THE WORM TURNS
I am currently working on a short film with the working title The Worm Turns, it will be a 2-3 minute long stop motion film about a conflict between The Goblin and The Worm.
This page is a blog that I will update as I go through the process of making the film
If you’d like to get involved in any capacity, send me an email at : Boaz.osorio@gmail.com I’d love to work together!
Below are some of the initial sketches made for the short film, showing some of my thoughts on how the set and characters should look.
Storyboards
These are my initial storyboards, complete with construction lines and scribbled notes. I’m still working on the final page which is not shown here.
Puppets
The Worm Turns will have two main characters, The Goblin and The Worm, both will be latex build up puppets with wire armatures.
The Goblin is a stop motion puppet, made using the latex build-up method. Her mouth, eyes, eyebrows, ears, and nose can be animated allowing for a wide array of expressions. Her patchwork linen outfit was made fully by hand. Click here to see more detail on the process of making her, in addition to some test animations.
The Worm is a stop motion puppet, also made using the latex build-up method. The positions of his brows and horns will be combined in different positions to create expressions. Some of the progress on the puppet is shown below.
The first version of the puppet shown here is a test version to check I’m happy with the design.
The head was carved out of balsa wood, with sockets made for the eyes - which are wooden beads.
Eyebrows were added using aluminium wire, this will allow the puppet to have different expressions as the latex will be built up directly over the wire.
Horns were added in the same way as the eyebrows.
The main body was made using twisted aluminium wire of thicker gauge than the facial features.
Building up foam around the armature - ensuring that the rigging points on the body are not covered.
Latex is mixed with acrylic paint and added to the puppet in layers to form the skin.
Trying out the movement and emotions of the test puppet.
The final worm was made in an identical way to the test puppet. I decided however to add a mouth rather than just an upper jaw / nose.
The Worm with painted eyes and skin, I used a mixture of acrylic paint and liquid latex to ensure the paint will remain flexible during animation.
Some different eyelid shapes were made from liquid latex, allowing The Worm to blink and show more emotional range.
Set
Most of the set is made up of the stone kitchen counter where The Goblin is cooking. It will also be surrounded by similar stone walls with various objects hanging on hooks.
Sketches used to work out the required size of the set and the location of different objects in it.
For an initial test on the stonework of the set, brick shapes were carved into foam core. Cracks and chips are also added with a sharp tool.
The base coat of dark grey was painted, followed by a layer of wood filler to add more texture. This was then covered once again with the base colour.
A drybrush of lighter grey was applied to bring out the texture of the stonework. Black and dark green washes in the recesses also add to the depth and realism.
The same brick effect was then reproduced on a larger scale for the walls of the set.
Before making the final set out of plywood, I made a mock up from cardboard - making sure that I was happy with the layout. It is also important to make sure you can get the camera and lights in were you will need them, and which parts of the set need to be removable to allow for this.
Arches were made in the counter and wall. An oval shaped cut out was made in the counter top for the fireplace.
The gothic arch doorway.
The fireplace was made to be removable as this will be needed for the final scene.
To paint the dark stone, I started with black spray paint coat and then a dark grey basecoat. Then to bring out the details and add character, I combined drybrushes of lighter grey, dark washes and streaks.
Props and Model Making
The set will be filled with various miniature scale props, the process for making some of these is shown below.
The pitchfork was made in the same way as the scythe. I decided to put a gargoyle head detail at the top of the handle.
A sickle, saw, hammer, mezzaluna and pair of scissors were also made using wire, plastic sheet, and Milliput. These tools will hang from the hooks on the wall of the kitchen - made in the same way.
An important prop in the film is a large recipe book that the Goblin will be using for her potion. I decided to do a book partly inspired by the Necronomicon from The Evil Dead. The book cover was first sculpted from clay and a plaster mould was made. A latex casting was then made using the plaster mould.
The cover was then painted with various washes, and a clasp detail was added using aluminium wire, Milliput and Worbla.
More crockery made using Worbla and Milliput.
There will be various gargoyles and grotesques around the Goblin’s kitchen, these ones have been sculpted from Milliput.
Dried chilies sculpted from Miliput.
For The Worms cage, I used cardboard and aluminium wire. Details will be added next using Worbla.
The Goblin will have various tools in her kitchen, one of which is a scythe. The basic shape was made using a wire armature handle and thin plastic blade. The shape and texture was then built up and sculpted using Milliput.
The book cover was made using cardboard. A folded piece of brown paper was glued in - allowing the pages to be stuck in individually. The pages were made of a piece of aluminium wire mesh sandwiched between two pieces of thin paper. The mesh allows the pages to be animated.
The latex cover was then glued onto the book using contact adhesive.
To make a frying pan that will hang from the wall, I used Worbla thermoplastic. A small piece was heated up using a heat gun and sculpted into the correct shape - a handle was added also with Worbla.
Fish will form part of the large pile of rotting food on the kitchen counter. To make these I sculpted the fish in oil-based clay, made plaster moulds, and finally cast the fish in latex. Several of each will be made and then painted.
There will be dried herbs and vegetable hanging around the walls of the kitchen. To make these miniature garlics, I started with a tinfoil form and covered it in papier-mache, giving a nice rough texture. The garlics were then painted with acrylic paints.
The set will include burning braziers in the corners of the room, these were made from aluminium wire and Miliput.