Objects, People, and Places - Frame-by-Frame Stop Motion: The Guide to Non-Traditional Animation Techniques - page 84

Organic and Nonorganic Objects
I would consider humans to be a kind of organic object. Any object that has
water as a base, like humans, animals, and plants and anything that is alive,
is a challenge for the stop-motion animator. Over a period of time, these
organic objects lose their water to evaporation and change in form and
color. Here is a very simple experiment that is worth the effort to punch this
point home.
Set up a dslr camera, digital video camera, or webcam on a tripod and
sandbag or tape it to the floor. Have the camera point down into a
close-up of a pack of frozen peas (with the wrapper removed).
Put a 650 watt light about 5 to 6 feet away from the peas and set the
time-lapse interval for your camera at a frame every 10 seconds. This may
take about 5 to 6 hours but the change is dramatic. You will see the form
and color change and that there is no stability in this kind of organic
material.
FIG 6.4 three stages of water-based peas in a time-lapse sequence. Courtesy of Marlee Coulter, © 2010.
Any object that is manufactured and devoid of fluids is a more
dependable and stable object to photograph, allowing you longer shoot
times or intervals between frames. The conditions of the environment can
really effect the composition of your subject matter. Plasticine can get
warm under hot lights and start to shine. Certain organic materials, like
water-based paint, can stiffen if the environment is too cold. If you decide
that you do want to shoot an organic object frame by frame, then the best
approach is to work at a fast, even pace with no extended breaks, so that
the changes in the object are small, even, and potentially imperceptible
over the running time of the film. On the other hand, using organic
materials add another kind of movement and layer to your animation, if
that is what you seek.
The choice of objects that you use, whether they are organic or not, is critical
to the overall effect of your animation. Objects can signify certain meaning
and associations. PES, who has created many wonderful films, makes a point
to carefully choose what objects he shoots. Here is his description of his
intentional use of certain objects: