Why not create your own doll video? It’s a great way to share your collection with a wider audience. It’s not hard to do, but it’s not Hollywood either! The Bold Doll goes behind the scenes on set.
An invitation to do a presentation on Sonia Ottolini dolls led me to think about the best way of doing this. Rather than boring the audience to death with my droning endlessly on, I decided to have a go at putting together a mini documentary. I had long been inspired by the fantastic Fashion Doll Agency video CHIC! animating their models for the catwalk première of the Collection Noir. The idea of adding movement to dolls has always appealed, so this was my opportunity.
With additional inspiration from Thunderbirds, the British TV puppet series from the 1960s, I wanted to add this extra dimension and use dolls as the players on my own stage. But I realized that for it not to be a disorganized jumble, a little forward planning would be required. The best starting point for any animated film is to create a storyboard. I outlined the beginning, middle, and end, and how the parts would join together. I was determined that the video should be no more than 15 minutes long. I didn’t want my audience to lose the will to live!
You really don’t need to be brilliant at drawing to create the storyboard. It can even de done in words as a shooting schedule. But what’s important is that you have a clear idea at the outset of what you want the final product to be. Nor do you need to stick slavishly to the storyboard once you’ve established it. You’ll see that my final video departs from the original plan. This is part of the fun and the creative process. You’ll find that once you start, unexpected things can happen in front of the camera, and it’s great to have the flexibility to incorporate them.
The all-important storyboard is the staring point for any successful film project. Don’t miss this stage, it keeps you on track and ensures that no elements of the video get missed out. You don’t even need any drawing skills – just get something down on paper!
I SEE IT NOW!
Inset color frames x 2: Before and after still shots of a Sonia head showing an eye repair were given more interest on screen by means of a panning Ken Burns effect, a filter in iMovie. A sound effect plink! indicated the appearance of the replaced eyes.
MOVE IT!
Black and white legs frames: A detail from the story board and the live action sequence with a (hand-operated) spare pair of legs. My own hands were carefully kept out of shot. Just a little practice was needed to perfect that model-girl walk with plastic legs. I decided to keep the clunk of plastic against wood in the finished sound track.
COVER UP
Black and white hands and skirt frames: A story board snippet with the live action frames using loose Sonia arms. Again, my hands stay out of shot. The doll’s hands had a little double-sided masking tape attached to the palms to allow her to push her skirt back down, and smooth it out.
POWDER PUFF
Final two color film strips: A clip from the story board to indicate a live action shot utilizing a spare Sonia arm. The compact is attached to the palm of the hand with a removable sticky dot, allowing the compact to be gently removed from the purse. If only Sonia’s legs would pose so elegantly. Loose legs were clamped together out of shot so they could daintily crossed. The make-up sequence was achieved using live action for the powder, and stop-frame (edited together in iMovie) for the lipstick action.
The plan was to emulate an old newsreel from the late 50s or early 60s, which coincided with the production period of the Sonia dolls. I wanted to start with some scene-setting intro shots. Then some general background overview imagery. This would be followed by a detailed section on specific dolls and their fashions. A sequence on repairing them, then something on contemporary clone dolls. Next a short section on Ellen – the Ottolini factory’s brief foray into the vinyl fashion doll market. Finally, the summary with a sign off. All in 15 minutes.
Right: Sonia shows a bit of leg to reveal her ‘Made in Italy’ tag. Below: At left is a detail of the iZotope Vinyl filter control panel – used to achieve an authentic-sounding mid-century voiceover.
Nowadays, most modern cameras will shoot video, however it’s best to check that the camera has a memory card with the capacity to shoot video. Mine didn’t, so a quick trip to my local camera shop was necessary. You’ll need a card that is rated SD Speed Class 6 or higher. Just take a look – it’s clearly marked on the card in your camera.
Check your camera manual for detailed instructions on shooting live action. Generally it’s as easy as selecting the video icon, focusing, and pressing the shoot button. I wanted the best quality video, so I set the image size to Full-High Definition (Full HD – 1920×1080). You may also need to set the frame rate depending on your location and TV format, your manual will also explain this.
Ahead of shooting, add details to the storyboard of when to use pre-existing photo stills, stop-frame animation, or live action. It’s simple to take individual shots for stop-frame sequences while the camera is in video mode.
A nautical Sonia is animated using the stop-frame technique for arm and head movements, and live action for rotation on a lazy susan. The clips are all blended together during editing.
In common with most dolls of the era, Sonia has limited articulation – just neck, shoulders, and hips. But I wanted to give the impression in some shots that the legs would bend at the knee, and that the doll could pick things up with her hands. Fortunately, I had a couple of dolls that needed re-stringing, so I kept these in reserve for body parts.
There’s a seated shot where Sonia appears to be perched on a trunk with her legs elegantly tucked under her and daintily crossed at the ankle. In fact the doll’s real legs were sticking straight out in from of her. The lower parts of her legs were from another doll, carefully clamped in position with a retort stand hidden behind a handy screen.
For the live action shot where Sonia is raising or lowering her clothing, all in the name of art, spare hands were used, and a little masking tape on her palms gave the appearance that she was actually holding on to the garment.
An animated blink-and-wink sequence of Sonia’s face. She really was ready for her close-up Mr DeMille.
The fun of making a doll video doesn’t end at the shoot. You’ll want to consider the background music and if there’s a voiceover track. A note of caution: if you plan to upload your video to the web (eg to YouTube or Vimeo), or to play it in public, you must not use any music that is someone else’s copyright – or their law firm might come calling. There’s plenty of royalty-free music to be found with a Google search, sometimes it’s entirely free as long as you give the artist a credit on your video. I found two pieces of music that sounded suitably mid-century and had the right ambience. This last point is important as the mood given by the backing track can make or break a video.
For the narration, I wanted clipped voices that sounded as if they might have come straight from a 1950s broadcast. Technology is on your side here, as you can add filters that will adjust the sound of a voice with remarkable effect. I used the filter iZotope Vinyl, it has many variables to get the desired effect – even down to mimicking the sound of a recording in a given year. I chose 1960, as 1950 sounded just a tad too old.
Once you’re ready to put your film clips together, there is lots of software available for both Mac and Windows. Some are free and open-source, others might already be bundled with your computer. I work on a Mac, so I used iMovie as this was already loaded and I’m familiar with it. This software also comes with some handy filters that allow you to make the film look aged and is useful if you want some sequences to run in black and white.
Making a doll video is a great way to get even more play value from your dolls – it adds depth to your collection and is a wonderful way to share your dolls with a wider audience. I think it’s well worth the time involved.
See the finished Sonia Ottolini video below:
RECOMMENDED VIDEOS
Some doll videos that inspired me to make one of my own, click on the live links below.
• Fashion Doll Agency Collection Noir for their animated catwalk extravaganza.
• Anouk, an Asian fantasy in East meets West and a groovy 1960s adventure in Anouk, Series 4
• In the spirit of movies of the 1940s, Thanos Samaras created a surreal ghost story in Mes poupées Mdvanii
• Barbie, The Photoshoot for BFMC, a behind the scenes look at what goes into one of the incredible Silkstone videos
This feature first appeared in Fashion Doll Quarterly magazine, Winter 2019