Progress Evaluation

So far, I have done most of my set, written my script and actions and chosen my characters. I have painted my set and printed out some backdrops for it. I have also written out my script on a word document and written their actions and expressions next to their lines. I have chosen the characters and their characteristics according to their personality. I am nearly ready to start shooting.

I am not shooting at school, but I don't need to do that much more to be ready to shoot at home. All that I need to do before shooting is to paste my backdrops onto my set, build a few more things out of lego (buildings etc), and organise the lights to be on the set. I also might need to do a shorter video to practice shooting a stop animation. As you will see in the photos, my set looks a bit boring so I may need to decorate it with printed out backgrounds and lego.

Out of the youtube videos, I learnt:

1. How to change the frames per second (fps) in iMovie. (I am going to do 12, which means 360 shots. 12 x 30 seconds = 360 frames.

2. How to organise all the frames into iMovie (importing, organising, getting rid of Ken Burns effect)

3. How to secure the camera to reduce shaking (using legos to hold it in place, sticky tape)

4. The amount of effort needed to be put into a stop animation to make it look good. (The Boxtrolls) (the thought processes and how carefully it needs to be planned and organised)

5. How to export the stop animation out of iMovie (finishing it, converting to mp4 etc.)

The only problem I am having is working out how to identify who is talking in the animation. Is there any way to make the minifigure's mouth move? I have found an app on the iPhone that takes a photo every five seconds, which is really helpful because I don't have to keep pressing the shutter. But I am still deciding whether it is better to use that or an SLR camera.

Here are some photos of my set and backgrounds: