Tag: foley

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Animation

Plasticland

I just finished Plasticland, a stop motion animation that took a year to complete.

I made an informative “behind the scenes” video for my Patreon subscribers, if you are interested. Here are a few more details:

  • I spent at least 6 days filming in my yard (over 4 seasons), with each day comprising 4-6 hours of shooting.
  • The monster sound of the egg spider came from a neighbor’s dog. I tried to remove the spaces between his barks to make a long RrrRrrrrRRRrraaawwww sound.
  • My buddy Dusten provided some shortwave radio sounds, which can be heard when the astronaut gets back up on the wall. Thanks, Dusten!
  • There are real “Brood X” cicadas in the grass during the opening shots, as they were just starting to show up in my neighborhood.
  • I originally pitched this idea for a silent film festival in Denver. The declined my proposal, and asked me to make “Brood X” instead.

Thank you for watching, as always!

Animation
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Music

S.Ex no. 5

Music
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Music

S.Ex no. 2

Here’s a bit of a WIP, where I tried a screen test in the Theoretical Audio Lab. I’ve been fooling around with animating photos in the studio to have as a visual accompaniment. Promising!

And just look at the crazy drums I’ve been using.

Blue Sparkle 12" drum (tom)
Blue Sparkle floor tom
Blue Sparkle Snare drum

I’ve been scouring reverb and ebay for very cheap, MIJ (made in Japan), no name blue sparkle drums. That’s what Dad and I had when I was a kid. Back then, I felt somewhat “less than,” when I compared my drums to my school acquaintances’ Lugwig, Rodgers and Tama drum sets. These days, however, I take great pleasure in using these drums.

The tom features a hook mount, and I’m 99% sure it’s identical to the drums we had in the 70’s. Tuning is a little bit of an issue, but I think it sounds pretty good. That floor tom is missing the bottom hoop and lugs – not a problem for now, but I’ll try and find one. The snare, however, is the real treasure. There is no latch to disengage the snare, which is old, wanky, and stretched out. There’s a nob that doesn’t turn. The drum head indicates many, many hours of use, so I think this baby was well loved.

It’s a little bit of a project, reassembling my shitty childhood kit. I’ll use the shit kit this spring snd summer!

SK, for now.
SK, for sure.

Music
Categories
Music

Theoretical Audio Laboratory

This has been a nice, long walk to get here. Here being the beginning of a project from which I’ve been assembling materials and ideas throughout the pandemic.

I made a joke to myself a while back that goes “if you don’t have someone to play with, play with yourself.” And then I laughed to myself. And so, I’ve created the Theoretical Audio Laboratory in which to conduct my experiments. Sound Experiments (SEx)! And even Song Experiments.

This is turning out to be quite a hoot. Stay tuned. Or, detuned. Please stay!

Music
Categories
Animation

Wind is Ghost

It has been a very windy week in the neighborhood. I’ve been compelled to record the wind with my phone, and finally decided to animate something in an Altoids tin. This is a quick one. I wanted to do a camera test and play with the layers and light. I say it was a quick one, but it took a week to get this, after several false starts and abandoned takes.

behind the scenes, camera stand
work in progress
Working

Thanks for looking at this. I plan to do more elaborate attempts next.

Be well, stay safe and enjoy the autumn.

Animation
Categories
Animation

The Benefits of Radiation

I am happy to present my latest animation, The Benefits of Radiation. It’s the backstory for some of my action figures.

The story takes place in a Baltimore bar called Roshambos. You’ll figure the rest out if you watch the video above.

I’m happy with how this turned out. I’ve spent more time on this than anything I’ve completed to date. Time, both in terms of the hours it took to make, and also from the time I that had the idea for the story, up to this evening.

A ream of drawings...

I drew each frame on a light box and used about a ream of paper.

Drawing of a hand holding a can of space dust.

I finally found a use for Space Dust, too.

I enjoyed doing the foley for this. I enjoyed getting to know some of the characters. Perhaps you will enjoy this.

In any event, please please please… Enjoy Radiation Responsibly!

Animation