Stop Motion: the unboxing version

Unboxing Video: EK Tools from Nikki/WhiMSy love on Vimeo.

On the girls' first day of school, I totally indulged in one thing: the license to do as I wanted. I originally thought I'd get a big jump on unpacking the art studio, the last room in the house to rid of boxes. But then I spied another box: a delivery that had arrived the day before. In a general sense, I knew what was inside the box: crafty supplies from EK Tools. But WHAT crafty supplies exactly? I had no clue. 

The concept is simple: as part of a campaign with EK Tools, I get sent a box of their stuff, make something using their stuff, & then blog about it–complete with tutorial. Earlier this year I learned about "unboxing videos". Basically, a video showing off the mysterious contents of your box. It took EVERYTHING within me not to rip the box open upon receiving it. But I knew I wanted to make a video & I knew I had to wait until I had good lighting. So I spent all day, on the girls' first day of school, making & editing the video you see here. (Up until 3 am the next morning!) 

I am totally an amateur & novice when it comes to all this video-making stuff. Finding music for the video was a real challenge. I listened to oodles of tunes. (There are some real creepy sound bites out there.) I love the process of making stop motion videos. As I stumble around & learn on my own, I hope to get better & better & better.

Sure, I should be unpacking. But this was way more fun. And it fed me creatively. Which is kinda more important right now.

So, please, set aside 5 minutes & 26 seconds in your day & enjoy!

And if you missed my last stop motion video, a goodbye gift from Susan & I to each other, click HERE.

Have a happy weekend!

♥

Stop Motion.

Several of you have asked about the stop motion video I made. (And by the way: thanks for all the props, kudos & love!)

I actually only discovered stop motion a few weeks ago. I'm JUST learning to play with this new "toy", so there's not a whole lot of proper knowledge I can bestow. I'll just share what I've discovered or found helpful...

Here's a very basic way to describe stop motion, in my own words: Hundreds (even thousands) of pictures are photographed & smooshed together in a really speedy quick slideshow.

I used 293 photos to create my 37 second video.

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  The Wikipedia description of stop motion can be found HERE.
  
  
  
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  I found THIS site very helpful in describing the "how-to's" of Stop Motion Photography. I have Windows Movie Maker, which is used in the instructions for that tutorial. (I know that doesn't help if you have a Mac, but just search the 'net & you'll find one that works for you.)
  
  
  
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  I uploaded my final video to Vimeo.com & if you search around that site for "stop motion" you'll find lots of interesting videos created by others using many different styles.
  
  
  

I am so psyched to "film" more videos! You definitely need to set aside a block of uninterrupted time. The concept for my 1st video was pretty simple & straightforward--& it took me a couple hours to complete. And that's not including uploading the photos on my computer & doing all the editing/picture/movie stuff. You should have seen the contraption I had set up. I had my grandpa's old-school tripod taped horizontally to a small chair on top of the dining table. I may need to invest in a fancy-schmancy tripod.

 

Anyway, I hope this helps get you started. And, believe me, I'll be sharing my stop motion adventures along the way! I still need to learn how to add music to my videos. I really do stumble around with all this computer stuff. I'm one of those "dummies". So, I know that if I can do it, you TOTALLY can!

♥

My Newest Addiction.

EEEEEEEEE!!!!! I'm so excited to share with you my first attempt at stop motion. I did a really quick job of this one 'cause I was SO excited to try it out AND so excited to share my new handmade creation, inspired by "Where the Wild Things Are". So, here it is. Enjoy the next 37 seconds. (I still need to learn how to add music to a video.)

After sewing it up, this is what it looks like:

"Where the Wild Things Are" is Mr. WhiMSy love's favorite childhood book. In fact, on our honeymoon in San Francisco, we passed by a toy shoppe, I spied a copy of the book in the window & purchased it as a gift for him. We're TOTALLY psyched to see the movie, which comes out October 16th.

I'm in love with how the puppet turned out. (Originally inspired by a Monster Glove Puppet seen in the book entitled The Felt Book by Clare Beaton.) I'm also in love with Stop Motion. It was a fun adventure to follow a new creative path! I'm working on a couple more Wild Thing "monsters" & a Max finger puppet too. (I think I know what my nephew is getting for Christmas this year!)
♥