The Clay in Stop-Motion Animation at Aardman Studios

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

So glad that there are still stop-motion movies being made ("Early Man" and "Kubo and the Two Strings", etc). I hope this art form never dies.

[@redx2gaming69]

Laika and aardman are my favorite studios

[@photosbykeir]

I love that the chickens from chicken run cam out of a machine that they were terrified of going into!

[@Lioanimals1977]

Now my brain is dripping out of my ears. Thank you!!!

[@drowningin]

lol that didn't even cross my mind thank you

[@the3rdsideofthings771]

Keir Young mmmmm... They cam...

[@supernaturalswampaids8083]

You’re smart!

[@A_S_M_R]

Why would chickens be terrified of a bubblegum extruding machine?

[@darthfader733]

I am a retired color tech and spent years matching paint both "house paint" and industrial coatings, very rewarding. We also used a lot of food processing machines like the dough mixer for putties. As usual a great video, Thanks

[@alic6958]

Yeh colour theory is fascinating.

[@CatherineSTodd]

@@alic6958 & Darth Fader : I didn't even know about "color theory" and I have been an artist all my life. Where to find out more?

[@sodengames5669]

It makes me laugh that when you go to Weta or American studios and they are really describing in detail what they do, and the processes that went into it, all their trial and error and really getting into their jobs and the film. But whenever you come to a British studio there just like 'Yeah i mix some colours together mate. What more do you want to know?' 'Oh err... how do you mix them together?' 'I just bung 'em in this thing. It mixes them.. There ain't much to it.'

[@VortexJae]

Smurf.Soden, being a Brit myself, I can't tell you how much this made me laugh :-)

[@SimonChristensen]

Yeah, no bullshit trying to make it appear more fancy than it is. The way it should be.

[@dertysprite]

As a Brit living in America, I sometimes get strange looks from my American colleagues when I describe certain tasks at my job so frankly without any gloss. Just sort of how we are.

[@RooReviews]

Yeah we don’t see the need to exaggerate and over glamour it, I do find it funny comparing the differences in Adams interviews

[@JLCL01]

I'm not sure if you're talking about certain videos where they're interviewing people as part of some promotion for the films or studio but I really do appreciate the "no bullshit" attitude like in this video. It feels more like some tour, likely for a job. It makes it feel less like some mystical arcane act only a wizard could do and something anyone is capable of doing. Not saying this makes the process less special or cool, but it helps ease any anxiety or worry about it.

[@SmR8008]

All the guys at Aardman seem so enthusiastic at explaining their work. It must be a great place to work.😊

[@Professorofmagicalcreatures]

A very talented flim company

[@maceylps5947]

Flim?

[@lighthouserock3014]

@@maceylps5947 Yes?

[@dan-mb2ne]

@@maceylps5947 r u stupid 😂

[@MrHelpingHand]

Betta 4lifez It's really not that hard to understand what he was trying to say. Unless you have a very small brain.

[@SaFFire123x]

@@MrHelpingHand Exactly.

[@VicMorrowsGhost]

A man in a shed, judging things by eye. It's the British way.

[@anykey2034]

I've been waiting for Aardman video for ages! This is awesome. It's incredible to see the amount of effort that goes into just making the clay.

[@LextheRobot]

I was totally not ready for that video to end.

[@NecroDingus]

Exactly how I felt!

[@wadeslovick2815]

Wallace and Gromit was such a beautiful masterpiece. Never thought about this stuff as a kid.

[@charlesmdasilva]

Me waiting for him to dust that bit of chalk off the grill of that machine into the hopper......

[@honorarybeluga6715]

lmfao thank you for this comment

[@mineicus]

tfw you are a kid, and you played with the play-doh spaghetti mold too much, and it escalates into a career.

[@hahahha2883]

Yes

[@RyanMakesStuffOccasionally]

I absolutely love it when Adam geeks out over the things he finds interesting

[@icepl4net]

Could watch Adam Savage videos All day long

[@SlapStuffTogether]

Color theory is crazy, this job would be quite stressful imho.

[@TornTech1]

Adam is in the UK??????? :O I thought I felt a disturbance in the force! His so close!

[@batbeeps]

He was. This was filmed in June last year, which is why they mention it being a hot day.

[@VortexJae]

I felt that disturbance too That's cool he was in the Uk

[@cabe_bedlam]

Ahhh that one day of summer....

[@Leigh984]

I wonder if there could be a tested uk ?

[@nunchuckerz]

me too home town as well

[@DorgeDungle]

Anyone remember Creature Comforts?

[@littlemikey46]

I freaking loved that show! NerdCubed did a video a couple of years ago which spoofed it which was also great: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZSaaK2jmLiJjsU

[@olddoggeleventy2718]

One of the best shows...I always got a chuckle out of the intro music!

[@outeast999]

I remember when the Creature Comforts ads were on TV (1990 - before the series, after the 1989 short). A Grand Day Out predates even the Creature Comforts short though - Nick Park's first production, I think. That year, my kid brother went to Aardman and interviewed Nick for Blue Peter! He was 10, I guess. But who remembers Morph? That was Peter Lord, co-founder of Aardman.

[@NateandNoahTryLife]

Absolutely Amazing! They made films I loved when I was a kid and the impression endures. Everything I learned about making my own stop motion as a kid came from a behind-the-scenes DVD of Wallace and Gromit, and it inspired one of my first ever videos back in middle school.

[@charliem8269]

I hope they filmed more videos at Ardman. Loved Wallace and Gromit, was a shame when the voice actor died :(

[@FigmentsMade]

According to Adam's Tweet there are a total of nine videos from this Aardman trip!

[@emschrader418]

Pirates is one of their films...

[@roadfart5537]

Paint stores have very simple technology that matches color, yet this guy obviously likes the attention he gets doing it by eye. Notice that he hardly smiles or elaborates on anything, yet when he tells Adam how long he's been doing it and that it 'has to be done by eye', he smiles, elaborates, and starts dancing around a bit. The idea of being a color mixer excites him, and at the cost of accuracy, he'd rather do it by eye, when computers will ALWAYS be more efficient (less wasted product until the desired color is achieved, less trial and error, less variation, etc.)

[@vidm96]

The blurred out logo on the box on top of the shelf becomes clearly visible during the transition to the next scene with adam.

[@MakeItSoph]

This is perfect!! 😍😍 awesome video

[@apishathor5808]

Make it stop

[@kawaiiunicorns435]

Make it Soph i

[@TomsBackyardWorkshop]

I made my own modeling clay as an art student. My recipe consisted of wax, light oil, bearing grease, and ball clay. It didn't smell great but it was stiff enough for me to carve and then take multiple molds off of the finished carving.

[@peanutismint]

Aardman are the closest thing we have to Pixar and I'm SO incredibly proud of everything they've done/do. Thanks for taking the time to visit them Adam! Now, I only live an hour away from Bristol.....do you think if I showed up they'd show me around too??!!

[@subtlegroove9867]

Asking all the right questions... This is why I love watching Adam Savage & Tested

[@itsviney]

Awesome video. ❤ Aardman. Can't believe the Tested crew was 5 minutes from my house and I didn't know. Wish I could have come down and said hello.

[@PressXProps]

Every time Adam tosses the clay tendrils into the machine, it looks like he's throwing a face-hugger in.

[@winterhaydn5640]

It's great to see Adam is so enthusiastic for animation. I thought he was just a tech / builder guy. I had no idea he even had experience in art.

[@CallMeJarv]

I fell in love with stop motion qhen i was like 3 years old from watching rudolph the red nosed reindeer. To this day i love stop motion and claymation movies. I hope this type of filming never stops.

[@embluk1084]

Omg, can we all agree that it would be in the best interest of the channel if Adam did more building, either more one day builds or just start mini building projects split over separate videos?

[@SomewhereAbove]

I love the energy of the interviewer

[@jeffvader811]

A Grand Day Out was my favourite Aardman film, so iconic.

[@rtech1233]

We use these mixers to formulate BMC plastic also only 500 to 2000 pounds per batch Big enough to fall into. our big mixer was originally from Hershey Chocolate.

[@danzmachinz2269]

What kind of camera lens do they use to photograph stop motion miniatures? I wish these types of features would speak more about the peculiarities of capturing stop motion..

[@NoSQLKnowHow]

If you go back into the history of the channel I remember there being one that showed the setup of a previous Aardman production and the camera stuff. If nothing else, I know there are behind the scenes featurettes that Aardman has made themselves that accompany the DVD/blu-ray release of their movies that cover this.

[@nickhelfrich675]

danz machinz email or hit some of the animators on Instagram I'm sure they're willing to tell

[@SuperMrDelgado]

danz machinz it says in the title this video is specifically about the clay. If every video covered every topic it wouldn't make any sense.

[@loisnotlouis]

it depends on the kind of animation and what it's being used for.. quit often with stop motion something like a canon 5D is great, in terms of lens that depends on the shot type... at Aardmas they also use an animation software called Dragonframe which is fantastic but Dragonframe isn't comparable with every camera so it of course has to be one that is :)

[@FigmentsMade]

Adam said in his Tweet about this video that it is the first of nine videos from this Aardman trip. They may well cover this in an upcoming video!

[@lukealsmith]

I really appreciate this form of film making. Its so tedious but so worth it

[@DJHeroMasta]

There's a whole lot more going on behind the scenes than I thought!

[@outofrhythm9670]

Ended real quick, the last part was so satisfying to watch

[@ApexHerbivore]

There is SOOO much to stop frame animation I really hope you shot more footage during your stay!

[@neoone5942]

The guy with Adam is very very humble and seems to come just right out of the seventies

[@FigmentsMade]

Adam Savage + Aardman studios = Awesome content

[@tonialarco1580]

The guy mixing the clay has I job I've never expected to exist

[@Cory279]

I've always been amazed by claymation and I'm glad I finally got to see more of how the models are made. Not to mention my son favorite movie right now is Shaun the Sheep.

[@taoistflyer]

You're a great interviewer. Thanks for letting me vicariously work at aardman

[@lorbaborb]

I never knew aardman was stop motion until pirates came out (because I'm clever like that) and since then I've been absolutely amazed by what they do and the effort that goes into it

[@SmokyFrosty]

This is so perfect!! Aardman is just the best!! I hope we are going to see the rest of the Aardman Studio

[@TheFurriestOne]

I love how delighted Adam gets in these sorts of things! XD Thanks for the fascinating look behind the curtain, Tested!

[@HomegirlKikimora]

Oh man, I once mixed about 200lbs of porcelain clay. Had to steam clean the mixer to get out any remnants of any iron because when it leeches through during the firing, it creates speckles on the white surface. The Pug Mill was always my favorite part.

[@mr.robinson1982]

That was pretty cool, you should do more of these kind of videos...

[@datnuk305]

This is perfect, I've been so curious about these filming processes since I was young and was watching Wallace and Grommet.

[@Boogieforme]

Ah tested, forever reminding you of aspects in arts you would never have thought of otherwise, thank you!

[@TheIlliniviking]

Too cool! Fun fact: It gets warmer because of a phenomenon called "viscous heating," which is essentially internal friction within the material.

[@alexandraframe6493]

The Wallace and Gromit, Shaun everything they I love. Incredible to see how they create the colours. I want to know more!

[@kasrakhatir]

Very underrated production company

[@ajy1974]

Yes!!!!! I live in Bristol!!! OMG Adam is HERE!!!!!!!

[@Alex_machin_animator]

Amazing! I used to use a brand of plasticine called Belgrave, it was great for animating, really firm and resistant to heat, held its shape and didn’t smoosh, then a few years ago they cheaped out and changed the recipe and it was so terrible nobody wanted it, now you can’t get the old stuff (or the new stuff) anywhere. I’d love it if they sold newplast in Australia, the shipping costs for small batches make it prohibitively expensive :(

[@RadicalLatias]

This is amazing! You don't know how happy I am to see this. I remember back in middle school doing a presentation on claymation work in film (which at the time there weren't many films chicken run had just come out) and I loved going over a lot of Aardman's work and such. Is so cool to see a more behind the scenes, in-depth look at the full process. So I thank you guys a lot for going out and doing this! Totally made my day!

[@theblackbaron4119]

The colour of spam. Beautiful, It reminds me of that one Monthy Python sketch in the restaurant, everything with spam.

[@MetaMarcy21]

I was not ready for that video to end.

[@barryp4700]

I love Adam’s enthusiasm.

[@naqsaq]

Blur fail. It says NCP Newclay Products in the cardboard box top right corner in the beginning.

[@wolfpack4694]

I had visions of Lucille Ball in a pie factory when Adam started on the extruder! Too fun!

[@holyravioli5795]

Easily one of the most talented studios ever.

[@sangitaekka]

This was so amazing to watch!

[@Lumibear.]

Adam put to work cutting off a man’s pink sausages and throwing them back into his spam making machine. Gotta love him.

[@HairyCaveMan]

Absolutely brilliant! Adam, you was asking all the right questions. Thanks guys

[@jmakes3745]

who knew so much work went into making clay!

[@jackbromley4340]

You can tell Adam was having a brilliant time when he was making the coloured clay

[@driezzy]

I love Chicken Run, such a great movie. Loved the characters!

[@SAkURAYOWA]

I could watch that clay forever.

[@bcostell69]

Just met Nick Parks last night in Dublin, great to meet the creator of Wallis and Gromit

[@alitlweird]

Not sure what they’re making but it looks delicious!! 🤤

[@staylucky4727]

He asks such thoughtful questions

[@solecurious1448]

Thanks you for taking us behind the scene. So interesting... imagine grown men taking plasticine So seriously. Love Aardman studio. Some of the most Creative and witty folks around.

[@njharper1983]

couldn't you build a guide or mechanism to feed that extruded clay back into the hopper?

[@mattbroomer]

I was so thinking that too. Seems fairly logical really.

[@madman3891]

he probably feels it to see if he needs more oil or jelly.

[@wolfe1970]

Hands on to feel how good the clay is

[@Ben-eu8sc]

They're not lazy.

[@DanijelTeofilovic]

I was thinking same thing right away. He could still reach up on top of the guide and grab piece to check for consistency from time to time.

[@whipworks4468]

Love this as always! Sometimes the paracord batches I get are slightly different colors, but nothing compared to this! Haha

[@parhammanian]

thanks Adam!your videos are very helpful for animation students like me!

[@A2ZWILL]

THIS FREAKING AWESOME I WISH I CAN MAKE A CLAY FIGURE OF MY SELF

[@Saveara.]

What's stopping you?

[@spektrum33]

Adams in his element here ,,having fun 👍

[@loganwood7595]

Man it would be a dream come true for me if I could work at aardman. I just love making things from clay.

[@isettech]

I was surprised to find the color is matched by eye. I thought they would have used the same tech photo editors used to calibrate monitors. From an engineering standpoint, I would have re-purposed a flat bed scanner to quantify RGB values for targeting the recipe results much the same way a paint shop scans your paint sample and matches your existing color.

[@kencoleman5007]

Has your company had the chance to interview Aleksandr Petrov on his animation process? Since the late 80's he's had the beautifully unique approach of stop animating oil paintings on glass panes. So many of his films have this Tolstoy era themes communicated with flowing romantic impressionism. I think the only time that he's included modern technology in his animations' subjects was when he was recently commissioned to illustrate the evolution of Russian Railways from a blacksmith forging the initial spikes to people in a computer lab working on an underwater bullet train.

[@StuffWithKirby]

Great video. I really enjoy seeing the behind the scenes stuff.

[@bobblehead7002]

absolutely incredible

[@locant23]

This was a treat! Love this

[@conure512]

I FREAKING LOVE WALLACE AND GROMIT OMG

[@jerryjohnsonii4181]

Cool stuff Adam, thanks for teaching me something.

[@danielroux2600]

I wish I could be a stop motion animator one day

[@milliontoys8009]

Wow awsome !!! sooooo profesional Tested!

[@WilmMyburgh]

Fascinating!

[@Chris-pf9vl]

I've only just moved down to Bristol to learn that Adam was here 9 months ago. Raging.

[@lindastukule8381]

Can you please telll - what are the same or very similar animation stories made in stop motion and CGI (Computer-generated imagery)? :))

[@TymersRealm]

That was cool to watch!

[@Moonchild1607]

Two amazing Role Models in 1 Video... It's.... FUCKING AMAZING!!!

[@gwenc1466]

This is so awesome! I would love to do this.

[@ZaneTaylorMusic]

So interesting! Love this video.

[@theinerd9630]

That big machine reminds me a lot of the Another brik in the wall musicvideo

[@aeoization]

HOLY SHIT MAN!!!!!!!!!!! THIS CLAY LOOKS SO FUCKING SATISFYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@wolfe1970]

Another good way to mix clay is between 2 rollers like rubber for tires are done

[@JohnVHRC]

I really was hoping it would show how they do the movies

[@jongiextreme_]

Sean the ship 😍