This is so nice and I really should do it next time I go camping….
Here is a bit of info of Sean White, he is an award-winning photographer, cinematographer and film director whose assignments and personal projects take him to all corners of the globe. From indigenous cultures to extreme engineering, from adventure sports to nature’s splendors on seven continents, Sean embraces his subjects with passion and wonder. His work is celebrated for its exceptional storytelling and unique visual style. Credits include National Geographic Channel, Discovery Channel, History Television, APT, PBS, Outdoor Life Network, Sports Illustrated, GQ, Men’s Journal, National Geographic Adventure, Outside Magazine, and many others. He is the creator of several cult adventure films including “Beyond Gravity” (2000), “Into the Thunder Dragon” (2002), “Never Ending Thermal (2004) and “Snap” (2006). Sean is also an active paraglider pilot, rock climber, and mountain unicyclist. When he’s not traveling, he spends as much time as possible in his hometown of Victoria, BC, Canada.

Stop-motion film featuring Caela Donaldson and Chris Kruger created by Sean White to promote the Petzl Tikka2 “Power of Light” video contest. Photographed with Canon 5D stills cameras. Music by Jets Overhead.
Check out Sean’s web page at http://www.seanwhite.net/

Read More

Fun Videos by admin
No Comments »

Production on Tim Burton’s stop-motion Frankenweenie 3D is ramping up and he’s bringing some of his besties onboard. Winona Ryder, Martin Landau, Catherine O’Hara, and Martin Short have joined as four voice actors who don’t command a Johnny Depp-sized salary.

It is surprising that Burton’s usual players, Depp and wifey Helena Bonham Carter are not attached to the project. Perhaps they’ll show up in smaller Easter Egg-ish roles. I’m sure Burton can get either to bark like a dog for the right amount of money. Or the right amount of absinthe.

Read full article

Read More

Articles by admin
No Comments »

Found this cool article and thought I would share it with all of you stop motion lovers

It is the usual story: boy meets girl, boy falls in love. But this story is told in a most unusual way. On Saturday, as part of Alberta Arts Days, the Okotoks Public Library will be hosting a screening of Prairie Tales 12 which is a touring collection of Alberta short film and video.

One of the features in Prairie Tales 12 is an award-winning animation piece by Calgary filmmaker Lyle Pisio entitled “The Empress”.

“The Empress” is a highly acclaimed stop motion animation short film which won Best Animation at the Victoria Film Festival and Taos Shorts Film Festival in 2010.

Pisio said he is looking forward to visiting Okotoks and discussing his film.

“I am kind of introverted by nature but it is neat to come out and show my stuff,” said Pisio. “It is really nice to get some response for the work you have done. It is very gratifying for sure.”

Pisio certainly did a lot of work in preparing the nine minute short film which took him more than a year to complete.

The Calgary filmmaker was inspired to do “The Empress” by a piece of music by Montreal composer Brigitte Dajczer. When Pisio heard the dark violin piece his vision for “The Empress” took shape.

“When I heard the music it was overwhelming visually,” he explained. “in my mind the idea of the film was driven by the music.”

Pisio spent the summer building his intricate puppets for the film and then spent much of the winter holed up in his basement doing the painstaking stop motion photography for the film.

It was a labour of love for Pisio.

“I have always been interested in animation, ever since I was six or seven years old,” he said. “Now with technology I don’t need any special equipment and I can do everything in my basement.”While in his basement Pisio created an award-wining film which has the dark undertones of the renowned Shane Acker film “9”.

“The Empress” is a typical love story with some not so typical characters.

The film focuses on Martha and Trevor who meet at a bar and fall in love. However, the story is somewhat ambiguous. It is difficult to tell if the love affair is real or simply just imagined as the relationship is acted out in the shadows.

The supporting cast including Barmann and the regulars are certainly nothing like Norm and the gang at cheers, but they certainly add some levity to the film.

Pisio’s efforts with “The Empress” caught the attention of the industry as it was an official selection at film festivals all over North America.

The success of “The Empress” has been a gratifying experience for its creator.

“It is nice to have that affirmation,” he said. “I would be doing this no matter what because I have to but it is really nice when people like what you do.”
by John Barlow – Editor

Read full article

Pisio’s work visit his website at www.lilyposie.ca check it out, and you will be able to see cool examples of his work

Read More

Articles, Fun Videos by admin
No Comments »

Love the look of this stop motion short, from the music to even the colors beautiful work hope you guys enjoy.

Reverse Stop Motion Technique Film, June 23, 2010

A combination of stop motion, reverse film, shot with a still camera in HD. Full motion “particle” effects of dust layered on top of it.

Starring Angelo Tursi of Street Hero (wearestreethero.com)

Read More

Fun Videos by admin
No Comments »

La Moustache, an extreme, talented company has created another great commercial for the Montreal music fest. I really recommend checking out their web page, not only will yo u see amazing commercials, but you will also get to check out some really cool and detail look behind the scenes. To check out full commertial (plus take a look at the other ones they are awsome!) go to http://www.lamoustache.ca/ And if you live in the Montreal area and are planing what do to do from the the 29th of Sep till the 3rd of Oct, go listen to some good music

Read More

Commercials, Fun Videos by admin
No Comments »

So the rumors are confirmed NBC is making a Christmas special.

The second season premiere of NBC’s breakout comedy “Community” will air this Thursday and we couldn’t be more excited. We already knew the first episode back will feature the great Betty White, but that’s not the only trick the show’s creators have up their sleeves.

In an interview with New York magazine last month, “Community” creator Dan Harmon hinted that he’d like to do an animated special episode, and now EW.com reports that the Christmas special will be done in stop-motion animation.

“It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do but, I never anticipated having the ability to do it,” Harmon said. “Jeff Gaspin at NBC woke up one morning and thought Community should do an animated episode. I was like, ‘Well, that’s weird, because that’s the kind of stuff I’m usually suggesting and guys like him veto.’”

Read full article here

Ill get more information on this subject and keep you posted

Read More

Articles by admin
No Comments »

Stop motion reel done by talented stop motion animator John Horabin shows us his latest work.

A showreel of recent work created by John Horabin for Skatedog Films Limited – all content created by John Horabin for various projects 2009-2010.

Read More

Stop Motion Animaton Reel by admin
No Comments »

Here is another interesting article, this one is directed to all of the independent animators and hope this helps you understand better the convoluted world of animation as an independent stopmotioneer.

In my last post I wrote a little about film insurance. It’s an important issue for filmmakers and I think it’s useful for me to expand on it. The first point I’d like to make is that film and entertainment type insurance is a very specialised form of insurance, unlike say the common types of insurance that everyone is familiar with, such as home or car insurance. Only a few insurance companies offer this type of insurance and understand the risks in the industry as well as how to calculate appropriate premium amounts.

You may ask, is insurance really necessary for my film/entertainment project? It’s a valid question. In most countries, car insurance is a legal requirement and if you want to drive a car without being charged with a criminal offence then you need a valid insurance policy for it so the choice is a pretty simple one! However, in most countries, having film production insurance is not a legal necessity so you have more of a choice (although laws in many countries such as the US mean that you will require by statute compulsory insurance for employee’s liability or public liability to third parties for injury – check your State’s individual position if you’re really not sure) . Having said that, most countries Film Commissions recommend that when you’re filming in their country that you should have a valid film production insurance policy that covers the considerable risks present in any film project particularly for location shoots. Some organisations or owners of property may often insist that you show them a valid insurance certificate before they give you permission to shoot on location. I wrote a quick outline of the main risks of a location shoot in last week’s post entitled “Location Shoots – Not for the Faint Hearted”.

If you’re thinking of taking out insurance then make sure that the insurance company that actually gives sells you its policy knows what it’s doing and has a good reputation in the entertainment insurance field. Entertainment insurance is a very specialised field covering a specialised industry with its own unique risks. If you’re dealing with an insurance company that doesn’t understand this area then it’s more likely than not you’ll be charged an inflated premium as underwriters who calculate the premium will not fully understand the risks so they will err on the side of caution and charge you a much higher premium. As in many areas of life it really pays to shop around to make sure you get the best possible deal for your film project and if you don’t feel that confident or feel you don’t have any experience then ask someone who does and that you can trust.

When you get the actual insurance policy check the terms and conditions very carefully. Insurance policies and contracts are normally full of esoteric technical and legal terms which aren’t that user-friendly. However it’s important to get the policy checked out and if you’re not that confident seek advice from someone experienced and trustworthy. Risk cover in an insurance policy is normally set out restrictively ( and often drafted by lawyers to protect the insurer). As a general rule if the insurance company doesn’t spell out that something is covered then you can’t assume that it is covered. If you’re in any doubt about anything at all seek advice from someone you trust and who’s experienced in the business of filmmaking. It may be a very good move for you to ask the insurer or their broker all these questions as well and to have all their responses back in writing just in case any disputes arise in the future. in particular if you’re unsure about what risk is or is not covered get the insurer to spell this out for you clearly in writing on their own letterhead. It’s far better to clarify any grey areas in a crystal clear way well before you start filming – believe me it’ll save you a lot of time and heartache later on if a claim needs to be made.

Read full article

Read More

Articles by admin
No Comments »

As my search for interested articles was going on, I found this great piece in Cartoonbrew. Its an amazing article by Julia Angwin for The Wall Street Journal.

New York artist Nina Paley’s frustrating efforts to contribute to Wikipedia were chronicled in an
article in Monday’s Wall Street Journal.

Just as interesting are her efforts to make a living giving away her art for free. Ms. Paley, a cartoonist, has created a movie called “Sita Sings the Blues” that she is distributing under a Creative Commons Share-Alike license.
A self-described “information radical,” Ms. Paley argues that content should be free, while “containers” for content — such as DVDs — should be paid for. To bolster her argument, she disclosed how much she has made from her “free” film in a recent talk at Power to the Pixel’s Cross-Media Film Forum in October.

Here are the cold hard numbers:

* Total donations from people who appreciate her giving out free content: $23,000
* Profits from her online store which sells merchandise and DVDs: $19,000
* Theatrical distribution revenues: $3,000 (out of total box office tally of $22,350)
* Additional DVD distribution: $3,000
* Broadcast television distribution: $3,000
* Revenue from Central Cinema in Seattle which showed the film: $4,000
* Grand total: $55,000

She says she has not paid a penny for promotion or advertising, since the freely distributable film is its own form of promotion. All in all, she says, “It’s a sweet little living.”

Of course, this calculation doesn’t take into account how much it cost her to create the film. Even so, it’s an interesting glimpse at how an artist can try to use the free software model for their work.

Please check out Nina Paley´s website http://blog.ninapaley.com/

Read More

Articles by admin
No Comments »

Those ‘It’s not technology, it’s what you do with it’ Nokia N8 video spots might be impressive, but now we think we’ve found the most awesome film yet. We bring you ‘Dot’ – a film shot using the Nokia N8 and CellScope – a microscopic device to film a 9mm girl in the world’s smallest stop motion animation character film. It’s a work of genius. Join us after the break to see the movie…

Fitting in with the recent Nokia video introducing us to the hamster-powered N8, this latest video, created for Nokia in partnership with Aardman Animations shows just what can be done with the Nokia N8, as this wonderful stop motion film shows.

The video shows ‘Dot’ a tiny animated girl traversing all sorts of obstacles. Look a little closer and you’ll find that they’re everyday objects that when seen from a different viewpoint are given a whole new lease of life.

It’s the end of the video that really does it for us, as the camera cuts the the N8 afterward. Do watch, it has to be seen to be believed. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Read full article

Read More

Fun Videos by admin
2 Comments »