Last updated at 12:25, Tuesday, 19 June 2012

In the weird and wonderful world of animation everything shifts: size, time, perspective. In other words, reality.

Ben Sanderson

On the set of Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie the crew spent two years creating a universe populated with otherwordly characters, where five seconds of film took a whole week to shoot.

Among the huge team holed up in the London studio was puppet “wrangler” Ben Sanderson.

“It was very hard work, you’d be working from 8am to 7pm, five to six days a week, and often start earlier and work later,” says the 25-year-old. “There’s a lot of pressure from the studio to make sure the film gets done. Everyone cares about what they are doing and it’s very intense.

“A five second shot can take a week. If there is a tiny change in the set, say in the lighting or if a camera gets knocked, it will ruin that shot and you’ll have to start again.

“It can be stressful but when you see it all come together and work it’s worth it.”

Tasked with coordinating the 400 puppets and making any creative changes requested by Tim Burton, Ben says that, despite the pressure, he relished the experience.

“It was wonderful. With stop motion everything is made by hand,” explains Ben, who grew up in Cummersdale, near Carlisle.

“I mean, you might use a green screen for an expansive background which would be impossible to make otherwise but everything else is by hand.

“If you see a splash of water swirling round a cup, someone has thought about how to do that. And it’s so challenging making a costume for a puppet this size,” he adds, indicating a few inches in length with his hands.

“You have to scale it down but it still has to be realistic, down to the seamlines. The people who do it are so talented. It’s genius.”

Now in post-production, Frankenweenie is due to be released this autumn but it has sparked another creative project, already in the pipeline.

One person Ben met on set was animator Dan Gill and the pair are now making a short film together, called The Treehouse.

The story of a boy with an overactive imagination, the film will be a mix of stop motion animation (from Dan’s illustrations) and live action. Dan – who also worked on the 2009 movie Fantastic Mr Fox (directed by Wes Anderson and voiced by the likes of George Clooney and Meryl Streep) – is animator and director, while Ben is producer.

He is aware of the image often associated with short films; that they are the poor relation of feature-length films. But this duo have loftier ambitions for their creation, which has an estimated running time 10 to 15 minutes.

“Anyone can make a short film with a camera and a group of friends and have it edited in a few days but it will be reflected in the quality.

“We are aiming for the Oscars. We want to make something really good that can stand up and be entered into competitions with confidence.”

Ben is hoping people in Cumbria will get behind the film, which he plans to make at his dad’s farm at Cummersdale. Depending on the finances raised, it is also hoped a Cumbrian cast can be used.

Ben is hoping to attract “crowd funding”, where people pool their money for a project or a cause, using Kickstarter. The website allows people creating something – from a film to a comic – to ask fellow internet users to become patrons.

A target amount has to be set and, if met, the patrons have to hand over whatever they’ve pledged. In return they get something back from the project.

“Say 1,500 people pledge £20, we could raise £30,000 and that would let us make the film we want to make,” Ben explains.

“People could perhaps have a puppet from the film, or a signed drawing. There are all kinds of possibilities.

“Sometimes making a film can be one of the most selfish things; taking money to make something that is one person’s vision.

“I want this to be for other people and for it to be a project worth having their support.”

Since graduating in 2008 with a degree in television from the University of Central Lancaster in Preston, Ben has worked on varied projects, from Grand Designs to Aardman Animations’ last film The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists.

But it wasn’t a dead cert the former Caldew School pupil would follow this path.

“I’d always enjoyed drawing. I also love talking and one day at school we watched Romeo + Juliet. The teacher pointed out I’d shut up for the whole of the film. This was unusual!” he smiles. “I do get engrossed in films, but it didn’t occur to me you could work in that industry.

“At primary school you can say you want to be anything – an astronaut or an actor – but by secondary school it’s more about real life. It never occurred to me at all, I thought architecture was the most creative career I could have.”

He did work experience with an architecture firm but found it “boring”, and his mum Gaby suggested TV production.

The eldest of four children, Ben worked on the family pig farm during the summer holidays and also while studying, but says there was no pressure from dad Mike to follow in his footsteps. “Dad is happy as long as we are happy,” he says.

Now living in Balham, south London and currently working on a new BBC project (the name has to stay under wraps for now), Ben returns to Cumbria whenever he can, though that isn’t as often as he’d like.

“London’s a very different place to be. It’s busy and intense. I miss things like being near family and proper fields, pigs... you don’t get that in Balham,” he smiles drily.

Ben’s ultimate goal is to have a career as a producer: “I toyed with the idea of directing but I’m not sure that’s for me.

“Producing appeals to me because it presents a challenge. Also I like talking to people and helping to make decisions, combining business with being creative.”

It’s a role he’ll get to test out with The Treehouse.

He adds: “Our film is the most important thing right now. We want to make something really special, as visually beautiful as possible.”

Visit www.kickstarter.com for more information. The Treehouse section goes live in a few days time.

First published at 11:26, Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk