Claymation is a rare form of animation today, but movies like "The Corpse Bride" and "Coraline" are keeping it alive. Claymation is a great for new animation filmmakers to learn the craft and practice cinematography, editing and special effects without a large budget or cast. If you are venturing into your first claymation production, there are some key things to remember and try while you prepare and film your project.
Characters
Original clay characters will help your project stand out from others. Keep the clay character stable and lasting by building a basic skeletal armature. Use an alumiaum wire to form the body, two legs and two arms. Wrap an extra layer of wire around key sections of the body, such as the feet, hands, and neck. When creating the clay body, keep the head separate. Create a dozen different heads with different expressions. These will make the animation process a lot easier and are used in case any of the heads accidently break or become warped.
Backgrounds
Backgrounds and sets are a key part to making the world of your claymation project come alive. Visit modeling stores and hobby stores to find minitature things like trees, grass and even faux mountains. Many railroad accessories can be applied to a small village. Visit yard sales and flea markets to find lightly used toys for bargains. A little modeling paint can easily spruce up the toys and help create your fantasy world.
Action Figures
Action figures can supply a lot of extra characters and elements for your production. A figure may come with weapons, clothing or body parts that can be used on your current characters. Use action figures with a lot of articulation points to make the most detailed animations. Remember to keep size a factor. A 6-inch action figure will look like a giant, compared with a 3-inch action figure. Use depth and angles to make them appear the same size.
Equipment
In a video project, the common conclusion is to use a video camera but a digital camera will provide easier capture methods and customization for lighting, depth of field and editing. Use a digital SLR camera (DSLR) for the best results and clearest pictures. A macro lens will provide close up shots of the figures. A tripod is a necessity to keep shots smooth. The tripod should be secure so that any bumps or accendental hits will not knock it down.
Special Effects
Use special effects to add more to your animation and make it more realistic. An animation program liek Adobe After Effects will help add motion blur, background items like clouds, and lighting effects to your production. Pre-plan everything as much as possible so you can make the best use of special effects. A simple effect to use during the production is the "Frame and Switch." For example, say you wanted to make a character explode and turn to dust. Place the character in the frame. Take 3 pictures of the character. Remove the character and replace it with a pile of salt, pepper or sugar. Take 2 more pictures. While editing this clip, insert an explosion between the last character frame and the pile of sugar. The transition will flow seemlessly and create the explosion effect.
