Stop Motion Animation

After doing a stop motion video for my final project, I have found a whole new appreciation for it. My 1 minute and a half took forever, and to imagine even making an entire movie is just unfathomable. These are just some of the great stop-motion films that have been made, and now watching them I can't even imagine the process and patients that went into making them. With that being said though I really enjoyed making my stop motion video, the end result being able to make anything come to life, to be animated, is such an interesting concept and I am so happy I got to mess around with it. Seriously though next time you watch an animation like this, I hope you realize just how much blood sweat and tears went into because it's quite the process.

Stop Motion Animation

For my final project, I was weighing on what exactly to do and then I saw this video and was instantly inspired. I think stop motion is so fascinating and doesn't nearly get enough credit on just how difficult it is to create this type of animation. This particular video was so unique and I loved the sound effects, it's definitely worth checking out!

PCF Studios

PCF Studios:
This is a local, Up-state New York, artist's company. His name is Philippe Faraut, and his focus is on Sculpture.










He lives in Honeoye New York, and teaches a small class on sculpting. I find his work both interesting and inspiring. He does many different kinds of sculptures like stone, bronze and clay. The style of his work is very realistic which I find intriguing. It is not easy to master the art of reality and in my opinion it is the hardest form of art to take on. This goes for all areas of art, film, sculpture, painting, drawing, etc.

Each and every one of his pieces I find telling a story. Within every one of them I find myself forming an internal analysis for who they might be and where they might have come from. They are all very expressive and are good examples for characters one must create in stories. 

(Einstein recreation)

As seen above he also does some work with recreating people from pictures. 

(Philippe working)

His wife takes all the photos for his web page and I think there is something very beautiful about the lighting in these photos that everyone can take something away from. The lighting helps to show the contours of each piece of work and is very contrasted with light and dark areas. 

Finally Philippe Faraut has also done forensic work with facial recreation from only bones. 

This is just another talent of his. Through examining the human skull he can determine the muscular composition and then the rest falls into place. 

Philippe Faraut is an artist that inspires. His works are beautiful and there is a lesson to be learned in every one of his sculptures. 

Check out his Website:   http://www.pcfstudios.com 

West Wing opening Credits and Thoughts

For my post this week I wanted to talk about the opening credits to The West Wing because they have always sort of fascinated me for their seeming simplicity on the surface but complex compositing underneath. On the surface it seems like, well, any other television opening sequence. "Make sure to get everyone in with scenes from the show" seems to me the M.O. for many TV shows, particularly during the 90's and early 2000's. However what makes this memorable for me is how many flash frames, extra assets, and compositing is going on between each shot. The sequence flows so well that you barely notice them the first few times you watch without a keen eye, but as you watch you can pick out more and more. I watched the entire run of the show years ago, and it still took a long time to be able to see. One in particular i'd like to bring your attention to is that as the sequence goes on the black and white pictures stop covering the screen and become more like pictures on a desktop being moved around.

 For me this gives the piece a much more alive feel, like someone was going through a stack of historical photographs. The thoughtfulness of the photographs themselves are also interesting to me, in the last 5 seconds there are several of these shown, but the one ended on is the shot of the president facing away from the camera.

 Even though the show is really about adding personality and character to political figures, the title sequence ends on this, showing Aaron Sorkin's awe of the "majesty" of government, a thought that definitely comes through in his writing of the show