The Boxtrolls

Check out these amazing photos of The Boxtrolls Universal Studios Display taken by Giraf

Just when you think puppets cant look any more amazing, the folks at Laika step it up a good few notches...again!!!!!
I really cant wait to see more of these popping up!!!

 

 

 Again, photos by are the property of Giraf

 Here and here

And just in case you have some how magically missed any of the trailers, here they all are!

At issue - Kickstarter

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yaminationstudios/at-issue-a-short-film-from-drew-roper

My friend, Drew Roper, has an incredible short film project up on kickstarter. I am very proud to call him a friend as I don't think I know anyone that has worked so hard and put the time, blood, sweat and tears into getting where they want to be in life. Drew is most definitely one of a kind!



Late last year I had the greatest privilege to help him on this project, it was only for a couple of days and it was more Drew doing me a favour and letting me loiter around his studio and do a little bit of sculpting and drink coffee. Even then you could see just how amazing this project was going to be.
A year later and things have developed in to something that has far surpassed what I thought could be possible in the heart of my home town in Birmingham. People really need to see what he's doing!!

'At Issue'
"From Yamination Studios, an animated short film uniquely combining stop-motion, 2D and CG animation. How? With an innocent sneeze.

Yamination is the hub of multi-award winning stop-motion/frame animator, Drew Roper. ‘At-issue’ is his brand new short film about Bartholomew, an unemployed lovable puppet, and his audition for the dream job – acting. But when a bizarre affliction strikes, he grasps that unless he can learn to be himself, his dream won’t be realised."

With a crew of incredibly fine chaps and chappette's, Drew is getting closer to finishing 'At Issue"
It's in the final week and even though it has hit the funding target he still needs your help to make it even better!!!

Here is the link to the kickstarter page. See all of the information and back 'At Issue' http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yaminationstudios/at-issue-a-short-film-from-drew-roper

Also be sure to drop by on facebook and give it a 'Like" https://www.facebook.com/Yamination

Please help in anyway possible, whether its backing the project or just simply passing it on and sharing to your friends, colleagues or family

Check out this amazing sneak peak to see just how awesome this really is!


"At-issue" Audition Arrival Sequence from Drew Roper on Vimeo.

If you are in the UK you can click here to watch a fantastic video about Drew and 'At Issue'
http://www.yamination.com/2013/08/29/skyarts-short-documentary-on-atissue/


Oh and for all of you puppet making nerds, like me, here's a great video!

"I Wanna Hold Your Hand" from Yamination Studios on Vimeo.

Website: http://www.yamination.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/YaminationS/ 

GOOOOOOOOOOOO now and see the awesomness!!! 

Auntie Claus Kickstarter

Athena studios, based in San Francisco Bay Area, are working very hard on a bloomin amazing project, Auntie Claus!  A stop motion feature film based on the book by Elise Primavera. It is a Christmas tale which I for one am very excited about!

They are trying to raise the funds to complete a pitch trailer to help give the project the push it really deserves.

They have a pretty extensive stop motion history behind them as their crew includes a ridiculous amount of amazing talent. From people that have worked on Coraline, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, James and the Giant Peach and that have worked for studios such as Mackinnon & Saunders, Laika, Lucasfilm, Pixar and Industrial Light & Magic. I think these lot might know a few things about stop motion and storytelling, don't you?!?

Here is the catch, there is only 4 days left on this outstanding project and they are 40% away from there funding goal!!! They have a fantastic story and an incredible crew behind them to do it. Please help in anyway you can. Spread the word. Sing it in the street. Write some emails. Anything would be very, very appreciated!! This has to be made!!!

Watch the pitch and see how awesome it looks so far!!

Check out this amazing teaser trailer

Here is the page
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/athenastudios/auntie-claus-the-movie
There is also a Facebook page for you go and like http://www.facebook.com/auntieclausthemovie

Make also did a great story on them and made this fantastic video!!
http://makezine.com/2013/09/27/make-believe-crashes-the-set-of-auntie-claus-at-athena-studios/

Jamie Caliri

Jamie Caliri is an astounding chap! He is a fantastic director and general visual genius.
When I first saw 'Heart' and 'Dragon' I was absolutely mesmerized.  Such beautiful work all round.

Great making of 'Dragon'


The title sequence to'United States of Tara'

Jamie also directed this outstanding video 'The Shins : The Rifle's Spiral'

The Sun and the Seed

"This is a short film about hope and community. It was made for a friend and mentor who was suffering from lung cancer. The film was shown at a benefit to help with his hospital costs. He has since passed away."

Jamie & crew were also created the fantastic end credits to the 'Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events' movie.

Here is a great interview with the man himself



He and his brother are behind Dragonframe, the best stop motion frame grabber out on the market. Check out the Dragonframe blog http://www.dragonframe.com/blog/ for some fantastic post and be sure to check out Jamie's site for lots of brilliant behind the scenes photos http://www.jamiecaliri.com

Wind In The willows - Cosgrove Hall

Cosgrove Hall, like many others, have always been very near and dear to me. I grew up with their films and TV shows and when I decided to take on my never ending quest of getting into the stop motion industry, Cosgrove Hall was my holy grail. (cue the violins) Unfortunately a year before I finished university, they closed down and my holy grail was lost ;)

BUT at least we still have the amazing work that Cosgrove Hall made. Thankfully, awesome people on YouTube have uploaded some of my earliest encounters with them.

Also, I have a very firm belief that the ever inspiring Mackinnon & Saunders are the kindred spirit of Cosgrove Hall. Even though they have been working in the television industry for many years they are currently making their own fantastic shows and I feel that in no time at all they will be leading the way for stop motion in children's television as well as being the phenomenal puppet makers that they have always been.


Wind In The Willows

Watching this always reminds me of sitting right in front of the TV on a quilted blanket made by my mum and a bowl of yoghurt with a dollop of raspberry jam in the middle and a few Rice Krispies sprinkled on top. Bliss

Enjoy! If you do love this then please buy the DVD's here> SERIES and FILM

The film. 1983








SERIES----

The same youtuber has also uploaded most of the actual TV series too! I'm only going to put a few episodes up so be sure to check out the channel here>http://www.youtube.com/user/thewindnthewillows?feature=

The first episode

A favourite episode of mine

This video is something I watch near enough every week. It is such a treat to be able to see a short glimpse behind the scenes at the studio.

Behind the scenes

More recently this video has popped up online. A very nice treat, indeed!

Coraline - Behind the scenes

I thought it would be cool to have all of the behind the scenes videos that was released for Coraline in one place. So here they are... well all but the voice acting videos

Voice acting then at 2:45 it cuts to some nice puppet footage
Sets & Animating  

Animating Coraline - Timelapse from The Anxious Animator on Vimeo.

FRED

'Fred' by Misha Klein

Many years ago, Misha posted a very short segment from it titled 'the hallway'
The clip blew me away and ever since I had been anticipating the online release of this.

No words can express just how amazing this short film is.

Fred from Misha Klein on Vimeo.

The awesome chap, Sven Bonnichsen, posted a great bit of info on his blog a few years back. You can see a few pictures of the replacement mouths and some sets pictures. It's also definitely worth checking out the rest of Sven's blog post too! Click HERE 

 There is also a great video by stopmotionmagazine showing behind the scenes and interviewing Misha.

DOGONAUTS - Enemy Line

My good friends Justin & Shel Rasch have a kickstarter campaign up and running to help to finish their stop motion film.

They are some of the most inspiring people out there and I have so much time and respect for them both. They have my support 100% and if you have any love for stop motion and animation then you should too!

I would be eternally grateful if you could take the time and check out the page. Please back this amazing film. You really wont regret it!

Here is the link http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2131064235/dogonauts-enemy-line

The Man Who Was Afraid of Falling

Here is a fantastic short by Joseph Wallace.

"The Man Who Was Afraid of Falling is my graduation film from Newport Film School in Wales. It was made over a period of eight months in 2011 and the idea was developed on Animation Sans Frontieres, the European animation production course. The film is about age and fragility and explores the escalation an old man's paranoia after he sees a plant pot fall and break. The film is told using hand crafted stop motion animation, we shot using a Canon 5D and Dragonframe software. Nearly everything in the film is made from cardboard apart from the puppet."

The Man Who Was Afraid of Falling from Joseph Wallace on Vimeo.

Coraline B-Rolls

I know this blog has been heavily neglected but I thought I should share these.

I thought "Wouldn't it be amazing if there where some B - Rolls for Coraline" I went on a short adventure with Google and what do you know I managed to find some!

Just in case you don't know, B - rolls are basically all of the footage that is available for the media to use in promoting the Movie/series.

Voice Acting Sessions


More Voice acting then at 2:45 it cuts to some nice puppet footage


Sets & Animating

Paranorman

With the release of Paranorman just around the corner, there have been so many amazing videos released, it's very hard not to get extremely excited!
Not only are these videos fantastic for promoting the art of stop motion to the general public but they are also extremely inspiring for us stop motion animators, model makers, puppet makers.

So here are all the fantastic promotional videos they have released so far. I will also post all of the trailers at the bottom just in case you may have missed one.

Be sure to check out their AMAZING Instagram gallery to see some fantastic behind the scenes photos
http://web.stagram.com/n/paranorman/

Also if you are on twitter then make sure you are following them
https://twitter.com/paranorman

And they also have some exclusive photos on their Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/ParaNorman

Release date US 17th August. UK 14th September






















Trailers

The Necktie

'THE NECKTIE' or 'LE NOEUD CRAVATE' by Jean-François Lévesque


This is an utterly outstanding short film. The animation is beautifully done. The puppet and set are fantastic and there is also some amazing 2D cut out animation in it for some of the characters and it is done VERY well!
Definitely one to watch.

The Eagleman Stag

'THE EAGLEMAN STAG' by Mikey Please


This film is nothing short of outstanding. Definitely one of my favourite short films. Be sure to watch the 'Making Of' as well!


I have had a bit of a break from posting on here as I've been really busy with my own work, which you can see here http://stopmotionben.blogspot.com but I hope to get back on track with this blog.

Anyway, if you haven't checked out this short before then now is the time!





Making Of

The Village

I am very glad to see that 'The village' by Stelios Polychronakis is now online. It is a very lovely and eerie short film.

The sets and puppet truly are outstanding with the puppet made by the legendary Mackinnon & Saunders.





And the 'making of'

Super Battle Episode One

'Super Battle Episode One' by Ethan Marak.

"When a notorious super-villain escapes from his subterranean prison, the enigmatic robot warden summons his most powerful henchman to deliver justice.
The first completed episode of an ongoing stop-motion animated series."

DVD available for sale at www.superbattlemovie.com
Also be sure to check out the behind the scenes gallery on the site.

Peter Lord & Dave Alex Talk "Pirates

This is truly amazing. If your as excited as me about 'The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists' then this 1 hour and 44 minute talk will get you 10 times more excited then you were before! They show a lot of behind the scenes stuff including sets, puppet production , unseen clips, video reference and a lot more. Fantastically amazing stuff.

Rencontre avec Peter Lord, le cofondateur du... by forumdesimages

Also here is a few new photos that have emerged today from behind the scenes and a couple of production stills

Dried Up

A short film by Jeremy Casper, Isaiah Powers and Stuart Bury.

“Dried Up” is the story of a quiet old man who, surrounded by desolation and apathy, perseveres to remain true to the nature of his own beliefs and character.
He toils daily to forge a last ditch effort to bring hope and life to a faithless, drought ridden old town.

A beautifully done film that is fantastic in every way. I highly recommend you take 6 minutes of your time and sit back and watch the beauty unfold.



Progress Timelapse


To read more about the film check http://driedup.wordpress.com/ Be sure to check out the 'Making Of' gallery

Truckers

Terry Pratchett's Truckers by Cosgrove Hall from 1992


Originally aired as a series then an unabridged version for VHS release. Unfortunately this has never seen a DVD release and most likely never will. Big sad faces about that :(

Truckers is another film that has a very soft spot for me as I watched it when it first aired on TV then bought the video as soon as it was released. YouTube has pulled through again as somebody has uploaded the whole thing!
Cosgrove did have plans to do the whole Bromeliad Trilogy but deals fell through with the TV Channel it aired on. At least we have this though.

This is an outstanding film. The sets to puppets are simply amazing. I really recommend watching it all.


Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4


Part 5


Part 6


Part 7


Part 8

The Pied Piper Of Hamlin - Cosgrove Hall

The Pied Piper Of Hamlin by Cosgrove Hall from 1980

Cosgrove Hall's wonderful take on this story. Brilliantly done.

Part 1


Part 2

The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship

'The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship' by the amazing Cosgrove Hall from 1990

The Fool of the World was justly awarded a number of festival prizes,
most notably a 1991 Emmy for Best Children's Program

This film holds a special place in my heart. I used to watch it loads a young chap and I love it even more now.
There have been two DVD releases of this the first was in 2001 and also had Cosgrove Hall's Cinderella on the same disk but is quite rare now days. Then it has been released again last year. This newest version, I have to say, is appalling in quality. These youtube videos are better. I suppose there is a chance I had a bad copy but I highly doubt it. I'm glad I have the original release

This film is absolutely fantastic and I highly recommend watching it.


The film is in a playlist so as one part finishes the next should automatically start