Monster Movie Productions

Having discussed the idea of using audio in our next film we were very inspired by the fab clip that Bob linked to in the comments of the previous post of the flashing Christmas decorations on a house in time to music. Monster decided to make something out of geomags to animate and after some experimentation with a 3d upright robot which didn’t work we decided to use a flat character on the floor that could dance to music.

The figure built we got out the tripod and set the shot up and Monster did the moving of the figure and the taking pictures himself. We had much discussion about what music to use and eventually decided ‘I like to move it move it’ as used in the film Madagascar would be a good choice. We had originally aimed to actually dance in time to the music but realised how ambitious this was and just went with dancing. We decided to repeat our shots rather than keep taking pictures so the finished film is actually each shot used twice over.

As previously it was a huge learning curve with lots of lessons and ideas coming along as went. I think our next goal is going to be to look more at movement and work on perhaps producing a shorter clip with more detail and more thought and planning - maybe using storyboards or some of the techniques we’ve seen on ‘making of’ dvd extras and at the Pixar exhibition we went to at the Science Museum in London earlier this year where real people are filmed to capture the movements of the body etc. Another idea which has occured to me as I write is to maybe use my artists dummy for something as it would recreate perfect realistic movement and proportions.

We had various trials to get the music onto my computer and at one point decided to change the music but Teeny (Monster’s nearly 4 year old sister) tracked down a McDonalds toy with the music on it which we used. Finally we did our usual ‘making of’ movie. As well as being a bit of fun I am doing these to ensure Monster is thinking about and articulating what we are doing and what he is learning from it. This time we had far more outtakes than usable footage - the best of which made it to the end of the making of film and had us all giggling for ages.

So our next project is likely to be focussing more on quality than quantity and concentrating on some of the finer details. But for now, without further ado here is Move It Move It and The Making of Move It Move It for your viewing pleasure. Oh and thank you so much for all the comments, I am showing them all to Monster and he is getting a real kick out of knowing that his mates are watching his films and enjoying them.

Today’s project was to create a film showing changes happening off camera, we wanted to use something basic so we came up with the idea of a glass of water being emptied.

We filled a glass with water, but added some food colouring so the liquid would show up better. In order that we didn’t have to move the glass during filming we used a straw to drink the water between shots. This necessitated a tissue to rest the straw on when not in use (all important film making lessons - props!). This time we rested the camera on the floor so that Monster could both drink the water and take the shots.

I showed him a lot more of the editing and production process this time, I don’t think it will be long before he is able to do that bit himself actually. We are using windows movie maker which came already on my laptop and it is fine for what we need at the moment, very easy to use with plenty of effects and editing tools.

In watching the film back we chatted about what could be improved (I wanted Monster to pick up on things like needing a tripod to stop the picture from ‘wobbling’ between shots) and we discussed keeping the camera steadier and the light. In this film which we shot over probably ten minutes the sun has gone behind clouds a couple of times and the light changes lots with shadows being cast behind the glass on the wall. We talked about using artificial light to keep lighting levels the same or filming somewhere where natural light wouldn’t effect the filming. Finally we discussed the idea of audio on an animation. We talked about music or other sound effects being added and are planning on adding sound to his next production.

We then made a ‘making of’ film just like on all Monster’s favourite dvds, complete with an out-take where he stumbled over his name

The Invisible Drinker and The Making of The Invisible Drinker. 

This was Monster’s first go at creating a figure and making a movie with the figure moving. We discussed how to make the figure so it would be able to stand up (it didn’t you can see on the finished movie how it fell a couple of times and had to be re- stood up) and how to ensure the arm would be strong enough to be moved without falling off. He made it as a whole piece of plasticine rather than a body with affixed arms which made it more stable.

He designed and made the background. We learnt from the finished movie that in future backgrounds need to be brighter, deeper, more solid colours to show up and that smaller details do not show up as well as the bigger, bolder ones.

Monster moved the character between each shot and told me when to take each picture.

The finished movie can be viewed here.