Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Pre-Production Booklet for Animation

Name:
Order of contents (italics show areas you must add in yourself)
Assessment criteria
LO2

Mind maps of ideas

Risk assessment

Format of your animation

Subject and storyline

Character notes and profiles

Movement of characters

Moodboard

Sets/backgrounds

Audio and soundtrack

Sound table

Props list

Audience

Storyboard and script (add script to booklet)

Frame rates

Lighting design

Production schedule

Crew details

LO3

Frame Numbers

Dope Sheets

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

How to use this booklet

You will need to complete every page of this booklet, and all sections / questions
required.
Assessment criteria for Distinction grade;
LO2
Plans will show a full consideration of movement and continuity, perspective, point of view,
transitions and special effects.
Precise and workable planning of timing and synchronisation to a soundtrack will be
produced. It will be clear at this stage, from the documentation, what the finished piece will
look and sound like.
Learners will follow industry conventions and terminology used in storyboard production
correctly.
Plans for the construction of models, sets and props will be realistic and clear.
Drawings, script and storyboard will all show a creative interpretation of the idea.
LO3:
The documentation linked to the production will be full and detailed and there will be
evidence that the production management and scheduling of the project has been effective
and carried out in a professional manner. The techniques used in the production of the work
are likely to be related to an understanding of current trends in the industry.

Both LO2 and LO3

In all practical activity learners will be capable of working autonomously and effectively. They
will work on their own initiative, will not need constant support or supervision, will give the
work their full commitment, work positively and cooperatively with others, and meet
deadlines. In other words, they will have the kind of self-management skills that would be
expected of them in a professional context. Note also that this criterion should not be taken
to mean that learners do not seek advice or that they work without discussing things with
their tutor, but rather that they are not dependent upon the support of others and that when
they take advice they weigh it carefully for themselves.

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Planning
Brainstorm / mind map (add extra pages if necessary)

Attach a 400 word treatment of your idea

Treatment.
I am Animating 33 seconds of Keane Everybodys changing (1:10 1:43). I
plan to use clay/play dough characters that can be easily be moved around and
changed, the reason I need this is because the main lyric of the song and of the
33 seconds that I have chosen is Everybodys changing and I dont feel the
same and I am going to represent these lyrics on the screen visually by having
my characters change their shape, colour and material throughout the 33
seconds. I am also going to have a setting made out of natural materials like
leaves and other natural things like twigs. The reason I am going to do this is
because I am not particularly great at set design and creating things with paint
and by drawing things. I am planning on having one main character who has
three friends, all of them changing their shape throughout the animation. The
storyline is that the main character is sad that his friend changed, so he runs to

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

his next friend and he changes too, he keeps running to different friends and
then he ends up flicking a switch that makes his friends come back to the way
that they were. As he does this the setting changes completely as well, from the
dark old leaves style to a colourful happier style setting. The reason that Im
doing this is so that the audience can really see a difference in mood and so it
helps them understand the storyline more.

How will you meet the requirements of your brief?

I will meet the requirements of my brief by working to the deadline, and by making
sure that I am clear in my head what I am doing before starting the production. I will
use my pre-production and planning to aid me throughout the process of making my
animation. I will use the brief to make sure that I am completing what is asked of me.

Risk assessment: Are there any health and safety issues you may encounter?
There arent any major health risks in doing this production, there are a few minor

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

issues that may happen which include tripping over the set. You could reduce any
injury from tripping by making sure the set is put away to one side and not in the
way.

Discuss any legal issues you may face. Eg; sound, plagiarism, age restrictions
I may face legal issues concerning the song that I use, it is possible that the video
could be taken down from YouTube for copyright issues. Hopefully as long as the
video doesnt show Keane in a bad light then it should be ok.

Use of possible formats

Circle which of the following formats your animation will take;
Claymation

Why are you using that particular format?

I am using this particular format because my music video requires clay figures so that
I can easily reshape them into different positions. Its also great to use because it is
fairly easy to move for the different pictures to be taken. The others formats I feel do
not meet my needs for my project.

What are the different possibilities you could explore using this format?

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

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What are the limitations of using this format? (i.e what problems/obstacles might you
have?)
If the material hardens then I wont be able to move my characters anymore, which would be
a major continuity error as Id have to make my character all over again. I might also have a
problem with shaping my characters, its hard to create a really good looking model out of
clay/plasticine.

What imaginative or inventive animations have you seen which use this format?
Add in links and screen shots of three examples of animations using this format.

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Subject
What will the subject of your animation be?

Storyline
Describe the storyline of your animation. What events will happen to your characters?

Characters
What characters will be in your animation?

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Complete the character profiles for each character in your animation

Name:
M/F:
Age
Costume:
Occupation:
Hobbies:
Character
Background:

Name:
M/F:
Age
Costume:
Occupation:
Hobbies:
Character
Background:

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Add in images and drawings/ sketches of what they will look like.

What will they be made of?

Movement of characters

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

How are you going to make your characters move?

What is the purpose of an armature?

Will you use them for your characters?

If so, how will you make it?

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Mood board
Create a mood board showing what look your animation will have. Add images showing
ideas of mise-en-scene, characters, costumes and colours that will be present in the
different shots.

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Sets / backgrounds
Will your set be;

A three wall set

Draw sketches of how your sets/backgrounds will look. Add in labels to your diagrams and
details of locations / lighting etc.

Add in photographs of your sets/backgrounds.

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Audio and Soundtrack

What audio will you have for your animation?

Complete the sound list, detailing what sounds you will use, where you will source them,
what equipment you will need to record them and when you will use them in your animation.
You will need to design your own soundtrack. You cannot use copyrighted music, and it must
be more than simply adding a track.

What actions will need sound effects?

Think of the scenes in your animation. Each scene should have different sounds/music to
give information about the mood / emotions of the characters.

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Sound Table
Production Name:
Producer:

Shot

The
whole
video

Action

Description
of Sound

Diegetic/non/diegetic

Atmosphere
created

Musice type
and
atmosphere

The whole
video

Music song

Non diegetic

sad

Keane
everybodys
changing

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Props List
What props / models / furniture etc will you need to make your animation?
PROPS LIST
Production Name:
Producer:

Item

Script page

Description

Character/location

Audience
Define the following characteristics of your audience;
Gender:
My gender will be both male and female, Im targeting my video at both genders, because I
dont want the content of the video to be targeting a specific genre, I want everyone to be
able to enjoy the video.

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Age:
The age range of my video will be from the age of five onwards. I am aiming to make a video
that people from any range can enjoy. I have chosen the age of five onwards, because I
think its around about that age that a child can properly understand whats happening in the
video in terms of storyline to enjoy.

Interests:
My audience will have a wide variety of interests, a lot of them may be very different from
each other. One particular interest that they may all have in common is their taste in the
band and the genre.

What forms of animation might they already watch?

Id imagine them to watch mainstream animations such as feature films like Wallace And
Gromit, and animation shows like Morph.

What images do you think they enjoy watching?

My audience is likely to like a wide range of different images, ranging from loads of different
genres and different

What might they consider distasteful or offensive?

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

They may consider racist, sexist, homophobic material as offensive. They may also find
some stereotypes offensive, so Im going to try and keep away from having any distasteful or
offensive material in my video. People may also find it a bit distasteful having gory/gruesome
in this video, as that is not what the song is about and if someone who doesnt like gore and
blood watches it they might consider it distasteful.

How will you ensure that your animation will suit your chosen audience?
I will ensure that my animation suits my audience by making sure that my codes and
conventions are similar to that of other videos for alternative rock music. I the video to reflect
the feel of the music, so if people like the song but the video isnt reflective of the same style
then it wont fit as well.

How will they physically watch your animation? (i.e in an exhibition format, on screen,
projection, online?)
They will watch the video online, through video sites and music streaming sites.

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Storyboard
Complete a storyboard for your animation.

And
then.?
What happens?
Describe the
action.

Camera?

Time?

What is the
camera angle?

Duration of the
shot / number
of frames
action is held
for.

Is there any
movement from
the camera?

Who?
Which
characters/
objects are in
the scene?

Say What?
Is there any
dialogue/text?

Where?

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Think carefully about the shots you will be using. Consider the
range of shots/angles to give interest and perspective
You will need to convey all movements and actions. Copy and
paste the storyboard to make it as long as you need to show all
the detail of your animation.

Shots
Extreme long shot
Long Shot
Medium Shot

What is the
location for the
shot?

Lighting

Natural
Camera Angles
Ambient

Birds-eye view

Torchlight

Spotlight
High angle
Direction of

Eye-levellight?

Two Shot

Low angle

Movement
Over
the Shoulder

Editing

Pan
Medium
Close up

Montage

Tilt up
Close

Cross cutting

Tracking
Shotup
Extreme
close

Match cut
Shot, reverse shot
Eye-line match
Jump cut
Tracking shot

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

You will need to add pages to this section for your full storyboard

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Frame Rates
What is the duration of your animation in minutes? (minimum 30 seconds)

In seconds?
The duration of my video is 33 seconds long.

How many frames per second for video?

I am going to have 24 frames per second, which will make the animation look crisp and
smooth

There are 60 seconds in a minute. How many frames (ie. Individual photos) will you
need to take?
I will need to take 792 photos.

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Lighting Design

Where will you be photographing your animation?

I will be photographing my animation, in a studio, where I will keep my set.

Does it have natural daylight?

There will be no natural daylight in my animation, everything is going to be lighted artificial
with torches and lamps.

If so, you will need to block this out. Explain why.

Do you have a constant light source(s) such as a lamp?

Yes I will use a lamp and a torch

Where will you place your light source(s) to create interesting effects?
I am going to place my torch so that I only lights up the character, and then once the
storyline progresses I will use a lamp to make everything seem brighter.

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

(LO3)

Frame numbers
You will need to label your images as frames
The first 24 frames will be written as;
0_1
0_2 etc etc

the following 24 will be

1_1
1_2
1_3
Ensure your clips are labeled as such. Screen shot the folder your clips are in, and copy the
image underneath.

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Dope sheets
A dope sheet is an animation tool which helps a animator organise the animation shot-byshot.
This gives the camera operator instructions on each shot type and how many frames this will
be used for.
A dope sheet is usually split into 5 different sections.

To indicate what action occurs on which frame number

To see what action is happening in this shot.
To see what dialogue used in this scene.
To show what level of animation is happening.
To give camera instructions (angle).

For example;

Because you will be working with video, you will be using 30fps. You will need to complete a
dope sheet for EVERY SECOND of your animation.
i.e, if you make a 30 second animation, you will need to complete 30 dope sheets.
This will be a time-consuming task, but it will help you understand what will need to
happen in each of the shots you take. The higher marks will come from a detailed and
careful collection of dope sheets. For example, if your characters speaks, you will need to
show the mouth forming every shape in order to look effective.

Frame

Path of action

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Dialogue /
Camera
Animation
Soundtrack cue
instructions

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

0_1
0_2
0_3
0_4
0_5
0_6
0_7
0_8
0_9
0_10
0_11
0_12
0_13
0_14
0_15
0_16
0_17
0_18
0_19
0_20
0_21
0_22
0_23
0_24
0_25
0_26
0_27
0_28
0_29
0_30
Frame

Path of action

Dialogue /
Soundtrack cue

Animation

Camera
instructions

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

1_1
1_2
1_3
1_4
1_5
1_6
1_7
1_8
1_9
1_10
1_11
1_12
1_13
1_14
1_15
1_16
1_17
1_18
1_19
1_20
1_21
1_22
1_23
1_24
1_25
1_26
1_27
1_28
1_29
1_30

Frame

Path of action

Dialogue /
Soundtrack

Animation

Camera

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

cue
instructions
2_1
2_2
2_3
2_4
2_5
2_6
2_7
2_8
2_9
2_10
2_11
2_12
2_13
2_14
2_15
2_16
2_17
2_18
2_19
2_20
2_21
2_22
2_23
2_24
2_25
2_26
2_27
2_28
2_29
2_30

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Copy and paste as many dope sheets as you need. Remember to change the frame
numbering so that the first number refers to the second of animation ie, 1_24 is the 24th
frame of the first second, 3_17 is the 17th frame of the 3rd second.

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Liaising with client (write notes on discussions between you and your client)