Ladybuggedy is from “A Walk in the Woods”, a collection of early intermediate harp solos. At this very gentle tempo, it’s not so difficult. It takes a bit of practice to get rhythm down, and there’s a little tricky stuff for the left hand, but generally it’s really fun to play. This was recorded on my 36 string lever harp.
Originally, this video was just going to be film of ladybugs in my yard, but they either sit and do nothing, or the flower is getting blown about by the south wind, or they are being really interesting but my cheap camera can’t stay in focus.
So, I thought, fill in the missing footage with another stop motion. Have the ladybug watch TV, and the real ladybugs can be the program. Throw in a big scary dragonfly, and have the ladybug knock her popcorn bowl into the air. My son-in-law co-conspirator suggested that her head should bob in time to the music. Such genius.
I tend to learn things the hard way. Make all the newbie mistakes and try not to do that one again.
Stop motion animation is tedious and a lot of fun, and I have so much to learn. From the Crazy Quilt project, I learned that putting the project on the floor was back breaking! This time I got fancy and put it on a table in the laundry room, but I still failed to grasp how even a tiny bit of light behind us could bounce around and make everything flicker.
I had to color grade nearly every single frame, and I could not get it perfect. At 12 frames per second, it’s a good thing I learned about this on this short project!
Did you spot the reappearing popcorn bowl? We intended to film more, even have her fly away at the end, but it just wasn’t needed. I decided to re-use the clips where she turns on the tv, so the popcorn bowl is back in place. Here’s what really happened: after the popcorn exploded, she turned off our camera, cleaned the mess and made another bowl of popcorn. Like any sensible ladybug would do.