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Video and Sound Production: Final Project

 4/25/2024

ALTAIFI, LEEN MAAN A (0367698)

Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media, Taylor's University

Video and Sound Production

Table of Content

1. Lectures

2. Instructions & Tasks

3. Reflections

1. Lectures

Refer to Video and Sound Production: Exercises


2. Instructions & Tasks

Module Information Booklet:

3 of my Favorite Stop-motion Animation films:

1. Fishboy 


Fig. 2.1: A scene from Fishboy 
Fig. 2.0: Fishboy Title Screen 

Fishboy is a short stop-motion animation film about guilt. I chose this as one of my favorites because of the storytelling, the creative textures, the lighting, and the message. Additionally, a different form of animation was used in his flashbacks to differentiate between reality and his thoughts, which I thought was interesting. The water in this film was depicted by solid materials, including jeans, that showcased the weight of the water that ultimately drowned him alive. 


2. Madame Tutli-Putli 


Fig. 2.2: A scene from Madame Tutli-Putli 
Fig. 2.3: A scene from Madame Tutli-Putli 2






Madame Tutli-Putli is a short stop-motion animation film that is up to the viewer's  interpretation. The protagonist rides a train, and a series of both fortunate and unfortunate events occur. Some would say it is a metaphor for life, or a representation of human behavior, either way-- I loved it. The mood, the direction, and the detail in animation were all amazing. There was noo dialogue in this short, so the story-telling was fully dependent on its visuals, and it did well. Everything was stop-motion and handmade about the puppet, except her eyes, which were in fact real. Everything was acted frame by frame and it was edited to match the movement of the puppet. 


3. Fantastic Mr. Fox


Fig. 2.4: A scene from Fantastic Mr. Fox 
Fig. 2.5: A scene from Fantastic Mr. Fox 








Now, this is not a short stop-motion animation film, but it is one of my favorite films of all time. It is directed by Wes Anderson, who is famous for his direction style. Fantastic Mr. Fox tells a story about a family and their struggles. It is heart-warming, touching, and comedic. I especially loved the dialogue and sound dubbing of this film. Despite it being stop-motion, it felt as if I was transported in to their universe.



Stop Motion Trial Shoot

In week 10, we did a stop-motion practice to prepare us for the final project. In this trial, we used both clay and paper for the materials, and both phone camera and DLSR camera to experience all different methods. This way, it could help us decide which materials to use for our final project.

We were divided into groups and given specific roles. I was in charge of making the clay puppet and I was the animator.

Fig. 2.7: Stop-Motion Trial Shoot Name List 2
Fig. 2.6: Stop-Motion Trial Shoot Name List 1






We shot the frame by frame animation outside the studio due to AC issues, but we managed to have good lighting and surface. Below are our animation trials using the phone camera, which my team and I were in charge of.

    


The second team were in charge of the DLSR camera. Because the camera just takes the photos, we have to upload it into a software to compile the photos. However, if you just use your phone you can use the stop motion studio app and it will export it as a video. 

Fig. 2.8: Compilation of Stop Motion frames by DLSR Camera 


I personally preferred the phone camera method, mostly because I don't own a DLSR camera anyways. Which is why I ended up using this method in my final project.



Pre-Final Project Ideas

As for now, the medium I will use for the stop-motion animation will be  mixed media. In the examples of my favorite stop-motion films, a lot of them use a combination of different media according to the scene and how they want the viewer to interpret it, and I feel like that's an interesting and creative to go about it. The thing I love most about animation is that we have complete control over the outcome with no limitations of reality, since it is entirely on our hands (quite literally.) The combination I have in mind is clay and paper.

Before I got into the real process, I made a few stop-motion animation practices using clay because that's the medium I wanted to use for the final project.


      



Fig. 2.9: Process on Stop Motion Studios App
Fig. 2.10: Process on Stop Motion Studios App 2



Because of these practices, I got familiarized with how to navigate the stop motion camera app and how to set up my tripod.

Fig. 2.11: Tripod Used for Final Project



Final Project Proposal



Final Project Process

Animating

After I've planned my theme, plot, and storyboard, and chosen my material for the project, I move on to working on the final stop-motion animation.

My animation is simple; it is composed of one protagonist and his relationship with other people. The protagonist is seen morphing to everyone's shapes because he wishes to please others above himself, but he grows sad and tired of not being accepted for who he is. In the end, at his last morphing attempt, he meets a person that accepts him for who he is.

Below, is my silly first attempt at the animation. I was trying to figure out the specific character designs and how to morph from one character to another smoothly using clay. In this attempt, I wasn't worrying about the lighting or the setting, it was just a rough attempt at the smoothness of the animation. 


After several attempts at getting right character designs, I finally move on the final drafts. The 30 second animation is divided into 3 scenes.

Scene 1: 

In the first scene, the main character (orange) walks towards the secondary character (blue). Blue notices orange walking towards him so he turns to him, but makes a sour face because he disapproves of him. Orange then morphs into Blue's shape, Blue accepts him after he morphs, orange is relieved, and they both walk away. 

Fig. 2.12: Screen Grab of Claymation 
on Stop Motion Studios App
for Scene 1


Scene 2: 

Similar to scene 1, orange walks towards another secondary character (green), green grunts in disapproval at orange, orange then morphs into green's shape, and then green accepts him smilingly. Orange begins to feel a hint of sadness, and doesn't smile back, then they both walk away.


Fig. 2.13: Screen Grab of Claymation 
on Stop Motion Studios App
for Scene 2



Scene 3: 

Lastly, in scene 3, orange walks into the scene alone feeling defeated. He lets out a sigh, then he looks to the left shocked, a character shockingly walks up to him (pink). Having used to the routine, orange begins to morph, but pink stops him before he fully morphs and says "You don't have to change. I accept you as you are." and smiles at orange. Orange smiles back and they both walk away holding hands happily.

Fig. 2.14: Screen Grab of Claymation 
on Stop Motion Studios App
for Scene 3




Video and Sound Editing

After I've exported all 3 scenes from the stop motion studios app and set it to the fps I wanted which was 6 frames per second, I import them to Microsoft Clipchamp and start editing.

First I compile the videos in order, then I cropped and aligned all the scenes uniformly so the transitions could be smooth. I also edited parts of the scenes by adding close up shots to add emphasis on the facial expressions on the characters.

Fig. 2.15: Screen Grab of Video Editing on Clipchamp




After video editing was done I start adding all the sound effects and background music. For the sounds and noises the characters make, it was voice acted by me. I recorded the sounds using my phone's microphone. The rest of the sound effects were found on Youtube, such as the walking sound and the morphing sound. And the background music is the main soundtrack from the animated movie 'Up'.

Fig. 2.16: Screen Grab of Sound Editing on
Clipchamp

Fig. 2.17: Character Sound Effect Voice
Audios Recorded By Me



I color graded the scenes all together so it would be consistent. I increased the contrast and brightness so that the colors, shadows, and lighting becomes more vivid. and I lowered the temperature slightly so that the cool tones become more visible.

Fig. 2.18: Screen Grab of Color Grading on
Clipchamp

Lastly, I added a bit of subtitles in the end to clarify what the character meant, and text for the ending screen. 

Fig. 2.19: Screen Grab of Adding Text on
Clipchamp


Final Project Video Submission



Youtube link: here
Google Drive link: here

3. Reflections

As was all of the projects, this was my first time working on stop motion animation. I chose clay for the material in my final project and it made me very nostalgic because i used to love clay modeling when I was younger, but I never tried stop motion animation. 

This project taught me a lot of patience and attention to small details. The nature of stop motion animation is a very slow paced process, and you can't rush anything or else it will not come out as you want it. So I had to really be patient recording the animation frame by frame, whilst being careful of not making any additional unnecessary movements that will result in ruining the scene. 

As a designer/artist, I never had to deal with directing or writing a script, but in this project, I learned how to deal with it.

And since we have been doing all these video editing and audio exercises, it has well prepared me for that process in this project. The editing process was very smooth cause I have prior experience now, so it was a fun process. 

Although video and sound editing is not my cup of tea, it was certainly a fun module and I learned a lot of essentials from it. I hope to use the skills I've learned from this module in my future projects. 


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