Independent Stop Motion Film

Introduction

For the past two years, I have made educational stop-motion videos for my church. At first I focused on retelling Bible stories, but for this video I decided to branch out. I used the often seen Church Mouse to explain the holiday of epiphany, and went with a script more focused on directly speaking to the audience. I posted this video on my YouTube channel as unlisted so I could add it to the website I made for my content.

Church Mouse and the Advent Wreath

My Process

First, I worked with our children’s ministry director to choose a topic for this film. We decided on the Advent Wreath, a ring of candles that marks the passage of time in Advent for Christians. Then I brainstormed some possible storytelling methods and settled on the Church Mouse, who would directly speak to the audience. After that I made a rough storyboard and got to construction. I created all sets and props by hand using craft supplies from home or Joann’s. Finally I got to filming. Filming is by far the most daunting part of the process, as it can take anywhere from 4-7 hours to film, which is a long time for a minute long film. I dedicate a work space to film so my scenes won’t be disturbed in between filming sessions. I generally film start to finish, as my storytelling films were chronological. For this film I filmed the scenes with Church Mouse talking first, and then went back and spliced in the other scenes. I did this to preserve the continuity of the Church Mouse scenes. After filming is completed, I grab my mic and go to a quiet, dampened room to record. Which happens to be the nearest clothes closet. For this film specifically I crammed myself into a 2*1 foot area in my grandparents closet. I type up a script and do each line as a separate recoding, to avoid any other sounds interfering with the audio. After I recorded the voiceover I added the music and sound effects. Then I uploaded it to my YouTube channel, added captions, and added it to my website Faith in (Stop)Motion.

Challenges

I encountered many of the same challenges with this film as I had with the others. Mainly, finding time to spend 4+ hours filming. I overcame this by using my Christmas break to do most of the work. Another challenge I encountered was planning out the actual film. I have found planning stop motions and making a script to be very difficult, as I have to make the script after the footage is already recorded, because I don’t know ahead of time how many pictures I would need to account for any chosen dialogue. I go into filming with a general plan, but any specific scripting is done in post production. For this film I decided to try something new that I learned from my film class. I drew up a storyboard with rough dialogue and general movements sketched out. I found this storyboard to be extremely helpful, and it is definitely a strategy I will be using in the future. The final challenge I encountered was the voiceover and sound. I was able to borrow a lavelier microphone from my youth pastor which greatly improved the audio quality. I also used sound effects to a greater effect in this film than the prior ones I had made. I found royalty free Christmas music to use as background sound, and for the sound of church bells I actually recorded the sound of my grandparents grandfather clock.

Reflection

This is by far the best stop-motion film I’ve made so far. I have noticed considerable changes and improvement with each iteration as I become more experienced with the art form and technology. There are a few things about this film that I feel I really improved upon. First, the voiceover. This was my first time recording each line separately and it really improved the end product. It was more time consuming but well worth it. I also was more ambitious with how many different scenes I had in the film. There was a lot of switching back and forth between different perspectives, which paid off in the audience engagement. My script this time was a lot more engaging, as I went with a speaking directly to the audience approach. The addition of background music really helped the awkward silence that would happen in between lines, and made the final product a lot more polished. There are things I would like to improve. In the future I would like to use materials that hold their shape better so I can have more consistent continuity throughout the film. I also want to create more iterations of the storyboard before filming and plan out shots more extensively, because I believe I am now experienced enough to have a better idea of how many pictures would correlate to different scenes. A more comprehensive plan would also prevent me from having to go back and record extra time in a scene or even extra scenes, which can be hard to do if I’ve already changed the set. It would also help the audio to line up with the video better. The final thing I would like to improve is the length. A longer film, 3-4 minutes, would be a big commitment and challenge, but I would like to try my hand at longer storytelling through this medium. Overall I am very proud of this film. It is better than what I made before, and while it still has flaws, it serves as a valuable stepping stone in the development of my skills.

Session 5 Team 2 Production Project

film

film” by popturfdotcom is marked with CC BY 2.0.

SUMMARY

Role

Editor

Intention (SMART Goal)

By May 6th, as part of team 2, I will create a found footage film with no visible edits by using a tutorial on hiding cuts.

PRE-PRODUCTION – INQUIRY

Leader(s) in the Field / Exemplary Work(s)

Brenna Rangott

Brenna Rangott is known for Host (2020), Run Fatboy Run (2007) and One of Those Days (2008). 

Excerpt from Host (2020)

Uses camera movements and changes in fullscreen to hide cuts.

Possible hidden cut fade to black

Possible hidden cut whip transition

Training Source(s)

CuesNotes
1917movie looks like one long take, has iconic one shot scene
Useful
camera turns off, hide cut
Dip to black/white: camera passes over very dark of light spot, same exposure tricks human eye.

Doesn’t need huge set up, can be done on iPhone.
Not useful. would require moving cameraFrameblock transition: subject passes very close to camera, use mask on one side of frame to hide cut.
Not useful. Necessary movement too fastWhip pan transition: Hide cut in fast pan shot
Conclusion: Film one take as much as possible. Use the cameras turning off or empty screens to hide cuts.

Project Timeline

March 21st – April 26th pre production

March 23rd pitch #1

March 30th pitch #2

April 26th be done with pre production

practice shoot 27th and 28th

Start filming by 29th

Be done filming by May 4th

May 5th record necessary sounds

May 5th – 9th editing

May 9th check everything

May 10th present

Proposed Budget

NA

PRODUCTION – ACTION

The (FILM, SOUND, or GAME Creation)

Film

Skills Commentary

Slideshow

In this session, I focused on creating a cohesive story through hidden edits. I used transitions to and from full screen to hide the cuts between takes and make it seem like one take. I did not accomplish this as well as I had hoped, as I was out with Covid for a week and a half and had never worked with premiere pro before. But I achieved the minimum viable product, which I consider a success given the circumstances. A way I could have improved the storytelling is by having the camera turning on/off in the fullscreen rather than in between full and normal screen.

POST-PRODUCTION – REFLECTION

21st Century Skills

Ways of Thinking (Creativity, Innovation, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving)

Wow was there some problem solving in this session. I got Covid about three days into production, with only one take of one shot filmed. I was then home for the next week and a half. All of my preparation was on my computer at school, unable to be accessed from home. The way I problem solved this is using the group chat my group created at the beginning of the session, having Mr. Le Duc send my editing prep to me, and editing from home on my own computer.

Ways of Working (Communication & Collaboration)

My group and I had to collaborate a lot to pull this film off. I communicated my needs to them, and they sent me what they filmed so I could edit. Then I would tell them what I need to be changed, and so on. We created a group chat at the beginning of the session, which proved to be incredibly useful. We were able to communicate clearly and efficiently.

Tools for Working (Info & Media Literacy)

I have never used premiere pro before. This was an extremely ambitious project. I used a lot of youtube tutorials to figure out even the first thing about editing. I was able to use those tutorials to create a film mimicking a zoom call with no prior experience.

Ways of Living in the World (Life & Career)

I had to improvise for this project a lot. The final version did not match our storyboard, as I could only work with what my group filmed. However I managed to create a cohesive story with what I was given.

Reactions to the Final Version

You could have built the suspense more. It felt like it moved really fast. -Jaden

The concept was very creative and original. -James

You should clarify the intended killer. One option is to use a reflection in glasses worn by one of the characters. -Tim

Self-Evaluation of Final Version

This film is not what I hoped it would be. We experienced a lot of setbacks and unexpected roadblocks. However, i am pleased with what we produced given the circumstances. My goal was to create a film that accurately resembled a zoom meeting and hid cuts between shots, and I believed I accomplished this quite well.

Simple: The concept is very simple, a zoom class where an unknown force takes out the attendees one by one. It was perhaps too simple, leaving too much room for speculation.

Unexpected: We attempted to make the occurrences unexpected. However, they did not feel unexpected because of the lack of pacing and sound effects.

Credible: It looks remarkably like a zoom meeting, which adds to the believability of the story.

Stories: We had a cohesive story in the storyboard. It was lost in production due to the aforementioned setbacks. There was no thread that tied the various occurrences together, there were just a lot of things happening after one another.

Grammar and Spelling

Grammarly

Editor

Orion

Untitled

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUscbH7EbeE

I chose this scene because it is pretty similar to some parts of our film. Like our film, it starts out very innocent and slowly becomes more and more sinister. Then it ends with a jump scare of a character being dragged off screen and presumably killed. This matches up with several moments in our film, but most specifically the scene where the arm is dragged off screen.

CuesNotes
How does the atmosphere contribute to the jumpscare of being dragged off screen?

How does being dragged off to the side differ from being dragged towards the background?

Should it be more startling or subtle?


Should the hand move or be still? (person awake/alive or no)

How would having Georgie just disappear into the sewer with no build up compare to the original scene?

Should there be music in our film? honestly leaning towards no having seen this scene. it just takes away from the tension
Everything seems pretty normal at first

Actually not that much of a jump scare. Maybe such an iconic scene it’s too predictable?

Slow drag off almost makes it scarier. Like it’s inevitable

the music is too loud. takes away from the scare.

Let the viewer sit in the aftermath. the still shot of the drain is just as scary as the other parts

we can’t see what drags him off. We know, but it is obscured. we only see his face and upper body.
This scene wasn’t super applicable to our film, but it was the closest I could find on YouTube. The most important parts are the limiting of what the viewer can see and letting the moment sit and the tension just hang. Also we either should not use music or should make it very quiet.

Andrew Stanton Storytelling

CueNotes
Story like a thesis?

How do you make a promise?


What are my conditions for life?


How can you use wonder in horror?
“Storytelling is joke telling.” All parts of story
leading to singular goal

Make me care. Make it worth my time.

make the audience put things together. dont overexplain

give central motivations to characters, “spines”, not always positive. “life is never static” give underlying tension

“stop signs are suggestions!” people live life conditionally. play by the rules as long as conditions are met, after that all bets are off

make them stop and wonder
Summary: Stories are human. Use what you know. All people are pretty darn similar at their core. There are no solid rules. Better films have been made by amateurs following their gut than experts who went to school for it. Write what you know. “know your lane, stay in it, drive fast.” People want to care. Make something that you can see yourself in, and others will do the same.

Story of Film – Episode 2 – The Hollywood Dream

Early 60s film books
Early 60s film books” by JohnGreenaway is marked with CC BY-SA 2.0.

1918-1928: The Triumph of American Film…

…And the First of its Rebels

Session 4 Production Project

movie
“movie” by van Ort is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

SUMMARY

Role

Sound Designer

Intention (SMART Goal)

I will by, March 2nd as a part of team 1 have completed a short film using a Rhythm,in order to speak to the viewers in a certain sort of way, with the help of {source} to gain further knowledge on Rhythm in our session 4 project.I will explore the film Sound Designer’s skill pathway by following The Visual Story by Bruce Block and will have created scenes that shows rhythm.

PRE-PRODUCTION – INQUIRY

Leader(s) in the Field / Exemplary Work(s)

Richard Francis Bruce

Training Source(s)

The Visual Story by Bruce Block

Project Timeline

Thursday 24: Filming

Friday 25: Filming

Monday 28: Post production (editing)

Tuesday 1: Post production (editing)

Wednesday 2: Evidence due

Thursday 3: Post production (editing)

Friday 4: Export film and prepare for presentation

Monday 7: Present!

Proposed Budget

$0

No additional supplies needed

PRODUCTION – ACTION

The (FILM, SOUND, or GAME Creation)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LS6c_Pcz7OgFt7SFLu-OeOBEXWVRjR5Y/view?usp=sharing

Skills Commentary

Josh and I collaborated on the sound design of our film, and divided the tasks. During this production session I learned how to use the audio decks, which I had never done before. Unfortunately due to a technical malfunction, the audio I recorded was not usable, but I am prepared for the next session. I also learned to utilize my resources. I had recorded room tone for the last project I worked on, and was able to reuse the audio for this project. I also built on my skills in using Garage Band. I was able to make a usable film soundtrack with the desired tone in only half an hour, when previously it took me several days. This audio was also not used in the final project.

My SMART goal is evident in the film in the background. This film is about conflict between two friends, so we decided to use a room with a busy background to establish a complex rhythm that conveys a sense of conflict.

POST-PRODUCTION – REFLECTION

21st Century Skills

Ways of Thinking (Creativity, Innovation, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving)

I came into this production session a week late. This meant that I had to adapt to jumping into the middle of a project, and work with another person as a sound designer. I was pretty busy outside of school, so when I could I reused audio from previous projects to save time.

Ways of Working (Communication & Collaboration)

During this project I did not collaborate as much as I usually would, due to my late entry to the group. Instead I mostly just followed instructions given by the other members who were part of the decision making process. It is usually very hard for me to take a backseat in group projects, as I want everything to go perfectly and view it as my responsibility to take charge. This time I really focused on staying in my lane. This did lead to some of my contributions going unused, but it was in the best interest of the project.

Tools for Working (Info & Media Literacy)

I did not get as much out of this session as I would have hoped due to outside circumstances. I utilized very few tools outside of my own experience.

Ways of Living in the World (Life & Career)

Adapting to a new situation that is already underway is a necessary skill int his world. I will not always have all the information, and I need to be able to function in that situation. This session gave me more experience working in that setting.

Reactions to the Final Version

Interesting use of odd shapes for rhythm. -James

Self-Evaluation of Final Version

Our final version was okay. I was surprised by a lot of the choices made, as I was not a part of that process. I would have liked to be more involved in the sound design, and I think the soundtrack I created would have helped the tone of our movie a lot. In the future I will try and get involved more in the editing stage of production.

What I Learned and Problems I Solved

I did not do much work in this session, and did not come across any problems to be solved. I did learn how to use GarageBand more effectively, and drastically cut down the time needed to create a film soundtrack.

Grammar and Spelling

Spellcheck

Editor

Jonas

Visual Story Structure Research TEMPLATE

“Book” by Kamil Porembiński is licensed under

Seven Visual Story Components

CueNotes
how do we use distance?Space
complex=deep space
simple=shallow space
emphasize longitudinal planes for deep space, eliminate for shallow
using shapes and lines of environment.Line and Shape
subject trapped (by circumstance, conundrum, whatever)? inside closed shape, like doorway
what does the subject look like?Tone
non coincidence: tonal range obscures subject
coincidence:
 Color theoryColor
baby driver. shirt white to black as protagonist is “corrupted”
saturation and desaturation support vibe
 Rhythm of movementMovement
Running past pillars then picket fence. contrast
 Backgrounds pattern vs no?Rhythm
Internal monologue. Empty=smooth. conflict=complicated
  

Summary

Resources

Production Project Session Three

SUMMARY

Role

Sound Editor

Intention (SMART Goal)

By January 28, as part of film class, I will utilize the video on the andalusian cadence by Signals Music Studios to establish ambience and tone through sound design in our Session 3 project.

PRE-PRODUCTION – INQUIRY

Leader(s) in the Field / Exemplary Work(s)

Donald Sylvester

Sound Editor of Ford vs. Ferrari

I chose this expert because I watched the movie Ford vs. Ferrari some time ago and really loved how absolutely immersive the sound design was. You felt as if you were actually there.

Training Source(s)

Video about the Andalusian Cadence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbeRVJMT5CY

1:58 What is the Andalusian Cadence?

2:36 What to play over chords.

4:49 Using suspended chords.

5:16 Percussion

Project Timeline

Pre Production: January 4th- January 21st

Production: January 24th-January 25th

Post Production: January 26th- February 2nd

Proposed Budget

$5 for some tinfoil and a bar of chocolate.

PRODUCTION – ACTION

The (FILM, SOUND, or GAME Creation)

Movie

Skills Commentary

Evidence Slideshow

POST-PRODUCTION – REFLECTION

21st Century Skills

Ways of Thinking (Creativity, Innovation, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving)

For this production session I was sound designer for the first time. I jumped into the middle of this role with no prior experience and no background with the role evidence required. I adapted, spent a lot of time researching, and created sound for our film that wasn’t exceptional but communicated our chosen genres. I didn’t know how to use any of the sound equipment, so I improvised. I had a lavalier mic at home that I used to record all of the foley sounds with a voice recorder app on my phone. I also taught myself how to compose music in GarageBand. I improvised, adapted, and overcame.

Ways of Working (Communication & Collaboration)

I communicated a lot with the editor and director in terms of what we wanted for sound, and how best to get our point across. I also collaborated with the screenwriter to make a list of required sound effects.

Tools for Working (Info & Media Literacy)

I utilized many tutorials to achieve the desired result with the sound design. I taught myself sound design from scratch and learned how to use GarageBand and compose music with no prior experience through videos and experimentation. I also watched a few episodes of a telenovela to better understand that music usually used in that genre. I found Trello to be very useful this session, and used it to keep track of all of my tasks.

Ways of Living in the World (Life & Career)

The skills I demonstrated in this session will be useful later in my life. At the beginning, I didn’t know enough about sound design to understand the objective. But through a lot of research and persistence, I was able to bring my skill, somewhat unconventionally, up to the level it needed to be.

Reactions to the Final Version

“The best organized audio evidence this session.” -Mr. Le Duc

Self-Evaluation of Final Version

I did very well with what I was given, especially considering that I had no prior experience. The main thing that I would like to improve next session is to collaborate with the editor more. The sound effects were good, but they didn’t all match up with the footage or final product very well timing and volume wise. I also think now that I have a base song to work with, I could make some edits and tailor it to our film better.

What I Learned and Problems I Solved

I learned how to use GarageBand and how to utilize the Andalusian Cadence in songwriting. One problem that I solved was my sporadic absences during this cycle. The equipment I needed to record sound was at school, so instead I recorded myself playing my piano at home and used the GarageBand mobile app. I stayed on top of my tasks even when gone, and ensured that my material was delivered on time.

Grammar and Spelling

Built in google grammar check

Editor

whatever Film Theory Research

Read one of the film theories in this article: Research Film Theory

CueNotes
Film theory: What is it? Abrams: Great works reflect environment or illuminate hidden parts
Ten major lenses to analyze film
New historicism




Knowledge and power


Victors write history
Arose in 70’s and 80’s
Just watching a film not enough. What is the historical context/events that led to it?
Films are preservations of ideologies of certain eras
Movement guided by Michael Foucault
Knowledge is bound to language, therefore so is power
Power: Ability to shape world around you
History determines narrative
Birth of a Nation shows how perspective affects interpretation
Applications:The Dark KnightJoker’s perspective of Batman’s “help” is New Historicism
Intentions do not change results

Summary

Story of Film- Episode 1- Birth of the Cinema

Episode 1 – Birth of the Cinema[edit]

Introduction

1895-1918: The World Discovers a New Art Form or Birth of the Cinema

1903-1918: The Thrill Becomes Story or The Hollywood Dream