Claymation Infestation!

Posted on November 06, 2006 by Meaghan O'Connell

The first day of our new claymation workshop, called "Shaping a Story"
I shook nervously as a formidable group of would-be stop-animators
arrived, all smiles and USB ports, and presented to the class their
own films they had worked on independently. I sat back wide-eyed,
watching what made me feel like an inferior human being. I
re-examined my wasted childhood, filled with too many episodes of
"Full House" and clearly not enough time spent with at-home movie
editing software. They had iMovie, I had Skip It. They had creative
outlets and practical life skills, I had the neighborhood record for
the number of times I could jump over a pink plastic ball attached to
my ankle... But there was no time to lament years of lost opportunity;
we had a story to shape.

Right away we got to work on a story-line-- now this was something I
could work with. I boldly seized the dry erase marker and began
crafting what the kids shouted to me into an elaborate system of
arrows, bubbles, and plot-line which was beautiful, if not legible.
From this brainstorm, we molded (ba-dum ching) a story filled with
heartbreak, adventure, comic genius and moveable parts. Imagine a
world inhabited-- nay infested-- by hundreds and hundreds of--you
guessed it: red bears with green polka dots.

We got down and dirty with the clay as soon as we established our main
characters-- a King (of the World), his humble servant (who may or may
not be trying to steal the throne), a rather round rather magical lady
who could possibly be in the business of Saving the Day, and of course
those darned speckled bears. At this stage I was still remotely at
ease as an authority figure, supervising polka dots and tail size as
our group became a veritable bear factory, churning out what would
soon become nothing short of a claymation infestation.

Since that first class everyone has been hard at work taking hundreds
of shots of still photographs which with the power of technology will
become an on-screen equivalent of a cartoon flip book, featuring not
only a beginning and a middle, but an end as well. I, however, have
been exiled from use of the camera, as my story-telling skills
instantly diminish behind a camera lens and I become more of a
paparazzi than an auteur, shooting what is euphemized
ever-so-graciously by Barbara as 'choppy,' but may better be described
as spastic; me flipping the camera in all directions-- sideways, up
and down, diagonal, zooming in and out with reckless abandon, the kids
wondering what the heck I'm doing and Barbara probably trying
desperately to think of other ways I can 'help out.'

Thankfully, the other volunteers and fellow animators have much
better control of their shutter button fingers and have been doing
wonderful things with these life-filled characters who were once only
lumps of clay (okay, plastic-wrapped bars of clay). I have since
learned my place in the workshop (the sidelines) and I won't give away
the ending just yet, but let's just say there's something for
everybody in this one. Stay tuned!