. This video is overall very cute, I love the break crumbs falling out from the monster's mouth. The ending is really not what I expected but it's still very cute.

2. Lost & Found

fig 1.2 'Lost & Found' Stop Motion Video From YouTube (27/04/2024) 

Link

Now this video really brought me to a pool of tears, not only the story is emotional but it amazed me how every one of the stop motion scenes was very thoughtful and hardworking, it is not easy to produce this stop motion film.

3. Cat In The Bag

                                                fig 1.2 'Cat In The Bag' Stop Motion Video From YouTube (27/04/2024) 

                                                                                  Link

This video was also sad. I love the music and the cuteness of the cat. The ending is very cute with the little girl finally bringing the cat home.

During week 10 class, we had a class trial stop motion activity, so that we were warmed up before we actually started to shoot on our final project. We were paired up based on our previous group and we were separated into two groups to shoot 2 different stop-motion stories.

The first stop motion is the clay one and here is the video, from 00:04 - 00:13.

The second stop motion is the paper one and here is the video, from 00:19 - 00:43.

  fig 1.3 Stop Motion Trial Shoot BTS (24/06/2024) 

I had fun during the shoot, I tried stop motion for the intro part of my tiktok/Instagram trend video previous project so I had some experience working with my teammates this time. Everyone was so cool to work with and I had no trouble carrying the shoot with them so I'm glad I got good teammates in Video & Sound Production.

  fig 1.4 Editing Process (01/07/2024) 

Trial Shoot Final Results:

  fig 1.5 Stop Motion (01/07/2024) 

Now moving on to the real Stop Motion Shoot... but first, we gotta plan before we start shooting.

fig 1.6 Stop Motion Planning (21/07/2024) 

Because I'm doing this individually, I only have 30 seconds which I thought was a little too short and rushed to show what I wanted in my stop motion so I have no choice but to make it a bit shorter...

After I planned, I brought the needed materials and cut them.

fig 1.7 Preparing Props (Didn't get to use due to short limit time) (21/07/2024) 

  

fig 1.8 Preparing Props (21/07/2024) 

After I got all the props ready, I began shooting. I use my phone to shoot in an app called "Stop Motion".

fig 1.9 Shooting For Stop Motion (21/07/2024) 

I then begin with editing. I use an app called 'InShot' on my phone to edit.

fig 1.10 Editing In InShot (21/07/2024) 

fig 2.0 A Little Goes A Long Way (21/07/2024) 

YouTube link to my stop motion.

Sound Effects Used in my stop motion.

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Experience

Shooting a stop motion project as a concept was quite fascinating and a project well worth embarking on. Due to the fact that the technique used here involves taking single frames and then moving the object, the process was very slow and called for much patience and precision. Staging each scene was also complex in that characters or objects in the scene had to be placed in precise ways and every movement had to appear natural. To achieve this form of animation, the productions had to be precise with their movements and very careful with their hands as any little movement would affect the sequence. 

 

As for what I found most enjoyable, it has to be the gradual process of animating the work. As it proceeded through each frame and when each frame was replayed it was heartening to see my work come alive in the form of the built static models. The characteristic feature of stop motion, the ability to work on it in stages, which fully justified the fact that we could make changes and corrections, which was both interesting and difficult. 

 

The experience also showed how appropriate planning and preparation are to be considered when carrying out a particular task. Each frame of the movie bereft of a real location had to be visualized right down to the second and every move within a scene almost had to be rehearsed. It was vital to do this preparation because it helped to ensure that there was a smooth transition between the speakers and thus achieve the intended impact. Altogether, the shooting of stop motion was an interesting experience. Due to the creativity and skills involved as well as the amount of time that I spent on it, it was a memorable project. Watching the final product in that format and hearing them describe how it was made me see how much work goes into making a stop-motion animation and how it was a satisfying end to the project.

Observation

Here are some of the observations I got. First, the technique calls for patience and accuracy of the frames used in the making of the sequence because the movement from one frame to the other must be consistent. Second, it requires quite a lot of time to complete it and nervous hands, because any alterations may cause changes in the final result. Third, knowing the technique’s effectiveness and satisfaction steadily advances as static models slowly come to life. Fourth, it is necessary to underline that the principal task of maintaining continuity requires a detailed and proper planning and preparation of all interactions and scenes noting the necessity of the proper storyboarding and choreography of the action. Lastly, the experience enriched me with the understanding of the efforts needed to create a stop-motion animation and how exactly the creativity comes to life.

Findings

The discovery obtained through stop-motion shooting includes several lessons. Firstly, the process requires a great amount of concentration and accuracy because every separate frame has to be composed to achieve the fluidity of the objects’ movement. The job comes with the virtue of patience and focusing on the strokes because even the slightest deviation can interfere with the overall fluidity of the animated scene. Second, it is even more interesting to observe how the static model gradually turns into a living subject in the frames of a certain sequence, which proves the efficiency and satisfaction of using this method. Lastly, there should be some detailed preparation; storytelling and movement are critical factors in creating continuity in executing an intended plan. For the final notes on the logo, this assignment has made me understand the beauty of stop-motion animation in as much as it is a creative work, it also demands a lot of work to come up with excellent animations.