MD6001 Week 14 - Gulp (The world's largest stop-motion animation) and the 'Making of'

'Gulp' (2011) is another stop-motion film that was directed by Sumo Science, produced by Aardman and shot on three Nokia N8s. It involves a fisherman who gets eaten by a massive fish alongside his boat and he sets of a chain reaction that causes the massive fish to spit him out.

The Nokia N8s were attached to a crane that was suspended above the set and a lady could control the crane and see the film-making process on monitors. The film was shot on Pendine Beach in Wales. its production involved the techniques of drawing on sand and pixilation. The film's frame rate is 25 frames per second, meaning 25 photographs are used for one second of animation. Filming the animation on a beach made a refreshing change from working in a dark indoor studio for many of the Aardman staff. Not only did Aardman staff work on the project but also animation graduats from university also helped out. The shots of the man inside the massive fish's stomach were filmed at night to give it a sense of darkness and they were shot under bright lighting. This film inspires me for the making of my Aduna side project, especially the pixilation and the drawing-in-sand techniques although I will be using baobab powder instead of sand and will be working at a smaller scale than that used for 'Gulp.'

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