Stop Motion Geek

Link:  http://vimeo.com/15311866 McDonald's - "Bebe" from Screen Novelties on Vimeo .

A look inside the all-new Amazon Instant Video preschool series, Tumble Leaf . Link:  http://vimeo.com/97622366

Aardman, the incredibly talented creators of Wallace & Gromit , Shaun the Sheep , and the Shaun spin-off preschool series Timmy Time .  Aardman has recently signed a deal for its content to stream exclusively in the United States on the Amazon Prime Instant Video service.  This deal will include new, Amazon-only seasons and specials for Shaun and Timmy, though Wallace & Gromit: Curse of The Ware-Rabbit won't have a debut on Prime because technically Dreamworks Animation owns the rights to the property. Anyway, this is big news as far as I'm concerned and a great marketing strategy for The Shaun the Sheep Movie that's coming out early next year.  Not only will they be prepping viewers for the new flick, they'll also bring in new fans to the classic Aardman style. The Shaun the Sheep Movie is due out March 20th, 2015. The Shaun the Sheep Movie

A vowel reciting speaking machine leads a miserable existence as a tool of a despotic singing-teacher. In a soliloquy it describes oppression, exploitation and beatings and complains that it is only needed for its functional performance. The analogy to conditions in the human working world is by no means coincidental... Link:  http://vimeo.com/74311542 IOA from Gabriel Möhring on Vimeo .

This year, for its 6th edition, the Montreal Stop Motion Film Festival (September 26-28th) will be featuring some of the most outstanding names and projects in the business including an inside, in-depth, BTS for Laika's The BoxTrolls !  Laika will deliver a special presentation and Stoopid Buddy Stoodios may show up for a while... Anyway, featured below is your fix on the MSMFF breaking news... VIP Access to LAIKA Studios and Behind-The-Scenes of The Boxtrolls LAIKA (Portland, Oregon USA) is, without a doubt, one of the most ambitious, creative, and courageous stop-motion studios in the world. They specialize in feature-length and short animated films, as well as commercials. The studio has produced two OSCAR NOMINATED stop motion films: ParaNorman (2012) and Coraline (2009). During their special presentation, you will discover the remarkable creativity of LAIKA, with a look at their latest project The Boxtrolls (in theatres 26 Sept. 2014), and be able to meet...

Claynation, a global campaign for Land Rover, directed by Peter Sluszka, was created using clay and many skilled hands to morph and mold an ever-changing landscape. The Claynation campaign of broadcast, print ads and digital was designed, fabricated and shot over the course of 5 months at the DUMBO stage. The spot used roughly 1.5 tons of clay, with animators brought in from across the country that specialized in claymation animation. The Land Rover car used in the spot, the only non-clay element in the spot, was dissected, modeled and printed out on a 3D printer. The car, once assembled, functioned realistically from the steering, doors, to the practical headlights. In the campaign, the car is seen driving through many clay environments, with every frame morphed and manipulated, to create the seamless journey from cities to mountains and beyond. Link:  http://vimeo.com/18753130

Official synopsis reads: A family event movie from the creators of  Coraline  and  ParaNorman  that introduces audiences to a new breed of family –  The Boxtrolls , a community of quirky, mischievous creatures who have lovingly raised an orphaned human boy named Eggs (voiced by Isaac Hempstead Wright) in the amazing cavernous home they’ve built beneath the streets of Cheesebridge. When the town’s villain, Archibald Snatcher (Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley), comes up with a plot to get rid of the Boxtrolls, Eggs decides to venture above ground, “into the light,” where he meets and teams up with fabulously feisty Winnie (Elle Fanning). Together, they devise a daring plan to save Eggs’ family. Link:  http://youtu.be/j1El1xVRrkA

This trailer, unlike it's predecessors, gives us the first real look at the plot and the world of The BoxTrolls . Based on the book by Alan Snow, it tells the story of a young boy taken in by the secretive and underground-dwelling BoxTrolls, who hide from humans inside the cardboard containers they wear as clothes.  When he grows into a teen, Eggs (voiced by Isaac Hempstead-Wright) has to re-enter the world above to stop a villain from ridding the town of his extended troll family. Let's just say that, by the looks of this trailer, Laika is reengineering Stop Motion as we know it.  And that's not even scratching the surface when I say that.  The design and animation here is breathtaking!  It makes me look at it twice and say ' WAIT !  Is that CGI!?' Link:  https://movies.yahoo.com/video/boxtrolls-trailer-4-192025568.html

Link:  http://vimeo.com/87007946 BTS:  http://vimeo.com/85923309 Original film credits: Full running Time: 8 mins Director: Daisy Jacobs Producer: Chris Hees Stop Motion Animator: Chris Wilder (Chris was also recently lead animator on  Sleeping with the Fishes ) VFX artist : Janusz Tomczyk Editor: Vera Simmonds Screenwriters: Daisy Jacobs and Jennifer Majka Director of Photography: Max Williams Production Designer: Elo Soode Sound Editor/Rerecording Mixer: Jonas Andreas Jensen Composer: Huw Bunford SFX Supervisor/Online Editor/Grade: Ross Allen Principal Cast: Alisdair Simpson, Anne Cunningham, Christopher Nightingale Production Assistant Gemma Priggen

Portland based Laika studios has set it's upcoming final trailer for The BoxTrolls film to premiere at the Annecy International Festival of Animated Film on June 11.  It will be presented ahead of an open-air screening of ParaNorman , with it's writer and director Chris Butler there to into the film and participate in a Q&A season with the audience.  The final trailer will also be released via the interwebs on same day.  Based on the novel Here Be Monsters! by Alan Snow (which, I suggest you read, by the way), The BoxTrolls will arrive in U.S. and Canadian theaters September 26, 2014.  Visit    http://www.annecy.org  for more information. The  Boxtrolls  is a comedic fable that unfolds in Cheesebridge, a posh Victorian-era town obsessed with wealth, class and the stinkiest of fine cheeses. Beneath its charming cobblestone streets dwell the  Boxtrolls , foul monsters who crawl out of the sewers at night and steal what the tow...