Stop Motion Works & Retro FX: September 2024

Thursday, September 26, 2024

StopMotionAnimation.com 1999 - 2024

Hot off the press! ....

"StopMotionAnimation.com in its current form, on the Ning platform, will be shutting down on 09/28/24. Be assured that I will be looking into other uses for the site. Since 1999, this website has been a important keystone in the Stop Motion Community. Thank you all for your participation over the years! Anthony Scott, Site Admin"

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SMA.com originally began online as one of the first Stop Motion Animation specialty discussion forums on April 22, 1999. Just think about that ... 25-1/2 years ago. Many of you were still in diapers or not even born yet! 😲

It was a close-knit (common, strong passion) community at SMA.com. Beginners & professionals gathered together to help each other and 'talk shop'. It really felt like a 'home'. However, as the years passed by, the 'Social Media' juggernaut began to take over the consciousness of the masses with the bombardment of endless distractions on the internet. SMA.com beginnings was before Yahoo Groups, Myspace, Facebook, Reddit, Youtube, Instagram, etc..

Very gradually, I saw that activity on SMA.com was becoming less & less. IMO, I believe it was the onslaught of all the social media 'candy' out there. Even myself ... I was unintentionally drifting away from SMA.com. I'm sure many of you also see how social media can be a 'mental stressor' especially if you partake of it too much. Many people are so addicted via their smart phones & computers ... but I digress!

Some of you may not know who is behind StopMotionAnimation.com ... his name is (click >) Anthony Scott, a very seasoned animator. My path first crossed with Anthony in 1988, on (click >) 'Gumby Adventures', which was produced in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is hard to believe that I have known Anthony for 36 years! During those years Anthony worked on so many projects and I was privileged to contribute to some of them.

25 Year Reunion 'The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)' in 2018. Photo - Mike Belzer, Lionel Orozco (me), and Anthony Scott

With regards to StopMotionAnimation.com ... Anthony says that he is not calling an end to it, and describes it as a 'Hiatus'. He has a powerful website brand name and he totally owns it! No one else can use that website name. So it appears that Anthony is undecided yet what direction or other format for SMA.com. It seems like it would be so much work to attempt to archive SMA.com, specifically all the message board conversations.

Just an idea for Anthony ... to have SMA.com as a 'front page' with specific links, to his Youtube channel, Instagram & Facebook, so that the followers/people can still be in touch with Anthony. Again, we do not know what Anthony will decide later, about what to do with SMA.com. Feel free to private message him and suggest any ideas!

Thanks Anthony for your dedication and your passion for the Stop Motion Animation Art & Craft and contribution of the Stop Motion Animation message-board/forum website!👍

Note - You might be wondering why the SMA.com logo is a Skull & Crossbones? Anthony has used it for many years. I suspect that the 'skeleton' is symbolic of the jointed metal armatures used inside the stop motion puppets ... also, it kind of has a Jack Skellington vibe!💀

StopMotionAnimation.com

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Sunday, September 15, 2024

NEW 'Brisk Iced Tea' Ad

Just released, a new 2024 version of a Brisk Iced Tea commercial in the style similar to the classic ads from back around the mid to late 1990s, when they first appeared on TV. If you do a (click >) Search of this new ad, apparently, the ad agency & almost everyone else is referring to it as (click >) Claymation? Well, the 'Animation Puppets' are NOT Clay! 😠 The correct description is 'Stop Motion Puppet Animation'! Those classic early Brisk ads were stop motion caricatures of well known or iconic celebrities. This Brisk ad features 'Doja Cat'? 😲 I have no idea who that is and so I looked it up ...(click >) she is a 'Rapper'. Hmmm ... I assume someone that appeals to the Gen Z'ers. Sigh 😕... not like the old school days of the Brisk Tea ads.

Here it is ....

It appears that 3D printed replacement faces were used. With most of the publicity press releases, they did not mention who actually did this work. I did find it ... Peter Sluszka is credited as the Director. Here is the website page link where you can see all the credits ....

BRISK - ENCHANTED FOREST

I also see that the studio, (click >) Standing Figure Studio is credited. Someone who I have known for a long time, a veteran in the Stop Motion sphere ... Patrick Zung who is one of the studio team members. He is an inventive engineer, machinist, creative designer, problem solver, etc., not only Stop Motion but just about anything that has to do with the 'Mechanical & Gadgeteering'.

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TIME TRAVEL ... Brisk Iced Tea History

Compilation of some of the Brisk commercials ....

Making of Frank Sinatra Brisk Tea ad. At video time stamp 3 minutes 14 second you will see some of the stop motion puppet fabrication details by (click >) Mackinnon & Saunders ....

Making of Danny Devito Brisk Ad. I think (click >) Loose Moose Productions, a UK based studio did the stop motion work here, including the older original, black & white versions of the Brisk ads ....

The Way of the Brisk - MMA Champ, Chuck Liddell. The puppet armature by (click >) John Wright Modelmaking, the intricate head mechanism by (click >) Ron Cole, and I think, (click >) David Bell or his studio did the puppet fabrication. David and (click >) Tatia Rosenthal did the hands on stop motion animation ....