Stop Motion Text 1 Analysis

Stop Motion Text 1: The PEN Story
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9Et7UQh1tg)

1.     What is the technique of the stop motion? How is it achieved? Why is it appealing?

Every other photos they have skipped a few bits so it isn’t as smooth as most stop motion videos. This is a successful way for the particular video and theme of it because it doesn’t need to be completely smooth to make it interesting and clever.

2.   How/why does that particular technique suit the subject of the stop motion?

It suits the subject of the stop motion because as it is shown through photos, you can clearly see what’s going on even if you don’t necessarily have every single second shown.

3.   Is there any sound? Explain how it is used and why it is effective.

The sound used in the text is a song being sung by a male. The song which has been chosen relates to the stop motion text itself. The song has lyrics which are “The years are flashing by and everything will change but way deep down inside we all just stay the same.” The video being 1,800 photos of showing someone grow up and go through their life, the lyrics work quite well meaning it is effective because we listen to the music while watching what’s happening and it reminds people that that is the case. 

4.   Describe the pace of the stop motion. Is it effective?

The pace of the stop motion is quite fast but this is effective because it means viewers won’t get bored while watching it because so much is happening in a short amount of time and it’s a story that people would want to carry on watching to see what happens.

5.    Identify any of the 12 Principles of Animation that are used.

There wasn’t much use of 12 principles because of the reason that it was photos taken of other photos but within that, there was ‘Pose to Pose Animation’ used because obviously you need to know what to do when someone will take the photo otherwise it could be blurry/out of focus and won’t look professional.

6. Describe the set design. Do the characters interact with the set?
No, the characters do not interact with the set purely because it’s a set of photos showing someone growing from a boy to a man and the key events that happen through his life so its not real life. The 1,800 photos taken are placed next to each other and go around a house through different rooms.

7. How many different parts move at once in a scene? Is there a lot of movement, or just some parts? Is it effective? Why?
There is a lot of movement due to the fact that in every photo the character(s) are moving and walking but I think a lot of the movement is the camera following the photos around the house. I feel it is effective because it emphasizes on the story even more.

8. Do you think the subject could be done more effectively using a different form of film or animation?

I think if they had taken more photos, there would have been less of a big jump from picture to picture and we would have been able to see more detail and more accuracy.