Set Designs

Pirate Ship

I've tried to keep the exterior of the ship as simple as possible because it will only be on screen for a couple of seconds.

This ship will only be made in miniature for the scene when they reach the mist. 

For inside the cabin I haven't added a lot of detail because these will be background items, the most detail will be put into the table and the map.

 The upper deck is where Captain Cut-Throat steers the ship.

This set will be used twice, from two angels that is why have made this set a corner section.

 The lower deck is very simple and will be used when the first mate is drinking and laughing.

The Lookout's post is going to be made of thin tubing and thick card.

It will have two holes in the bottom for the tie-downs so the puppet wont move during the scene.

Island

The island is going to be made of paper mache so holes can easily be added for the tie-downs to go through.

The trees will be made from thin tubing and paper or card.

The jewels will be made from painted kinder egg cartons.

Based on the book Here Be Monsters text © Jonathan Emmett 2013 and illustration © Poly Bernatene 2013, first published by Macmillan Children’s Books.

Revised Animatic

Based on the book Here Be Monsters text © Jonathan Emmett 2013 and illustration © Poly Bernatene 2013, first published by Macmillan Children’s Books.

Revised Storyboard

This is the new storyboard for the trailer to the "Here Be Monsters" film.

For the trailer I tried to keep as many of the important parts of the story as I could.

I have only kept in the speaking characters and one monster, to show the threat and the character traits.

Based on the book Here Be Monsters text © Jonathan Emmett 2013 and illustration © Poly Bernatene 2013, first published by Macmillan Children’s Books.

Research Into Set Building

Stop Motion Set Design

A YouTuber called AnimateClay has uploaded a video of to make a set, I have found it helpful in how I am going to go about making my set.

Sites

http://www.stormthecastle.com/stop-motion-animation/making-a-stop-motion-animation-set.htm

I found this site helpful because it gives tips for making different types of furniture and making sure that the scale looks right with your characters.
This is something that I have found challenging in past projects as I tend to make my set too large.

Books

Winslow, C. The Handbook of Model-Making For Set Designers, (2008) The Crowood Press Ltd.

Shaw, S. Stop Motion: Craft Skills For Model Animation (2008) Focal Press.

I found both of these books helpful for tips and ideas for props to add into my set.

Building the set for ParaNorman - Laika

Other films with a pirate set

Pirates In An Adventure With Scientists

Behind the scenes of Pirates.

Cod Steaks are the company that build sets for Aardman's films, including a lot of the props.

This is a video of the different artists that work there and have created the set of Pirates In An Adventure With Scientists.

https://vimeo.com/39330300

Cod Steaks' website showing the pirate ship they made for the film.

http://codsteaks.com/portfolio/media/the-pirates-galleon

Cod Steaks' website for the sets of the film.

http://codsteaks.com/portfolio/media/the-pirates

I have also looked into the making of the short film "The Maker" (2011)
It shows the full process from start to finish.

References For The Sets

Pirate Ship Set

Book Reference

Ships Reference

Deck

Fishing Boat

Island Set

Book Reference

Islands

0. Based on the book Here Be Monsters text © Jonathan Emmett 2013 and illustration © Poly Bernatene 2013, first published by Macmillan Children’s Books. 

Revised Proposal Form And Timetable

Pre Production Practices	Module Title:	Pre-Production	Module Code:	ANIM3013
	Student Name:	Louise Baylie
	Area of Study	Stop Motion

Title of Project:	Here Be Monsters
Synopsis:	The treasure-hungry Captain Cut-Throat leads his villainous crew on a perilous journey to a mysterious island, surrounded by mist.

Treatment:

I aim to make a 3-minute trailer for the film adaption of the popular children’s book “Here Be Monsters”. This book is a light hearted story about a greedy Captain and how he ultimately learns the hard way that selfishness and greed will leave him alone and empty handed. The treatment of the film will be made in stop motion. This is because I feel that children often imagine their favourite book characters leaping off the page. I believe that stop motion is the closest to live action with still being able to keep the characters looking like those in the book. To keep the film in connection with the book I aim to have the backgrounds as paintings with minimal movement.

Research Proposition

The process of making a stop motion animation. I will contextualise all of the process of making my animation with those of others. I will give my opinion of how these other artists have influenced my work. Research into the author and book I am adapting. Research of the treatment. Storyboard artists. Animatic artists. Character designers. Set designers – Stop motion related. Replacement head research. Research into Dragon frame software. Research other stop motion animators.

Week	Date	Activity plan	Tutorials
1	2/10/15	Create presentation. Make materials list.
2	9/10/15	Begin building pirate ship set. Research casting voice actors.
3	16/10/15	Set building. Order armatures for characters.
4	23/10/15	Proposal Presentation Set building. Start making nets for costumes.
5	30/10/15	Set building. Finish making nets for costumes.
6	6/11/15	Set building. Start making costume for main character.
7	13/11/15	Voice recording. Finish costume for main character. Test main character movement.
8	20/11/15 27/11/15	(Worcester week – Building props) Start making costumes for the other characters. Test main character movement. Voice recording.
9	4/12/15	Building island set. Test puppet with replacement heads.
10	11/12/15	Building set. Make improvements to puppets and set.
11	18/12/15 - 1/1/16 8/1/16	(Christmas break – Edit voice recordings and practice animating replacement heads) Test filming on pirate ship. Building island set.
12	15/1/16	Filming on pirate ship. Filming on island set.
13	22/1/16	Assessment week. Continue improving sets ready to film next semester.

Student signature		Date 11/10/15
Tutor signature		Date