Henry Hudson Claymation Animation Project

Cortney Fredriksen
American Studies
November 6, 2007
Stop Frame Animation Essay

My explorer stop frame animation project was on Henry Hudson. I chose to do this project with Jessica Manca. We have been working on this animation for about a month. Jessica and I have been working really hard together and we are looking forward to the final project. It’s been rough when one of us two is absent but we have learned to control those types of problems. My animation has humor and seriousness involved. I am now going to tell you about the most fun parts, the hardest parts, and the most important things I learned.

The part that has been most fun about this project was probably making clay people, and their accessories. We had to make two adults and 3 children but that’s not all. We also had to make a boat, which we ended up not even using, a baby cradle, a window, and a couch. That is still amazingly not all. We ended up having to make tree stands and accessories for our clay people. For example hats and bows. That was the most fun part about the whole project in my opinion. Also another thing I adored about this project was the part that it was a hands on activity.

The most difficult part of this project was the pictures. You had to make sure you didn’t move even the tiniest bit. If you do move even a half of a centimeter it messes up the whole clip. Another difficult part of this project was dealing with the computers. For example when you’re on a time limit and your computer is really slow its makes it very difficult and stressful. It is also very hard to use “your” computer when another group is also using it because then you have to wait until the other group is done and that takes forever. Those were the most difficult parts for me and Jessica.

Some of the most exciting thing that I learned would have to be learning that Henry Hudson was a very strong headed captain. He was also very sure of himself. He made a bet with his crew that within 30 days of beginning his voyage they would find land, and if he didn’t then he would abandon his ship. He ended up having to abandon his ship on his first voyage called the Northern Passage. I also learned that Henry Hudson was involved with robberies and stealing at a very young age. His childhood was unknown and his education was great. Those were some of the most interesting things I learned throughout this project.

I enjoyed the aspects of the claymation process and the steps it took to actually create a claymation. It has never really occurred to me about how hard it would be to make a simple claymation. Know when I look at a cartoon I think off all the steps they must have gone through. Not only that but that claymation project, and making the models, gave me a more in depth perception on my explorer. Most of my classes I would have just done an essay having to do something with a text book but this project was different. We got to have a hands on project and actually were able to do something rather than reading. I really enjoyed this project and the hard work Jessica and I put towards it.