"All New Adventures of Morph" Kickstarter

Yes, you read the title right, Aardman has finally decided that they will bring back Morph in a new animated series. Morph, in case you didn't know was created by Peter Lord and David Sproxton, he [Morph] was one of the first and finest characters Aardman ever created. In the very first episode of Morph the plot line was simple enough: Morph would plot about and tip things over on a desk. This lovable character who was created 30 years ago is now making a comeback in British culture and cultures around the world. Peter explains that they are an indie company who usually have partners for all their projects, but for this one they wanted to do something special: with having brought half of the budget themselves, they have decided to leave it up to the fans of Morph, both new and old, fund and be partners for this projects. There goal is 75,000 Euros and there currently they have 4,926 Euros. A few of the awesome prizes there offering include: a Morph print signed by Peter Lord, a Morph t-shirt, you Morph likeness (a clay model of yourself in the likeness of Morph), Google Plus Model Making hangout, and many others. Please check out their Kickstarter page for more info and to watch the Kickstarter video: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1961548517/all-new-adventures-of-morph-from-aardman-animation?ref=category

Aardman website: http://aardman.com/

Morph

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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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Interview with Joseph Wallace, Director and Animator of Psychedelic, Cut-out Stop Motion Music Video for Canadian Artist Parker Bossley's "Chemicals"

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Laika Will Auction off Puppets, Props, and Models

Laika, the Golden Globe, Annie, and Academy Award-nominated and winners of Stop Motion masterpieces such as Coraline , ParaNorman , and most recently, The BoxTrolls . The Oregon-based will open its archives for the first time for a limited auction of more than 250 puppets, models, props, and art in The Art of Laika . A portion of the profits will be donated to The Art of Elysium , a nonprofit arts organization that works to make art a catalyst for social change and to bring creative inspiration to children, artists, and various population in need. The Heritage Auction site reports: "LAIKA's films aim to promote thought, feeling, and connectivity through art, inspired by our shared humanity," says Travis Knight, President & CEO of the studio and an Annie-Award-winning animator and producer. "We're deeply gratified that the spirit of our work has resonated so strongly with audiences around the world. LAIKA's artists and craftspeople are consummate cr...

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Interview with Niki Lindroth von Bahr, Director, Writer, and Animator of Stop Motion Short Film "Bath House"

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Interview with Heather Colbert, Filmmaker Behind The Music Video for Tom Rosenthal’s “How Have You Been?”

Hypnos looking on at the moon. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert. “After talking with Tom, I just let the track play, while I drew or noted down ideas that came into my head,” Heather Colbert—a Bristol-based animator and filmmaker—tells Stop Motion Geek about the origins of her newest project: creating, almost single-handedly, the music video for English singer-songwriter Tom Rosenthal’s “How Have You Been?”—a haunting and beautiful acapella piece off his latest album, Z-Sides . “He told me the album was about sleep and so the images that came to me were of nocturnal and natural things. I also saw a connection in the beautiful lyrics to a character living with mental health issues, especially in the line ‘I woke up, but it didn’t go away’. So I began to see a creature trying their best to get on with their task, but being hindered by the fear of the world that they inhabit.” Hypnos (left) and Shadow (right) in the film. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert. The third musi...

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Interview with Bram Meindersma, Composer and Sound Designer of Oscar® Nominated Stop Motion Short Film, "Negative Space"

Sam and his father, from Negative Space . Source: Vimeo. Unlike practically every other medium, film has the unique aesthetic of being composed of the elements of sound and image, and, curiously, whenever watching a film, the two blend together into something of an impeccably hybridized concoction. With as much influence as sound has over the audience’s final experience of any given film, composer and sound designer Bram Meindersma’s work on the Oscar-nominated stop motion short film Negative Space – directed by Ru Kuwahata and Max Porter – proves an endlessly fascinating and extraordinary case study, as it uses sound – both its soundtrack as well as every other element of sound design – only sparingly and in subtle ways, one that could almost be called conservative. Yet it is perhaps just that component of its sound design that, at least in part, makes the film such a powerful one. Perhaps the reason why Meindersma’s delicate work on Negative Space is so powerful is i...

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