What do you get when you combine stop-motion, the Nokia N8 smartphone and a beach in South Wales? A world record, for one thing.
These factors also combined to create a 92-second film, shot entirely on the N8 and directed by the award-winning Sumo Science team at the Aardman Animation company. The short, titled 'Gulp', uses stop-motion animation to tell the story of a fisherman's crazy adventure at sea.
According to the video's decription on the Nokia HD Vimeo page, the film was shot at Pendine Beach in South Wales and broke a world record for the largest set used in a stop-motion animation video. The Guinness World Records Blog confirms that Gulp's 11,000 square-foot set is indeed the largest ever.
Fast Company details some of the technical aspects behind the making of 'Gulp':
The action was captured by three Nokia N8s suspended from a crane, with each frame representing a single shot from the phone cam. This spot is part of an ongoing campaign using unique, often technically challenging videos to showcase the capabilities of Nokia handsets. And while you probably won't be snapping photos of your family with a cherry picker anytime soon, it's not a bad way to tout the 12-megapixel camera and "Carl Zeiss 4-element Tessar optics" in the N8.
David Bruno of Wieden + Kennedy London, who assisted Sumo Science on the film, explained to Fast Company some of the technical hurdles the filmmakers met. “Strapping the device to a 40-meter high cherry picker on a massive expanse of beach with gale force winds seemed like a good challenge for the smartphone,” he said.
Since the N8's debut in 2010, Nokia has frequently called on artists to demonstrate the abilities of the handset. Earlier this year, the Nokia Shorts 2011 HD film contest challenged artists to submit the best N8-filmed pieces. The winner, titled 'Splitscreen: A Love Story,' was awarded $10,000 and featured at the Edinburgh Film Fest in June. (You can check out 'Splitscreen' here.)
Wired notes that the same creative team that produced 'Gulp' also collaborated on 'Dot,' an artsy advertisement filmed exclusively for Nokia.
Watch 'Gulp':
Watch the making of 'Gulp': [via Studio Daily]