how would I do this?

USNFilms

USNFilms

Hi,

For a while now I've been wanting to make a short film kind of like The Twilight Zone's "Talking Tina". Except, for mine I want to show dolls walking around and actually moving like they're alive. How would I film this?

I've been thinking of some possibilities:
1. wear a green screen suit and animate the dolls, then key myself out
2. Use wooden sticks (colored neon green) and animate the dolls, then key them out in post

that's all I could think of, are those good ideas? will they work? have better ideas?

Thanks
 
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The sticks sounds like the better option. For no better reason than manipulating the dolls with your hands is probably more likely to add unwanted deformations to the dolls themselves. (your fingers might crease clothing in unnatural ways.)

The actual keying, I can't imagine making much of a difference in difficulty (between the two options) as long as you have a good background plate.

How big are the dolls?
 
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Aaron M said:
The sticks sounds like the better option. For no better reason than manipulating the dolls with your hands is probably more likely to add unwanted deformations to the dolls themselves. (your fingers might crease clothing in unnatural ways.)

The actual keying, I can't imagine making much of a difference in difficulty (between the two options) as long as you have a good background plate.

How big are the dolls?
Click to expand...

They vary, some are small (like the size of a soda can) and some are maybe 2 feet tall. most are the average size of a stuffed animal
 
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Is stop-action possible?

Can video be manipulated by frame?

My camera the xa10 has a 24F mode, but I have not done this yet.

If your camera has a 24 frames per second filming mode, make one movement every 8 frames?

Every second will have 3 movements.
 
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Puppeteer with orange sticks with green markers every three inches. Make sure to get a clean plate. Then roto in post. The orange is so you can see better in post, the green markers are if you happen to want to motion track. If you roto, as long as you're behind the doll you can be in the shot.
 
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Im shooting a puppet scene this coming weekend, coincidentally.

They're actually marionettes, but I'm de-stringing them to use with thin sticks, Muppet-style. I've never done it like this before, so I'll be taking lots of notes and hopefully develop some useful info to share with you.

Fwiw, puppet movies quite often leave the motion sticks visible. There were several example at the puppet screenings at Newport Beach Film Fest earlier this year.
 
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Have you thought about using CGI, if you where to find the proper 3d modeling program (Milkshape & Open FX are a couple of good ones) and follow any number of tutorial videos on youtube you could easily make a CGI Doll. Considering that most dolls have that "fake" look that most CGI models have, it might even make the film look better. as for adding it into the actual film, just put a green background behind the doll in the 3d editor, then use a Chroma Key editor to add the doll into the film.
 
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"Team america world police" Is a perfect example of an actual hollywood movie filmed with only puppets. At some parts of the movie you can even see the strings on the puppets but i think thats just to add to the comedy. im sure you can look up clips of the movie on youtube!
 
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freedom crusader said:
Is stop-action possible?

Can video be manipulated by frame?

My camera the xa10 has a 24F mode, but I have not done this yet.

If your camera has a 24 frames per second filming mode, make one movement every 8 frames?

Every second will have 3 movements.
Click to expand...



Please don't stop motion it lol. Stop motion looks so clunky and obvious. (and fake)

Use puppets. It worked with Yoda, it'll work for Talking Tina. (Or whatever doll your doing)
 
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Beatlesfan1225 said:
Please don't stop motion it lol. Stop motion looks so clunky and obvious. (and fake)
Click to expand...

I have done some stop motion experiments and it is charming even though it is obvious. It has a 1950's European feeling. The most important thing is that the camera must be absolutely stable and still, so that it does not move between shots. The strange thing about stop motion is a sense of clarity you get.
 
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