Post #22 FINISHED VIDEO.

Wow what a journey this has been to create this!

I am extremely happy with the end result as it feels almost like a music video. 

Take a look: 

Post #21 Importing and adding Music and SoundEffects with FinalCut Pro

In Final CutPro, I have imported my images at 30frames per second (fps) and then changed my speed to 10fps, by changing my duration to 3 (30/3 = 10).

Originally, my stop motion animation was going to run at 12fps, however my character walks a little too fast. I have imported the music "Pumping Blood" by NONONO, and have cut it at various areas to make it one minute long. 

Timing of the sounds is very important to get right otherwise the audience won't believe in the story. I have aligned the highs and lows of the song "Pumping Blood" with my StopMotion Animation to make it engaging for the audience.

I have added sound effects, such as a book opening and a camera flashing, to engage the audience and to make them believe that the video is real. The sound effects are subtle so that it doesn't sound out of place.

Here are a few screenshots of what my magnetic timeline looks like in Final Cut Pro:

Post #20 Music

Music is a very important tool that adds emotional impact and enhances the mood of the film. For my video, I would like an upbeat, cheery song to pair with the cheery theme of the video.

I am considering these three upbeat songs by Nonono, Grouplove and Colbie Calliat.

Personally, I prefer the song Pumpin Blood by Nonono, as it includes whistling (for when my character is walking through the street), and a fast beat that matches my video.  

The lyrics of the song pair greatly with my theme. The first verse of the song:

Hey heart on the road again
Moving on... forward
See the stars, won't break the bones
They're in the car... on the highway
It's so magical feeling, that no one's got a hold 
Your heart can list the all, happiness you know

"Heart on the road again", "Moving on… forward" and "They're in the car.. on the highway" all have meaning for traveling and following your heart. As my video is about traveling through countries and following your dreams, the song makes perfect sense.

The chorus:

This is your heart, it's alive
It's pumping blood
It's your heart, it's alive
It's pumping blood
And the whole wide world is whistling

"This is your heart, it's alive. It's pumping blood", doesn't have too much meaning in the song. However the song's beat and the music's climaxes make it extremely addictive to listen to.

Post #19 The process

I started and finished shooting the 288 plus photos within my bedroom. I borrowed a photography lighting soft box from the University to light up my bedroom during day and night. It was very time consuming to re-take every photo and sticking them up. Luckily I had help with the photography so that I could position each photo while my partner held the camera still.

Here is what my bedroom looked like after sticking all of the photos up.

This scene is where the girl walks across my desk and enters the chair lift across the Swiss Alps.

Here is the scene where the girl walks through London. 

I have created a background from photos of the Swiss Alps, from when I visited Switzerland. This is where the girl travels across in a chair lift. 

Above my bed, is where the girl leaves the chair lift and travels across the shelf.

I have uploaded all of the photos in Final Cut Pro, setting the frames per second to 6-8fps. Now it's time for the editing........

Post #18 - Final shots

Next stage of my stop motion is taking photos of the 288 printed photos. In this scene, the photos are in the travel book before she floats above the Eiffel Tower. 

I wasn't happy with how it turned out as the background changes too much. I definitely need a second person or to use the light box setup at Uni for this scene. 

Post #17 The making of!

I've decided to change my theme slightly. Instead of my first idea of a person drawing an image, sticking it on the wall then the girl in the photo comes to life, I have changed it to my travel book opening and the images in the book come to life. This will slightly change my theme, as the girl will discover four major cities/ countries: Paris, London, Switzerland and Mykanos. The idea came to me when I started reading my Europe travel diary from 2013.

Here are a few photos of my progress:

She catches a balloon up the Eiffel Tower (but really flying up my bedroom) 

Next scene in London - Landmarks such as Big Ben and the London Eye will be displayed in the bedroom.

She walks across a magazine

Last scene where her boyfriend tries to catch her.

I might change the background as it is hard to see him….

They're finally together…. the camera will zoom out and show my photos from Europe.

Post #16 Making of the cutout animation!

Today I started creating my cutout animation. There is an awesome setup at the University with a camera and two lightbulbs on either side. I began testing my animation....

It was quite fiddly to move each body piece. I used the software iStopMotion to automatically take a photo every 20 seconds and to see if each photo aligned.

iStopMotion on the Macbook Pro

Here are a few photos shot from today. I spent a lot of time working on the positions of the arms and legs to get it right. When I watched the photos at 12 frames per second, the walking looks realistic.

However, I may need to change the face as she is only looking straight.