Set
ResearchTaking into consideration the scale and design of the puppets, I decided to make the backgrounds very simple. They will basically consist of white walls covered in picture frames and paintings that would normally be found in a museum.
I've looked at the the aesthetics of Jim Henson's work and feel that the fun colours, rounded, wonky shapes would support the puppets and help show them off. These qualities are also present in Dr Seuss' work and the idea of simple, white walls reminded me of the video game 'Antichamber'. |
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Mood board
Maquetting
To start off with thinking about backgrounds, I mocked up a few picture frames to test the sort of style, colours and texture that would support the puppets and not draw attention away from them.
Foam, paper-mache, balsa wood and wire were some of the materials I tested. Instantly, the balsa wood coloured with markers looked best on camera and allowed for clean shapes to be cut out and a wide of colours available. |
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Traditional background
Initial thoughts were to have a basic white wall and white floor for the entirety of the film. To the right are tests considering different colours for the floor to see if distinguishing a line between the wall and floor worked well.
I personally like the differentiation, but will explore further options to see if any other methods will better show off the characters. |
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Green screen
After thinking about how the puppets need to run further distances than the length of the table, I thought about green screening, or blue screening because of the frog. This would involve the puppets running on the spot and later comping in picture frames moving behind them.
To make this method work, the blue screen would have to be properly lit and be very large. The video below is 3 tests using Adobe after effects to composite out the blue and key in an image of picture frames. The frame layer can then be animated to move through screen and loop. Having the same pictures loop in the background imitates older cartoons and is a stylistic option I would be happy to use in my film. Comping out the blue also started to remove part of the flamingo's colour, meaning more editing was necessary. How it looked after this seemed to mimic the aesthetic of CGI and isn't what I wanted for my film. |
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Back to traditional background
Moving on again from the green screening and back to traditional backgrounds. This way the aesthetic of the puppets and the backgrounds are more suited to each other and the handmade look won't be lost due to using digital compositing. It does mean however that using different camera perspectives will be harder to achieve. But a track method can be used to move the background separately from the puppets. Basic colours will still be used and detail and props will be kept to a minimum so as to not take focus away from the animation.
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Back walls
I made 4 separate back wall panels. They are created from 5mm thick foam board which was then covered in watercolour paper, painted with a light blue colour that was applied with a sponge. I wanted to walls to have some texture so they didn't look too dissimilar from the 3D puppets. I chose a colour that wasn't too much like any of the characters to ensure all the action is easy to distinguish.
Each board has a column attached to the right hand side with slight overhang. This is so that they all slot into each other neatly with no gaps or blemishes seen on camera. They also all have increments measured on the bottom and hooks on the back. |
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To allow the background to slide along the track at equal intervals, I marked measurements along the bottom and attached a needle to the skirting board, so the entire background can be pushed along however many cm at a time.
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To ensure the boards stay completely upright, I attached hooks to the back so they slide along smoothly. They slot onto the top of the mdf precisely in order for the entire thing to continuously to move an accurate amount each frame.
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One of the shots in the film is an extra wide shot of the gallery from the start of the film. I have 4 separate back boards and made 2 extra skirting boards that can be easily put in place to create a perspective shot for the gallery scene.
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Paintings
Other props
SeatsTo link the design of the seats with the rest of the background and the picture frames, I made the legs slightly askew with curls on the feet and top of the seat. There are 2 seats for both the frog and the bee, so the scale had to be the same but work for both characters. They are made using cardboard, wire, milliput, paint and a wax metallic finish.
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Venus De Milo statueThe Venus De Milo stature only features in one shot, with its purpose being to hide the flamingo. Therefore the scale had to be correct but other than that, it served only as an aesthetic. Although, to keep it steady, screw downs were incorporated into the design of the base.
It's made by sculpting foil and covering this in ultra-light sculpey with any extra details finished off with acrylic paint. |