A surprising answer to a simple question

I have been asked in the past what do I use for dirt in a stopmo set, if you asked five different animators
this question you would probably get five different answers, so this is just what I use. I use ripped open teabags, yes, you heard me teabags, i'll rip open maybe thirty teabags and poor whats inside on the ground. If you want your dirt to look like mud then add water to the teabags before you rip them open.

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CGI/ Stop Motion "The Little Prince" Trailer is Here

Mark Osborne's ( Kung Fu Panda ) has released the first trailer for his next movie The Little Prince. The trailer is spectacular. The film is a mix of 2D hand drawn, paper cut-out Stop Motion, puppet Stop Motion, and CGI. Which is pretty risky in this day and age. Now, anything with 2D or Stop Motion is an immediate red-flag; needless to say, this film (the Stop Motion side of it) will be beautiful. Although in the trailer we see a CGI little girl imagine a hand drawn plane, which turns into a paper cut-out plane, and then morphs into a Stop Motion puppet that becomes The Little Prince. CGI, in my opinion, was not the way to go with this project -- or so I thought. Now that I see the fusion process in realtime my view has shifted a little. Although my rule still stands, if you don't have a huge budget for CGI then don't do it ! The Little Prince trailer, though, did still pull it off; yes, it could be tweaked, but I have confidence ...

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Interview with Samuel Lewis - Animator, Character Designer, and Sculptor on Stop Motion Short Film, "Lost & Found"

Knotjira, a clumsy dinosaur made of wool, as seen in Lost & Found . Photo courtesy of Andrew Goldsmith. “If I had to pick a starting point for my career as a stop motion animator I would have to say it was my obsession as a six year old with a book called ‘Playing with Plasticine’ by Barbara Reid,” Samuel Lewis – a London-based stop motion and 2D animator and director, whose most recent labor of love can be seen in his contribution to the Australian stop motion short film, Lost & Found – tells Stop Motion Geek. Upon reflection, Lewis explains that his love for the medium of stop motion began very early in life, and has merely managed to burn ever brighter in his fervor to master the craft. “I would spend countless hours fixated on sculpting tiny snails, fruit bowls and dinosaurs to the point where I would stay inside on family holidays sculpting a surfer in a beach scene rather than going to the actual beach that was only a short walk away,” Lewis recalls wistfully. “...

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A Screen Novelties Christmas Present, to Us!

I check my email and I see... Property of Screen Novelties This gets an ' ohmygosh ' reaction from me; which doesn't happen every day for one who loves his internet tidbits. Oh, I almost forgot, I have been deprived my internet due to an ice storm that happened last morn, just thought I would throw that in there... For those of you who know me personally, you will notice after watching this [Screen Novelties] is breaking new ground. I have been saying that if Screen Novelties works hard enough they will be the next Laika. I believe in you guys! So anyhow check it out right here: http://screen-novelties.com/greetings-from-krampus/#.UrjRCNJDuuJ Screen Novelties website: http://screen-novelties.com/ "A Krampus Christmas" eCard from Screen Novelties on Vimeo .

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Short Flicks: Bent Image Lab's "Fruity Pebbles"

What could be better than starting your day off with part of a whole breakfast, Fred Flintstone, and Stop Motion? We couldn't think of anything either. Nevertheless, these awesome commercials/BTS will bring out the kid, and nerd, in all of us. Directed by Rob Shaw for the incredible Bent Image Lab (a studio that just moved to Manhattan , by the way), these TV spots encapsulates everything we know and love about the modern stone-age Flintstone family who establish how we now think of Prehistoric times. Fire House : http://vimeo.com/45991027 Cocoa Pebbles "Fire Hose" from Bent Image Lab on Vimeo . Cop Rock : http://vimeo.com/42010097 Cocoa Pebbles "Cop Rock" from Bent Image Lab on Vimeo .

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Vincent & Puppet Scales

Tim Burton's Vincent is a masterpiece; the short was animated by the brilliant Stephen Chiodo . I do love that the short was shot in black and white film, ask any true film-lover and

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Interview with Matt Bollinger, Painter and Animator Behind Stop Motion/Painting Hybrid Short Film "Between the Days," a Beautiful Portrait of Routine, Unfulfillment, and Despair in Middle America

"Before Work" finished painting featured in Between the Days . Photo courtesy of Matt Bollinger. Often – far too often – we forget the true weight of our actions, our everyday decisions, ranging from those big to small. And, in forgetting, we forget ourselves – who we truly are, where we have been, what we have done, how we have gotten here, to this very place in this very moment. For we are nothing if not the sum total of all our decisions, our actions…even the most minute, even those – perhaps especially those – made in the thrumming humdrum of the everyday: the act of rising from our bed and reaching over to flick off the alarm resting on our bedside table, lighting a cigarette, collecting yesterday’s trash before moving on to more, equally menial tasks. Moments spent alone, in ostensible comfort – the comfort provided us by 21st century accoutrements so many of us have grown to take for granted. Whether we are aware of it or not, each of our actions leave a ma...

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Interview with Bradley Slabe, Co-Director of Stop Motion Love Story, "Lost & Found" (Part 1/2 of Interview with "Lost & Found" Directors)

Knotjira (foreground) and Knitsune (background) in Lost & Found . Photo courtesy of Andrew Goldsmith. The true essence of art – a reflection of life itself – is very much akin to the Japanese aesthetic of “wabi-sabi”: it’s imperfect, impermanent, and, at times, profoundly...incomplete. It is both at once a fundamental truth, and, curiously, more often than not, a thing incredibly hard to acknowledge, to make peace with. Yet perhaps our resistance is justifiable, for once we admit that the world is full of unknowns – unknowns that aren’t ideal, that aren’t perfect – we are just as soon confronted with the actualization of a deep, intrinsic, and very human fear: the fear of a future full of...unknowns that aren’t ideal, that aren’t perfect. Yet it’s the confrontal of that fear that is the most terrifying reality of all, for the moment we make peace with it we have just as soon have acknowledged that our paths in life aren’t in our own hands, or something we can contro...

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Interview with Mark Smith, Director and Writer of Stop Motion Short Film, "Two Balloons"

A still from Two Balloons featuring the character of Elba. Photo courtesy of Mark Smith. As I sit, listening to Peter Broderick’s moving composition for piano More Of A Composition , I close my eyes and envisage an enormous funnel cloud skimming across the crystalline face of an ocean – the skies are murky and unusually dark, lightning crackles, spider-webbing across the darkened skies before then vanishing, and still, after its gone, an electricity continues to hum in the air and I simply know that it’s going to soon strike again. And as the scene presents itself to me, I suddenly feel something similar to what director Mark C. Smith felt when he saw the same image as he sailed to a small island called Grenada along with his wife in a timeworn sailboat. For him, in that moment inspiration struck, and the idea suddenly came to him for his heartfelt stop motion film, Two Balloons . For me, I open my eyes and feel as I did the instant Two Balloons ...

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"Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2" End Credits

A few nights ago I sat down and watched the sequel to Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs ; correctly titled Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 . And, I must say... it was enjoyable and entertaining. Though the first film was comedic brilliance animated, dubbed, and packed in a box we like to call a movie. Cloudy 2 wasn't any where near as good as the first one but on the other hand the original directors/writers of the first film, Phil Lord and Chris Miller didn't direct the sequel. But they are the creative team behind the recently released The Lego Movie . Which looks great and is getting incredibly positive reviews from the critics. So, i am excited to partake in that movie experience. All the 'end credits' work was done by the amazing people over a Screen Novelties. Lots of cool stuff here in the end credits including grown men in strawberry suits, puppets, and of course, Stop Motion. So grab a snack and enjoy! Link: http:...

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A Trip to the Moon!!

Today, on Stopmotion geek we are going old school, and I really mean old school. Why this is so old is that were discovering, well, your discovering, I'm giving you info that I already know, so, you know, not really discovering... so what, I can rediscover, mmmhun! Georges Melies, was the first-ever Stop Motion animator, in fact, he invented Stop Motion; therefore, we'll

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