A Sense of Drama - Frame-by-Frame Stop Motion: The Guide to Non-Traditional Animation Techniques - page 113

purpose is up to the director. If we examine the work of PES again we see a
lot of wonderful and controlled movement, like in the underwater world of
The Deep . Chains are moved with gentle S-curve gestures that mimic a piece
of kelp waving underwater and calipers bob up and down like jellyfish as
pliers (fish) surge forward, all underwater (or so it appears). These beautifully
animated tools create that illusion because of the subtle yet dynamic choices
the animators make in the movement.
Joan Gratz produces beautiful full-detail paintings and uses metamorphosis
to move from one to the next, frame by frame. These can be dissolved from
one image to the next or they can be step printed. Step printing means that
each frame has a low-opacity layer of the previous and following frames on
it. Step printing is also referred to as step weaving . This adds to the flow and
subtlety in her animation. As Joan puts it,
“In Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase , images of the human face are subtly
transformed to communicate the graphic style and emotional content of
key artworks of the 20th century.”
We covered broad facial exaggerations that many artists like McLaren and
Kounen utilize, but it is important to remember that dynamic movement
also makes a huge difference in the performance. Certainly by using
“eases” you build in acceleration and deceleration, but there is much
more to movement than this single dynamic principle. This is the essence
of animation. There is so much to discover in this area that even veteran
animators like me are constantly trying new combinations of movement for
their dramatic effect. Here is an exercise that helps illustrate two types of
movement and their effect.
You need a digital camera (still or video) and a tripod. If you have a laptop
to control the camera, then bring that along, but this exercise can be
done without the capture software. You need a flash card in your digital
still camera to capture frames that you will download into a computer
after the exercise, if you have no computer on the set. You also need a
person, but an object will work. You can shoot this exercise outdoors or
indoors, but you need about 20 feet of space to move in. Try to find a
background with very little visual detail, like a wall. If you are outdoors
then try to execute this exercise where the light is as even as possible. If
you are indoors you need broad soft light, like overhead lights. Set the
camera slightly off-center from your subject, which will stand 20 feet
away from the camera (frame left) near the wall. Mark off 15 forward
positions for your subject to move toward the camera, ending frame
right. Try to include some simple ease-ins and ease-outs. Remember that
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