completed short story stop motion animation

After all the sketches, paper, tape and reworking I've completed the story YEY!!! Of course, lining up the audio with my paper cut outs and getting to the final frame was no easy task but I'm definitely happy (and exhausted).

It came out the way I had it pictured in my head for the most part :D

camera stand alternative  

Capturing photos in a sequence has become the most irritating thing about this stop motion project. I've had to come up with create ways to capture my images because of the angle I decided on. And after replaying some of the videos I've posted so far I realize that they look super shaky because every time my hand slipped or I reached over to grab another word cut out it changed the image. *Grrrrr*.

Okay, so that is rather annoying but I'm not one to be defeated by a little thing like not having a camera stand so today I've used large amounts of scotch tape to attach my camera to the edge of a table. And when I say large amounts I mean massive because although it worked initially halfway through the whole process the tape dislodged and I had to start all over again.

*If you are going to use the tape method - don't skimp on the tape

Here's what I have so far in hyper speed

audio and audacity

In order to tweak the audio I started looking around for a free audio editor and came across Audacity. It's a pretty "straightforward" (you still need to fiddle around with it in order to achieve the effects you really want) audio editor that allows you to record, import audio and create effects. I ended up using the noise removal option ( I was getting some rather odd background noise - think it was from the fan on my computer o_O) along with the echo and Gverb (Reverb) effects.

I'm not sure which one sounds better; the one with just the Gverb (Reverb) or the Gverb (Reverb) and echo *shrug*. What do you think? :P

 

lyric cut outs

Today was all about getting the rest of the lyric cut outs done and I'm happy to say that I've got all of that out of the way *fingers crossed*. Now I've just got to put it all together, work on the final sequence and get the audio ready :).

on the surface

Eyrdonigh is finally on the surface YEAH!! My room of course looks like a confetti party but I've got a good idea of how much I will need to get done in order for the whole thing to look halfway decent so I'm pretty content :P.

Needs a lot of work but here's what I have so far....

Erydonigh the Star

I got tired of referring to the star as "the star" so I named her ...*drum roll* Eyrdonigh (pronounced Ear-do-nigh). And yes, I know it's strrannge but I couldn't help myself :P.

Anywho, today was all about drawing the Eyrdonigh cut out. It took a lot longer than expected because every time I completed a sketch it just didn't seem quite right. I actually ended up veering a little away from my original storyboard by having Eyrdonigh sitting instead of standing.

Erydonigh



 

 

the collision part 2

Acting on the comment/suggestion I received about a "Bigger Boom" (thanks again Taylor) for the collision scene I've added some more impact clouds. I'm not sure if I should have the cloud get smaller again or just leave the big cloud as the final image.

Let me know what you think, I've added a poll on the side OR if you have another suggestion feel free to post a comment :P

A

 

 

 B 

 

 

 

 

 

 

stop motion animation (the collision)

I discovered early o'clock that drawing each frame of the star colliding with Earth was going to be a uber challenging so I cut out my star using textured paper and moved it bit by bit whilst taking the photographs for the animation.

I also transferred all the pictures into Windows Movie Maker and I think I will be using this program throughout the project because it has been really straightforward thus far...*fingers crossed*.


paper cut out benefits 

• You don't have to worry so much about your cut out blowing away if you dare breathe in its direction because the paper is heavier than regular computer paper.
• You get to avoid drawing every movement by hand, all you have to do is shift your cut out a little.

I'm a little uncertain about the pacing but here's a peek of what I have so far :P.
Let me know what you think! Should I speed up the ending?



the pinch method

So there I was putting the finishing touches on the surface scene for the story, trying to come up with a way to make the mountains look better when I realized the page I was working on had crinkles. Crinkles plural!!! I actually didn't notice when taking the picture the first time round but when I was doing the touch-ups it was glaring. However, instead of a massive growl of frustration and brainstorming ways to flatten said paper I realized that this might just work out...I could pinch the paper some more and then trace the formations so that the mountains looked more interesting. *take that crinkled paper, you are no match for me muah hahahaa*

I set to work  and got very excited about the whole process. A little pinch there, some more lines here, scribble, outline, scribble. Needless to say I felt very artsy like I actually knew what I was doing and it should come to no surprise that I had gone overkill with the whole thing. I had lines where there shouldn't be and it just looked like one hot mess, so much so that my eraser gave up on me and was having none of it aka time to start from scratch. *round 2*

I dialed back the detail on the mountains and added cracks to the hill. I still think the hill/mountain in the middle needs something. I'm just a little hesitant to start the Pinch method again :/


Exhibit A: Overkill with the Pinch Method

The surface with details :P

Stars and Earth

it's official

Yup, I have officially started sketching the backgrounds for the story. I still need to outline everything in pen but that's going to have to be another day. I've gotten to the point where I've started nit-picking every little detail and overcorrecting sOoo yeah pause button *click*.

Still have to add stars :P




This is the surface so far

why fiction?

Outrageous worlds. Bizarre creatures. Unusual plots. What's not to love?

I wanted my story to be reminiscent of a fable so I worked towards creating a suitable plot line. And badda-bing badda-boom I got the idea for the Birth of A Meteor. Okay (I know), so it's a little bit sad but I kind of want it to be. 

I'm rather fascinated by the pursuit of happiness pie and the consequences that one has to carry after you've had your fill. From the outside looking at the star, it seems tragic that she finally got what she wanted only to collapse into pieces at sunrise but from her perspective it was worth the price to be happy for that short expanse of time.