While stop motion animation, in many ways, there is a completely different world, there are actually some amazing similarities with 3D animation! Still we had some questions, and the animator for the Annie of Jeff Relay-Lika-and the BAFTA-winner-winner, Nominee Cubo and two wires-Cyod likes to work in stop motion animation, on this it is enough to give us a depth behind a deep. Wow, it was a mouth -filled list of the awards. Go Cubo!
-Min Animation Mentor Crew
Animation Mentor: Motion Animation vs. The main challenges to prevent other types of animation are unique?
Jeff relay: I think the biggest difference is not a chance to refine your work. In stop motion feature animation it is specific to receive a rehearsal, (shot at 2 or 3, so shooting 2 or 3 pictures for each situation), and then you do the final shot. On a complex shot, or with a camera trick, you can find a blocked pass (near 4 and 6).
The goal of all stop motion animators is that rehearsal looks as good as possible so that you have the least change in the shot. Sometimes it may mean that there is no change from rehearsal to final shot. The second time this means throwing all this and going to the final shot blind.
The animator and the director will have to look at the rehearsal very closely and decide every small change that will improve the shot. This is our only chance to sweeten a currency, correct time or clarify choreography.
I envy the ability of CG animators and 2D animators to play with time and vacancy, experiment with various options and are able to give very little details at any point in the process. It is impossible to eliminate a shot in stop motion and some small mistakes or details cannot be seen that could have been better. Not being able to go back and fix them can be painful!
However, I have heard that many CG animators have complained of killing a shot or have subsequent their shots in production later, the things that I do not worry about, because we shot once and live with the results.
Jeff Riley worked hard Cubo and two wires © Laika Studio
Some other unique challenges? Gravity. If something is in the air, you need to find a way to catch it, frame-by-frame.
Another other occurs when two characters are touching, because transferring one puppet moves another. In this case there will be a specific frame: move the character #1 to place, take the character #2 to place, double check character #1 (which is now out of place). Repeat.
In addition, it can be difficult to animate many characters at a time. Say that it is 15 letters, each character should be in character and unique – that to think about 150 fingers. If they have hair to conscious … then I don’t even want to think about it.
AM: What is your favorite thing about being a stop motion animator?
Jeff: It is difficult for me to narrow all those things that I like to be a stop motion animator for a specific thing. I love walking under the hallway in the huge warehouse, in which we work and all new sets come to life. The first time with a ready puppet viewing. The amount of amazing artistry that goes to make every aspect of a stop motion film, especially a Laika film, blows my mind every time.
Jeff relay, Cubo and two wires Time Lack Animation © Laika Studio
I also love the struggle that goes into every shot. There is nothing as planned. Sometimes. Without failing, every shot I have ever worked, will reach a point where it is on the verge of the entire disaster, where I am close to shouting and breaking everything, and starting. Maybe I have done a little course with my rehearsal, and I am not sure how I can probably make my next focus mark or pose. Or, perhaps something I planned would not be just working, and I would need to make a big change on the fly.
Sometimes some accidents combine at once to offer a wonderful gift for shot and you have to decide whether to go for a new idea or live with the original plan, perhaps putting the shot at risk for this brilliant new idea. In these moments the shot can also surprise the animator and create a performance that can never be repeated again as puppet, light and camera.
Drawing a special frame that places the shot back on the track or makes a special moment, it can be pranlar, even if it will pass by the audience in the blink of an eye.
AM: What is like working with touchable rigs – do they break? Do they wear outside or require maintenance?
Jeff: Working with a touchable rig, puppet, can be challenging. The puppet needs to be strengthened enough to keep its weight. The inner joints have to be sufficient enough to turn the puppet material and the wholesale of the dress, but is still sufficient to get a subtle performance. Often it is difficult to find a sweet space where you can achieve that subtle movement and hold the joint position.
Clothes and hair can become the most difficult task to conscious on your shot and be limited where you can touch the puppet. On a puppet like a monkey from Kubo, we had to prepare prominent places, where we could stick a tea-bar in a puppet because touching the real puppet caused all types of hair to get nonsense.
Jeff relay Fishing Kubo’s Hair © Lica Studio
Every few shots you can participate in some very big problems, such as loose, a finger breakdown, or silicon skin stunning. In most cases, a person from the puppet hospital can come on your set and make a delicate surgical repair.
AM: What are the main differences in your acting approach with Stop Motion vs. 3D animation?
Jeff: Overall, I think 3D animator and stop motion animators act in a similar way. The principles of animation and quality acting apply equally to both. Similarly, the desired end result of both mediums is the same. In Laika, we usually try to shoot our own live action reference to fulfill some ideas before shooting. It looks similar to a lot of computer animation workflow.
I think a difference between the two is how difficult some things can be in each medium. A super micro -moving hold is relatively easy in computer animation and perhaps some keys can be achieved quickly with the manipulation of the frame. In stop motion, the puppet is trying to increase that small-to-sight-growing, it is just the most difficult task you can do, especially if the stop motion animator takes the puppet very far and has to try to return it. A full day can be spent on a super micro -moving hold.
Another challenge for stop motion animator is hair and clothes. For example, Kubo had about 20 strands in each frame with its simplest hair wig, which had too much with some of their stunt wigs. Most shots have a secondary part of hair performance. You do not want to pull the eyes of the audience, but it should still be correct. Animating 20 wire strands of hair and bending them with small devices such as X-acto knives takes a huge amount of time and concentration with each frame.
Clothes can be the same. Animating the flying air through the kimono of Kubo is a good detail and it needs to look right, but it may mean that Kimono will have to cohabit here and there directly for 5 or 10 minutes with your fingers.
While spending all your time with hair and clothes, it can be easy to focus on the overall acting of a shot (head, eye, body) which is very important for performing. The more the characters in the shot, the more complex it becomes! In computer animation you can have hair and clothes on a separate pass and really focus on one thing at a time.
AM: Which characters/scenes you have worked Cubo and two wiresWhat were your favorite?
Beware: spoiled
Jeff: I have spent most of my time time Cubo and two wires Animating three main characters (kubo, monkey and beetle) on the leaf boat since Kubo, until the fighting begins. In Laika, we have the privilege of achieving large parts of shots in a row, which actually lets you get deep in acting options in a sequence. There were a lot of subtle feelings and changes in the relationships of the characters, so I was really assigned to it.
Cubo and The to Straws © Laika Studio
My favorite part of Chetan was a bow and arrow lesson. It is essentially a scene between a father and a son, and as a father and as a son had lots of real -life experiences to draw me.
Thinking about happy moments from his childhood was really fun to spend his weeks on that part of the sequence of thinking, as well as trying to infect those feelings in puppets.
It was also really fun that all beetle’s arms were trying to come up with choreography.
AM: What was the most challenging part of working Cubo and two wiresWhy?
Jeff: The most challenging part of working on Kubo for me was some more serious acting moments on the boat. As the Kubo becomes more comfortable with the monkey and the beetle, he starts opening them and tells them about his past. The dialogue becomes surprisingly serious and warm, and I felt a great responsibility to ensure that Kubo’s acting was honestly as well as realistic for a young child. These shots were the heart of the sequence and I knew that they should be right to work that scene.
Thanks, Jeff! We are all going to see CuboAnd CoralineAnd we can think about every other stop motion movie and now get out.
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