Claymation

After looking at different types of animation on you tube I have bcome interested in these animations with a darker theme. I could maybe take influences from videos if I were to attempt another animation.

Progress on animation.

Since starting to create my animation I have realised the importance of accuracy when creating a stop motion animation. Mistakes I have made so far will effect the quality of the finished piece. Mistakes such as the lighting being on in the first bit of the animation and off in the second. The camera is sometimes knocked and changes position due to the fact that I had to stop and start filming the animation many times. The filming is also quite static and if I had planned more effectively I could have planned having the camera moving more with different angles etc. Hopefully I will be able to improve on my animation by editing it but if I were to attempt this type of filming technique again I would take these things into consideration.

Animation background and scene.

I decided to make an animation using plasticine models and clay figurines. I needed to create a background to keep the piece in perspective. My initial idea was to use a white backdrop with the plasticine fruit in a bowl to keep the perspective. The problem with that was I planned to use a metal bowl but that would have reflected the room, camera etc into the shot. Another problem with using a bowl was that the fruit would be hidden and not on full display. I decided to take a picture of a kitchen which I would enlarge and use in a backdrop to create the setting of the fruit being in a kitchen. I took pictures of the kitchen in varying focuses as I didn't want the image to look too sharp and therefore not look as if it was in the background and maybe compete for attention with the fruit. I went for the not so blurred image as i realised it would lose focus as the picture was enlarged.

Response to Bill Viola's work

I was interested by the way Bill Viola's work revolved completely around the setting and he had no previous idea about what the peice would hold before he had the area in which it was displayed. I also like the way different filming techniques are used within the peice, the black and white contrasting with the colour.

Influence for video

I like the style of these videos, I would like to try and achieve a similiar style for my fruit animation. I like the way sound effects are used.