Our Mobius Project

We started with a lot of ideas, including the simple idea of a circle changing size and colour. We also thought about a sun, with its rays rotating and growing. However, we decided instead to challenge ourselves and began to think of more difficult ideas. We first came up with the idea of creating a fountain using card, and the developed that into a more complex idea to make the loop more interesting. Using card shapes to inspire us, we decided on Jets of water leaving a tap, hitting the ground and bouncing away. As the water hits the ground, grass starts to grow and follows the water in a wavelike motion.
 I worked in a group with Rob M, Rob S and Tash. I think we worked really well as a group because we all contributed with different ideas on how to improve the piece. To produce the work, we cut out lots of card into specific shapes and attached them to the wall in our chosen corridor. We had a bit of difficulty getting the look we wanted with the water, and so we adjusted the camera angle to fit. I learnt alot from this project because I was able to see how much planning has to go into looped stop motion technique. Overall i was really happy with the finished video because it displayed the technique and our ideas, whilst also showing that we had considered the key elements that made the loop effective.
 Our Mobius Creation <- Video link to our "Mobius" project.

Mobius by Eness

A Mobius strip "is a surface with only one side and only one boundary component. The Mobius has the mathematical property of being non-orientable."

 Mobius by Eness is a short, one and a half minute film that explores the different techniques of stop motion animation. The short features many popular locations around Melbourne, where large green triangles are placed in the centre of the location. On the floor, the triangles move in a looping sequence.

 I thought the production was very eye-catching, and the use of location was a brilliant idea because it kept the attention of the audience for longer, despite it being a simple idea. I enjoyed the production because of the way the director incorporated different techniques, such as the time lapse effect of the people walking past the triangles, getting on with every day life. Because the people where almost ignoring the triangles as though they were normal, it allowed the audience to focus on the triangles and not be distracted by the surroundings too much.

 The short film Mobius was created by Australian production company Eness, who have many other short films including "Humble telescope" and "Snow Show", others can be found at www.eness.com. The process involved to create a piece like "Mobius" requires alot of planning, and the director would of had to ensure that elements of the filming and production were exact. For example, the camera must remain in exactly the same place for the whole loop. On such a big scale as they were working, if the camera had moved even and inch, the effect would have been ruined. The positioning of the triangles also had to be perfectly executed, each time the triangles are moved, they must sit in the same place as the previous triangle. This was achieved in Mobius by drawing chalk sqaures on the floor to indicate where the four corners of the base should sit.