Stop Motion Geek

So, if you haven't yet heard about Athena Studio's upcoming project Auntie Claus well, you've missed out. A couple weeks ago Athena Studios announced that they would be produce a feature length Stop Motion animated film based off the children's novel Auntie Claus by Elise Primavera.  This topic is one of the most hot topics for us animation geeks right now.  Athena, is currently doing a Kickstarter for the film, so if you want to check that out go to the link right here .  Anyway, MAKE: Magazine recently published a making of video on their YouTube channel on the making of Auntie Claus and I thought I would share it with you.  It's well worth six minutes of your time to watch this, it also provides an in-depth look at the main character puppet.  Who knows?  Maybe Athena will be the next LAIKA. MAKE: Magazine Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/makemagazine Video link:  http://youtu.be/M0YG3IIl1yM

The upcoming Aardman and STUDIO CANAL movie Shaun the Sheep Movie just got a UK release date for March 20th, 2015. The film is going to be Stop Motion like the original TV show.  It is written and directed by Richard Starzak and Mark Burton. Shaun the Sheep Movie On the Aardman website they along with this information, stated the synopsis which I put below Synopsis: When Shaun’s mischief inadvertently leads to the Farmer being taken away from the farm, Shaun, Bitzer and the flock have to go into the big city to rescue him, setting the stage for an epic adventure. To this I say YES!  I really dig the style Stop Motion Aardman projects are shot, they have a home-made feel that, as far as I'm concerned, no other studio has accomplished in reproducing.  That is the Aardman seal and that is why Nick Park, David Sproxton, and Peter Lord's company will continue to thrive.

In this post I announced that I am making a short flick entitled Cardboard Arcade .  Today, I decided to do some test animation on a recently made puppet.  It looks a little rough, thats because this what I like to call a "practice set" it isn't painted (neither puppet nor set) and I didn't do any post-production on it.  So, you will see some wires and light changes, don't expect to see any of these things in the actual film. Also, a quick announcement: due to not getting enough spare time to animate don't anticipate to see the film before November 10, but I'd love to get it out sooner if I can. This puppet is made entirely out of cardboard, the worlds most useful material, hot glue, and wire.  And it worked perfectly, no regrets.  I used steel wool as the gravel that he's kicking up, and cotton as his breath. Video link:  http://vimeo.com/75050742 SMG on Vimeo:  https://vimeo.com/user18787446 "Cardboard Arcade" Test Animation #1 f...

The San Francisco Bay located Athena Studios have come together the book's author Elise Primavera to develop a Stop Motion trailer which they will use to pitch the Auntie Clause Movie  to a major distributor. Right now they have a possible release date of November, 2016 which, for those of you who are slow means that Antha will be working there butts off to get you an Auntie Claus movie in the next three years.  This I can believe because if you look at Henry Selick's Coraline you will see that it took LAIKA three years to produce Coraline. Anthena is trying to raise $38,000 in 25 days.  Currently, they have raised $8,000. The films crew is listed below: Jon Peters | Producer, Brice Parker | Producer, Kat Alioshin | Production Manager,

So, no doubt you've wondered when you will be able to see some work from Stop Motion Geek.  Well, the answer is soon. The project that I am working on is currently being call by my self The Cardboard Arcade .  It's a short piece full of senseless violence, none the less awesome, and is fueled by my love for outdated arcade games, you know the ones that you would have to jam down on the joystick to get PAC-Man to move. I've been thinking about you guys and thought that you may enjoy so BTS pictures, well I don't want to spoil the plot but if you look under this type you may find the first few storyboard frames... My process with storyboarding is simple.  I try to retain it's home-made feel and tend to say clear of storyboarding software.  You can see that my operation is simplicity it's self, all I use is a legal pad, pencil, eraser, and my brain.  Similar to Cartoon Network Studios, I don't write a script and go straight to storyboarding, ...

. Albert Brooks' name is added to the ever growing list of celebrities to join the voice cast of the Stop Motion film The Little Prince.  Joining other actors such as James Franco, Jeff Bridges Paul Giamatti, Benicio Del Toro, and Rachel McAdams. "The Little Prince" This is more news on the feature which I hope to see in theaters and doing well soon, as we now don't get to see much news about Stop Motion.

I thought that we are nearing fall and that it's Friday the 13th that we should watch some zombie related video.  This is a very original video and idea, also using hundreds of pumpkins is a way better use of pumpkins than just gutting and throwing them out, whats also an interesting thought is that if this was done before Halloween the creator (and animator) would have about 300 pumpkins in their yard. Link:  http://FunnyOrDie.com/m/7b26 Pumpkin Stop Motion - watch more funny videos

As I first started watching this short documentary on Stop Motion, I thought that it captured the feel of making Stop Motion in a way that I haven't seen in a while.  Usually when you watch something about Stopmo they will say "it's very hard and cumbersome" basically say screw this, go and get Maya so you can go and do CGI animation instead.  It's nice to see something that says otherwise. PBS description: The magic of stop-motion animation has enthralled audiences for over a century, but with the advent of CGI, many thought it was at risk of extinction. Yet despite these fears, animators all over the world continue to manually create unique stories out of physical materials, be it clay, sand or paint, puppets or people. The amount of time and meticulous effort these animators commit makes stop motion uniquely impressive and refreshingly organic in a digital age, and have driven the art form's resurgence in film, commercials, and even on Vine! Featuring: D...

Henry Selick, the director of films such as The Nightmare Before Christmas , Monkeybone , and Coraline . Selick will be presenting The Nightmare Before Christmas at The Montreal Stopmo Fest this September, Animation Magazine said this: The fifth edition of the Montreal Stop Motion Film Festival will feature over 70 films in official competition as well as a special 20th anniversary screening of  The Nightmare Before Christmas , presented by the film’s beloved director Henry Selick. The festival which takes place Oct. 18-20th at Concordia University’s J.A. de Sève Theater, will also include a special visit from Joe and Joan Clokey, owners of the celebrated studio that created Gumby. The festival will also include a special workshop with Jamie Caliri, the mastermind behind the stop motion software Dragonframe, and two free family screenings and hands-on stations for everyone to experiment with stop-motion techniques. The Montreal Stop Motion Film Festival is open to artists ...

Thing Matter is all done with Object Animation.  And it is some of the most amazing and awesome animation as far as using dressers and furniture.  I must say, whoever rigged the characters was a genius! - I mean it takes me a hell of a time to rig a 9 inch puppet let alone a bed! Dougal Wilson is the director on this awesome commercial/short from Blink Productions for John Lewis insurance.  They used the Arc Moco VOLO crane well usuing Dragonframe to animate, and as you can see, its awesome!  Now I think you can see why I'm giving this project an honorary SMG award. Video link:  http://vimeo.com/72487877 BTS link:  http://youtu.be/_ULT9KQ4owg Please remember to send me your choices for the SMG award and what project  you think deserves one.