how this will go...

So these are the tasks that will have to be completed over the course of this project:

1. Initial Research- Reading books about stop-motion animation, watching full-length movies which utilize stop-motion animation, watching short stop-motion movies on YouTube...basically soaking up any useful knowledge I can about stop-motion animation!
   
2. Idea Organization- Brainstorming for how the story should unfold, which songs to use, which characters to use, and in what settings.
   
3. Set Construction- Building sets from scratch that will accommodate the process and give the desired visual effect...also costing as little money as possible.
4. Character Development- Creating all of the characters needed to tell the story as I wish to tell it. This includes sketching and creating the 3-D puppets/models themselves.
5. Finalizing the Storyboard- Putting all ideas down on paper so that the filming goes as smoothly as possible.
6. Animation Timing- Break down all audio frame by frame using Magpie Pro lipsync software...this step should prevent me from having to redo shots for not lining up with the music.
7. Filming- 15 frames/sec for about 12 minutes = about 11,000 frames! That will be a lot of pictures!

By the end of this semester I will have completed steps 1-5. I will include critical reviews of the books I have read, photo and video progress of the set construction and character development, and scanned copies of the finished storyboard.

I hope to get all of the animation timing work completed over winter break (Magpie Pro will be a Christmas present...unfortunately the 30-day free trial isn't going to be enough time!). And then, filming can begin promptly at the beginning of spring semester.