What can clay do to be more creative?

What is clay animation?

Like puppet animation, clay sculpture animation is a kind of freeze-frame animation, which is shot frame by frame. The production of a clay animation includes the process of script creativity, role setting and production, prop scene production, shooting and synthesis. Clay sculpture animation works can be called works of art in animation. Because clay sculpture animation relies heavily on manual production in the early production process, manual production determines that clay sculpture animation has simple, primitive, colorful, natural, three-dimensional and dreamy artistic characteristics. Clay sculpture animation is a comprehensive artistic expression that integrates literature, painting, music, photography, movies and other artistic features.

Speaking of clay animation, we have to talk about Oman Animation Studio in Britain, the world's top s top animation production company, which has made outstanding achievements in clay animation production: Chicken Run, which is well known to the public, and Cool Dog Baby series, Wash the Mouse, which was all the rage in 2005. Director nick park is the owner of Oman Animation Company. He calls himself a "filmmaker based on clay animation" and is full of ideas and talents. When I was two years old, I drew a room full of beautiful trains with "permanent" pen drawing on the newly installed and maintained kitchen wall. In order to chip in to buy an 8 mm camera, he worked hard in a chicken packaging factory all summer, and thousands of dead chickens flowed on the production line every day, which became his inspiration for writing "Chicken Run". Today, he is a world-famous animator, filmmaker and creative artist with many admirers. China's clay sculpture animation has also developed. For example, this year's movie "Police and Thieves" directed by Zhai of Animation Institute is quite humorous and adapted from a famous sketch. Unlike Chicken Run, which only changed one organ on the face, this time the police and thieves used "head-changing". Zhai Yiyi said, "We have made more than 150 portraits of clay figurines in Peisi Chen, and even his smile is meticulous to every portrait."

However, the production of clay sculpture animation is extremely complicated, and its artistic value is divorced from its commercial value. Like ink animation, it faces an unsustainable embarrassing situation, which has also become the main factor limiting its development (fortunately, clay animation can only be developed by super masters like Oman, and I hope our ink animation will usher in its own spring as soon as possible). Take Cool Dog Baby as an example, there are as many as 30 light animation technicians. However, it still takes two years to complete the whole film-making process, because it may take only three seconds to shoot 24 hours a day, which is different from ordinary two-dimensional animation, which can take a pencil draft before shooting to check whether the picture meets the requirements, but clay can't. A shot must be done in one go, 24 frames per second, an 80-minute clay.

The production process of clay sculpture animation;

Script originality-> shot drawing-> Role setting and production-> Prop scene making->; Frame by frame shooting-> In the later synthesis

Script creativity (script writing): Script creativity provides content for clay sculpture animation. According to the complexity of the story, there are some detailed scripts and some production directions. For any cartoon, script creativity and script writing are the foundation. Good comics must have good story content. So the script and story content are the cornerstones of clay sculpture animation.

Split-shot draft: The director needs to divide the script into shots and let the draftsman draw the shots. Shot segmentation is very important for clay animation. It provides reference for the production, shooting and post-synthesis of clay sculpture animation from the aspects of composition, content and color.

Role setting and production: Role setting is the key to an animation in a sense. A successful cartoon must have its own unique vitality. The role design of clay sculpture animation is divided into two steps: role drawing and role making. Usually, we design the characters in a plane way first. On the basis of figure sketch, choose more suitable figure, and then make it with clay material. In the actual material production process, some details may be adjusted as needed.

Prop scene making: Prop scene making is not available in other animation forms. Clay animation is actually to materialize the world in the story, and then let the characters interpret the story in the scene where the entity exists. It's like a real TV movie. Making props and scenes is a very detailed, trivial and interesting thing. Usually it can be made of all kinds of materials and even unwanted waste. So the production of scenes and props is very creative.

Frame-by-frame shooting: after all the production is completed, enter the shooting stage. Usually we use professional digital SLR cameras to ensure the perfection of the picture. According to the principle of animation 1 sec 24 frames, we usually do it with the rhythm of 1 beat 3 or 1 beat 4. In the process of shooting, lighting and shooting angle are the key to determine the quality of the film. One of the most difficult and tedious things is to put on the action. In the process of shooting, several people are very important: director, photographer, lighting engineer and animator.

Post-editing and composition: Post-composition is usually an exciting moment. Because at this moment, everyone can finally see the fruits of a series of efforts ahead. In the later work, editing, dubbing, special effects and sometimes combining two-dimensional and three-dimensional technologies are needed. A good post-animator can process the picture to make the whole movie more perfect.

systems modelling

The modeling part of clay animation character is mainly divided into skeleton and clay attached to the skeleton. It is very important to make the skeleton, which requires it to be able to do all kinds of movements and postures, and to be strong and not easy to be damaged. This requires that the joint can be used repeatedly and is not easy to break. (At present, there are no professional bones for sale in China, and the bones abroad are expensive. The more joints, the more expensive they are. ) Generally speaking, a low-cost foil is enough. You can choose aluminum wire and lead wire (that is, fuse) because they are soft and easy to swing. Copper wire or iron wire can also be used, and silver wire can also be used for key parts. You need to choose according to the design requirements of modeling and action. Regarding the choice of clay, there are two main requirements: good shaping and non-sticking. Good molding means that it is easy to mold clay according to the set shape, not too soft or too hard, easy to control, and will not break when doing actions. If you don't touch it with your hands, the clay won't become soft because of the strong light, otherwise it will be deformed, and it will easily get on the clay on your hands, dirty the shape and affect the picture quality. There are many kinds of clay that can be bought now, each with its own characteristics. After trying a variety of clays, we first chose an oily "Mola Plastic Clay" made in Germany, which can be bought in China. Its characteristic is bright and soft color! Feel delicate! There is no pungent smell of national plasticine! Long-term plastic kneading does not stick to hands! In addition to ordinary plasticine, there are paper clay, soft pottery, silica gel, sculpture mud and so on, all of which are very good materials. You need to practice more to master their characteristics, so that you will have more choices in the production process.

shoot

Clay animation is shot frame by frame, with 25 frames per second for TV series and 24 frames per second for movies. Here, for the convenience of calculation, we take 24 frames per second. If you take two shots at a time, that is, you have to take 12 frames per second, which can ensure the movement is very smooth, but at the same time, it also puts forward higher requirements for adjusting the movement, and you must have a good grasp of the movement law. Sometimes it is often used to beat three or four, which needs to be decided according to the content to be expressed. When shooting, we divide an action into several segments, which is a bit like the setting of key frames in 3 D software. The time of each section should be calculated well, because the amplitude of each frame action is different because of acceleration and deceleration. When making expressions, we usually use methods such as direct description or substitution. Sometimes the action needs the help of messenger wire. In order to ensure the stability of messenger wire, it is best to use three strands to hang at different positions at the same time. In order to make the shape stand more stably in the picture, we not only enlarge its feet as much as possible, but also use high-density foam materials on the scene ground, so that some imperceptible pins can be stuck on the feet of the characters to help fix the position and make the shooting go smoothly. In addition, when shooting, you should pay attention to fixing everything in the scene, otherwise you will encounter something carelessly. Once you move the position, the picture will be broken, so you have to retake this shot! Of course, the camera must be repaired first. The shooting period is the most prone to problems, and careful and sufficient work in the early stage can minimize the problems. Lighting arrangement is particularly important when shooting. For this knowledge, it is best to refer to professional photography books and practice more. Digital camera-a semi-professional digital camera, it is best to have manual white balance and manual focus, and manually adjust the shutter speed and aperture, so that you can be more handy when shooting. We use Fuji S602 now; Sony F7 17. Digital cameras shooting clay dolls should be equipped with accessories such as cable releaser or remote controller to minimize the vibration of the camera when shooting. Home computers are generally used for browsing, editing and retouching photos taken. Lighting-at least 3 lights, if possible, it is best to use professional lights with adjustable light intensity in the studio. Ordinary fluorescent lamps or tungsten lamp may have subtle changes caused by voltage instability, which may not be noticed when shooting, but the pictures taken may flicker. If the conditions are limited, you can buy decorative spotlights or table lamps instead. The workbench is also a photography platform, and it is best to have a professional blue screen for post-production In addition, team spirit is also very important. The production of good clay cartoons is the result of collective strength, not individual behavior. Good professional quality, clear division of labor and melting working atmosphere are bound to get twice the result with half the effort.

Prop scene

After the character modeling is done, it is necessary to build scenes and make props according to the proportion of the characters and the requirements of the script. There are no special restrictions on the materials used to make props and scenes. Cardboard, foam board, PVC board, wood board and other materials are commonly used, but attention should be paid to the color of the materials used and the color of the pictures produced. The tone of the picture is very important in the final film effect. Good scenes will definitely add points to your comics! Exquisite props and scenes will enrich the picture of the film and play a vital role in improving the picture quality. Common tools: glue gun, glue stick, adhesive (latex, brother glue, 502), double-sided adhesive, hammer, scissors, paper cutter, pliers, acrylic pigment, coloring brush, hacksaw, sandpaper, mask and pin. Don't buy cheap tools when you buy them, or you will get into more trouble if you can't get them! Besides, we should form the good habit of not throwing tools around after use. (dirty, but it's easy to get the character dirty. The photos taken at that time will be dirty. Common materials: PVC board, high-density foam board, cardboard, wooden board, cloth, iron wire, gypsum powder and wrapping paper. Sometimes waste can have unexpected effects! There was a time when we were reduced to grabbing things with rag pickers! (self-proclaimed king of rags. Drink coke bottles, shopping bags and beautiful rags. . . . . Even my facial cleanser bottle can be used. Sweating. . . Ha ha.

In the later synthesis

Post-production mainly includes editing, synthesis and dubbing, soundtrack and sound effects. This aspect is generally arranged according to the quality requirements and the amount of funds of the film itself. If it is a movie that you try to practice yourself, the editing software premiere on your home PC can realize post-editing. If you want professional effects, you need to go to a special recording studio and post-production computer room. High cost, not suitable for beginners. Dubbing, sometimes cartoons need the dubbing of dialogue and something beside them. If it is an experimental film, you can buy a microphone with higher sound quality and record the conversation with the recording that comes with windows. When recording, the room should be as quiet as possible to avoid noise during recording. On the premise of not touching the microphone, try to get close to the microphone to avoid the echo of the recorded music due to the distance. Try to record the dialogue sentence by sentence for later editing. High-quality sound effects can also be recorded on DV tapes with professional DV, and then collected in the computer. Music and various sound effects can be found online, and many websites have such resources. Developing the good habit of collecting resources at ordinary times can make your production even more powerful. Another work is also an important part of the later work of stop-motion animation: retouching. The retouching should not only focus on the current picture, but also take into account the characteristics of stop-motion animation, and combine the two pictures before and after retouching to achieve the best effect when playing continuously. Our suggestion is to make full preparations in the early stage and try not to leave the work that can be completed in the early stage to the later stage.