I was asked by a friend of mine how I created a stop-motion movie featuring cardboard cutouts of Senator Barack Obama and John McCain. It was just a fun, alternative, non-partisan feature project that showed where the two presidential candidates would hang out if they came to our area.

Check it out here.

The project was made using 340 still photographs and assembled quite easily using the Final Cut Express HD computer program. My camera was set on a tripod most of the time while assistants moved the near-life size cardboard cutouts of the candidates a few feet at a time and then got out of the way for the picture. Assistants included fellow staff photographers Emily Rasinski and Dawn Majors, photography intern Beck Diefenbach, and multimedia intern Chris Zaluski.

There was a lot of discussion in the office among editors about the kind of music that I was allowed to use for this project. The final modified version was created with music from websites that allow for the use of their songs as long as the artist is credited. Most popular songs on the radio cannot be used without permission from the artist if it is for a commercial venture, even for a newspaper feature video. I have to honestly say that I prefer the first version I did with music from The Bee Gees, Jamiroquai, Dean Martin, and several others but you have to play by the rules.