finished

The animation is finished I have some tweaking left to do In Premier Pro 2 especially some of the speeds are inconsistent. I have picked a track that will help to advance the visuals and am fairly happy with the results so far.

models

Having started the shooting I have noticed a few things, even though I am shooting at night with only one fixed light the lighting seems to change noticeably with the movement of object behind the camera. I had not realized the impact that this would make and will have to re-shoot segments.

also the damn models keep falling over. I have extended the bases on there feet and tried hard to be careful but it is a long and painful process.

drawing closer

as I near the date I have already started to shoot some of the text. I have decided to animate the white text on a black background, still using claymation. The models are nearing completion and I will be ready to shoot the whole thing soon.

skeleton

at Big W I have found artist manikins that are about 30cm tall and about 15 dollars

I bought 4 as I am planning atleast that many characters. and have started to decorated them.

As for the story line I am making an exploratory piece on sin. The claymation will be spliced with text that prompts the viewer to explore their own idea of what sin is.

I have invested a lot of time in this Idea and have started to storyboard a narrative structure. I think it will be challenging to fit it into one minute. I have shot everything in DV format and in stills so that I have a good choice between styles when it comes to shooting for real.

the things I have learned

the things that I have learned:
1. claymation is expensive the cheapest plastasine i could find in $5 a tub. I shall definitely need at least 4 of these to make large enough models.

2. the clay mation will definitely have to have an anatomical skeleton as tried to make humanoid models with clay alone is next to impossible.

3. I will need to build a set. I have some ideas for this. eg. a printed background could do wonders. here is an example that a photographer friend of mine in Canberra did.

other angles

With the test done I am compiling some other test scenes, I have shot the same thing with a DV camera and shall see how this looks sped up. I also took shots of an underground car park and got some actors to play out a drug deal using Icing sugar,

sin built test

I can now compile the photos in premier pro 2. I am pleased with the result, it reminds me of drug induces speed shifts, this could be the basis of my film.

sin tests

I have taken a series of about 40 shots driving up the main street of Wagga. With one second exposure on consistent shooting I have producede images that I am happy with. I wish to make them into an animation of sorts in premier but have had trouble importing and arranging them in Premier. (I shall ask at this weeks workshop).

stock motion

It has been nearly a week and i cannot think of any descent and achievable ideas for film, so I have taken the opportunity to explore stock motion. Claymation is also something that I would very much like to try. I shall buy some plasticine tonight and have an experiment.

back to the drawing board

After consultation with Hages, I have abandoned this whole idea. It seems like a massive waste of time now. Atleast I suppose I have after weeks to pull something else together.

So back to ideas. I have again been stuck on 7 deadly sins and the bible.

I shall leave it for a few days and try coming back to it with fresh eyes.