Stop Motion Geek

From a young age, Frank Harper – a model maker on Aardman’s latest stop motion feature film, Early Man – was fascinated with practical effects-driven films like Jim Henson’s Labyrinth and Dark Crystal , as well as the work of the legendary special effects artist Ray Harryhausen. Harper, however, doubted that work in the practical effects industry could prove a sustainable career. “So for ages I just went through the motions,” Harper tells Stop Motion Geek. “I left school, got a rubbish job (in a factory that made glasses!) and thought that that was my lot in life, sadly.” It wasn’t until this chapter in his life had gone on for several years that he came to the realization that he wanted to craft a career for himself doing something that he was truly passionate about. Hobnob and Dug (Eddie Redmayne) in Early Man . Photo courtesy of Aardman. This burning desire to search for a career he was passionate about led Harper to enroll at the City of Bristol College in an Access to Hig...

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...

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...

Dolly Said No To Elvis  cover image. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert. It’s a beautiful thing to see an artist – whether budding amateur or an experienced professional – stand up for themselves when in the face of a “business” decision. It’s the moment when an artist who knows their own worth and the worth of their work puts their foot down and stands by their own fortitude, even when they know that doing so could very well affect their reputation, at least in the short-run. Yet, such an display of resolve in quite a large number of artists is so often – sadly, too often – a rarity. For one reason or another, the bane of many artists seems their willingness to bend to external “business” and financial demands when it comes between them and their art. The reasons for conceding are often complex and intertwined. For some, it might be a decision that’s made for financial reasons and the simple fact that an artistic career can so often be a hard thing to sustain and take ...