Making a Video Part 2

Here’s the second part of my making a videoseries. Part 1 is here. This is my first stop-action video, but as I work on it, I’m getting ideas for more!

We filmed one morning this past week. Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos of us filming since I was using my camera and the kids were at school.

I taped a large sheet of white Canson paper to the floor for the background. The tripod was positioned about chest high with the camera pointed downward. From the floor, I moved the ‘moveable’ parts slightly while Sebastien shot the photos and helped guide me by telling me what it looked like.
This is how we shot the first two sections of the ‘video story’.

The third section was shot vertically against a mantelpiece, still using the tripod.

Those are the dry facts.

This is how it really went:

We worked barefoot so as not to step on and crush any creatures, various scissors and props scattered on the floor. The caterpillar kept falling over, and so had to be anchored with fake clay behind him. In fact we kept everything secured with tape or clay. Sebastien was convinced that the stunt butterfly was smaller than the butterfly who played the lead, although I assured him they were made from the same pattern.

My daughter Camille, who modeled for the second section, had to lie on the floor under the tripod and gradually move her body out of the picture. All the ‘extras’ got to be in the video at the end, even though most of the video featured our leading lady, blue butterfly. The sun was fairly cooperative, but as I look back over the photos today, I realize how much the sun changes in three hours. Anyway, it was such a fun morning, like playing with dolls again: flashback to childhood in a good way!

I’ve added some photos of the extras who had a small role in the video, and will be on sale soon in my shop!