Stop Motion and Brickfilm

I have always been fascinated with stop motion animation and have started to do small projects on my own (I will post a link to something I have done in one of my future posts).

In case you did not know, stop motion animation is a technique where an object is physically moved to make it look like it is moving on its own. For a while now, I have noticed that the Buzzfeed Food channel uses a lot of stop motion in their videos. I think that is a very brilliant marketing and promotions idea as it is quick and very appealing. This is a video of a stop motion pizza.

Stop motion has had a long life in movie history and it is often seen as a very reliable animation technique. This is one of the coolest stop motion videos I have seen and probably one that took hours and hours to make.

One last thing that I wanted to talk about is brickfilm. This kind of film typically uses stop motion to be created. It is so called because the film is literally made on LEGO bricks or similar small objects.

Brickfilming has been around since the 70s and it uses digital still cameras (DSLRs, etc.). The frame rate is usually 15fps as a compromise between minimum production time and smoothest motion.

Watch this video for a cool brickfilm of the Darth Vader vs Luke Skywalker fight scene.

Animation for Social Change

This week my blog post focuses on how a creative tool like animation can be, and is used for social change, inspiration, and motivation. Many artists and illustrators have used animation to convey messages on several issues surrounding a society.

Recently, I read an article on why animation should be used for social change. One of the last lines of the article reads: "A well thought out animation can attract and engage a wide audience, be retained in their memory and actually change the way people see an important issue and respond to it."

This line resonated with me because it is very true. In the video below a very strong, powerful message is conveyed. This video is very well-acclaimed and was created by Rodrigo Blass.

Very often in such videos, children are the main subject or the main characters portraying a society. In my opinion, this is because we as humans show most empathy towards children than anyone else.

Another use of animation for change is through illustrations, especially of what would otherwise be considered graphic. The current situation in Syria has created turned many citizens in to refugees. 

The image below is from a Buzzfeed post which consists of artist illustrations after the story of a three year old refugee boy washing up on shore.

In my opinion, animation can play a great role in providing people with new perspectives about certain things in society and it is a great way to engage people in discussions about how a society is working.

Greenscreens: Swipe Left or Right

It’s fascinating just how effective greenscreens can be when used in filmmaking. It seems that nowadays almost every movie uses a greenscreen at some point. And the unique thing about watching these movies is that we aren’t necessarily taken out of the moment, nor are we completely convinced that what we see is real. It’s a strange mix of wonder and confusion, with a hint of skepticism.

And luckily I was able to stumble upon a wonderful article by Buzzfeed, called “27 Before and Afters That Show the Power of Special Effects.” Put together by Tanner Ringerud, it’s basically a list of 27 films that have heavily used greenscreen in their production process: from The Avengers to King Arthur. But the thing that I recommend most about reading this article, is playing around with the sliding option they have on the before and after pictures. Sliding left or right will reveal exactly what was greenscreened in and what type of effects were put over the final product.

You can see where lighting is set up, and with a bit of staring you can kind of piece together why exactly they chose to go with the choices they made. Likewise, you can see what kind of characters were put into the movie in post. Such as Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy. There’s a saying that goes around that claims you can learn a lot just by watching how something is done. Be it from behind-the-scenes to production stills, there’s always something we can learn even if it’s just from swiping back and forth on a picture.

I definitely recommend this article to anyone who’s interested in seeing how important a skill with greenscreens is, from lighting, to blocking, and far beyond. Greenscreens can create galaxies, giant creatures, blood-thirsty zombies, and much more. They are the unrecognized characters in the film-production process. Ones that shouldn’t be overlooked. Because they build worlds. And that’s what filmmaking is all about.