Different Techniques - Stop Motion: Passion, Process and Performance - page 144

I found was better. I have a feeling that if a lot of claymation were shot in single frames, the
boil on the surface, which is a considerable part of the charm, might be too manic. The feeling
is that doubles work for some situations, and singles for others. Much of it is due to budgets.
I would, though, encourage colleges to teach singles as the norm, showing the subtlety and
richness that is possible before making the personal decision to work in doubles.

Do you prefer shooting in singles or doubles? Is this a personal artistic
choice or due to budgets and schedules?

JD - For Dave and Goliath we shot on 'twos'. Otherwise I never shoot on twos unless the move
inaccuracies exceed the desired increment.

TB - I prefer singles. I think it looks nicer and is easier on the eye. Doubles works well for cartoony-type
animation, but if I want to shoot realistic animation, then ones is the way to go.

KD - University it was always on doubles. I would love a go at singles!

RC - Singles for stop motion. Doubles for traditional, except for fast motion, which needs the additional
information for the brain … and also during panning shots. There is a place for doubles in stop motion
but depends on whether the style, as well as the size of the puppets permits it or warrants it. For
especially slow movements, sometimes you can't put in any more increments because of the size of the
model, so you have no choice but to resort to twos. If it's married to live action, it needs to be on ones.

DC - I have mainly worked at Aardman where the style is doubles, but we use singles if the character is
moving fast or the camera is moving. Sometimes we move the camera or the puppet while the camera
takes a frame to produce a blurred effect giving a more realistic (motion blur) result. The new popular
digital equipment has yet to cope with this magic fi lmic quality. (Although post-effects can produce a
fake version that often suffi ces?) There is defi nitely a place for doubles and it wins Oscars!!

4!!!

AW - I prefer ones. But for slow movements, twos.

SB - There's room for both.

KP - Depends what I'm animating. Doubles makes it easier and faster, and sometimes it looks better,
but eye movements always look better on singles. I've always preferred shooting on singles because
I've grown so accustomed to it. A lot of high-quality animation is shot on doubles, and some (like
Tom and Jerry) are shot on a mixture of the two. There is always a place for doubles, providing it's the
right circumstances and the right show for it. The eye seems to be able to adjust to both mixed in 2D
animation, but only one or the other in stop motion. This is something to do with the realism of stop
motion, and that the eye 'wishes' for things to run smoothly.

JC - I've only recently started shooting on twos, on projects like Koala Brothers, Creature Comforts USA and
Shaun the Sheep . I prefer twos. You can be more subtle and they allow you the time to get the performance
right. There are times when shooting on singles is essential - to stop strobing for example.

FL - with my brief experience, I can't tell what I 'prefer'; but I do everything in ones. I enjoy animating and
want to learn to do it well, so I don't see any reason yet for me wanting to shoot in twos. Just to do it faster?
I want to make it for a long time!