We talk to the up-and-coming claymation animator Alistair Nicholls about his hands-on process, the smell of plasticine, 1970s camera lenses and handmade film noir.
No method of creativity is as tactile as claymation. You can literally see the artist’s fingerprints on the characters and props as the story unfolds in tiny increments of movement, with every detail finely controlled by the animator’s hands. True, it might be quicker and cleaner to use 3D tools, or maybe AI, but neither can really match the captivating heart and endeavour that goes into even the shortest production by Alistair Nicholls and others like him.
Based in Norwich, Alistair studied animation, but his stop-motion skills are largely self-taught. He has toiled for his art, which is time-consuming and meticulous, posting animations on Instagram and cold-contacting potential clients until eventually the commissions started coming through.
“It was a struggle initially as I didn’t know anyone in the creative industry, so I had to push to make connections and get my work seen. So far, no one has realised I don’t really know what I’m doing,” laughs Alistair.
Stills from Alistair’s Instagram loops.
He continues: “It does take a long old time, but that’s kind of why I love it – as it’s so real. It’s a real character being moved frame-by-frame; everything is built by hand, combining so many art forms. Stop-motion naturally has this rustic, magical energy you can’t replicate with computer animation.”
And what creative wouldn’t want to watch Alistair at work? He recently moved from a tiny studio in a windowless cupboard to a larger space, where he sculpts his characters using Scola Colour Clay in an array of hues, which he orders in boxes of 30. Scola is a new brand for him—his previous one came in beautiful pastel colours, but times are tough in the plasticine industry, and it closed down.
From a spot for Burberry.
The smell of plasticine adds to the retro, physical appeal of the set, which is overlooked by an old DSLR stills camera on a tripod, wired to Alistair’s laptop. He has a collection of lights employed in different ways to set the mood, and he only shoots through vintage lenses manufactured in the 1970s and 80s for the softness and warmth of the final image. His inspiration goes all the way back to his childhood when he watched his grandfather make stop-motion films as a hobby with a Super-8.
It’s a time-consuming process, so meeting deadlines and achieving the aesthetic Alistair wants can be a challenge. For the promo video for I Wanna Try Something New by Chet Faker, Alistair created a film noir look to a very tight deadline. “We only had three weeks to storyboard, make the characters, sets, props, animate, and edit it. It was a mad rush, but I’m happy with the result. The aesthetic was really great, as I’ve always wanted to do film noir in claymation. It was a bit of an experiment, as was the character design, but the hardest part was definitely the lack of time – it’s a long song, and stop-motion is so slow!”
As well as making a music video, Alistair ticked off his goal of having something on television with a Nickelodeon bumper last year. His client work also includes directing a campaign for Amnesty International. The added challenge here was that the dialogue was in French, and he also had to bring comic elements to the script, making the interviews with plasticine politicians more interesting for the viewer.
His ideal project right now would be a film production with a bigger budget and darker, more mature themes. Between commissions, he’s busy with a short about a man who’s running late and beset by surreal problems such as a runaway alarm clock, a crocodile in the toothbrush holder, and a tie that turns into a fish. After that, he has visions of boxing frogs.
Amnesty International.
Personal project.
“I’ve been trying to get funding for a short stop-motion film that’s a bit darker for a while, but there aren’t too many funding opportunities around,” says Alistair. The film is about two stop-motion frogs in a boxing ring, where their managers and the audience are all real human hands. It’s all about creativity, control and the idea of making something by committee. My personal work tends to be more experimental and a bit darker.”
