Animating the inanimate is a daunting and calculating task. Whether its zombies or puppets, convincing someone to feel for a lifeless object is never easy. Darkstrider.net, despite the silly name, is an amazing cultural reservoir dedicated to the East European style of stop-motion animation. Independent animator Mike Brent’s focus for the site is to provide an online resource for creating and demonstrating this particular style of stop-motion animation known as Puppetfilm. The site is an amazing resource for anyone interested in starting up some home-brewed animation. Brent includes tips, tricks and techniques ranging from camera use and lighting to building up the animated models themselves. He includes various samples of his own work and presents a simple, stair-step approach to creating these visuals. The inspiration for his work is also available on the site, featuring various Eastern European artists whose names are better left in print than pronounced. The video and pictorial gallery that Brent provides is where the site really begins to shine. The short quicktime-only video clips of various stop-motion artists are bizarre, fascinating and dark. The settings are fantastic and macabre, featuring strange and beautifully constructed creatures. The clips are focused to show the technique and artistry behind the construction rather than the narrative or content of the piece. Despite the lack of story or direction, the pieces retain an enigmatic quality that already seems to come with stop-motion. Brent offers us small pinhole glimpses into the strange fantasy behind a very meticulous and beautiful craft. (James King)
www.darkstrider.net