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.

Planning

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Brainstorm / mind map (add extra pages if necessary)

ideas to promote the channel:
Focus on one aspect?? only on drama or documentary?? perhaps that would not
advertise the whole channel. stop motion murder mystery or take david
attenboroguh audio and dress it up with stop motion (too complex maybe
Target audience? New channel so assume its trying to get everyone??
keep it universal.
make a figure the same colour as vibes colour scheme in order to create a cute
symbol.
new set for every section of vibe production one for dramas documentary game
shows ECT

Attach a 400 word treatment of your idea

I will be producing a 35 second Stop Motion Channel ident, for Vibe

Productions. I will aim to showcase some of the popular show
types shown on Vibe Productions such as Dramas and
Documentaries. I have come up with a character called VibeMan
who is the same blue colour as the Vibe Production logo, he will act
as the face of the channel in this ident and he will explore a variety
of different worlds across the ident. He will begin in a white studio
space sitting on a chair, he will the rise and make his way off
screen and into a jungle set where he will peer round a tree before
being chased by a dinosaur, he will run away and eventually end up
on the set of a drama where to slug characters dance with each

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

other before being interrupted by the bumbling VibeMan, he will

shoo them of the set before being crushed by a boot, the footprint
will finally reveal the Vibe Production logo. I will aim to keep the
animation simple and give it a home made feel by building the
majority of my props and characters out of plasticine, my
inspiration came from the highly successful E4 Estings series in
which members of the public submitted their own channel indents,
the winners all had a distinctly homemade feel and incorporated
humour into their work. I will keep my Indent as neutral as possible
in order to satisfy all members of my target audience, Vibe
Productions is a universal channel and as such i have to produce
an ident that all ages will find wholesome and entertaining. have
designed cute and simple characters that the audience will find
interesting and memorable and put them in simple situations that
are humorous on a very basic and non offensive level. Behind all of
this i will be attempting to showcase all the positive aspects of Vibe
Productions and aim to communicate to the audience what kind of
shows they can expect by tuning into Vibe Productions, such as
Music Videos, Documentaries and Drama. I will be using popular
music in order to make the audience feel at home with the channel
and place VibeMan in a variety of different settings in order to do
this clearly. An issue i may face will be condensing all of this
information into 35 seconds as well as the execution of my
animation which i am new to.

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

How will you meet the requirements of your brief?

I will produce a minimum 30 second ident, the characters i am building will be
simple and memorable for the audience, i will conveying information about the
channel through the ident whilst also making it entertaining for the audience to
enjoy. From my research into other Indent formats i found the best ones are short
and concise building up to a final logo reveal at the end, this i will be carrying
across into my work as Vibe Man is crushed by a boot to reveal the Vibe
Productions logo.
the brief also said that i can use copyrighted music if i locate proof of permission.
my characters will be simple and genderless in order for everyone watching to enjoy
it, and also to stop any possible controversy that could be sent towards the
channel.

Risk assessment: Are there any health and safety issues you may encounter?
When working in the studio and using the lights I will make sure the lights which
heat up do not get to close to the set which will probably be made of cardboard so
that the set does not catch fire and melt my character.
Trailing wires may also be a concern so i will keep the wires out of the way of mine
and other peoples sets, as far as working with my characters they will be made of
non toxic plasticine so their shouldnt be any real issues there.

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Discuss any legal issues you may face. Eg; sound, plagiarism, age
restrictions
In my brief I was assured that I would be able to use copyrighted
music. An area of plagiarism I could potentially run into is my use of a
humanoid block color figure similar to morph, in order to get around
this I will use a different color to the morph character and not give it
any real facial expression in order to not confuse the audience. This
indent should not run into any age restriction as it is a non-verbal non
controversial video. The only area which might cause an issue would
be the section when the character runs from the dinosaur and is
chased it could be menacing and scary for young children but as it
executed in an over the top fashion, this probably wont be the case.

Use of possible formats

Circle which of the following formats your animation will take;
stop-frame techniques
time lapse photography
plasticine animation
Claymation
using found objects
modelling
puppetry

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

combined formats

Why are you using that particular format? I am using this particular format as it is
versatile and different, it is rarely used in popular media anymore so it is fitting for
this new channel as it communicates to the audience that Vibe Productions does
things differently.

What are the different possibilities you could explore using this format?
The material I will be using can have a variety of different colours, I can experiment
with skin tones movement styles and visual style. plasticine is easy to move and
shape and will allow me to make anything that i want in order to produce and effective
Indent. I could also build set pieces out of it if i needed to.

What are the limitations of using this format? (i.e what problems/ obstacles might you
have?) the limitation I have are based on my skill level in terms of animation. For example as
I am new to animating I am limited to quite a basic style of animation as opposed to
aardman animations for example. This can also be carried on through my set as my skill
level will dictate how effective my set is. I will also not have access to high quality armatures
I will have to build my own which may work to a degree but not on the same level as a
professional one.
Another limitation is that the camera has to stay completely still and all the shots have to be
consistent, in order to get around this, i will be using a tripod to hold the camera still.

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkRBgKdoPZw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36GfaI0_B8E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sct5j7Quo54

Subject

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

What will the subject of your animation be?

The subject of my animation will VibeMan a blue humanoid who likes to travel. He will visit al
the sets used by vibe production and get in a bit of trouble with a dinosaur. He will then
break up two dancing slugs before being crushed by a boot to reveal the Vibe Productions
Logo.

Storyline
Describe the storyline of your animation. What events will happen to your characters?
VibeMan will start in the vibe productions studio and host his own talk show to a great
applause he will then receive a text from his producer ordering him to go to Africa to film a
new documentary, on his arrival he is chased by an angry dinosaur who chases him across
an advertisement set and childrens set before finally collapsing in an empty set before the
angry dinosaur squishes VibeMan to reveal the vibe productions logo.

Characters
What characters will be in your animation?
A Large and angry dinosaur and VibeMan.
two slugs one green and one blue.

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

!
Complete the character profiles for each character in your animation

Name:

VibeMan

M/F:

Non Gendered

Age

24

Costume:

Depending on location
Nothing
A tribal outfit
A tie
A clown Outfit

Occupation:

Tv Personality and Traveller

Hobbies:

Exploring all the sets and locations that Vibe Production Like to use
to create their shows

Character
Background:

They trained in film production and got into TV presenting through

running for Vibe Production

Name:

The Dinosaur

M/F:

Male

Age

1 million years old

Costume:

N/A

Occupation:

Starring role of Vibe Productions dinosaur documentaries

Hobbies:

Chasing Vibe Man

Character
Background:

they live in the jungle are are king of the animals

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

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

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

What will they be made of?

They will made of Modelling clay the same colour as the VP logo.

Movement of characters

How are you going to make your characters move? I am going to make my characters move
in a natural but over exaggerated way, for example my character will run as a normal person
would do but their arms will swing higher and their legs will stretch longer. I will do this in
order to make the channel indent more funny and interesting.
I will be binding the plasticine to an armature frame in order to hold them rigid. This is
important as they need to hold their positions in between shots.
I will be moving the characters by hand in-between shots and they will take small
movements when combined together should produce the illusion of smooth movement

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

What is the purpose of an armature?
The purpose of an armature is to hold the model stiff when not in use this so in-between
shots the model will remain in the exact same position as it was before.

Will you use them for your characters? I will use them for my character in order to help make
my stop motion look more professional.

If so, how will you make it?

I will make it out of a wired coat hanger interlinking in certain areas like the hips and under
arms. i will make a simple armature using these instructions i found online
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-an-Armature-for-Sculpting/

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

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Sets / backgrounds
Will your set be;

A three wall set

A blue/green screen

An existing location

A Combination of two or more of the above

Draw sketches of how your sets/backgrounds will look. Add in labels to your diagrams and
details of locations / lighting etc.
I will be using a green screen background in order to create a realistic environment for my
characters, in some areas i will be using a three walled cardboard set and plasticine set
pieces. i will want to use bright lighting in order to create a colourful and pleasant
atmosphere, however in order to reduce shadow i will be placing my lights directly over my
set, so the light will shine naturalistically like the sun would for example.

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

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

Action

VibeMan
getting off
his stool

Upbeat quirky Igloo Ghost

Chinchou

Vibe man
walking out
of shot

Jolly

Igloo Ghost
Chinchou

Vibe Man
peers
around the
tree

happy

Igloo Ghost
Chinchou

Vibe Man is A deep

Diegetic
chased by
dinosaur roar
the dinosaur

fast paced

Igloo Ghost
Chinchou

Description
of Sound

Diegetic/non/diegetic Atmosphere
created

menacing

Vibe Man is
crushed by
the boot

Musice type
and
atmosphere

Igloo Ghost
Chinchou

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

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Production Name:
Producer:

Item

Script page

Description

Character/location

A Stool

a black and silver the studio set

stool for VM to
sit on

A tree

A plasticine tree
with hanging
branches and ivy

the jungle set area

A scary
dinosaur

a large green
dinosaur with
scary teeth

the jungle set area

A cardboard
dance hall

a large white and

cardboard
dancehall where
Vibe Man meets
the slugs

the studio area.

a large boot

a large black
boot that crushes
vibe man

Notes

Audience

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Define the following characteristics of your audience;

Gender
Male and Female

Age
16-35 this is because of the programs that Vibe Productions handles such as dramas.
Children beneath the age of 16 may find dramas to be boring or they may be
inappropriate for young viewing. At this age people tend to begin taking a more
advanced interest in music which works with VPs broadcasting of Music Videos.

Interests
Their interest will be in a wide variety of TV, they will be interested in reality TV documentary,
Dramas, TV Advertising and Music Videos.
They will be interested in new shows and the latest series and news.

What forms of animation might they already watch?

They might have already seen popular mainstream animations such as Wallace and
gromit and chicken run. they are more likely to have seen computer animations such
as Toy Story and Finding Nemo.

What images do you think they enjoy watching?

I think they would enjoy watching a colourful simply entertaining animation which is
non offensive and wholesome. They will enjoy simple humour seen on programmes
such as youve been framed.

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

What might they consider distasteful or offensive?

Anything that contains high amount of swearing or that makes light of controversial
issues. they will want to enjoy themselves and not be bombarding with offensive and
complicated information

How will you ensure that your animation will suit your chosen audience?
By keeping my characters non verbal and by using popular music that should interest
he straight away. Im using a bright colour scheme which will be easy on the eye and
pop out the audience. I will make the scenarios of the indent universal and simple in
order for the universal audience to enjoy it

How will they physically watch your animation? (i.e in an exhibition format, on screen,
projection, online?)
they will watch in TV across the day before a show begins

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?

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

W
lo
s

Say What?
Is there any
dialogue/text?

Shots
Extreme long shot
Long Shot
Medium Shot
Two Shot
Over the Shoulder
Medium Close up
Close up
Extreme close up

Movement
Pan
Tilt
Tracking Shot
Zoom

Camera Angles
Birds-eye view
High angle
Eye-level
Low angle
Oblique / canted angle
Worms-eye view
Ground Shot

Editing
Montage
Cross cutting
Match cut
Shot, reverse shot
Eye-line match
Jump cut
Tracking shot

N
A
T
S
D
li

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

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.
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)
Between 30 and 40 seconds

In seconds?

How many frames per second for video?

30 frames per seconds so 900

There are 60 seconds in a minute. How many frames (ie. Individual photos) will you
need to take?
1200

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

Lighting Design

Where will you be photographing your animation?

in the studio

Does it have natural daylight?

no only artificial electric light

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

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

yes there is large array of lights and plugs, over head lights are also available.

Where will you place your light source(s) to create interesting effects?
I will place a bright overhead light above my set in order to naturally illuminate some
areas, and in some scenes i will lower the power of the overhead and use a smaller
lamp to draw the audience to certain things.

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

Dialogue /
Soundtrack cue

Animation

Camera
instructions

0_1-5_
27

Vibe Man gets of his

stool and walks out of
shot

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

IglooghostVibeMan
zoom from close
Chinchou
Stands up and up to wide angle
walks out of
shot

6_1-7_
10

Vibe Man peers from

behind a tree

IglooGhost
Chincho

VibeMan looks
nervously from
behind a tree

close up on the
tree bark in
order t capture
the details

7_10-8
_25

Vibe Man is chased out

of shot

Igloo ghost
Chinchou

Vibe man is
chased by a
dinosaur

medium wide
shot

Load dinosaur
roar
8_25-1
0_13

Vibe man runs towards

the camera beforee
knocking into it

IglooghostChinchou

Vibe man runs wide shot

at the audience

10_1314

Vibe Man waves at the

camera

IglooghostChinchou

Vibe man
cheerfully
waves at the
audience

close up shot

14-18_
21

cut the two slugs looking

at each and dancing

IglooghostChinchou

the two slugs

dance in a
circle around
each other

slow pan down

to close up

18_2120_3

the slugs continue to

dance

IglooghostChinchou

the two slugs

keep dancing

medium wide
shot

20_3-2
6_19

Vibe Man rushes the

slugs of the set

IglooghostChinchou

Vibe man runs medium close

on to the set
up
and pushes the
slugs out

26_1927_25

Vibe man turns to the

face the audience and
looks up

IglooghostChinchou

Vibe man is
distracted and
looks up to the
sky

27_2532_04

Vibe Man is crushed by a Iglooghostboot

Chinchou

Vibe ma is
scared as the
boot begins to
crush him

32_04-

The boot lifts up to reveal

the Vibe Productions
Logo

35_00
0_12
0_13
0_14
0_15
0_16
0_17
0_18
0_19

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

0_20
0_21
0_22
0_23
0_24
0_25
0_26
0_27
0_28
0_29
0_30
Frame
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

Path of action

Dialogue /
Soundtrack cue

Animation

Camera
instructions

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

1_25
1_26
1_27
1_28
1_29
1_30

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

Stop Motion Animation Pre-production Booklet

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