A little stop-mo animation for a friend.

Just a little video made with still photos and imovie. Jed and Tito haven't got internal armatures, so there's not a whole lot of movement at this point, but it was fun to put together. I guess I need to think about how to make them into stop motion puppets with external armatures, or make some puppets based on them. Hmmmm...

Finished Cabin Set (interior & exterior)

I finally finished the cabin set and took it outside for a wee photo shoot.
[click on photos to see a larger image]




The interior is all finished too, except for a few minor things like drapes and the finishing off of the floor so it no longer resembles a piece of plywood.







And again I was lousy at taking photos as I was making it, but here's a few of the roof and walls being constructed. The roof is made out of Shreddies cereal glued onto cardboard and then painted and spray-coated with acrylic medium.



To see previously posted photos of the making of the cabin (click here).
To see photos of the rest of the western town sets (click here), or just scroll down the page.

Coming next: Solving puppet problems.

Thanks for stopping by!

Fantastic Mr Fox & Photos from Halfland (finally)

I've been reading a lot about the making of Wes Anderson's, Fantastic Mr Fox, which premiered in London last week, and what intrigues me most, is how Anderson directed the film - via email - by sending off little clips of himself acting out scenes and nuances for the animators to replicate with the puppets.

A Los Angeles Times article, Fur flies on 'Mr. Fox', further highlights the frustrations of director of photography Tristan Oliver, director of animation Mark Gustafson, and art director Nelson Lowry regarding Anderson's off-site directing style. Personally, I can't imagine Anderson not being on-set during the filming/animating, but all that acting out of scenes he did has given me some ideas of how to storyboard Wanted without having to hand draw every shot; I just need to film myself acting out all the actions. HA! Hmmm... Anyway, I'm anxiously awaiting the film's release after seeing this behind the scenes featurette of the making of it. And here's the film's official trailer.

HALFLAND!
And finally, after months since my visit to Shelley Nobel's (Notes From Halfland) home and set in L.A. in June, I finally (late due to technical difficulties) have a few photos to post. I love the photo of Shelley peering out of her cabin set window at Jed, and cherish the little robins egg/nest pin she created for me. She is a lovely soul and a true artiste! I cannot wait to see Shelley's film when it's completed; her sets and props are amazing. Check her out!

Halfland!

We're going to California for a couple weeks and one of the highlights will be going to see Halfland, as well as my heretofore most favorite place on earth, The Museum of Jurassic Technology, among other fun an exciting adventures. So excited!

The Log Cabin Set - interior

Finally! I've got the log cabin set finished off enough to post about it! There's still lots of little details to do, like wall hangings and window trim, wall extenders, the exterior and roof, but it's getting there! The scale of this set is 1:6 (click photos to enlarge). To see pics of the Saloon, General Store, and Jail sets (click here).





Building the walls:
I used fallen branches for the logs, ones that had been on the ground and dried out for some time. I tried to find straight branches. It's really hard to find straight branches. I then peeled off the bark and smaller off shoots and cut them to length. I then glued them together with wood glue and then used a tube of dap to caulk in between them.



Building the Stone Fireplace:
I built a simple wooden box and then set out to the beach with my sister-in law and nephew to hunt for small rocks. I then covered the box with a layer of Polyfilla compound and placed the stones into the compound to set. I then faux finished the grout and rocks a bit to look more authentic. Then I made a little wooden mantel and seat, stained them, added a little fireplace insert I found in a shop in Victoria BC, some little bits of chopped branches, and voila, fireplace complete!



Props and Furniture:
I wasn't very good at documenting the processes of building many of the smaller furnishings and props, but most are just made out scrap wood and then stained or painted. Twig chair was fun. Am working on a twig bed.



Thanks for stopping by! There's more WANTED sets below (click here).

Recent Thrift Stores Finds

Thrift Stores can be a great source for miniature set dec and props, but it's often a case of luck when it comes to finding just what you're looking for. Wanted is a western, so I need things that look old and like they'd be found in a western. I was lucky the past few days to find several items at 4 different thrift stores, all of it in the right scale, and all of it for less than $20 bucks! Below are some of the items I scored.



How cool is that covered wagon? It was only $4 bucks and came with a rifle, a powder horn canteen, and an ammo bag! It's missing a wheel, but that's no big whoop. I also got some miniature kerosene lamps, a cuckoo clock, saddles for our horses, a cash register, some pots and pans, a slot machine, a fan, a victrola, a coffee grinder, a little cupboard, and some bags full of wood scraps. SCORE!

The Set, as of today. 1:6 scale (roughly)

Here's a few current photos of the set: saloon and general store. The exterior facade(s) are removable/movable, as are the internal walls. There will be a rooming-house room located above the store (still to be made), and the jail needs some finishing. The whole set has been built out of recycled materials: old art supplies, cardboard, scraps of wood, used coffee stir sticks, bits and bobs, thrift store finds. I'm not sure if I'm going to try filming the exterior shots with a green-screen, or if I'm going to construct a full background set. Time will tell.







This last photo was taken some months ago, and the saloon has changed a lot since then, but it gives a view of the set with "actors" in place.

Supreme Zero (Jed's acting debut)

This is the first little movie Jed ever starred in. It also stars Tito, his little monkey side-kick. It's live-action, not stop-motion, but Jed did perform all his own stunts. Hopefully WANTED won't be so hokey.