Stop Start Animation Research & Analysis - 'Doughnuts'

This stop start animation of the making of doughnuts is a great insight in to how to make a stop start animation look smooth and professional. The animator did a great job of doing small precise movements in every step so the movements are fluid. This is done by taking a photo, making a tiny movement to something, and then taking another photo. Repeat this a lot of times and you will have a smooth flowing stop start animation. 

In this stop start animation the director used clever shots to make the glass fill with milk. The glass moved every so slightly each time, making it really look like a video rather than lots of separate photos. When the glass went behind the milk carton it filled up slightly more before circling around the cartoon again. This was a very effective shot, and showcased the what is needed to make a stop start animation look good. The shots of the play-doh character at the start of the animation will be similar to what we will create. We will be using a Golliwog in our production so these slight movements will be similar in the way we will make our golliwog move. The director was very accurate whilst making this at the start of the animation and looked at every detail to make it look professional. The play-doh doll looked left and then right, and then slowly moved towards a recipe book. The looking to the left and right, although a very minor adjustment, was done very well as the director took there time and took lots of photos so it was smooth.

We will use this video to help us film our camera angles as some angles will work better than other angles in a stop start animation to capture certain movements. One key element we learned from this YouTube video of the production of a stop start animation is to keep the camera in the same place for the shots, so that the movement can be precise and clear to the audience. If you move the camera whilst filming, it can be hard to show the objects moving fluidly. We also learned that the smallest, precise movements are much better than large changes, as the more photos taken, the more fluid the production will look. This encourages us to take our time with our production, and ensure each scene is done very well.