7/10/02 The Stop Mo Cyber Lounge
Anthony Scott On stopmotionanimation.com
By Ryan Ball

The Internet is like a cup of yogurt. It contains all these little active cultures that can only thrive in the gelatinous goo we call cyber space. There, people find others like them, isolated freaks who share the same bizarre hobbies and preoccupations. No, I’m not referring to people who like to paint their cats. I’m talking about stop motion animators. Though, if you’re a stop motion animator in say, Boise Idaho, you might as well be dousing the family feline in watercolors. Chances are, nobody understands you.

But with a few clicks of your mouse, you’re suddenly surrounded by like-minded people who get you. Nobody stares at you blankly when you mention armatures. Nobody calls the cops when you discuss making joints. Nobody threatens to wash your mouth out with soap when you bring up balls and rods or covering your puppet with rubber. You’re part of a supportive community. And that community hangs out at www.stopmotionanimation.com.

Animation Magazine Online recently caught up with Anthony Scott, accomplished stop motion, CG and cut-out animator, and the man behind the site, which features a handbook, library, photo gallery, chat room and an awesome message board.

Scott’s impressive list of credits includes The Nightmare Before Christmas, Davey and Goliath, Toy Story 2, A Bug’s Life, James and the Giant Peach, Gumby, Monkeybone, Evolution and Life With Loopy. But one accomplishment he should be very proud of is the establishment of a forum that not only helps keep the art form alive, but also advances it through the constant flow of ideas and inspiration.

AMO: How and when did stopmotionanimation.com get started? What was the driving force behind its creation?

A.S.: I was still at Pixar and I wanted to get back into stop motion. I had a friend who had an extensive site about The Nightmare Before Christmas (www.halloweentown.com). So his site inspired me to create a site about stop motion animation. I wanted the site to be an informational source for anyone who wanted to learn about the process. One of the first things I wanted to set up was a handbook, information that I wanted to pass along. Then I realized that if I could get people connected, then all of the accumulated information could be shared. That is when I put the Message Board on the site.

AMO: Explain how the site serves the stop-motion animation community.

A.S.: I think it is a good meeting place. There are not many stop-motion animators so people who are serious about it can feel very isolated. I grew up in Flint, Mich. and no one knew what I was talking about most of the time. I would just keep on making my films and show them to my family. But it was just me and a couple of friends sometimes helping me. Also, the site is about information. Stop motion is a mysterious craft. I never understood why there was a surface gage in most pictures of animators in Starlog or Cinemagic. No one really explained how or why the tool was used. I want the site to be a place for information exchange. There are stop-motion people all over the world with different techniques. The Message Board is an archive of this information.

AMO: What has been the biggest challenge in maintaining the site?

A.S.: Probably keeping it fresh... that is the biggest challenge. I try to post things on the News page whenever I can. Thanks to the contributions of the people on the Message Board, I don't have to do much. It just keeps going... getting bigger. I just moved the site to a new server with eight times the storage I had before. The Board was shut down for over a week because DCScripts, the creators of the Board's program, had to write new scripting for it. Now everything is up and I won't have to worry about the Message Board surpassing the storage limit for quite awhile. It is very important to me to protect that information.

AMO: What is the coolest thing about stopmotionanimation.com?

A.S.: Without a doubt, it is the Message Board. I am always learning

something new from these guys. The people that post tend to be puppetmakers/animators/camera operators all rolled into one. I am primarily an animator so I am always picking up new information. It is also cool to share things I know about the art form.

Anthony Scott recently directed animation for the Kid’s WB!’s new stop motion series Phantom Investigators, and is currently working with Clokey Productions on new Gumby and Davey and Goliath projects.