Music videos have given Michelle a great impetus to make fantastic animation with Stop Motion Pro…
Stop Motion Pro is software I use through the entire filming process. It’s fabulous in that I can playback my animation instantly and I can make changes then and there. I often use it to put together the final layout of the film too as it’s an easy way to playback my footage in real time.
– Michelle Williamson
Michelle kindly accepted our offer of an interview about her work.
My name is Michelle Williamson and I’m an Artist/Animator based out of Perth in Western Australia. I work across a variety of art forms including Stop Motion, Painting and Photography and often combine those art forms together when creating an artwork. It was at university, while studying a fine arts degree, that I first discovered stop-motion animation. It was that combination of crafts coming together that made animation so exciting for me. I could combine all my interests in one; film, photography, painting, drawing and sculpting. In my final year I was lucky enough to do some work experience with a Perth based stop-motion animator by the name of Pierce Davison. Pierce having years of experience as a working stop-motion animator was able to help me develop my practical skills as an animator and provided me with the mentorship I needed to progress my film-making.
Where is your work shown?
I recently released a stop-motion animated music video created for the local Perth band, Bears and Dolls. The band creates some really quirky tunes and ‘Scare Tactics’, a song recently produced by the band, was certainly no exception. The track has a bit of a sinister edge to it, so I wanted to incorporate that feeling into the visuals. Stop-motion offers so much freedom for ideas and it was a silhouette light board style of stop motion that seemed perfect for the imagery I was intending.
Michelle on set
I recently released a stop-motion animated music video created for the local Perth band, Bears and Dolls. The band creates some really quirky tunes and ‘Scare Tactics’, a song recently produced by the band, was certainly no exception. The track has a bit of a sinister edge to it, so I wanted to incorporate that feeling into the visuals. Stop-motion offers so much freedom for ideas and it was a silhouette light board style of stop motion that seemed perfect for the imagery I was intending.
‘Wilting Existence‘ is maybe my most experimental animated film yet. It was originally filmed as a silhouette light board animation, similar to my ‘Scare Tactics’ video. But after the completion of the animation, I wanted to take its final presentation further. This experimentation of different viewing techniques resulted in an Installation rather than a film viewable online. A mini projector sits atop a plinth projecting the moving image onto the surface of a leaf, eventually wilting over time.
What hardware do you use to make your films?
I currently work with a Canon 60D, which does the job well. I use a camera dolly, put together for use on my films by my father. Other than that I use tripods and make use of the general equipment around me. My bedroom has always been my studio space. I’ve often found myself living around large scale sets, sometimes going months in a dark, lightproof room as I’ve had to block out all the natural light sources for filming. Just recently I was lucky enough to be able to move into a studio space. This space is for the filming of my next stop motion which is a forest set, quite a bit larger than any set I’ve made before, and far too large for my bedroom.
How do you use Stop Motion Pro?
Onion skinning is the most beneficial tool to me personally, next to instant playback and the general editing tools. I would hate to go back to the days before I had this software! It certainly would have taken me a lot longer to complete my films. These tools just cut my work time down by so much, and eliminate many problems I may have had in the post production stages. There are still a few tools I am yet to explore to their full extent, and I think my next project will give me the chance to do just that.
How do you make the imagery in your work?
Each of my films has differed in the materials used. The puppet you see in ‘The Presence in the Absence’ is crafted from a wire armature, silicone head, silicone hands, foam and material. The puppet in the ‘Scare Tactics’ music video is created from wool, materials, flocking, split pins and card. I’m very open with my craft, I post plenty of progress shots which can be seen on my website and I’m open to discussing my techniques. My mentors have taught me the value in learning from others and letting others learn from you.
The film I’m currently working on is exciting in terms of its imagery. The entire 3d small scale set is crafted in wools, fabrics and textures and is far larger than any I’ve created before. Because it’s such a crafty process I intend to create a series of short films on the making of selected parts of the film. The first to be completed is the making of the puppets eyeballs: