Stop Motion Pre Production - Negotiated Brief

8/4/2019 Stop Motion Pre Production - Negotiated Brief

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“The Recital”Mini Production BibleGeorge Tymvios



STEP 1: Story / Plot

The story is about a street musician who enters his imaginary world while

performing where he plays a solo violin piece in a large recital hall to a

complete audience. His imagination is shattered as soon as the clapping

of the audience turns into the clank of a coin falling into his bag, bring-

ing him back to reality. The musician however remains content with the

knowledge that his love for music is real even if only a street musicianrather than a well-known violinist. That is all he needs. The piece is open to

interpretation since no dialogue exists.



STEP 2: Rough Storyboard for Initial ResearchExpanding on the plot, I created the key points that

would drive the rest of the research forward. This allowed

me to recognize the requirements in terms of costume,

scenery, props, etc. during both the imaginary world

and reality.

See Attached Storyboard



STEP 3: Costume Designs – Reality and Imagination

Reality: Late 1930’s, Early 1940’s style

clothes. These clothes give the impression

that the violinist lived his days and they also

add a certain style and elegance to him.

Imagination: Long-Tail Tuxedo. No hat

will be worn. Black bow tie. These are theclothes which he feels like he is wearing

while playing his violin.



STEP 4: Scenery – Reality and Imagination

Reality: The reality will be set in the late evening, on a dark London street,

giving the impression of a cloudy day. The street will be a straight one and very

quiet. This is because the violinist doesn’t care if there aren’t many people

around – he only plays for his love of music. There is also a brick wall behind him,

very close to some steps leading upwards. Two street lamps will also be shown,

one of the far left and one of the far right.

Imagination: The imaginary world will be set in a concert hall giving the impression of being in an old opera

house. The violinist will be standing in the centre of the stage. It is necessary for the room to give out the impres-

sion of its enormity in size and also to portray that there is a full-house in terms of the audience who have come to

see him play. The audience will be taking pictures with ash.



STEP 5: Puppetting (Creating a Puppet)

Wire Armature

Alternatives?

In order to create the armature, winded up aluminium wire was used to form the basic

structure of the body, providing mobility and exibility. Milliput was used to simulate bones

and join the wires to each other since it hardens fairly quickly and provides a stone-like

malleable effect.

1. Ball and socket

Ball and socket would be an alternative to using a wire armature. However, this tech-

nique is expensive and very tricky to get right.

2. Balsa Wood

Balsa wood is also an alternative to wire armature. However, it is not ideal because the

process to prepare it seems time consuming.



Volume and how it would be achieved

Liquid Latex and FoamBy getting the best aspects of the two previous techniques,

I attempted to use liquid latex with foam. This proved to be

efcient and the technique which I chose to use. The ben-ets are that latex adheres a lot better to metal; it dries a

lot faster; and it allows for exibility. By using foam, less latex

is required, giving the desired volume without the constant

repetition of dipping the model into the container of latex.

This is the chosen technique.

Foam and PVAThe problem with foam and PVA is that it

takes virtually forever to dry and doesn’t

always stick to the metal.

Solely Liquid LatexIn using liquid latex alone, the wax tech-

nique was followed. The issue with using

only liquid latex is that it takes a long time

to prepare, requires a bigger container,

requires dipping the whole model into thecontainer, and requires a lot of repetition

in order to get the desired volume.



HeadMoulding (2 failed examples)1st Failed Example: I used air-dry

clay to mould the head. The prob-

lem with this technique is that un-

fortunately the weather doesn’t

permit for a fast process. It takesforever to dry and you would not

know if the mould is working until

you actually remove it which might

set you back hours or even days.

However, if the mould is properly

prepared, it allows for very good

usage with latex.

2nd Failed Example: Polymer clay can

be prepared a lot faster since it can be

cooked in a conventional oven. How-

ever, since not as rigid as air-dry clay, it

could produce unwanted elasticity inthe material (deform the mould). It also

does not allow latex to dry in a closed

container.

Sculpting Clay (great success)

Using sculpting clay as the actual head

provides a lightweight, rigid material.

Since my character won’t be making

many facial movements, sculpting clay

will be ideal instead of using liquid latex

for the head.



Replaceable Mouths/HeadsThe problem with the movement of the mouth could be overcome using replaceable mouths with K&S or mag-

nets. Magnets are a lot easier to use and apply than K&S and also a lot cheaper. The same method as the re-

placeable mouths could be used to allow the eyes to blink by replacing the upper part of the face. Since the

occasions in which the character would need to blink are few, a replaceable head method could also be used

(by replacing the whole head with its alternatives).

Costumes- Sew little outts

The outts of both the reality and imaginary world will be

sewn in order to allow customisation according to need.

Both costumes will be prepared over summer.



STEP 7: Materials- Sculpting Clay

- Liquid Latex

- K&S

- Lego

- Air-Dry Clay- Aluminium Wire

- Magnets

- Eyes

- Soft Foam

- Material for Clothes

- Milliput

STEP 6: PropsAll props will ideally be made out of sculpting clay because anything can be customised.

Reality

- Violin and Bow

Possibly two versions need to be prepared, a small and a large version for the extreme close-ups.

- Carry Bag

- HatWill be sewn over the summer.

- Street Lamps

- Coins

- Car (Maybe)

Imagination

- Concert Hall (Stage, Curtains, Seats, etc.)

- Audience Figurines

- Violin and Bow

- Rose/Flower - Audience Cameras

LED control panel.

Stop Motion Pre Production - Negotiated Brief

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