This week, we had individual tutorials with the professor to double check and ask question about our critical report ongoing work process.
After passing last week researching sources for my critical report, I found two documentaries in YouTube about the making of The Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton and Henry Selick (BbaGumpSkrimp, 2012), and the making of The Boxtrolls’ dance scene by LAIKA Studios (LAIKA Studios, 2018), where it was really well explained the techniques and the process followed to make these two stop motion animations: one with traditional stop motion and the second mixing stop motion and CGI (Computer Generated Imagery).
Then I decided to go to the UAL Library and check some books related to stop motion animation and CGI. Digging into the animation section, I found two books: Basics Animation C4: Stop-Motion (Purves, 2010), and Cracking Animation: The Aardman Book of 3-D Animation (Lord and Sibley, 2015)
In Basics Animation C4: Stop-Motion book (Purves, 2010) it is explained the origins of stop motion animation and its development until today’s techniques. I chose this book for my critical report because it also analysed stop motion elements such as the lack of motion blur in this discipline and how it was solved, the texture, lighting, realism, and detail that can be achieved with the addition of CGI, and as counter argument to this last statement, the unique personality that traditional stop motion offers.
Cracking Animation: The Aardman Book of 3-D Animation focuses in the process followed by Aardman to create his iconic clay animation, and also explains various 3D animation techniques, and the history and evolution of stop motion. I focused in the stop motion history and evolution section as it was really well explained and it also offers some insides about The Nightmare Before Christmas.
I also found some books I already own, like Stop Motion: Craft Skills for Model Animation (Shaw, 2017), which explains the different techniques that can be used in stop motion animation from modelling to filming tips.
This research plus a brief chat with the professor already gave me a rough idea of how the structure of my critical report is going to be and it also helped me to set the title: How CGI has enhanced or affected the stop motion production and result, taking as reference The Nightmare before Christmas and The Boxtrolls stop motion animations. The possible structure I out together looks like the following:
- Abstract
- Intro
- What is the critical report going to explain?
- Main Body
- Where did stop motion come from and when and why CGI made its appearance in this discipline?
- Pros and cons from both techniques separately.
- How can CGI help stop motion to be more cost and time effective?
- How are stop motion and CGI techniques put together to achieve a better result?
- How is the mix of these two techniques affecting the quality and aesthetic of the animation, and how nostalgia can influence when taking the decision of using traditional stop motion?
- Is traditional stop motion becoming obsolete as CGI is developing into more refined techniques to reach and match the quality and aesthetic from traditional stop motion?
- How are animation studios approaching stop motion animation like LAIKA Studios or Aardman Studios?
- Conclusion
References
BbaGumpSkrimp (2012) The Making of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas [online video]. 30 January. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLw-Fo8uhis [Accessed: 12 November 2022].
LAIKA Studios (2018) Making the Dance: A Look Behind the Scenes at The Boxtrolls | LAIKA Studios [online video]. 27 March. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxexaE4Ge70 [Accessed: 12 November 2022].
Lord, P. and Sibley, B. (2015) Cracking Animation: The Aardman Book of 3-D Animation. 4th edn. London: Thames & Hudson.
Purves, B. (2010) Basics Animation C4: Stop-Motion. Switzerland: AVA Publishing SA.
Shaw, S. (2017) Stop Motion: Craft Skills for Model Animation. 3rd edn. Florida: CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group.