BLOG 9
Inspired by variety
or:
Why I didn’t really know what to do with myself
In October 2016 I wasn’t sure what project to do next. I had just had a 6min short film rejected by a film festival and had just made a 1min film that was made for a specific audience, and reasonably well received. I decided to work on a series of short projects for new audiences (using a variety of materials, techniques, and subjects) with the aim of producing a short video each month and seeing where each idea led.
PUPPET MASTERS - LOTTE REINIGER (October 2016). First up, as I liked making a tribute to Jim Henson, I devised an idea for a series of puppets based on famous animators, puppeteers, and special effects artists. Lotte Reiniger, pioneering film maker famed for the first full length animated feature in 1926, The adventures of Prince Achmed and the development of the multi-plane camera. This is a nice documentary from 1970 and if you get chance to see any of her films, especially on the big screen then do take it. I only started to make the head for this puppet and decided to move onto other projects, however I did like the idea and may revisit it one day. I have 5 other heroes (puppet masters) lined up.
IT CAME FROM WITHIN THE TIN (October 2016). As it was October, I made a Halloween themed film…(4 mins long, so not really the ‘short’ project I had in mind, lol). I used to have pet spiders when I was younger (I can’t have them anymore… I’ve been told) so I decided to make a puppet spider and tell a story about how it came to life on halloween to drink the blood of its creator. I made this film in one month (from concept to completion) and Danny did an awesome creepy score (again, my favourite bit of the film). I shared the film with horror websites and groups, and despite the ropiness of the end product I enjoyed the process. However, this project reminded me that I decided to make SHORT clips each month NOT 4min movies.
MAF BEE GIF (November 2016). The Manchester Animation Festival was in November so I faced the disappointment of not being accepted by making a little gif based on their logo, and I made the bee drawing pop out from a flat piece of paper. I shared this little film with them, and they liked it, giving me a film-makers badge to say thanks. I attended the festival and it was a great event, despite not having my film on show. The ‘Puppet Masters’ conference was also on at The Waterside in November- another great event with legend Peter Firmin (see Blog 1) and Merlin Crossingham, director from Aardman. Inspiring stuff as always.
JOKER IN THE PACK (November 2016) I enjoyed the Bee gif project, so I developed an idea for another paper animation. I designed a joker playing card based on the Joker from Batman. This drawing popped out of the card, becoming 3D. I shared this film with comic fans and playing card collectors. It was a silly little project but was fun to do, and gave me some ideas and techniques for the future.
POST-IT ORIGAMI REINDEER (December 2016). I really enjoyed making 3D characters appear from a 2D space, so I decided to use my love of origami. I’ve enjoyed origami for years, and designed my own models. I chose one of these, a reindeer, to use for a little christmas film. I shared this film with origami groups, as well as my own followers.
I really enjoyed making some origami come to life, and had secretly been designing a new model for my last film of 2016. I’ll share more about this process in my next blog - thanks for reading!
Best wishes,
James
Current Project
*MORY FILM PRODUCTION* 18 seconds in the can! I managed to do some full on animation sessions and am well on the way with Mory’s film. I’m not sure when I’ll get chance to really knuckle down to it this week as I am back in work, but safe to say I can see the light at the end.
*MODEL MAKING* I managed to work a bit on the Rox and Cora models over christmas - doing some sewing for the ears and undercarriage etc. I will make more progress on these 2 models after the Mory film is finished as I will need the use workshop space (currently in ‘animation mode’) to do proper model making stuff.
*MERCHANDISE/FUNDRAISING* Connie badges arrived and have been sent out to all the customers. There are still 5 available on my shop if you would like one. I sent them out with a backing card so people with multiple (or full set) badges can keep them all together - unfortunately the little holes don’t line up on every badge because the pins are in different positions, but hey ho…
