Workshops

Stop - Motion Animation, Puppet Fabrication, and VFX Workshops & Instruction

WORKSHOPS - FALL/WINTER 2018-2019

PROFESSIONAL STOP-MOTION ANIMATION PUPPET MAKING, VFX, ARMATURE FABRICATION, SET & PROP BUILDING, AND UNIQUE PERSONALIZED ANIMATION INSTRUCTION.

Due to many requests from our current members: this season, we will be offering Workshops and Instruction in BOTH TRADITIONAL STOP-MOTION ANIMATION PUPPET BUILDING TECHNIQUES, as well as HYBRID TECHNIQUES (combining CGI elements with real Stop-Motion animated elements)

Professional Stop-Motion Foam & Silicone Puppet Building Workshops!!! Probably our most requested in-depth workshop by far. We will be utilizing the same techniques and foam puppet building principles used on countless stop motion classics such as: The Nightmare Before Christmas, Chicken Run, James & The Giant Peach, etc. In this coarse you will get your hands dirty almost immediately. Every participant will create their own fully articulated, stop-mo puppet using pro-level components. Workshop covers design, sculpting / fabrication, mold making, foam latex puppet pouring, seaming and finishing. Our team will teach you all the necessary concepts and steps to this process, while demystifying the technical aspects that get in the way of simply creating something amazing! We also pass on many closely guarded industry secrets and tips that are usually only learned by years of trial and error. Limited to 4 students per workshop. 1 Week Workshop, 20 hrs. of Instruction / Studio Access & Equipment Use $450 (includes all basic puppet materials for an average 11" bipedal puppet with a wire armature. Steel ball-and-socket armatures can be purchased for an additional $250 fee.) Class meets Monday through Friday, 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

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Stop-Motion Animation Boot Camp This program is intended as a great "Quick Start" to Stop-Motion Animating. Whether you’re cutting people out of paper for a "South Park" style, or animating your own puppets / figures or items, you’ll make your ideas spring to life with stop motion animation. In this camp for students of all ages (13-up), you will gain the skills to create your own Stop-Motion Animated Short with our teaching artists. You will learn to utilize Frame Grabber software to easily create a short stop motion animation. Limited to 4 students per workshop. $125 (all inclusive.) Class meets on Saturdays 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

Stop-Motion Animation Puppet Armature Fabrication Proper "Professional" BALL AND SOCKET-style Puppet Armatures are works of art, themselves. Designing and Machining a useful and reliable armature is a skillset not usually covered in schools. We cover basic Metallurgy, Skeletal Design Basics and the array of Joints used to convey emotion and action with REPEATABLE precision. We teach you Basic Metal Machining on a Mini-Lathe, Milling, Brazing, Drilling and Grinding metal stock into an animate-able creation of your own design! Limited to 3 students per workshop. 2 Week Workshop, 16 hrs. of Instruction / Studio Access & Equipment Use $450 (Armature Metal Stock and Supplies Included.) Class meets Tuesday and Thursday, 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

Advanced Stop-Motion Animation Cinematography Techniques For the animator seeking to expand on the basics... We cover the more advanced topics of Stereoscopic Shooting, Motion Controlled Camera Shooting, Animated Bash Lighting, Atmospherics, Insert & Replacement Shooting, and Practical FX. 2 Week Workshop, 16 hrs. of Instruction / Studio Access & Equipment Use $375 (all inclusive.) Class meets Wednesday and Friday, 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm. All students will receive an "S.F.S.M.A.C.K. Workshop Certificate of Completion" upon completion of their workshop project(s). Special Scheduling, Weekend Workshops, Group and "Bundled Workshop Series" Rates are available upon request. Please contact us with your questions and/or requests, and we shall try to accommodate. These very limited, unique workshops have been designed to be intensive, but also alot of FUN! We will be utilizing Industry Standard practices & tools, while teaching you a wealth of both established and little known techniques that will aid you in realizing your own creative visions with confidence in the future. * Slideshow Examples on this page all contain student work examples We Believe In The "Learn While Doing" Principle

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Student Examples

Student Examples

CAPTAIN CLAWHAND