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Description
I recently decided to do some more studying in the area of the stop motion video technique. I have done similar studies in the past, but felt like doing some more.

The problems i usually run into is getting my "actor" to stand in the various positions between walk frames. Usually it ends up looking like a zombie walk, because the balance of the clay model does not allow him to stand with one foot in mid air, while the other one is planted on the ground. He will simply drop to the ground. Also, it's hard to do this when you are only 1 person working on it. Not only do i have to remember what frame i have to do next, but i also have to take the shots, thus removing my focus from the scene and flow of the movement.
Another problem is that you must by no means move around any of the object in the vicinity of the shooting area. I could easily have stumbled over the camera tripod, or accidentally bump into the table or any such thing.
I also had great trouble getting the clayman to actually push the buttons on the keyboard, since he wasn't keen on keeping the keys pressed while i took the pictures. It was a bit frustrating, but i succeeded.

After taking all the 420 pictures needed for this small video, i went through every single one of them using the Gimp(Graphics Image Manipulation Program). Thank god(well, not that i believe in god, but it's just an expression) for automation! The Gimp also has some neat plugins for frame-by-frame video editing, and i could then render the video.
The sound was applied afterwards, using some simple keyboard and mouse sounds i've recorded using my ADK Condenser microphone.

I will continue looking into new and better ways of making things float in mid-air. I have many ideas that might work.

My conclusion to this little project is that stop motion is extremely hard, but also fun to work with. It can be a very powerful creative tool if you want to express some sort of artistic extravaganza.

Description
I recently decided to do some more studying in the area of the stop motion video technique. I have done similar studies in the past, but felt like doing some more.

The problems i usually run into is getting my "actor" to stand in the various positions between walk frames. Usually it ends up looking like a zombie walk, because the balance of the clay model does not allow him to stand with one foot in mid air, while the other one is planted on the ground. He will simply drop to the ground. Also, it's hard to do this when you are only 1 person working on it. Not only do i have to remember what frame i have to do next, but i also have to take the shots, thus removing my focus from the scene and flow of the movement.
Another problem is that you must by no means move around any of the object in the vicinity of the shooting area. I could easily have stumbled over the camera tripod, or accidentally bump into the table or any such thing.
I also had great trouble getting the clayman to actually push the buttons on the keyboard, since he wasn't keen on keeping the keys pressed while i took the pictures. It was a bit frustrating, but i succeeded.

After taking all the 420 pictures needed for this small video, i went through every single one of them using the Gimp(Graphics Image Manipulation Program). Thank god(well, not that i believe in god, but it's just an expression) for automation! The Gimp also has some neat plugins for frame-by-frame video editing, and i could then render the video.
The sound was applied afterwards, using some simple keyboard and mouse sounds i've recorded using my ADK Condenser microphone.

I will continue looking into new and better ways of making things float in mid-air. I have many ideas that might work.

My conclusion to this little project is that stop motion is extremely hard, but also fun to work with. It can be a very powerful creative tool if you want to express some sort of artistic extravaganza.