Max Baas-Thomas: Stop Motion Video

My name is Max Baas-Thomas, I’m 16 years old, and in FS5 of the European School Culham. I’m from California and enjoy art and the sciences as my favorite subjects.

This video was inspired by genocidal events around the world such as those during the Holocaust and more recent times such as the Rwanda genocide, Srebrenica massacre, and the ongoing war in Darfur. The paper people are created and live innocently until their lives suddenly are taken, however there hope is in that they won’t be forgotten, as graves serve us as memorials.

The video was made by taking a still photograph with my camera (a simple Samsung L830 digital camera), moving the objects a small amount, then taking another photo. I then used Keynote on a Mac for the next step. By putting one image per slide then recording the slideshow, I was able to export the succession of pictures as a video. The next program I used was iMovie. With it, I was able to edit the speed and lengths of the videos as well as easily add music. The technique of taking a succession of pictures and making a movie out of it is called “stop motion.”

This video primarily shows various techniques usable in a stop motion video. It involves multiple shots, dramatic lighting, touching music, and even the reversal of the order of the photographs (for the last scene). This particular video demonstrates the potential emotional effect simple, faceless, human figures can create, especially through their destruction. It also illustrates our sensibility to affecting mood-setters such as music and lighting. Finally, it can be used to raise awareness for any number of issues if shown with the corresponding context as the themes are as general as they are poignant.