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We are excited to reveal our latest Film of the Month winner Poppies (engaging for ages 11+). Made by talented young animator Ben, from Manchester, this stop motion animation follows the story of a young soldier through the Second World War, focusing on his experiences of the battlefield and the people he meets along the way.
This month's special mention goes to Untether, by filmmakers Callum, Johnny, and Eddie from St Albans.
Through well crafted animation, soundscapes and visual effects, Ben has created a compelling world.
Oli, Film of the Month judge on 'Poppies'
We caught up with Ben to find out about the making of Poppies.
What inspired you to tell this story?
I was inspired by pieces of media that I have watched, that reflect the more serious tone of war, like the films Saving Private Ryan and Fury, and I wanted to also try to create something that matched the tone and atmosphere of this genre.
Why did you choose stop frame animation?
I have always loved Lego, and then I had the idea of making my own films, I thought the best way for me to do that was with the abundance of Lego that I had, instead of the difficulties of trying to film something live action, and with Lego I could also control everything myself with what I built, and how everything looked.
Who are your filmmaking influences?
I am inspired by the storytelling film techniques that directors like Steven Spielberg use, to tell effective stories through what you can see visually, instead of relying on sound or dialogue - I find this important in stop motion since I don't have any dialogue, so all the action must be made easy to understand.
How did you go about creating the soundscapes in Poppies?
For the sound in this film, I have a subscription to a large sound library, which allows me to use songs and sound effects copyright free in my films.
The visual effects were really well used to enhance the animation, how did you achieve these visual effects?
For my smoke effects, I used royalty free green screen smoke clips from YouTube, then in my editing software I chroma-keyed out the green to just leave the smoke, then I edited that into my shots to my liking.
What piece of advice would you give to someone starting out on their filmmaking journey?
I would say that if you have an idea of something that you would like to make, just start making it- it doesn't matter if you have the skill or equipment to make a perfect film, but you will gain experience whilst making it, and you will learn things along the way that will make you a better filmmaker.
What are you working on next?
Right now I don't have anything planned, after finishing Poppies I am focused on revising for my GCSE exams, but afterwards I will definitely continue to make stop motion films.
Special Mention: Untether
Our Special Mention for November is Untether, we spoke with filmmaker Callum about his film:
Untether is my third short film. During my Music A-Level we briefly studied graphical scores, which is an unconventional way of notating music using shapes that the performers can interpret and play. I was fascinated by this concept and wanted to explore it in film.
I was inspired by music synaesthesia, which is a phenomenon I sometimes experience where I imagine shapes in correlation to the different musical textures. I made the film months after coming up with the concept, because I wanted to get a great location.
My mum won a raffle and the prize was two free hours in a meeting room, the room seen in the film. Made with no budget and shot in two hours, I co-directed with my friend Eddie, and my friend Johnny starred.
