Awhile back Ben Van Hook sent me this stop motion video which he shot for the experience, but told me it was generating him work now. I was intrigued because Ben already has an impressive reel and in my mind there really is no comparing the two so I wondered how this new piece generates him work.

Here’s what Ben had to say about it:

Almost all the stuff I’ve directed over the past 8 years has had some degree of production involved, some WAY more than others.

Like everyone else, I’ve been anticipating the move to more and more web content not only for magazines, but ad clients as well. The trick with magazines who want video content is the cost and production involved, they sometimes sorely underestimate what it takes to make video look great. Even though the cameras keep shrinking, for even simple shoots there is sound, production involved, different kinds of lighting other than strobe, platforms for the camera, more gear then you may need need an AD to wrangle talent and keep the crew moving. It really is a different animal.

I wanted to do something that was simple and could translate to the web as moving content. It was just me and the still camera. I cut it myself as well. it was really just to get my feet wet in a different technique that I’d never done before. I sent it to a few colleagues and friends and got a strong response. A creative director at an agency was pitching a campaign the next day (great timing) and asked if he could show it to the client because he thought the style would translate perfectly with the spot. Then i sent it to one of my magazine clients and they wanted me to produce a piece like this for their web content.

I will probably include this on my director’s reel here on out. I’m a big believer in shooting this personal stuff, luckily this time it dovetailed into some work… which is nice.

Recommended Posts

18 Comments

  1. This is a fantastic piece, very well done! However lets not confuse stop motion with time lapse….

  2. Really nice! A lot of these are really good stand alone stills, as well as being a part of this piece.

  3. This is really wonderful piece…just wonderfuly done. Top notch work.

    Seeing this sort of stuff on a reel is great. Especially as today, clients are expecting things that can set them apart and that are a little different than standard motion work.

  4. beautiful. 40,000 still images OMG

  5. great movie with great images.

  6. Really, really nice. Ben is a talented guy.

  7. so great! really well composed. good for you for going after personal projects too! thank you for sharing!

  8. It just goes to show you how taking a risk and trying something different may result in spectacular outcome. Great work Ben!

  9. Awesome job Ben, impressive as usual. How long did it take to shoot the stills you needed?

    • @Ed Hamlin, I spent 3 days and evenings at the fair. also, for bruce below..
      the whole thing was cut in Final Cut Pro, Color, and Compressor

  10. I wonder what software you used ? Nice piece !

  11. that was fantastic.

  12. Beautiful work Ben! Very inspiring. Much thanks for sharing.

  13. wow that is so great love it. Can’t believe it over 40,000 images.
    I have done this before but not with that many images would love to go out and try something like this.

  14. So moved by this piece. The two points that really blew me away were the striking blurred color of the tilt-a-whirl (like an electric tasmanian devil) and the freeze frame of the smiling girl on the carousel.
    The choice of music was brilliant as well. Really evocative.
    Transported me back twenty years.
    Not to embarrassed to say it brought a tear to my eye.
    Thank you.


Comments are closed for this article!