I really wanted to look at another stop motion animation so I went back to Blinkink and found Catherine Prowse. I saw her ChildLine advert on YouTube and really wanted to look in to her. I went to her website and looked through all of her work. She had taken pictures of different parts of the set she had been filming in. So I spent a long time just looking at all of the little models she had made. I also, watch a few o her film that weren’t one the Blinkink website. I sent her few question some the same as the other emails I had sent and some just about stop motion. She took longer to reply than the others but, sent some really informative answers for me.
Here is the email that Catherine sent me
So sorry it’s taken me till now to reply. Apologies if you’ve missed a deadline for this information - hopefully some of it will be useful anyway!
While I was at uni I worked as a paper cut assistant for Hattie Newman and Owen Gildersleeve. I was still figuring out what I wanted to do and it was a really good opportunity to apply my interest in making stuff to a professional context. So much of what you do at uni feels like it exists in a weird bubble that’s about getting grades, so it was my first taste of using my skills in the creative industries. I was considering doing an MA after I graduated from my BA, but I actually ended up model making on various stop motion animation projects, as well as working as a paper cut assistant for Owen and Hattie again.
There are lots of entry level jobs in model making within stop motion animation. Lots of people who end up as animators or directors get their start that way. Model making is a really good way in to stop motion animation because every production always needs a whole new set and props to be made. You get to see how different directors and art directors approach a project and get loads of quick-turnaround practice in the industry. A production company like Blink might need to build a whole art department of people with varying skill levels so it’s worth getting in contact with loads of people and just showing them some relevant work.
I’ve always liked making small things, and that’s what lead me into animation in the first place, so stop motion has been a natural fit for me. I actually didn’t go into my degree with a clear idea of what I wanted to do. I was initially on the illustration pathway on my course at Kingston, and I spent the first two years a bit lost. I had a project at the end of my second year where we had to make stuff out of paper and that was a real turning point for me. I had always liked making miniature objects but hadn’t really connected it to my practice before. Even through my third year I wasn’t fully committed to making and directing films until I was thinking about my final project. Until then I was mainly interested in making props, making animations from them just seemed like the next logical step. As I expand my practice I’m really excited to try out other types of animation too, I’d love to be able to direct anything eventually! I have also used a few different styles within the same film. Childline, for example, used stop motion puppets and backgrounds with 2D animation for the facial expressions. It’s worth being familiar with certain digital animation styles so you know how to best enhance stop motion anyway. There’s lots you can’t always do in-camera because of budget and time restrictions.
Every different material you use for stop motion has its own character, and some really cool films have been made just using one random material to great effect (there’s an advert someone I know is making right now that just uses corrugated cardboard and it looks incredible!). There’s a few materials I’m not a huge fan of. For example ,I kind of regret using felt for the characters on my film for Oxfam because it’s really difficult to make puppets that don’t look like literally every other felt character out there. I’m just excited to try out more materials as I make more work.
