Fright Night Stop motion- Final Copy

REMAKE

After receiving feedback for my first attempt of this Identity project, I have decided to redo both my after effects sequence and my stop motion sequence. From the feedback, It was clear that there were aspects of my work that did not make sense therefore confusing the viewer as to what the animations are about.

I have decided to give my stop motion an entirely new narrative structure thus allowing it to be more understandable. Instead of just random 'Nightmarish' images, I have created a bedroom setting in which a child is transported into one of his nightmares. Obviously I have used similar imagery as before but it is more clear now that this project is to do with Nightmares and Dreams.

In my after effects, there aren't any major changes I would like to make.In the feedback again it was mainly the narrative structure that the lecturers did not particularly understand and the colour grading in some of the images. I understand this change between black and white and colour may confuse the audience so I will make the relevant changes to correct this. I would perhaps like to again change the narrative structure so that the story makes sense and it is not just a montage of nightmare images. But overall I think that this piece of work works well as a first attempt on after effects. 

STOP MOTION: ATTEMPT 2

SKETCHY SKETCHY

 

Stop Motion: Slowly but Surely

The Process:

The process of Stop Motion is one that requires a lot of patience and an incredible eye for attention to detail. As part of this module I feel like Stop Motion is my forte and I prefer handling puppets/dolls etc rather than creating my animations digitally. Because of this, i have decided to focus my work mainly on the DragonFrame programme and not use after effects to edit any of my stop motion as i feel that other programmes such as Pro tools and even Dragon Frame itself, would provide a better template for me to start with.

The Sop Motion concept is one that has been around for many years, with famous animations such as Wallace and Gromit being entirely created through the use of stop motion. Obviously this process is a tedious one but with it comes great productions.

Because my idea is based around the idea of identity and child's nightmares, I have decided to create a nightmarish piece that inhabits all the fears tat children have. As stated in one of my previous posts, I will look towards the work of tim Burton and also draw inspirations from TV Shows such as American Horror story which in the title sequences, inhabit some rather unusual, macabre imagery. American Horror Freak Show in particular displays certain imagery that I would like to try and recreate within my stop motion. Imagery such as doll's heads being swapped between bodies, evil clowns with glowing eyes moving around etc. These images remind you of childhood and with them being warped and twisted, a nightmarish world is created.

My Stop Motion will not have a narrative as such but will be a compilation of images that represent the horrors within a children's nightmare.

After Effects: Creating Animation

After Effects:

In order to develop our skills within the animation industry, we were given the task of creating a 1 minute sequence on the post production programme, After Effects.

In order to do this, we attended a series of lectures that taught us the basics of animating on the programme. Unfortunately at the beginning, I did not grasp the idea of After Effects at all and therefore planned not to use it for any of my animation and just stick with Stop Motion.

However, knowing that it was required to hand in some work on After Effects, I went into the MAC Lab after hours to expand my knowledge on the programme and try to create a short piece. Luckily through the help of my course mates and the tutorials on Youtube, I have been able to create a short piece, based on the idea of childhood nightmares thus relating to my idea around Identity.

I think that considering how worried I was when I first started using After Effects, the piece of work I have created shows how far I have come, even just with the help of the tutorials on Youtube. With respects to the tutors on the programme, I think personally it was better for me to be self taught as then I would get a full understanding of how to use the programme to my benefit rather than just producing work irrelevant to my project idea.


Here is a brief clip of the beginning of my After Effects creation...(full version will be available at a later date)

They'll tell you I'm insane- Animation Shorts

ESCAPE FROM HELLVIEW by Hadas Brandes- Animation inspiration.

The short is the story of a little boy who draws a door to a magical kingdom on the wall of his room one night, after his mother has gone to sleep. The things that happen there—including a vague, almost menacing, parental figure who won’t stay in one place long enough for the boy to reach its comforting embrace, sends the little boy screaming back through the door after a desperate escape from terrifying pursuers. But even back safely in his room, there’s little light or comfort at the film’s end.

CROOKED ROT by David Firth- Animation Inspiration

If Escape from Hellview plays like a distillation of childhood fears, animator David Firth’s Crooked Rot seems like nothing less than the bluntly, brutally adult version. There are images on display here that are as difficult to describe as they are to watch, and it will come as no surprise that a lot of David’s work deals with mental illness and depression, though he says he’s not trying to upset people.

I should have slept with one eye open at night..

Don't go into the basement..
'Horror tells us that our belief in security is delusional,
and that monsters are all around us'.
Joshua Hoffine

Hoffine's most controversial image.
The wolf is often seen as a 'sexual predator'

Classic 'Monster under the bed' scene.
It is believed that Hoffine used his own children in this scene.
She could only perform this scene in short periods of time...

...But insisted non of them had nightmares after participating.

Hoffine blurs the lines between the fairy-tales he tells his children and horror stories, creating ghoulishly creepy images that are completely relatable.