Morph & Chas – Simple Animated Clay Characters
Animation Students Will Enjoy the Simplicity of Claymation Process
The stopmotion technique called Claymation is a simple and cleverly designed process that allows a great deal of story to be told with little fuss. Art students can create easy to make characters like Morph or Chas and arrange them on a simple set. They can practice capturing film frames by continually moving their character slightly by hand. As they capture each frame, they move the characters or the set gradually again and again. This cycle is repeated until the students have captured sufficient frames with which to tell their story.
The Origins of Morph and Chas
Morph is a Claymation character created in the 1970s, later joined by an alter ego character called Chas. Morph is labeled an example of Claymation because he is an animated plasticine stop-motion character. "Claymation" is a registered trademark in the United States, registered by Will Vinton in 1978 but the term has come to describe many kinds of clay-animated films.
Morph originally came to popularity as a feature character in what was an innovative form of entertainment for the 1970s era. The term morph simply means to change shape, or Free Dictionary Online defines it as “to be transformed.” The very simple Claymation character appeared with the now deceased Tony Hart. Two of the most recognized of these programs was Take Hart and Hartbeat. Morph appeared mainly in one minute "shorts" interspersed throughout the show. These were connected to the main show by Hart who would deliver a line or two to Morph who would reply in gobbledygook, but with meaningful gestures.
The idea of gobbledygook was that Morph made noises that the audience was meant to interpret. Approximations of meaning were deduced from context, inference and interpretation of the artistically created body language of the character. Later on, Morph was joined by cream-coloured Chas, who was much more badly behaved! As viewers will see from Morph Card Trick, he was an antagonist within the animated mini dramas.
In March 2009, Alex Bushill BBC News reported shortly after Hart's death, that a flashmob of Morph characters was organised in London outside the Tate Modern art gallery. Morph was produced for the British Broadcasting Commission by Aardman Animations. This company later became famous for creating Wallace and Gromit. It is by following links from the Aardman Animation's official website that you will see how the animation style developed.
Character Clay Animation
This type of Claymation is called "character" clay animation, because the clay maintains a recognizable character throughout the story. Producing a stop-motion animation using clay can be extremely laborious. Great care must be taken to ensure that the object is not altered by accident, by even slight smudges, dirt, hair, or dust. Students may enjoy a class discussion about why clay was a viable animation material for the character Morph. It is likely that they will agree that it is because he is so simple. It seems that it is his clay like aesthetic that makes him so lovable and recognizable.
Creating a Claymation Set
What is even more lovable about the characters and their story, is the mini set that their dramas are enacted within and around. Morph's world is an artist's wooden pencil box, and he and Chas love to eat strawberry shortcakes. Even though the skits are very simple, the effect created by the clay characters and the original little set is one of fun and a little cuteness. Quite a lot of emotion can be conveyed by the claymation technique as seen from the previously discussed 2008 YouTube.com clip called Morph Card Trick.
Students will enjoy the challenge of the set design. To achieve the best results, a consistent filming environment is needed to maintain the illusion of continuity. This means that students will require plenty of time and space of their own. They are at an advantage if they can leave their projects set up, when not in class. Forethought will be required so that students can maintain consistent lighting and object placement. If the right kind of calm, uninterrupted environment can be achieved, students will have fun and enjoy the results.
Even though as animation students seek greater challenges they may drift away from Claymation techniques, the style of animation is likely to remain evergreen with art teachers. The technique can be kept simple, while quite sophisticated storylines can be created as engaging characters evolve.
Claymation Morph & Chas
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