Making the set

I wanted the set to look as much like a real stage as possible. I used an old box and cut off some of the edges. I then painted the sides black. I made a little stage that fitted in the side of the box and painted that silver. 

I also decorated the box with glittery stars and patterns to make it look more like a stage, as well as adding a red curtain which would close at the end of the show. 

The main problem I faced when making the set was that the set was really dark. Mainly because it was painted Black, but also because the sides of the box was not letting in enough light. I resolved this by using a torch. The animation is a show on a stage so I figured the torch could work as a sort of spot light, highlighting the contestants. This ended up working really well and actually made the animation look more like a show than it did before. 

Making the characters

I actually found making the characters really difficult. I had to make them big enough to move properly but not too big that they would be disproportionate to the set. I made a couple of different prototypes to see which size would look better. 

I then had to decide how much detail I was going to put into the characters. I had the basic shape but I had to decide if I was going to use different colours for their clothes, faces etc. I tried to make outfits for the characters but it proved to be really difficult. The characters fell apart whenever I played with them too much. 

I therefore decided to keep them basic. I would rather the characters be all one colour than making them more detailed if they were going to keep falling apart during filming. 

Decision time!

I decided to make my animation about recycling. It is a massive topic at the moment with a lot of organisations working to make the environment better. Recycling has become popular in schools, so I wanted to make an animation that would be interesting to school children as well as adults. 

Trying to decide what to make was proving to be more difficult than I thought it would be. Mainly because every time I had an idea and started the claymation I would change my mind, come up with a different idea and have to start again. This ended up being extremely time consuming so after changing my mind 3 times I decided that that was it, and I would not have time to change it again. 

I ended up really liking my idea! 

I chose to do an animation based on Britains got talent....It would be called Britain gets Recycling. 

It would be set in the finals of the competition, each competing to impress the judges. But who will win? I hope it ends up looking as good as it does in my head...