The Ribblehead group meet at the Pyramid studio every Friday and take their name from the Ribblehead viaduct, which was the focus of their first project.
Before Summer break, the group were working on an animation project with storyteller Matthew Bellwood, sculptor Edward Mortimer and artist Cassy Oliphant.
“Inspired by a series of Balinese wooden carvings, provided by our guest artist, Edward, the group began to explore the ancient art of Indonesian shadow puppetry. We watched some videos of traditional shadow storytellers and experimented with different ways of creating projected images using light and shadow – exploring silhouettes, transparencies and 3D objects.
We then used the different techniques we had learned to create our own shadow puppet characters and backgrounds. We projected these onto fabric screens using Overhead Projectors. To finish off the project we all created a short animation sequence of our characters interacting with a bouncing ball. The finished film brings together these sequences and showcases the different ways the group members went about the task.”
Stop Motion Shadow Film
Follow one ball’s journey across the land, encountering different people, creatures and places! How many familiar faces and places can you spot?
Behind the scenes with the Ribblehead Group
Before bringing together their ideas into one film, each member of the Ribblehead group explored ideas of character, setting and storytelling.
The group used overhead projectors and shadow screens (large wooden frames with white fabric stretched over them) and experimented with different materials, such as acetates, paper cuts, transparent fabrics, gels, papers and feathers. Learning how these worked on the projection helped them refine each of their stories before linking them together with a ball.
