STOP MOTION ANIMATION ON A BUDGET
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In April, 2005, I was approached by Ray Harryhausen’s producer Arnold Kunert concerning the possibility of realizing Edgar Allan Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum as a short animated film. In keeping the project within relatively tight budget parameters, I sought out a cost effective alternate to film camera’s, but without sacrificing the quantifiable benefits of film production (from an animation standpoint). Using Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera’s in place of traditional film camera’s, we’d found a high quality digital alternative to 35mm film. Below is the basic DSLR/ shooting system I’d assembled for production of the stop motion animated short film, Ray Harryhausen Presents: The Pit and the Pendulum.
So, in an effort to help sort out the process a bit for those hopeful souls who want to know, I’ve laid out the basic process we used to achieve a digital finish for theatrical presentation, festivals, broadcast & DVD release for The Pit and the Pendulum. I don’t profess the following diatribe to be gospel, only reflective of what I feel were great results for a lower cost than we could expect with 35mm film cameras and the required post processes. This sort of set up has been used for a few years, becoming widely known with the production of Tim Burton’s The Corpse Bride. Tim Burton’s crew took the High Road (theirs was a pricey set up- the Canon camera’s were reportedly $8K each & they bought 24 of ‘em), where alternatively, scores of filmmakers have trundled along the Low Road on their way to a less costly, high-resolution version of the same system (think DIY vs. Disney). Hence, the popularity of Nikon’s D70s Digital Single Lens Reflex camera and it’s sub-$1000 price range.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to sell my kidneys to get hold of the equipment we needed. Well, at least not both of ‘em. Total costs for the computer, monitor, camera, hard drives, lens, mini cameras, et al worked out to less than $2400 per system (we got two). Of course, once you own them, you can rent them, sell them, etc. and recoup some of the production costs to throw a wrap party! Since we produced the film, the D70s have dropped a few hundred dollars in price, new. Another camera making waves in animation forums is Nikon’s D300, sporting a live feed with Firewire output! So, things are changing…. But I’ll stick with the D70s in this article, as it’s what we used. I’ve not had time to mess with the D300 as yet, but hope to soon. Till then, here we go… In The Beginning…
Basically, we started much the same way any animated project hits the ground; running wildly through the steeplechase of production, our hair on fire. Our take on Edgar Allan Poe’s classic story started with a Matt Taylor and I discussing the script in April and Matt’s delivery of the final draft in May. Much kneeling & begging ensued as I pitched the project (and our need of favors) to our many friends and vendors. Meanwhile, producer Susan Ma negotiated deals and finalized contracts as we lurched from pre-viz into production. Generous funding from Bravo!FACT and the National Film Board of Canada came in handy, allowing us to go about building sets and puppets, culminating in the start of our six week shoot in July, 2005.
Pre-Viz for everybody!
‘Pre-viz’, or pre-visualization, proved a key aspect on our animated adventure. Everybody finds a process for pre-visualizing ideas and concepts to tell their story, and I’ve got mine, which goes something like this; I start by drawing little thumbnail sketches in the script as I read, transcribing the text into images for reference later on. Here’s a sample from The Pit and the Pendulum (script by Matt Taylor):
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Go to Part 2 Now
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