Making stop motion animation was a childhood dream, one I had neither the skill nor training nor technology to indulge in. But now there is quite literally “an app for that,” so once my kiddo entered her “I want to make stop motion” phase, I was more than inclined to indulge.
For the past couple years, we’ve made the occasional 10-30 second vignette using my iPhone. A Lego story here, an electronic Valentine for friends there. Always simple, always fun. But the longer the video, the more the process can test your patience.
It takes 15 shots for a single second of footage. So when Umbra Sum needed a music video for their cover of the hauntingly beautiful “En los días cuerdos” (“On the sane days”), we chatted about a handful of options. Different themes, different approaches, different stories. But somehow we landed on: Stop Motion Animation.
That’s right: This woefully under-skilled and under-teched writer/photographer decided to go from the occasional 10-second Lego film to a music video that totaled 2 minutes and 53 seconds. That’s a relatively short song, all things considered, but in stop motion time it’s… an eternity (just shy of 2,600 shots).
There were sets to build (thanks to my husband and daughter for the assist), stories to draft, raindrops to adjust one-by-one, and so much more. I didn’t count up the hours I spent, but suffice it to say it was nearly two months’ worth of weekends (when I had the weekend to spare).
The end result isn’t perfect. There’s so much I’d change if I could. And yet: There’s a certain charm here that makes me smile, even when things turn dark.
I hope it does the same for you.