Nick Park created the two eccentric and idiosyncratic characters, Wallace an inventor who is really very fond of cheese
and his intelligent dog Gromit as part of his graduation project, using stop motion techniques but the film wasn’t finished when he completed his course.
It took many years to complete his first Wallace and Gromit adventure: A Grand Day Out. Thanks to Aardman who Nick Park worked with, the production of A Grand Day Out was given assistant in modelling. Nick Park wanted very much to have completed it but at the rate that he was going doing it in his own spare time it was almost impossible to ever finish.
The genesis of the ingenious inventor and the cautious canine was there, in Nick Park’s student sketchbook.
Wallace
Wallace wasn’t really based on anybody in particular said Nick Park, however after making the film it became very apparent that he was incredibly similar to his dad in many ways, particularly because of his whole life attitude to life. His dad wasn’t naive in a way but he had ideas and got on with them.
Making the Model Methodology
Mouth are the trickiest part.
When Wallace first appeared in A Grand Day Out, Nick Park sculpted every movement of his moth to match the dialogue that had been pre-recorded by Sallis. A more inventive technigue was used whereby a series of different mouths were swapped over to match what Peter Sallis was saying on a syllable-by-syllable basis.
Sets
Making the model and animating them is really only part of the process. The characters also have to be put into context. Wallace has his house, Wendolene has her shop… All these sets have to be built from scratch, and built to an extent that they look incredibly real. Then they have to be lit. It’s a complicated process but behind the animator stand an entire team of people who have contributer their own particular skills.
Stop motion animation is sort of an art and craft. It requires a great deal of patience and vision, as well as a highly developed sense of body language and movement, but ultimately it’s understandable. Achievable.
Music
Many animated films have very child-like, plinky- plonky music. The approach Julian Nott and Nick Park took was scoring it like a live action film, like a real drama with real actors. That’s why there isn’t music all the way through. It’s a fairly adult approach. Nick Park was influenced by a whole series of other films when putting the Wrong Trousers and A close Shave together. In the Wrong Trousers there are elements there are elements of Bernard Herrman’s Hitchcock music, ant that was deliberate. It’s part of the comedy strategy og W&G to take particular genrres and refer to, ant treat them , with respect. At the same time you have a bit of plasticine, an absurd chap, in the position of Cary Grant.’ Other than that the approach is very instinctive. He did not attempt to impose any particular coherence on the three films. He just let the music flow.
He sees each film as an individual. And not refer back to the ones before.
Gromit
Gromit begin with a ball and socket armature and a body made of fast cast resin, which is built up with modelling clay to create the character's feature.
It is recommended that the clay should be build in 2 layers, since armatures tend to give off a black oil; the first layer absorbs the oil, and the second(top) layer is used for sculpting.
Storyboarding
The story board is a shot-by-shot visual programming of the suggested action of the script and, as such, dictates its own artistic requirements. J.Hart in his book called, The Art of Story Board said "Storyboard is the visualization of the written word and its structure. Story board concerns illustrating the flow action in each key scene. It is basically the movement of the actors performing in front of the sets and lighting.
Anyone attempting to shoot any kind of story line shoutl use the storyboard as a visual device, not only to serve as a day-to-day guide for setting up shots (lighting,blocking, and pace) but also as a precious time saver and a chosen aid in controlling budgets of any size.
The value of good preproduction planning and storyboarding as a part of that process cannot be overstressed.
