24/10/2023 - 10/12/2023 / Week 9 - Week 16
Joey Lok Wai San / 0350857
Video and Sound Production / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative
Media
Final Project: Stop Motion
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LECTURES
All lectures completed in
Video Sound Production - Exercises
INSTRUCTIONS
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ua-bxBDys_qXPtC8YphPEO7QOnwvR2Vs/preview
FINAL PROJECT: Stop Motion
Stop motion is an animation technique where physical objects are taken in a series of photographs, creating the illusion of movement when the frames are played in sequence. Our final project required us to work in pairs and create a 1-minute stop motion video on the theme "Climate Change" or any theme of our choice.
Fig. 1.1 Stop Motion Details, Week 9 (24/10/2023)
Fig. 1.1 Stop Motion Details, Week 9 (24/10/2023)
Favourite Stop Motion Videos
During the first week of this module, Mr. Martin required us to find and choose 3 stop-motion videos and explain the reason they were chosen (style, art direction, character design etc).
1. "Lost & Found" | Oscar Shortlisted Stop-Motion Animation
Fig. 1.1 Lost & Found Stop-Motion Animation
There is no dialogue or backstory in this stop-motion yet it conveys so much emotion, suspense, and meaning. The use of materials and knitted toys creates a visually pleasing scene. This animation really shows the importance of storytelling in evoking an emotional response in people, rather than just relying on dialogue.
There is no dialogue or backstory in this stop-motion yet it conveys so much emotion, suspense, and meaning. The use of materials and knitted toys creates a visually pleasing scene. This animation really shows the importance of storytelling in evoking an emotional response in people, rather than just relying on dialogue.
2. "Lego Waffles and Coffee" | Stop Motion Cooking & ASMR
Fig. 1.2 Lego Waffles and Coffee Stop Motion
This stop-motion animation showcases the process of making waffles and coffee. Lego is such a challenging material to use because it is very inflexible with restricted movement. It is impressive how seamless and smooth the animation is. The Lego flows like water rather than a hard block.
3. "AMONG US but it's a Stop Motion animation" | Lee Hardcastle
Fig. 1.3 AMONG US Stop Motion
I enjoy this stop-motion for its creative use of lighting, action and music - the sequence blends together smoothly. It is a really short and simple animation, but very entertaining and visually interesting to the eye. I also enjoy how the beats and rhythm of the music sync with every movement.
Pre-Production
Proposal
Proposal
We started by writing down different themes and ideas we could focus on for our stop-motion video. Ultimately we chose to stick with the given theme of 'Climate Change'.
Mr. Martin mentioned that we could make the story more personal to the bears, like making them girlfriends-boyfriends and such. In the end, we decided to make them a family.
About the Story
The purpose of this video is to raise awareness about melting glaciers and ice caps caused by climate change. The family of polar bears are wandering on an ice land, but the ice is thinning. They approach the edge, and the polar bear cub excitedly leaps onto the edge of the ice. Alas! The ice melts and breaks off from the mainland. This causes the polar bear cub to be carried out to sea on a small ice cap, while the parent's frantic screams fill the air. The polar bear cub takes out binoculars and glances sadly at its home, as it gets further and further away. The cub turns to look in the opposite direction, trying to see where it's headed. However, all that is seen in the eye is a sea full of pollution approaching the polar bear. The sea of trash grows closer and starts flooding over the small ice cap. The cub slowly drowns in the sea of trash. The scene turns to black and the end credits roll.
Fig. 2.1 Proposal Document with Storyboard, Week 10 (24/10/2023)
Fig. 2.2 Proposal Slides, Week 10 (24/10/2023)
Fig. 2.2 Proposal Slides, Week 10 (24/10/2023)
Mr. Martin mentioned that we could make the story more personal to the bears, like making them girlfriends-boyfriends and such. In the end, we decided to make them a family.
About the Story
The purpose of this video is to raise awareness about melting glaciers and ice caps caused by climate change. The family of polar bears are wandering on an ice land, but the ice is thinning. They approach the edge, and the polar bear cub excitedly leaps onto the edge of the ice. Alas! The ice melts and breaks off from the mainland. This causes the polar bear cub to be carried out to sea on a small ice cap, while the parent's frantic screams fill the air. The polar bear cub takes out binoculars and glances sadly at its home, as it gets further and further away. The cub turns to look in the opposite direction, trying to see where it's headed. However, all that is seen in the eye is a sea full of pollution approaching the polar bear. The sea of trash grows closer and starts flooding over the small ice cap. The cub slowly drowns in the sea of trash. The scene turns to black and the end credits roll.
Props-making
Fig. 2.3 Materials, Week 12 (10/11/2023)
Fig. 2.3 Materials, Week 12 (10/11/2023)
Janice and I decided to meet up on a Saturday to make some of the props. We collected all the materials we would need beforehand such as clay, cardboard, tape, etc. During this time, we made some of the polar bears, but they were quite thick and hard to move around. Janice went home and made new, improved ones later on.
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The initial plan was to make everything out of play dough/ clay for it to be a claymation, however, we did not have enough of it and it would take a lot more clay and money to make the whole set. We switched over to whatever materials we had on hand in place of clay; for example, cotton as the snow, recyclable materials for the trash, and blue plastic paper for the sea.
Fig. 2.4 Initial Bear Characters, Week 12 (10/11/2023)
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Fig. 2.5 Improved Bear Characters by Janice, Week 12 (10/11/2023)
The initial plan was to make everything out of play dough/ clay for it to be a claymation, however, we did not have enough of it and it would take a lot more clay and money to make the whole set. We switched over to whatever materials we had on hand in place of clay; for example, cotton as the snow, recyclable materials for the trash, and blue plastic paper for the sea.
Fig. 2.6 Trash and Snowy Land by Janice, Week 12 (10/11/2023)
For the sea, I covered a piece of cardboard with blue paper and painted some waves over it, which will later be covered by blue plastic/paper to visualize the waves. To add some decoration to the scenery, I made some small igloos and trees out of paper. It was just a simple origami and the igloo is just paper mache. I also made some powdered snow out of baking powder and water to add around the edges of the snowy land and sea.
Fig. 2.7 The Sea and Set Decoration - Trees and Igloos, Week 12 (10/11/2023)
Fig. 2.7 The Sea and Set Decoration - Trees and Igloos, Week 12 (10/11/2023)
On the day we were set to film, we assembled our separate parts together: the sea. set decoration and powdered snow (Joey) and snowy land, bears and trash (Janice).
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Fig. 2.9 Pictures of the Props from Production, Week 13 (14/11/2023)
We were quite familiar with the process of filming stop motion from the stop-motion shooting tutorial. We set up our set in the studio with lighting, arranged our tripod stand, and started the process. We chose to use our phone camera to film the stop-motion - I wanted to use the phone camera over the app as it would be easier to edit each frame (sorry Janice).
The shooting took around a span of two days. For those two days of shooting, we shot some scenes together and some scenes individually to save time. We made the most use of the lighting and we even got to use the overhead tripod in the studio.
The shooting took around a span of two days. For those two days of shooting, we shot some scenes together and some scenes individually to save time. We made the most use of the lighting and we even got to use the overhead tripod in the studio.
Fig. 3.1 Studio Setup, Week 13 (14/11/2023)
Fig. 3.2 Behind-the-scenes Shots, Week 13 (14/11/2023)
Post-Production
Colour Correction and Colour Grading
I did the colour correction and colour grading where I noticed a number of scenes look completely different from each other - lighting was too dark or too harsh. I did colour-correcting on all of the shots using contrast, temperature, exposure, brightness, etc., especially focusing on the darker-lit scenes.
Fig. 4.3 Colour Correction #1, Week 15 (27/11/2023)
Fig. 4.4 Colour Correction #2 - Before (Left) vs After (Right), Week 15 (27/11/2023)
Fig. 4.4 Colour Correction #3 - Before (Left) vs After (Right), Week 15 (27/11/2023)
Fig. 4.5 Colour Correction #4 - Before (Left) vs After (Right), Week 15 (27/11/2023)
Sound Effects
Fig. 5.2 Final Stop Motion, Week 16 (09/12/2023)
We organized all the photos we have taken into Google Drive which consisted of over 800 images in 20 folders.
Fig. 4.1 Google Drive Footage, Week 14 (20/11/2023)
Fig. 4.1 Google Drive Footage, Week 14 (20/11/2023)
Editing and Assembling
For the first part of the editing, Janice compiled all the shots and exported them into Premiere Pro, arranging the sequence according to the storyboard. Some shots/frames were taken out or adjusted to make a smoother sequence. There is a scene where the bear jumps in the air, which is impressive and I have no idea how she edited that. She also added some fade-in, and fade-out transitions where necessary, as well as created the credits scene. 
Fig. 4.2 Bear Jumping Edit, Week 14 (20/11/2023)
After that, the entire Premiere Pro file, including all the linked images was sent to me, where my laptop would crash and die from the file size and editing.
Colour Correction and Colour Grading
I did the colour correction and colour grading where I noticed a number of scenes look completely different from each other - lighting was too dark or too harsh. I did colour-correcting on all of the shots using contrast, temperature, exposure, brightness, etc., especially focusing on the darker-lit scenes.
Fig. 4.3 Colour Correction #1, Week 15 (27/11/2023)
Fig. 4.4 Colour Correction #2 - Before (Left) vs After (Right), Week 15 (27/11/2023)
Fig. 4.4 Colour Correction #3 - Before (Left) vs After (Right), Week 15 (27/11/2023)
Fig. 4.5 Colour Correction #4 - Before (Left) vs After (Right), Week 15 (27/11/2023)
I used Lumitri Colours to colour grade the video, following a light blue theme since that is the coldest colour and would match the artic landscape aesthetic.
Janice compiled some sound effects and music to be used in the video. While adding the sound effects to the video, I edited some parts of the sequence to better match the rhythm. I also added some sound effects and music I thought would be better suited.
I used ten audio tracks consisting of ambience, background music, sound effects, etc. There is no dialogue or any audible words as I thought it would sound weird to match the voice with the bears. I added audio transitions where to merge audios together and make them seamless.
Fig. 4.7 Additional Transitions, Week 15 (30/11/2023)
Fig. 4.8 Opening and Ending Sequence, Week 15 (30/11/2023)
I used ten audio tracks consisting of ambience, background music, sound effects, etc. There is no dialogue or any audible words as I thought it would sound weird to match the voice with the bears. I added audio transitions where to merge audios together and make them seamless.
Fig. 4.6 Sound Effects, Week 15 (29/11/2023)
Finishing Touches
To finish up the editing, I added some more transitions in the video as well as an opening and ending sequence to introduce the topic and have a call-to-action statement.
Fig. 4.7 Additional Transitions, Week 15 (30/11/2023)
Fig. 4.8 Opening and Ending Sequence, Week 15 (30/11/2023)
Full Timeline
Fig. 5.1 Full Timeline, Week 15 (01/12/2023)
Final Stop Motion
Click here for the Google Drive Link and YouTube Link!
Fig. 5.2 Final Stop Motion, Week 16 (09/12/2023)
FEEDBACK
WEEK 10
Mr. Martin recommends that at the beginning the are two polar bears dating or flirting. They are separated due to the "ice-breaking".....eventually only can see each other via binoculars...and the ending.
WEEK 9
The video idea needs to be stop motion creative, meaning interesting to watch in the form of stop motion animation.
The video idea needs to be stop motion creative, meaning interesting to watch in the form of stop motion animation.
WEEK 10
Mr. Martin recommends that at the beginning the are two polar bears dating or flirting. They are separated due to the "ice-breaking".....eventually only can see each other via binoculars...and the ending.
REFLECTION
Experience
My experience with this project was inspirational and tiring. I like that we got to work in pairs, and I've never worked with Janice before so it's interesting to see how our strengths and weaknesses come into play together. She has a lot more patience than me which is great when we filmed the stop motion itself. It's also a very long tiring process from start to end. Making all the props, spending days filming picture by picture, and then editing it all. Even for a one-minute video, it took way longer than expected.
Observations
I observed that the process of stop-motion animation can be a long and tiring one. It's important to have a plan and be sure about it. I also observed it's probably best not to film stop motion alone. From my own perspective, stop motion filming is a long and boring process, having somewhere there to help with the filming and keep u company is definitely a plus. I also observed that I have learnt quite a lot about editing from the last few projects and know what to do and not do this time around
Findings
I found that lighting choices really make a difference to the set, it can set the whole mood and atmosphere. Some things like the lighting are hard to edit properly in post-production, especially if the lighting is not fone tight. I also found that subtle sound effects really make the video a lot better, it adds a bit more depth. I learned that stop motion is very time-consuming, and I have a lot more respect for the people who do it now.
I found that lighting choices really make a difference to the set, it can set the whole mood and atmosphere. Some things like the lighting are hard to edit properly in post-production, especially if the lighting is not fone tight. I also found that subtle sound effects really make the video a lot better, it adds a bit more depth. I learned that stop motion is very time-consuming, and I have a lot more respect for the people who do it now.
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