New Book Review: The Art of Stop-Motion Animation

New Book Review

The Art of Stop-Motion Animation

By: Ken A. Priebe

TR 897.5 .P75 2009

Stop Motion animation is one of the oldest forms of visual trickery known to the silver screen. In Hollywood, it made the impossible appear before our very eyes, and today it continues to permeate the popular culture with such memorable films as The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline. Television shows such as Celebrity Death Match and Robot Chicken have risen to commercial success using the tools of stop motion animation, and now the secrets of this art form are revealed to you in The Art of Stop-Motion Animation.

The Art of Stop-Motion Animation is a comprehensive look at all things Stop-Motion. From the history of the art form, to the breakdown of a production pipeline, to step-by-step guides on how to make your own stop-animation films, this book will provide you with detailed instructions and helpful diagrams to make your ideas spring to life.

Instructional chapters will help you build your own puppets. Industry insiders give their insight and advice, and comprehensive photo records show you the concepts behind the practice of stop-motion animation. For anyone interested in the art produced by this process, and especially for anyone interested in pursuing a career in stop-motion animation, you simply can’t miss this book. Check out The Art of Stop-Motion Animation today!

Scott Sherman 11/09

Research Guides

The library has now put together a simple and very useful research guide for all majors here at Ringling. Research Guides are here to help everyone with researching topics about their major. There are even short videos, pictures, books and magazines that relates to the specific major and can  be useful for enhancing one’s work.

How to use Research Guides:

• Go to www.lib.ringling.edu
• Click on the intended major or program

• Click on the individual Research Guide you’d like to see
• Begin researching by clicking on the different tabs
• Each tab will have different  information about the intended major which are all highly informative.

Though Research Guides are still in the process of being perfected, students can at least familiarize themselves with the format of this new strategy.

What is Motion Design?

Many students and staff around campus keep asking what the new major of Motion Design is. As a first year Motion Design student, I can simply say that Motion Design is literally  a bit of everything. We learn a animation, film, photography, claymation, stop motion, graphic design, illustration, visual effects, and much more. Here are a few examples of what Motion Design really is.

Allison Schulnik, the director of this video created this using claymation along with stop motion, which is something that our Motion Design Department will be doing a lot of. This is a great example of what we do in Motion Design.

Another great example of Motion Design is the credits for Sherlock Holmes. Notice how parts of the film turn into illustrations and graphics- that’s simply what Motion Design entails, and what the future holds for this new department.

For further information visit our new Motion Design Research Guide page
http://www.ringling.libguides.com/motiondesign

Periodicals: Stash

If you’ve ever been to our Library, one of the first things you might have noticed first is the two walls lined with our periodicals. Our magazine subscriptions are wide and varied, and they run the gamut from Fine Arts to Pop Culture and beyond. There are certainly a few magazines here I’d never seen before, but of all the ones I’ve become acquainted with, there are none quite like Stash.

You can tell this will be good.

Stash is, according to their website, “the planet’s only monthly video showcase of animation, VFX and motion graphics”. They stick true to their mission, and each DVD is packed with a whole bunch of videos short films, broadcast design, music videos and commercials from around the world. This wide range of subjects, artists and clients produces equal variety in styles and solutions. Best of all, each DVD is accompanied by a booklet which contains details for each of the pieces.

It’s definitely worth a peek. The variety is each issue is sure to inspire or at the very least, amuse.

Click on one of the following images to see a short, if you’re still not convinced.

The Pearce Sisters

Neurosonics Audiomedical Labs Inc

Killer Tracks: New Releases!

Killer Tracks has just come up with a couple of new releases in 10 different libraries!

For those of you who don’t know, Killer Tracks is most likely our most beloved audio resource. You can browse through hundreds of songs, clips and sound fx through it’s user-friendly catalog or using a more specific search through the “trakfinder”. You can then listen to the clips and set aside those you like to download them. This is especially valuable for those of you in Computer Animation or Digital Film.

Now, Killer Tracks has expanded its library once more, to include the following 15 new releases in 10 different libraries. So be sure to check them out!

 

New Book: Directing the Story

New Book Review

Directing the Story
by Francis Glebas

PN 1995.9 .P7 G44 2009

“Francis Glebas was one of our most talented storyboard artists at Disney. He has a wealth of experience to share.”
–Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO, DreamWorks Animation SKG

In his new book, Directing the Story, Francis Glebas covers a wide range of topics pertaining to storytelling in the film industry, and gives expert advice on how to develop your own stories visually.  With his impressive background, and years of experience working as a story artist for Disney, he has a wealth of information to pass on to eager students.

While Glebas focuses mainly on the aspects of storytelling as they relate to directing, his book covers everything from the basics of where to begin with a good story, to structure and pacing, to shot composition.  With in-depth explanations and full pages of illustrations, Glebas lays out how a story should unfold visually, and how an audience reacts to those visuals.  Page after page of his own storyboards allow a separate story to unfold throughout the course of the book, instantly captivating his readers and further illustrating his points as he makes them.

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering where all the stories you saw as a child came from, and how they developed into the tales you grew to love, this is definitely the book for you.  Francis Glebas provides a fascinating, step-by-step guide to developing stories for the big screen.

Bri Meyer, 03/2009