Seanan Fagan
My project was inspired by the old 'monster on a rampage' movies which were popular in the 50's and 60's. The main influence on this project was the 1953 film The Beast from 20000 Fathoms, which showcases the stop motion animation work of Ray Harryhausen. In the film there is a scene where monster emerges from the ocean and destroys a lighthouse. I decided to pay homage to this scene by animating a creature of my own design crawling onto a sea pier. The project includes a scale miniature model of a sea pier and lighthouse to be shot on a greenscreen back drop and a stop motion puppet of my original sea creature called the Dredger which is designed to resemble a giant prehistoric amphibian.
The goal of this project was to create a stop motion animated sequence of a giant sea monster to emulate the feel and style of an old Ray Harryhausen film. Ray Harryhausens work paved the way for modern VFX creations and the invention of CGI and I wanted to pay tribute to him with this project.
I wanted to create a realistic miniature set of a sea pier and lighthouse which could be used in a stop motion animation. This sea pier set would be shot on a greenscreen background with the intention of adding a sky and water effects in post. I wanted the creature to be unique and to have a striking appearance but I also wanted it to be somewhat believable and so I based the creatures design on real world animals. I imagined that the creature evolved from large prehistoric amphibians and has adapted to grow to an immense size and live at the bottom of the ocean. I wanted to create a stop motion puppet of this creature which could be used to animate a short proof of concept clip. I intended to sculpt the creature in oil based clay and create plaster molds of the sculpt. I would then use these molds to cast the creature in silicone with an animation armature skeleton inside. I aimed to capture the magic of early fantasy cinema and replicate the technique to known as 'dynamation.'
Upon completing this project I have gained an insight into the creative process behind stop motion animation and miniature scale model making. I have learned many things throughout the course of this project. I completed the goals I had set out to achieve, I successfully made miniature sea pier set and painted it to a degree of realism. I made a stop motion puppet of the Dredger from silicone which I was able to animate with. I shot a short proof of concept clip with this puppet and set.
This project allowed me to develop skills in 3d printing and digital modeling. I learned how to model objects in Blender, such as the lighthouse, and 3D print them in PLA filament. With preparing the miniatures, it was important to stick with a definitive scale for the whole project. This ensures environmental cohesion and realism. The scale for my project is 1:80. When painting the miniatures, high contrast is in tones is needed in concentrated areas as this gives the texture of the model greater depth. Overall I was happy with the color, texture, and scale of the models as well as the composition of the scene as a whole. With this project I learnt valuable skills and expanded my knowledge base for future endeavors.
My name is Seanan Fagan and I am a 23 year old 4th year modelmaker in the Design for Film course. I have always loved watching movies and learning how they are made. From a very young age I had a passion for all art forms and I spent most of my free time drawing, painting, sculpting and creating things from my imagination. I grew up on a farm in Meath and this has influenced me to be a hard worker and to have an appreciation for nature. After secondary school I completed a post leaving cert course in animation in Dunboyne College of Further Education where I enjoyed designing characters and bringing them to life.
