"Since I didn't go to film school, nobody told me I wasn't supposed to do everything."
I've been looking into my personal inspiration lately and now turn my attention to stop motion animation. I have always admired this technique as I feel that it is an extremely effective way to give life to static objects and looks very impressive on screen (as can be seen through the work of world-renowned "claymation" studio Aardman. Their work with Nick Park to create Wallace and Gromit, as well as feature films like Chicken Run and television series like Morph is superb, and really showcases what stop-motion can do when realised to its full potential (which basically means: "with time, experience and money"!).
However, when these three factors aren't present, the ability to produce effective and captivating animation / short films is diminished. This makes the work of YouTube personalities Patrick Boivin and Keshen so impressive. Boivin is a French-Canadian autodidact filmmaker who uses limited technology and equipment to create incredibly impressive stop-motion films. His work is usually built around Dragon Stop-Motion, a relatively simple piece of software, and his behind-the-scenes videos detail how he uses very basic equipment to great effect. For example, Boivin uses a small section of model railway track and a flatbed truck to create an effect camera dolly for a tracking shot (placing his camera on top of the flatbed and moving the truck along the track, all while either recording video or taking stills for stop-motion framing). He also employs many tricks of the trade in his work, such as using facial mapping. This technique can be best seen on his video "Dragon Baby", wherein the face of his baby son is mapped over the body of an adult stuntman before the final background is added via green-screen to create scale from his son's perspective. The result is an extremely convincing jeet kune do fight between a baby and a plush dragon!
Unlike Boivin, who makes use of multiple subjects such as action figures, real people and occasionally computer graphics, Keshen (username Keshen8) works almost exclusively with LEGO to create his stop-motion shorts. Both comedic storytelling and dynamic action are key elements to Keshen's work, illustrated through the LEGO medium. LEGO minifigures are excellent for stop-motion because their fixed range of movement through their body parts makes them very easy to pose and therefore animate frame-by-frame. Keshen's techniques and equipment have never been elaborately revealed, though it is obvious that some digital editing is required in his shorts. The extent of this is nowhere near as much as Patrick Boivin's, but the end result with Keshen's work is just as captivating and impressive.
Title quote: Patrick Boivin.
However, when these three factors aren't present, the ability to produce effective and captivating animation / short films is diminished. This makes the work of YouTube personalities Patrick Boivin and Keshen so impressive. Boivin is a French-Canadian autodidact filmmaker who uses limited technology and equipment to create incredibly impressive stop-motion films. His work is usually built around Dragon Stop-Motion, a relatively simple piece of software, and his behind-the-scenes videos detail how he uses very basic equipment to great effect. For example, Boivin uses a small section of model railway track and a flatbed truck to create an effect camera dolly for a tracking shot (placing his camera on top of the flatbed and moving the truck along the track, all while either recording video or taking stills for stop-motion framing). He also employs many tricks of the trade in his work, such as using facial mapping. This technique can be best seen on his video "Dragon Baby", wherein the face of his baby son is mapped over the body of an adult stuntman before the final background is added via green-screen to create scale from his son's perspective. The result is an extremely convincing jeet kune do fight between a baby and a plush dragon!
Unlike Boivin, who makes use of multiple subjects such as action figures, real people and occasionally computer graphics, Keshen (username Keshen8) works almost exclusively with LEGO to create his stop-motion shorts. Both comedic storytelling and dynamic action are key elements to Keshen's work, illustrated through the LEGO medium. LEGO minifigures are excellent for stop-motion because their fixed range of movement through their body parts makes them very easy to pose and therefore animate frame-by-frame. Keshen's techniques and equipment have never been elaborately revealed, though it is obvious that some digital editing is required in his shorts. The extent of this is nowhere near as much as Patrick Boivin's, but the end result with Keshen's work is just as captivating and impressive.
Title quote: Patrick Boivin.
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