Stop Motion Project - To Build a Mountain

         There is a lot of difficulty in creating a story with just photos, some props, and only a minute to do so.  These restrictions lead to interesting takes of stop motion projects.  The story-line of To Build a Mountain followed some fingers (portrayed as a person, or creature) as they went about building a mountain with various rocks.  The pinnacle point of crisis occurred after the mountain was constructed, and after the flag was put up, when everything came crumbling down.  Logistically, the variation of imagery and the choice of music shaped the final product by giving the viewer a sort of backdrop to go off of.  The music I selected was "Houdini," by Foster the People, and the reason I chose it was for the quirky eclectic sounds that it has; I thought it would go well with the unique imagery of the project.  Overall, the photography part went surprisingly well, with quick, simple moves, I was able to create the whole storyline in just a few days of shooting.  Also, I needed to draw on expressions to some of the pictures to give the character emotions, connecting it to the viewer a bit more.  In total, I believe everything went quite well, however if I was to do a similar project in the future, I might alter a few things.  For one, I would use a backdrop or background that is a bit more interactive and moves a little more, I just think it would be more interesting for the viewer to have other things to look at.  Lastly, in hopes that it would produce a more fluid storyline and final product, I would focus on a story that has a little more dramatic arc.

         If I were to do another stop motion movie, using the same or a similar premise, I would use a black background.  I feel like this would better accentuate the colors in the film.  Also, I would incorporate mirrors and other interesting props to give the movie a greater sense of mystery and craziness.