Posted by SMAD October 23, 2007
Story by HELEN STACKHOUSE

HARRISONBURG, Va. - Seniors Nate Burns and Paul Gleason approached the Epic Records and Apple Inc. video competition with a new angle and a process of animation they had never tried before. The band “Modest Mouse” and their recording label Epic Records hosted a contest to anyone who could create a music video for their new song “Missed the Boat,” under the conditions that the contestants used their imagination. Coming in as runner-up of the competition, Gleason and Burns did not lack in innovation and creativity.

Similar to the Sony Bravia commericials, Gleason got the idea of using stop motion animation for the video. Rather than live action shots, the video animation was created using oil paints on glass plates. Gleason had been working with oil paints and figured the thick texture of the paint would have an unusual and interesting effect against the footage of the band performing.

The process of the animation involved one large picture frame, one glass plate, and several smaller plates. The large glass plate was painted, and the small plates were placed on top to create depth and movement to the boat. According to the rules, judging was done by a panel of judges within Epic records. There were a total of 44 submissions, and the winner received all new Apple video equipment.

“Some of them [video submissions] were very good, but didn’t focus on the band,” explained Gleason as they spoke of the other entries. Both Burns and Gleason tried to incorporate similar aspects from other Modest Mouse videos into theirs, and not become too focused on special effects and advanced video, but still maintain visually appealing and smooth animation.

John Woody, a SMAD professor in digital video was there for any questions or problems that arose during the production. “John Woody is the guy we thank because he’s been a great mentor,” said Burns, speaking of how JMU faculty is always willing to lend a hand and support in student projects.

In the future, Gleason will be working on another stop animation video called “Loose Tooth” which will be humorously and satirically document the life of a tooth. It will be produced in a similar style to the “Missed the Boat” video, but will take place on a built motion capture stage, shot directly onto Gleason’s laptop.