Using the Body - Stop Motion: Passion, Process and Performance - page 249

Three strong, clear extensions, me attempting Swan Lake , two Ros's in The Turn of the Screw , and
the chorus from Achilles .
TB - I follow the director's intent and storyboards for primary key pose, but I will discuss the
performance with the director. In the X-sheet, I will see the dialogue if I'm doing lip-sync, and might jot
down a few notes on the sheets (such as if the character says, 'Alas poor Yorick', I might jot in 'Character
lifts arm to chest from poor to Yorick', and so on).
DC - I'll write key words of things I want to happen or arrows to remind me of direction and phrasing.
This sometimes changes when the puppet doesn't agree, but it's a good guide. Lots of marks and symbols
to mark actions and noises, etc.
AW - I prefer to animate instinctively, but I have occasionally used dope sheets for basic planning.
SB - I just go with the fl ow. I do think up several key poses for most shots.
RH - I make minor notes and 'lines' on bar sheets that remind me where I want to take the puppets and
where the 'highs' and 'lows' are in the dialogue. If I feel confi dent with the shot, I hardly make any notes
and just let the puppets take me along.
JC - I roughly plan my action for a shot. This saves time and avoids errors in action and timing -
especially if you have to match a movement on the cut. Though I don't draw stick fi gures I do make notes
on the dope sheets that indicate which words are emphasised and the pitch of the dialogue - funny little
waves, arrows and syllables underscored, and the odd suggested expression or gesture.