Low Tech Rules: Stop-Mo Animation all the rage again
StopMo animation is enjoying a ranaissance of sorts, it would seem. First there’s the absolutely brilliant MUTO by BLU, then the “Box” ad for Audi. And of course, there’s the ever tasty Robot Chicken. Today, I was introduced to a video that pre-dates any of the above; the video for Sia’s “breathe me”, which can’t be called anything but art. I’m not gonna lie here…I think I might have wept a little bit.*
Check out how her lips actually sync to the music. If that’s all in-camera…damn. However, the calibre of the production house that created the video has me thinking that there might be a little touch of the Computer Magicks at work.
The video was produced by Sydney-based production house Collider, who are responsible for the decidedly über-high-tech animations in Microsoft’s recent “Faces” campaign for the XBOX 360.
Some fun facts about the Sia vid:
The video took over 2500 polaroids, which would cost roughly $3,800 in film alone on today’s ebay market for film that will expire in less than a year (February 2009, the last batch of polaroid film produced). (design:related)
Sure, the Sia vid is from 2004, so it’s hardly current, nor is using high-tech equipment to make art appear as low-tech as possible even remotely a new idea. But I’m seeing it, and many similar projects, pop up left right and centre lately, so I’m gonna go out on a limb and say this low-tech-rules fad is in danger of becoming the one of the more popular, and therefore most overused, styles of the near future.
It is certainly being capitalized on in viral and guerilla marketing, wherein the biggest trick is to advertise to people in such a way that they don’t realize they’re being advertised to. A bad, if not ambitious, example of this can be seen in this viral for Guitar Hero: World Tour, created by NYC ad agency Droga5. (Looks to me like they went the easy route and subbed in the pavement graphics in post. For those in doubt, check out the fire streaks at 3:13. IMHO, I can’t believe there was ever any doubt that this was anything BUT a marketing stunt.)
Here’s hoping they don’t milk the cow dry on this one.
*-not really. Shut up.
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Wow, very very cool, thanks for posting this. Although….. I wonder if it is really technically stop motion, since the enclosing sequences are definitely fast-motion video and the ‘polaroids’ I’m thinking might be full-mo video stills printed to look like polaroids, particularly since your quote says ‘would cost roughly $3,800′. Why, ‘would’? If I were shooting this I would think the easiest way to do it would be to shoot it full-motion video and select out frames in post to create the ‘flip book’ effect.
Well, I think the language “WOULD cost” is being used because what it’s referencing is ~3 years old, and they were using a current Ebay price as their baseline. I’m fairly certain they actually did take Polaroid pix, but a quick Google does nothing to substantiate that claim. Mayhaps I’ll e-mail Collide.
Re. the shooting full-motion: You’re likely right. People have been making homebrews that way for a while. I sispect that’s how they made the “Monster Truck Miniatures” vids (http://tinyurl.com/9d279x – they also employ Tilt Shift photography, which I so want to play with).
Me too! I saved a couple of links last month that show you how to fake it…
http://tiltshiftmaker.com/
http://www.tiltshiftphotography.net/photoshop-tutorial.php