Skip to main content

PES man!

If your in the mood for a good stopmo video at the moment check out PES on youtube
 or his wikipedia profile to find out more about him.  PES was a 2013 Oscar nominee for his short Fresh Guacamole.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Aardman Co-Founder David Sproxton's Tips for Success in the Animation Industry, Part 1 (of 3): 3 Pre-Production Tips

Aardman founders David Sproxton (left) and Peter Lord (right) standing in front of Wallace & Gromit set for Variety (Photo by Charlie Gray) “It all started at a kitchen table,”  says co-founder of Aardman Animations, David Sproxton,  about the beginning of his career in animation, “Pete [Peter Lord] and I met as schoolkids….Pete and I got to be great mates and we started playing and thinking up stories. I was always interested in photography and kind of, I guess, the process thing about films….One day we got out the Bolex, stuck it up on a stand and actually just cut images out of color supplements. We’d obviously watched programs like  Vision On , which obviously used a plethora of styles. Cut out is the easiest thing to do. We didn’t really understand cel animation or actually how you drew stuff. We just moved stuff around and did stuff with chalk drawings.” Earlier this year, Aardman, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of their studio,  released a ...

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

Interview with Kangmin Kim, Director of Stop Motion Short Film, "Deer Flower"

Kangmin Kim animating the dream sequence from Deer Flower . Photo courtesy of Kangmin Kim. The experience of childhood is something like existing within a waking dream. In childhood, as in particularly vibrant dreams, the distinct and unique experience presents itself to simply exist in each moment without explanation or reflection – to become fully and wholly enveloped in each and every moment, the option of operating outside of which is somehow nonexistent. In that special time in one’s life, moments simply are . And yet, childhood, like dreams, is a fragile and temporary reality. It’s not until one “wakes” from childhood, by entering adulthood, that one can reflect upon and appreciate the past and, in retrospect, realize just how odd and unusual certain experiences might have actually been. Korean filmmaker and animator Kangmin Kim captures this feeling beautifully in his outstanding short film Deer Flower . Deer Flower tells the semi-autobiographical of auteur Kangmin...

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. “...

Interview with Nadine Buss, Cinematographer on Oscar® Nominated Stop Motion Short Film "Negative Space"

One of the surreal flashback scenes from Negative Space . Source: Vimeo. “These are my guidelines for lighting,” Nadine Buss, the cinematographer of the Oscar®-nominated short film Negative Space , tells Stop Motion Geek, “feel, re-explore sensations,” she says, only to then lightheartedly add, “and remember the lights you saw.” Feel . If Buss’s creative fingerprint on Negative Space  could be described in just one word, it would be just that. A beautiful and heart wrenching story, Ru Kuwahata and Max Porter’s Negative Space  – a stop motion short film based on a poem of the same title by Ron Koertge – is, in many ways, one story presented as two: One half of the narrative is of a young man – Sam – as he packs a suitcase for travel before then driving to the funeral home where his late father’s viewing is being held. It’s a narrative colored by Buss in the hard, icy light of winter, which contrasts sharply with the sunny, warm light in which the second story is pa...

Boinx's iStopMotion for iPad Review

Before I jump into the review i'm going to say that Boinx is not paying me to do this review and the following is my personal opinion only .  With that being said let's get to it shall we? Before we get into it I would like to show you some clay test animation that I made with iStopMotion... Untitled from SMG on Vimeo . The first thing that shows up when you open iStopMotion is a quick Stop Motion video which runs you through the key features of the app for instance: the capture button, playback, and adjusting your camera settings.  Let me say that this video is of the poorest quality of animation, it's just terrible.  But, if you stop to think about it, there is a good explanation for this; my guess is that Boink doesn't want beginners to look at animation that is the equivalent of Coraline and comparing their own work to it. This app itself is very straightforward.  Directly below the welcome video is a plus button which if you tap creates a new proje...

King Kong [1933]

Yes, it's back to the olden days, back when the idea of Stop Motion was the brainchild of Willis O' Brien.   King Kong , is the most influential movie in history as far as I'm concerned.  Willis O' Brien, was born on March 2, 1886 in Oakland, California.  He did run away at the age of 13 but, as most do after running away, returned at the age of 17.  Now into the Stop Motion aspect of it all.  Finding himself with some time to kill one afternoon,

Interview with Robert Shaw, Director, Writer, and Co-Animator of Stop Motion Short Film "The Machine"

Parables and allegories, amidst every other kind of story that can be told, have a unique and extraordinarily powerful quality that is all their own: They allow us – the audience – to learn lessons about and to see ourselves, others, and the world in which we live through a completely different lens – that of narrative. The best allegories and parables, in fact, have the unique ability to simultaneously act as conduits for important lessons and to also exist as literal stories, which gives them the unique ability to challenge beliefs and ideas held by the audience in a way that only art can do. Some of the most cherished stories ever composed, illustrated, and put on film are parables and allegories, and what makes them so exceptional are how powerful the lessons are that they teach. The Machine meets The Farmer in The Machine . Photo courtesy of Robert Shaw. Robert Shaw, in his haunting and beautiful stop motion short film The Machine – which he wrote, directed, and co-anim...

Interview with Roos Mattaar, Key Animator and Puppet Maker on Music Video for Father John Misty's "Things It Would Have Been Helpful To Know Before The Revolution"

Donning a heavy winter coat, a young girl in a desert plants a protest sign among a forest of other such placards in the opening image of Father John Misty’s new music video, Things It Would Have Been Helpful To Know Before The Revolution . The words of her sign, “No big thing to give up the life we had,” – lyrics from the song – appear just as “Father John Misty” – the moniker of American singer-songwriter Joshua Tillman – sings the words, a motif frequently returned to throughout the video. The stop motion music video, produced by production company Jacknife Films, creates an interesting and very unique tone, one that is the effect of the song and film itself, both of which are, in many ways, a celebration of a incredibly bleak future. This theme is one that is embodied throughout the film often in little ironies – a winter coat worn while romping in the desert, a skeleton rotting next to a sign proclaiming “life is sweet,” an enormous city populated only by rats and cockroa...

"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:...