NEW DEADLINE IS AUGUST 21, 2022!

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SCI-FI is the theme for STOPMO JAM 4! We're breaking out the X Files: Aliens! Spaceships! Robots!

So what is a STOPMO JAM?

It is a series of short animated ideas that all relate to the theme. We've done Spring, Run and Halloween thus far. This time, it's Sci Fi!

Puppets can be made of clay, paper, foam, wire, sand, whichever materials you can utilize to create your design but it must be stop motion animated. Sorry no LEGOs, action figures, toys, or store bought items are allowed UNLESS it is modified (painted, covered with paper or clay, etc). The goal is to make a hand-made experimental film. Stop motion puppets, 2d cutouts, sand, painting, pixelation*, all hand-made animation techniques allowed.

*animating your hand interacting with a puppet is ok

IMPORTANT: Your Jam must start and end with the camera lens obscured. See this similar idea here in this VIDEO from LAIKA (but it doesn't have to be characters fighting). You just need to cover the camera lens at the start and at the end of your shot. This will help when I edit all the Jams together.  

Once you are completely finished with your Jam, upload it to online storage such as Google Drive, Dropbox or WeTransfer and send the link to my INBOX.

If you have any questions, post them below.

 

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Important Technical Requirements!

For your Jam to look its best, please adhere to these guidelines.

Shot Length: up to 20 seconds maximum

Frame Rate: 24 fps (not 23.96 or 30 or 29.97....24 please!) 

Aspect Ratio: 16:9 @ 1920 x 1080

Finished Animation: export to Quicktime (H264 is good)

Add your own Sound FX and/or music. Make sure you have the rights to it. Better yet, record your own! 

DEADLINE is now August 21, 2022. This may seem like a long ways away but for stop motion people, it's just around the corner. Remember, you have to build and animate everything yourself. You could easily spend months just building a puppet. Start thinking of your idea first, once you have nailed it down, get to work. If you have any questions, send me a message thru SMA.com or better yet, reply to this thread. Content must be ok for kids to watch.* I reserve the right not to include your animation if it doesn't fit into these guidelines. Ok go make something!

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Comments

  • I am starting to get some Jams in already. Please put the name of your Jam and your name in the File name. This will help me keep track of who's Jam is Who's. Thanks!
  • Finally starting to film. Life keeps getting in the way. I figured I would do very little testing and instead i spent a month trying to work out camera moves. Already did a re-shoot of the first 3 seconds. Did I mention that robots move very clunky and not smooth motion? Yes that is why his movements jump around and not my lack of animating practice. I bit off way more than I can chew.
    First time ever moving a camera
    First time using a green screen
    First time shooting on 1's (already changed that a bit)
    First time I will add computer generated effects
    First time compositing a second object into the shot
    38 days to go.
    • Wow a crash course for sure. I bet you're learning a lot. That's awesome!
  • Anthony - I may be unable to make a Jam this time after all. I was attacked by a neighborhood dog Monday. Depends on how long it takes to heal up.
    • Hope you heal up soon! Damn dog!
  • Hi Anthony! I've had my eye on doing Stop Mo Jam for a while, but didn't want to say hi until I had my idea down! I just wanted to check before I start- I wanted to do pixelation but animate my whole body- is that still acceptable?
    Thanks
    • As long as you follow all the other guidelines, I'll allow it this time. Happy animating!
    • Yay thank you very much!! I promise I'll try to make it a good exception ;)
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STOPMO JAM 4 Behind the Scenes!

Post your behind the scenes photos here. I took a couple of snaps from the Robot Dance Title sequence. I made the puppet out of Sculpey and Armature wire in about a week. Animation took 5 days and Rig removal took about the same. It was very last minute as I was extended on Pinocchio by 6 weeks which cut into my time a bit, but I got 'er done! Please feel free to post your pics and share your experience.

Read more…
41 Replies · Reply by Steve Copeland Dec 22, 2022

15 Weeks Left to finish your Stopmo Jam

It's been a little quiet, so I thought I'd check in to see how everyone's progress is going? Need more time or is July 10 still doeable? I am in the final weeks of Animation on Wendell and Wild, so I haven't had time to work on mine, although I usually do the Titles. Anyway, let me know how it's going or if you have any questions.

Read more…
24 Replies · Reply by Emily Myers Jun 9, 2022