ABSTRACT
The effort of maintaining enthusiasm and high levels of creative energy in the face of the mundane realities of an animated production and its inherent demands are explored in this chapter, whose case studies focus on how artists have pragmatically followed through on their work. Manual Labor breaks down some of the challenges specific to stop-motion as regards materials, budgeting, digital processes, workspace setup, pre-production and ideas generation by looking at case studies Ernie Biscuit (Adam Elliot) and work by Kirsten Lepore including Bottle, Move Mountain and Hi Stranger; Garrett Michael Davis (Story from North America) also provides insight into how auteur production methods differ from more traditional production pipelines. In Outside Assistance, approaches for gathering together a crew for your independent project are discussed, with examples taken from directors Sam Morrison (Rocket Science), Alex Grigg (Phantom Limb), Melissa Johnson and Robertino Zambrano (Love in the Time of March Madness). Work Ethic looks to artist Robert Morgan (Bobby Yeah) as an example of resolute determination in following a film through to completion and how production circumstances can inform the development of the project from both a tonal and story perspective. In the concluding segment Wisdom in Hindsight Adam Elliot and Robert Grieves reflect on their projects and the lessons learnt that can be applied to future work.
