Animating the Inanimate

On/Off - Illustrated

2009-05-18T07:37:00.002+01:00

Le vacuum forming!

2009-05-16T17:07:00.004+01:00

Table Shadows

2009-05-12T22:59:00.004+01:00

OnOff version 2

2009-05-08T01:11:00.002+01:00

Bio: Shadowed Shade from On/Off

2009-04-30T10:35:00.005+01:00

The Shadowed Shade came from a series of models made for my On/Off animation, showing the potential for a shadow device to project around the room. I played with vacuum forming different shadows to form a shelf like space to put objects into the shadowed animation space. The On/Off film was a piece to demonstrate my process of modelling, and experimenting with the idea of interventions in front of light sources in order to encourage anthropomorphic animation.

The On/Off film was a piece to demonstrate my process of modelling. This process involved analysing different kinds of shadows, shapes, and the effects of interaction between these. With on of the models, during the filming I felt the urge to move a coin that was placed inside it. This model has turned into the prototyped outcome shaded shade. The device has a place to store objects around the lamp, creating a space for play and animation. The rim around the lamp is a circular stage for shadow play.

Bio: Projection Devices

2009-04-30T10:33:00.003+01:00

These objects work on the idea of the building up shadows to create a space for animation in the shadows projection on the ceiling. The object encourages the user to interact with the objects stored in the device. Each objects can be either conceal or reveal its personality through its shadow. The images projected can appear quite abstract but I feel this encourages imagination and the user to create narratives around the objects through the act of anthropomorphism.

2009-04-30T00:57:00.002+01:00

Business Cards

2009-04-28T17:19:00.000+01:00

Dinner Observations

2009-04-28T16:14:00.009+01:00

Model Drawings for On/Off

2009-04-27T19:41:00.000+01:00

Viva Animations - Shadow Me

2009-04-22T20:56:00.007+01:00

150 words to describe my project.

2009-04-07T21:51:00.004+01:00

Animating the Inanimate

My project is about finding personality in inanimate objects through the puppetry of everyday life. I am interested in creating narratives around objects, particularly everyday objects as they can seemingly become mundane.

When researching puppetry I became instantly fascinated in shadow puppetry for its poetic storytelling ability. With my work I have designed systems for promoting a space for animation in an objects shadow. My ideas came from the concept of anthropomorphism, the ability to see human attributes in inanimate objects. I designed these objects in order to open up a debate on how we value the objects we choose to surround ourselves with, the objects that make up our home and change perceptions of them. My aim is that these objects would promote this act so the user can create stories of their own. My projection devices work on the idea of the building up of shadow to create other images, making everyday life a stage.

On/Off

2009-04-04T12:02:00.002+01:00

Models for On/Off

2009-04-03T10:56:00.004+01:00

Projection lenses

2009-03-28T14:48:00.012Z

It is so difficult to get a good picture of the shadows from my projection device. I've decide that the lenses need to be closer to the ceiling so the shadow is in focus. This is shown by the film clip below. I have started to design structures for a free standing lifted structure and a wall mounted adjustable version.

The beginings of a Projection Device

2009-03-24T13:47:00.005Z

There are only shelves, no sides and back and doors, but there will be. The jars are for testing the height of gaps between the shelves. But it would be better tested in the dark. So I'm off to the dark room.

The best shadow

2009-03-18T17:48:00.005Z

This is the most amazing shadow I have seen. Just as I was walking home feeling tired and generally worried about my project and the fact the show was coming around far to fast, I saw this. The tree outside the design department was casting a shadow across the whole field. I was beautiful.

I have been thinking about my project and how much it has changed since I first defined it. I has become very specific in the casting of shadow by everyday objects, and creating chance for the creativity inorder to create them. I often worry that my project has become about me and my overactive imagination and may be what I have been creating has such a subtle effect it can almost be missed. What I like about my abstract shadow making is that it can be interprited in many different ways. I've always likened this to when people look at clouds, and after a while the mind starts to see images and characteristics.

A while ago I was given the book, A Cloudspotters Guide, and I finally started reading some of it and it immediately made me want to find out more. In fact after looking at the website I made sure I joined the cloud appreciation society group on facebook. For a fairly scientist book it is full of wonderful imagery, includes poems the members of the society had written about the clouds they had looked like. But as soon as I read this poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley, 'The Cloud', I knew that my project was not just for me and my imagination but all the people with imagination.

I am the daughter of Earth and Wind;

And the nursling of the Sky:

I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;

I change, but I cannot die.

For after the rain, when with never a stain

The pavilion of heaven is bare,

And winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams

Build up the blue dome of air,

I silently laugh at my own cenotaph,

And out of the caverns of rain,

Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb,

I arise, and unbuild it again.

Percy Bysshe Shelley, 'The Cloud'

Blue Fabric Shadows

2009-03-17T14:42:00.005Z

Here are some more experiements, which better images of the UV photochromic ink. The fabric turns blue in the sun and a pale green when in the shadow. These are images of objects placed ontop of the fabric, and the video is to show how fast the change is. I have been researching into fixers and want to experiement in fixing the shadow permanently.

This table is a stage

2009-03-17T10:07:00.007Z

I have made my first tablecloth as a tool to develop my ideas for the table of shadows, made up of objects on the table. The stage directions are for me to generate ideas and porvoke the feeling of the table becoming a different type of space.

Different Shelves

2009-03-05T12:27:00.007Z

Light Sensitive Fabric Tests

2009-03-04T21:20:00.012Z

I have been experiementing with light sensitive fabric paint in order to test the effect of objects sitting on a window sill and the shapes projected from the curtain to the room. Setacolor is a fabric paint that sets in the sun, a bit like developing a photograph. So the objects on the window sill would prevent the dye setting leaving a white shadow on the fabric. But when the object is removed, over time the colour would fade distorting the image. Unfortunately the method of make this development takes only a few minutes. I tested it by placing a key ring of a london bus over the fabric while still wet. When it dried it left the shadow appearing below.

I also tested the technique by mixing it with binder in order to screen print it onto a large piece of fabric, but this did not work. I think the binder interupted the chemical reaction with the sun.

Another light sensitive fabric dye I tested is UV photochromic pigment. In the sunlight the fabric turns bright blue, but when inside the fabric is a pale green.

I screen printed the dye onto a piece of fabric and tested the sensitivity of placing object in the middle of the piece which when I removed was green shadow of the object.

Shelves

2009-02-27T20:25:00.008Z

My first complete prototype, although it can't take any weight, is a projection shelf. The idea is to have a transparent hole in the shelf and a light source from below sending a beam of light through the holes creating a circle shadow on the ceiling. Of course any objects placed on the shelves will cast a different shadow shape on the spot of light on the ceiling. The short clip below shows the shadow changing when altering the light intensity.

Dancing Shadows

2009-02-19T19:44:00.010Z

After a really bad presentation at the beginning of the week I was desperate for a tutorial. I felt I did not represent my project very well at all on monday and do not intend on looking at what marks I get, just the written feedback. My tutorial with Rosario was very useful, and I now think I have one or two design ideas for a few objects. I plan to just get on with it and make, make, make. I need to start testing and refining ideas soon before I fall into a complete slump.

One exciting piece of information I got from my tutorial on wednesday was a link to the Pilobolus dancers from New York. They do amazing performances using their bodies to great images alsorts of objects and scenarios. This was really inspiring as I love dancing, and the theatrical element of my project can really flourish with my latest ideas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjPnEazNXgk

For my presentation I had to show my focused brief for designing prototypes. The only successful slide in the whole presentation. From my experiements I have decided to design puppetry for everyday life. My brief is to design structures and objects that allow the user to make puppets out of everyday objects. My first idea is for a table c

loth with instruction for the placement of dining objects that create shadows that build up to create a different image that suggest interaction. The cloth would turn the table into a stage for the users to move objects, through my directions, to create a shad

ow show on the table or adjacent wall. I just need to decide what these objects are going to say. I have been looking at different stage directions for scenes for Romeo and Juilet and image of Fred Eerdekens work with shadows below for ideas.

Table Experiments

2009-02-15T23:20:00.003Z

Stop Frame Toothpaste

2009-02-15T12:55:00.005Z

Here are my attempts at visual animation of everyday objects. I seem to be a bit obsessed with toothbrushes and now toothpaste. I think I have built a character of a toothbrush in my head. Not necessarily a bad thing but I realise I must test what other people characterise, not just my own imagination. I had an idea of what to do with these clips is to experiment with different voice dubbing, seeing how other people vocalise the situation. It is a step closer to the staged scene suggestive of interaction I mentioned in my last blog.

Animate Comic Book Style!

2009-02-13T12:00:00.006Z

My first attempt to see how people animate everyday objects. I put up an image of an un-staged scenario in my own room. This was not overall successful but from this I am going to put up a new image of a staged scenario involving different household objects in a scene in order to provoke animate.

Context Toothbrush

2009-01-29T16:15:00.000Z

Only a few days later my projects changes completely from my conclusion in my context report but one thing I developed in my conclusion, which is still key, is a short story about a toothbrush that is to fuel the next part of my project.

There once was a Toothbrush, not an ordinary toothbrush, but a special one. Despite living on a supermarket shelf, he had heard the stories of where the old toothbrushes went when they were no longer used to brush teeth. He had grown claustrophobic in his plastic surroundings and longed for contact, so he was delighted when a young woman in her twenties picked him up and placed him in her shopping basket. Elated at the chance to be with someone, he determined not to end up like all the other toothbrushes. He wouldn’t be thrown away before his time or face the humiliation of being used to clean tiles or kitchen appliances. He had heard about the place called‘the kitchen’. It sounded a dreadful place. But the Toothbrush didn’t worry long about that. He was too excited about going to the bathroom and meeting his new family, and being able to get out of the plastic and be held by the same loving hand everyday.

Not long after he had been picked up from the supermarket everything went dark for a period. The Toothbrush began to get worried and think about the horror stories he had heard, as it was loud and cold in the dark place he was being kept. The world seemed to move around and bump up and down. At one point he slid into another

corner of the dark place and realised he was not alone. A strong and deep voice said “Hello there little fellow!”

“Who’s that? Where am I?” The Toothbrush whispered, scared of who might reply. “Don’t worry, I’ve done this before. I’m recyclable you see. You’re the new toothbrush then? Well I’m Tesco’s Finest Recyclable Paper, 90gsm, A4 of course, brilliant white”he said in a grand voice. “Don’t worry yourself. The transportation devices can sometimes be a bit rough, but it will be over soon”.

“Oh, so are you going to the bathroom too?” asked the Toothbrush.

“Oh no” chuckled paper, “I’m heading for the office of course, I just hope this one has a recycling bin. The last one didn’t, but the green man took me back to the mill. Areyou recyclable?” The Toothbrush hesitated.

“I don’t know.”

“Ah yes,” his voice became softer, “I’ve heard what happens to you toothbrushes. Sounds nasty.” The paper sighed before regaining his previous demeanour. “Well. I hope that doesn’t happen to you, I wouldn’t like to be kept with those cleaning products. I ended up in the wrong aisle once in the shop, next to them. One of them split open. It was like the ‘Great Bleach War’ of last Christmas all over again. Bleach everywhere, sponges and dish clothes crying out in pain, horrible, just horrible. Let’s hope this one is into household product rights.”

Suddenly the noise stopped and everything was silent. Then a bright light blinded the Toothbrush. When his vision returned he saw the hands of the woman pulling his plastic cage from around him. The Toothbrush could feel the fresh air rush over him as the seal was broken, it made him feel dizzy. He was soothed by the soft hands of the woman, much softer than the rough, cold hand of the man in the factory. She put the Toothbrush in a pot by the sink with a tube of toothpaste and another toothbrush. The other toothbrush didn’t even look at him, it just sighed. Then, the woman picked up the other toothbrush and threw it into a larger pot underneath the sink. The little Toothbrush very quickly realised that this was a bin and the other toothbrush was being thrown away to slowly die with the used tissues and cotton wool buds.

When the woman left, the bathroom came alive. The other toothbrush was crying out for someone to help him. The shampoos were sobbing, the conditioner trying to console them. The conditioner was older than all the other bottles around the bath, he seemed wise and just told the bathroom that there was nothing anyone could do and the old toothbrush should get used to living in the bin and hope that the woman would not empty it for a while.

The young Toothbrush was quite happy in his new home and soon became good friends with all the other objects in the bathroom. But he was at his happiest first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Those precious two or three minutes held snug in the woman’s hand. He loved it when she sang in the shower and watching her wash her face or put on her make up in front of the mirror. He didn’t like the

cosmetics though. There were too excitable, always giggling and showing off. Except the foundation that just sat there watching the others, too shy to say anything. But the Toothbrush’s best friend was of course the toothpaste. They would stay awake all night sometimes talking about the goings on in the bathroom, and debating what

it was like outside of it. The Toothbrush told the toothpaste about his meeting with the paper and what he said about the bleach. The toothpaste tried to reassure the Toothbrush but he still had doubts about how long he would stay in the bathroom.

After a while the Toothbrush got used to his life in the bathroom. Some of the shampoo bottles left, luckily to be recycled, but the conditioner was still there. He got

used to many toilet rolls and cotton wool buds coming and going, they didn’t have a very long life span. One morning, during the teeth cleaning, he noticed that the woman was squeezing the toothpaste so tight that he was out of breath for quite a while after. The toothpaste laughed, saying it was the price of being used every day.

That week when they got the new intake from the weekly shop, there was a new tube of toothpaste sitting on the shelf with the new shampoo and toilet rolls. The new toothpaste sat on the shelf for three days before the woman opened it and put it in the pot with the Toothbrush. The old toothpaste was thrown away. He didn’t make any noise from the bin, nobody heard him cry out at all. The conditioner said it was a noble way to go. The Toothbrush just nodded and sighed, turning his head away from the new toothpaste.

Everyday Cake

2008-12-13T13:49:00.000Z

Modelling to Filming

2008-12-13T13:38:00.000Z

Cooking My Project

2008-12-10T16:20:00.000Z

Day Three of modeling week and today's brief is to make an edible representation of my final year project. My first immediate idea was fairy cakes. Fairy cakes are just normal little cakes with two semi circle cut out in the middle, fill in with cream or butter icing and the semi circles placed on top to look like wings. My idea is to look at the anthropomorphism in these types of cakes and make my own cakes but instead of fairies make irons, toothbrush cakes, showing the characters from my project so far. Tonight will be full of baking magic and Martin Conreen is coming especially to taste our projects tomorrow. Hopefully they will all be very tasty.

Model Week: Day 1

2008-12-09T18:40:00.000Z

During an intense modelling day using only black and white card, and some fabric from Fleur, I made two stages. I have been thinking about the situation in which the animation couls occur and whether or not I want to concentrate on films of the stories or on live performances. I am going to try out both during my Christmas holiday and discuss the benifits for communication of my project in both mediums in my context report.

These are photgraphs of the laser cut shadow puppets I made last week sitting on the window sill next to my desk. I have been considering the difference of still photography perhaps speaking just as much about the personality of an object as puppet animation. I need to produce more of these experiments in order to determine which has better anthromorphic qualities, so through out my blog I will post as many examples of this as I possibly can in order to decide.

A New Description...

2008-12-07T20:56:00.000Z

The desciption of my blog used to be; My project is about finding personality in inanimate objects. I hope to discover the different way people animate objects from childhood toys to everyday household items. I have three areas of research I am particularly interested in; children and toys, adults and childhood toys, and puppets and puppeteers. This will be ongoing research in order to apply to a design process. I hope to produce a series of outcomes and test if this creates any attachment feelings towards the user.

I have decided that since my territory presentation I have followed the direction of of the puppets and found I have a special interest in animating everyday inanimate objects in order to change peoples values of them. Today I went to a story telling show in Deptford which was assisted by shadow puppets. The show was amazing, even though they didn't end up using the shadow due to technical problems. I have become very excited about the different was of story telling as I have been talking about in my previous blogs that I feel I should change my blog description to the new direction my project has taken.

Writing stories

2008-12-05T22:19:00.000Z

This week I have been thinking about the context in which I could build a narrative around my objects. I have picked out a few key themes in shadow puppetry. One particular theme that came to mind is the relationship between shadow puppetry and the mystery of the dead. One of the first shadow puppets I made was an iron including a length of string as its cord, with a plug on the end. I'd like to write a story about how an iron dies. It is usually related to a mechaninical failure, but in order to change peoples value of an object dying or being no longer of use I'd like to narrate a story in which the other irons ritualistically 'cut the cord' from the iron to the plug and the plug dies. I find this approach quite peotic, yet striking.

I'd also like to look at existing myths or stories and reassign characters to everyday objects and then act out the show accordingly. Another idea suggested in my group tutorial was to get other users to use my objects as props, puppets and stages to create their own stories about these everyday objects and see what ideas emerge.

Another area of interests came about when I was first looking at the shapes of the shadows. The image of the toothbrush that looks like it's talking to it's shadow has provoked me to start a collection of objects relating to their shadows and attempting to play with light sources and other object to try to create warped or skewed shadows to tell a story about the object. I find these images so intriguing that they might become the core of element of inspiration for narration, or a piece in their own right.

Why animate everyday objects?

2008-12-01T14:34:00.000Z

I have been thinking about the difference in animating objects meant to be animated or have human-like quality, or objects with mundane everyday qualities. I have decided to go with the mundane as a reflection on use of everyday objects and how their essential qualities are over-looked in everyday life and routine. What if we treasured or appreciated these objects as if they were thinking beings.

I have been making some shadow puppets of everyday objects such as tea cups, an iron and a toothbrush (taken from the image in the previous post). I hope to develop a narrative around which the viewer could develop a sense of the objects personality. To help develop the sense of my objects personalities I have been reading The Design of Everyday Life where they talk about the abundence of things made to keep together systems and routines, 'there is no doubt that social life have things, that things have social lives'. This book is a great starting point for me in deciding the context of my work.

Making Puppets - Shadow Puppets

2008-11-25T16:41:00.000Z

For the last week I have been making puppets out of inanimate objects. I first started with shadow puppets. While doing this I did some research into shadow puppetry history and modern day use. I watched a recent short film called 'Our Man in Nirvana' by Jan Koester. It is a story about a man who dies whilst playing a rock concert and goes to Nirvana, a surreal heaven-like place, but when it comes to judgement the judge decides that he has not acted well in his life so he cannot stay in Nirvana and has to go back to life. I like the film as it begins with traditional black and yellow light shadow puppets animated by metal rods, but Nirvana is made by computer animation in full colour but moves in the same way as the puppets and the character image is made up of solid colour layers reflecting the more traditional techniques.

I started taking pictures of objects and their shadows and then recreated the shape and look of the objects but stylised a like 'Our Man in Nirvana'. I will post images of them when finished cutting on the laser cutter. This is one of the images that I think shows signs of personality, it looks like the toothbrush is talking to it's shadow.

During my research I have also come across a German animator in the 1920's called Lotte Reinger. She was most famous for the feature length silhouette film 'The Adventures of Prince Achmed' in 1926. She made all the scenes and characters by hand "holding the scissors still in her right hand, and manipulating the paper at lightning speed with her left hand so that the cut always went in the right direction.' 1

When I have created some object puppets I would like to create a narrative relevant to the context of why and how I have created them. I think this would be a good medium to communicate the personality of the objects.

My Territory

2008-11-17T12:25:00.000Z

Three approaches to animating the inanimate...

Children and Toys
Adults and Childhood Toys
Puppets and Puppeteers

Children and Toys

How do children form relationships with inanimate object?

"Toys are opportunities for play, for exploration,

and for social interaction; an educational toy that promotes these will have a positive effect, but so will an everyday household object - if used in the right way."

"Every child at play behaves like a creative writer, by creating a world of his own or ... By imposing a new and more pleasing order on the things that make up his world." - Sigmund Freud.

Adults and Childhood Toys

If a person can form a relationship with a childhood toy through to adulthood, can they form relationships with other objects?

The Velveteen Rabbit is a story about how toys become real and what happens when childen do not need them anymore.

"He loved him so hard that he loved all his whiskers off, and the pink lining to his ears turned grey...he scarcely looked like a rabbit any more, except to the boy. To him he was always beautiful, and that was all the little Rabbit cared about...when you are Real shabbiness doesn’t matter."

Also see: www.toy-secrets.blogspot.com

Puppets and Puppeteers

How do puppeteers relate to inanimate objects in order to animate them?

To animate is ...

'to give life and soul to a design, not through copying but through the transformation of reality.'