Fidget the Witch...

I have officially started pre-production on the first "full" stop-motion film project here at Vortex42. Up until now I have been focussed mostly on developing the necessary skills. This project will be a complete short film made in stop-motion. So without further ado, let me get right to it...


Fidget the Witch is a 1x2min stop-motion comedy short for kids.

The story follows Fidget, a wicked little witch, who loves nothing more than yummy toddler-pie... But she has a jealous familiar, called Caspar, who can never settle for rotten fish-heads at dinner-time, when there is toddler-pie to be had!

The idea is for this to be a naughty and cheeky tale with humour in a similar style to the cheeky re-telling of classic children's stories in "Revolting Rhymes" by Roald Dahl, or the Horrible Histories book series.

The film has no spoken parts, as I wanted to avoid lip synch in this particular production. The reason being that I would like to try telling the story entirely visually and with incidental musical cues (these will be composed after the film is edited together).

The story features three characters :

1 : Fidget the Witch
2 : Caspar the Familiar (cat)
3 : The Ill-fated Toddler

The puppets are being constructed, each, with a twisted-aluminium-wire and epoxy armature, and Newplast clay. I am using small hex-nuts for tie-downs... I will give more detail on this at a later date.

The story takes place on four sets :

1 : Fidget's Cottage (exterior)
2 : Fidget's Cottage (interior)
3 : The Tops of the Trees
4 : The Clearing

Set number three will be created digitally using only photoshop and premierePro.

The other three sets are being constructed using a wide-range of materials including Styrofoam (which I have just become aquainted with and am just realising it's potential!), balsa wood, plaster and papier maché.

There are a range of props required to tell the tale :

1 : Fidget's broom
2 : Fidget's wand
3 : Pie Dish
4 : The Toddler Pie
5 : The Rotten Fish-head
6 : 2 x Spellbooks
7 : 3 x Containers
8 : Fidget's Ladel

The majority of the props have been made using "SuperSculpey Extra Firm (Gray)", with an aluminum wire internal structure where required for strength during crafting. They have been baked in a small convection oven which I found on Ebay (brand new) for a very low price, and plan to use for making Foam Latex puppets on a future project.

In addition to these props, there are some furniture items required :

1 : Fidget's Rocking Chair
2 : Dining Table and Two Chairs
3 : Under-Window Table
4 : The Oven
5 : The Cauldron
6 : Caspar's Bed

The chairs and tables have been made using balsa wood. The oven and cauldron are to be made using "SuperScupley Extra Firm (gray)", the same way as the props.

The puppets, sets, props and furniture are being made by myself, Barry (my friend/assitant) and Kjestine (my Fiancee).

During production we are shooting some of the process in order to put together a short "Making Fidget the Witch" film to accompany the short.

In the meantime, I will periodically post photographs and information on my progress with the film to keep you up-to-date. In my next post I will post some photos of the props and furniture we have been making. Following that I will show progress on the first of the sets (the exterior of Fidget's house). In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this sketch I made of the final design for Fidget's Cottage (exterior)...



Well, I hope I'm giving plenty of detail. This is the first time I've tried telling people about a project while it is in production! If there is anything I am missing out please remind me!

Kind regards,

_________________
-Paul J. McConnochie
Producer / Director / Animator
Vortex42
www.vortex42.co.uk