The Mystery Box was a really fun project to complete this term. It allowed me to experience stop motion life, as I got to make my own model from scratch and then animate it further in. The beginning process of making the model was a good experience and easy enough. It was easy to make the skeleton of the model and the body shape, as we had Barry and the tutors to help, and using the materials was great. When it came to finding clothes and sewing them together,is where I found it difficult.It took me quite some time to find the perfect materials to use for the clothes as well as the design of them, as I hadn’t actually made a design until I found the right materials.
This then stopped me from doing any further tests shots with my model, as I was too busy concentrating on the design of it. Filming was challenging as I had difficulties with the feet mostly, and the fabric I ended up using for the boots. My first draft went okay, but I didn’t get to finish it. The walk cycle was really jittery and didn’t look like a skip like I had intended. I was happy with the reaction to the box though, as I thought it was perfectly timed, and went smoothly.
After doing the first draft, I didn’t really do much tests for the walk cycle, which I do regret, because I could have improved better for my final film. I did do a few test shots of a scare and a walk cycle a couple of days before, and also used my original filming slot edit as a test shot, as I had ran out of time, and only got the walk cycle done anyways. I felt like after doing those shots, I was more confident in doing the rest of the animation on my second slot. Once my second slot came, I animated easily enough, and was proud of the outcome, until it came to editing, until I realised a lot of things had moved throughout the animation.
Editing my final film in After Effects was horrible, as I found it difficult to actually mask out the things that had moved, and I had problems with my green screen. But after getting it done, and rendered I’m happy it is sorted and out there! For future references, I need to improve on getting more test shots done, so it’s easier for me to animate the final film when the time comes. However, I do feel like my timing and positioning was quite good throughout the animation. This project has definitely given me a good experience with being a stop motion animator, and despite the challenges, it is still something I would like to continue.