Animation is challenging field

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Nov 2, 2006 | by Rodger L. Hardy Deseret Morning News

LEHI -- Most stop-motion characters at Ageless Animation cost about $12,000 to create, studio executive Nathan Smith said.

Animators first build a steel skeleton with movable joints that can be loosened or tightened. Then they are covered with foam formed in a mold, and a seamstress dresses them. Each of the main characters has 47 removable mouth and facial expressions used to form words.

But unlike live actors, they don't talk back. They never complain and are never late, said producer Cliff Miles.

The character Golimyr in the new film "Davie and Golimyr," based on the biblical David and Goliath story, took two months to build.

Unlike animators who draw their characters, stop-motion creators must deal with gravity. Before a character can suspend a leg in the air, for example, the other foot must be bolted to the floor of the set. Jumping into the air requires lots of fish line. A computer then erases the lines, said studio executive Chris Smith.

Stage lighting is just like working on full-size sets, except the lights are smaller.

A minute of stop motion animation runs about $36,000, Miles said.

Investors can buy in for about $7,500, which purchases 1 percent of the latest film. An investor package is available from Miles.

E-mail: rodger@desnews.com