This film won third prize in the 1967 Kodak Teenage Movie Awards, senior division. An edited version was shown nationally on NBC. It was the last stop-motion film I made. The transfer to video tape from the original 8mm was done about 25 years ago, and the tape has deteriorated a bit. I did my best to improve the image quality, and I think I did a good enough job to let the story come through, but yes it is a bit hard on the eyes.
The story is a combination of Metamorphosis and The Incredible Shrinking Man. The film was originally silent. Emphasizing the teenage angst and Freudian overtones, I composed music and foleyed sound effects for this release to the web. There is one sound effect I didn’t create, you alert film buffs will recognize it.
The figure was an action figure called “Captain Action.” His extremely muscular plastic body was carved down to allow a more lifelike range of motion. I sculpted a head to resemble the actor, my patient friend, Tom Newman, but Tom looked enough like GI Joe, for me to use that toy’s head instead. The hands were made of wire and masking tape. My aunt Mary, an expert seamstress, sewed his shirt and pants.
The figure was held upright mostly from the use of sticky wax on the feet. At other times it was held in off balance positions by black threads from above. At other times glass microscope slides, placed carefully to avoid reflections helped to keep the figure in position.
Comments (9)
Holy crap, awesome!
And that soundtrack is phenomenal.
You made stop-motion? You rock! I’ll go watch now
Once again, you have brought me back to 10 years old. It was great. the refinements you added just made the trip that much more enjoyable. I loved the soundtrack and the sfx. that bug is still freakin scary.
Hope you like it max. I’ve added sound to three of them so far. I’ve got one more to do.
Well, I did have a book about the German films of that era at that time, maybe it rubbed off on me. Though I dug Nosferatu and Metropolis over that silly Dr. Caligari movie.
G! This is excellent. How much work (and time) must have gone into it!! It’s so well done - the way the guy moves, the shadows on the wall, the storyline. And it’s wonderful how you carved the doll to look more like your friend. Great, great job. Wow.
And your soundtrack is real cool…as well as the squishy sounds made by the insect!
Thanks, Irene. Yeah a lot of work went into it. Mostly in figuring out how to make and support the model. Plus hours studying the likes of Muybrige’s motion studies.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eadweard_Muybridge
The stark shadows (and the lack of fill} came from the budget not affording more than one photo-flood bulb. No, the carving on the GI Joe face was minimal. I’d made a clay sculpted head that did look a lot like my friend but I decided that GI Joe looked enough like him to pass, and skipped the casting process. But the body was extensively modified, to extend its range of motion.
I once assisted a friend of mine on a short, claymation film she was creating, and it took eons. It’s such an elaborate process.
With your film, it’s clear that you put so much work into making the GI Joe’s movements natural. And I remember what GI Joe’s body looked like - like a bodybuilder on way too many steroids. It’s so cool how you pared away at all that…
Regarding the shadows, they bring to mind The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari or something…German expressionism…Real cool…
G! This is excellent. How much work (and time) must have gone into it!! It’s so well done - the way the guy moves, the shadows on the wall, the storyline. And it’s wonderful you carved the doll to look more like your friend. Great, great job. Wow.
And your soundtrack is real cool…as well as the squishy sounds made by the insect!