My initial instinct for Extended Practice was to focus entirely upon puppet making, from the design through to the construction of armatures, sculpting, mold making, casting, painting, costuming et al. without the added pressure of having to storyboard, animate and edit an animation. As it is model and puppet making which interests me, that I wish to make a career out of, I need to build up a strong portfolio of work which demonstrates the range of my abilities. This is the perfect opportunity to do so.
Last year, I discussed with my tutor how I might make the most of this module, and how I might write a brief which best suits my skills and ambitions. He mentioned the option of creating a cast of characters, for example that of a Shakespeare play, and perhaps even a set for them to inhabit. This would still constitute a significant body of work, and allow me to focus completely upon my area of creative practice. This is a concept which appealed and has stuck with me as I have been considering my brief.
While it might be rather over ambitious to aim to craft the entire cast of a Shakespeare play (some of which have many, many characters, both central and minor), I could select a few key characters from a story which could appropriately be adapted into a stop motion animation. The first possible option which came to mind was a story which I had already considered for a project in first year, in which I created a title sequence for a cinematic adaptation of a book. The Sunne In Splendour is a historical novel set during the Wars of the Roses, focussing on the life of Richard III. Although the cast of characters is large, it would be possible to select just the central characters, or indeed select a particular scene and construct only the relevant figures.
Another option would be Firebringer, as a continuation of my work for CoP3, in which I aimed to design and construct the central character (a stag) as both a stop motion and theatrical puppet. While all the characters for The Sunne In Splendour would be humans (with the exception of possibly a battle horse) Firebringer would offer the chance to construct puppets which varied in shape, size, armature structure and surface materials, as the cast includes several species of deer, wolves, seals, crows and humans.
With these budding ideas, I filled out an initial rationale, to inform my tutor of me plans, so that they might make any suggestions or voice and concerns.
Subjects and Themes
Broadly speaking what are you interested in exploring and why?
I wish to use this opportunity to focus entirely upon model making and character building, without the stress and worry of having to animate the characters afterward. I want to immerse and dedicate myself to the process of puppet making, and build up a comprehensive portfolio of work.
Rationale
What you want to do during this module? Be as specific as you can at this moment in time. If you plan on working on multiple briefs to demonstrate your practice, identify clearly each brief.
Either I could develop the work and research I have already undertaken as part of CoP3, and expand upon the cast of characters for Firebringer (which could include the villain, an antlerless, one eyed, dictatorial stag, a wolf, a raven, a seal, other species of deer) allowing me to experiment with various different shapes and sizes of puppet and armature. Or I could take the knowledge and understanding of puppet making and apply it to a new story. Other stories which I have considered are My Uncle Oswald (or one of Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected. These have quite small casts, but perhaps I could also look at creating a set, using laser cutting techniques?), and The Sunne In Splendour, for which I already created a title sequence in first year. How many puppets would be considered an appropriate workload? The possibility of incorporating my interest in taxidermy into my puppet making has also been suggested.
This will develop my specialist practice by enabling me to spend a significant amount of time developing, refining and concentrating upon my puppet making skills, including sculpting, mold making and casting. As well as developing my existing skills, I hope to have the opportunity to work with new materials and put into practice some of the knowledge gained throughout the course of my CoP research, but did not use for that module, e.g. some of the techniques discussed by Animation Toolkit.
Resources and Workshops
I will need extensive access to the ceramics, and potentially metal, workshops. I will need to figure out the design of my characters fairly swiftly, so that I can ask for advice on which kits would be most suitable, and order and assemble them in plenty of time.
Will you be working on a group project or brief?
No, I am aiming to work individually, or potentially recruit the help of a fashion student to assist with costumes, and a photography student to help me capture the finished puppets to their best advantage.
Are there any stakeholders in your project?
No, unless the aforementioned fashion or photography students wish to use this to contribute to one of their own modules.
What, where, and when do you need to research? Identify artists, practitioners, companies or organisations that you will need to talk to. This could include conferences and events.
Barry Purves (find out who was the taxidermist he worked with on Plume, or I also have previous contact with relatively local taxidermists Mike Gadd and Dave Hornbrook, if I decide to pursue this route), Mackinnon & Saunders, Suzie Templeton, Animation Toolkit (Wes & Dan), Adam Wright (armature maker on Frankenweenie), Ladislaw Starewicz.
Books, Periodicals, Websites or other reference material.
Brierton, T. (2004) Stop Motion Puppet Sculpting, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co.
Pribe, K. (2011) The Advance Art of Stop Motion Animation, Boston: Course Technology.
Purves, B. (2008) Stop Motion: Passion, Process and Performance, Oxford: Focal Press.
Purves, B. (2010) Stop Motion, Switzerland: AVA Publishing.
Shaw, S. (2003) Stop Motion: Craft Skills For Model Animation, Oxford: Focal Press.
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