Getting Moving - Stop Motion: Passion, Process and Performance - page 215

What sort of emotions do you enjoy animating most? Do you like broad
slapstick or subtle emotions? Do you get any excitement from animation
or is it just a chore?
JD - I enjoy animating comedy. Sometimes animating is a chore, but it is often very exciting, particularly
when I get an 'on-camera' inspiration.
TB - I seem to be at home with drama and intense emotion, such as confrontations. But I also like
comedy a great deal. I enjoy acting out subtle actions, and I feel more at home with those. I don't fi nd
animation a chore at all, unless it's working on something that I don't fi nd particularly challenging
emotionally. I found being on a week-long test shoot of Celebrity Deathmatch just plain stupid. I was
completely bored by it.
RC - I tend to like broad motions, as well as powerful emotions. Delicate is nice, and there's a place for
that, but I enjoy making an emotional statement within the physical action the best. My strengths are
applying principles, and being cognisant of playing to the viewer, and relationships in the scene, and
clear staging, as well as timing relationships so motions and statements are clearly defi ned
DC - Variety is the spice of life. It can be very exciting but also very dull because it takes so long. When
a shot is interesting for whatever reason, diffi cult emotional content, new character, complicated action,
etc., it is much easier and rewarding to work so long and hard. At the end of the day/week you want
something to be proud of.
SB - Anything with a strong emotionally resonance is good to animate; you get a lot of fl at talking shots
in series work. You can't beat a bit of slapstick.
RH - I'm nearly always excited by animating, and like animating the subtle ones' emotions. I like a good
mix of these with broad, bigger movements, especially in the same shot. I know that using rigs can push
a character's movements, but I'm not a big fan because they need fi ddling with - and sometimes the
puppet needs to be taken off the set to attach it. Then, you lose the sensation you've been feeling all
along, and you're back to square one. The results are usually satisfying though.
JC - We all have days when animating is a chore but over the last fi fteen years those days have been few
and far between. Most studios are great places to be. Outside of the pressure of deadlines you spend you
day with creative talented people from many fi elds: costume; puppet-makers; set-builders; prop-makers;
camera crew and directors. I like animating the 'up close and personal' stuff. Anything I can get my teeth
into …. I secretly wish I got more bad guys to animate. There was a show at Cosgrove Hall called Rotten
Ralph . The puppets were tricky, lots of fabric and fur, but they had such great characters. When a new
script came in the crew would be excited to read it (a rarity on children's series).