harrychaskin

When animating, the most annoying part is how much my feet, back, and other extremities hurt after a day of pushing puppets. The most fun part is seeing inanimate objects come to life at the end of the day, seeing how the shot takes shape. It never gets old.

When directing, the most annoying part is scheduling-- Logistics, , figuring out the math behind staying on schedule. The most fun part is seeing all the amazingly talented people I work with bring their ideas, talent, and sensibilities to the project, and watching my seed of an idea grow into something greater.

First off, congrats on finishing your script! I've written several features and I know first hand how hard it is to complete one. I'd recommend entering the Nicholl's fellowship screenwriting competition. There are a lot of contests out there (not all of them good) but that seems to be a great way to fast-track your idea if you can get attention through there. Otherwise, I'd say don't be afraid to show it to everyone you know and get feedback. Writing is re-writing, and you never know who might read it who knows someone who knows someone, etc.

Time lapse is similar to stop-motion in that it's essentially stringing still frames together to create the illusion of movement. As far as frame rate, it depends on what you're shooting. If it's a glacier melting, I'd recommend something slow like a frame every 5 minutes. If it's clouds flying by, I'd recommend a shot every 15 seconds. But to get a smooth effect, you'll want to play back whatever you capture at least at 12 frames per second.

There are so many sketches in each episode, I've worked on more than I can count, haha. But two personal favorites of mine were Dora the Explorer sketch in Season 5 where she gets lost in the mountains and everyone freezes to death, and the Two Face in the toilet scene in the first RCDC special. I got to handle most of the animation in both of those sequences, and it's always really satisfying to see it cut together. Two Face was especially fun since the whole thing had no dialogue-- I got to animate entirely in pantomime, which is a unique challenge to make emotions and actions read.

I consider myself a purist whenever possible, but I think CG is a wonderful tool when used sparingly. For example, you're always fighting gravity in stop motion when a puppet has to jump or throw an object. Being able to paint out wire rigging with CG allows for much greater control over the animation than the old-fashioned method of flying objects with invisible monofilament. But my personal philosophy is to strive for practical solutions whenever possible.