Using the iPhone app 'Vine', I created a series of stop motion loops over a period of about 6 months. It was a good way to experiment quickly with plasticine in motion and they were fun to make. As this series of animations developed they became more focused on animations that produce sounds, this gave me a bigger idea…

 

I have always been interested in the way visuals can effect sound and how visual loops can be brought together to create a piece of music. This is how I produced Plasticine Rhythm; allowing each stop motion loop, made using Vine, to dictate a sound and combining these sound loops on screen to build a compatible interplay of rhythm and melody. Once this was established I then played with all the elements, including the background colour and the mini TVs containing the loops, so every element was intrinsically linked with the music.

 

For the best stereo effect I recommend wearing headphones to watch it.

These are the original stop motion loops created using the app 'Vine' that developed into the animated short Plasticine Rhythm.

In this video we go behind the process of making the animated short 'Plasticine Rhythm'. As well as an overview of how the short was put together, it also includes instructions on how to make animated loops yourself using replacement stop motion.

 

There are three examples in the video; a fish, a squid and a character's head. Please feel free to these as a loose guide. Once you have grasped the idea of how to do it, customise your models, make them unique or even attempt something completely different.

 

Give it a go, you could be the next stop motion animation genius. But most importantly, have fun!

On 28th April 2014 I put on a Plasticine Rhythm workshop at 'Pick Me Up' at Sommerset House in London. At it attendees learned the principles of replacement stop motion and made a companion piece to my animated short Plasticine Rhythm. This is the result.

 

Thanks to Pick Me Up (pickmeuplondon.com), Somerset House and Strange Beast (strangebeast.tv) for helping put on the workshop. Below are some behind the scenes footage from the day...

This is 'The Plasticine Rhythm EP' featuring all the songs associated with this project. You can download it for free at soundcloud.com/handymartian/sets/theplasticinerhythmep