The Toys That Inspire Us: Fizzbuzz Goes to TOFICON2019
If there’s one thing I can say for sure, it’s that Team Fizzbuzz loves toys. It only made sense to join another round of one of the highly anticipated events in the local pop culture scene in Cebu.
The moment you set foot in the Activity Center of AyalaMalls Central Bloc, you could see familiar faces from movies, TV shows, and anime, lovingly displayed in the form of toys, figurines, and merchandise or even walking past you in cosplay: TOFICON 2019 in full swing!
Now on its 5th year, TOFICON is an exciting convention for kids and kids-at-heart. Apart from a multitude of figures and toys to marvel at, all sorts of geekery were featured, including Lightsaber Duels and a Pokemon Go Tournament by local communities of hobbyists.
Fizzbuzz got to be part of this awesome event not only by having a whole table to ourselves but also by providing insightful presentations onstage with our very own Jellica Macasero Velasco, Sabina Espina, and Deborah Tudtud.
Jellica offered a look into producing a stop-motion animation video. She broke down necessary aspects like management and team roles, tools, and processes. She also shared tips for managing all these moving parts.
Sabina painted a picture of the fabricator’s role in stop-motion animation. Fabrication takes place during the pre-production stage of the project. Fabricators’ prep includes creating costumes for the actors, props that the actors will be interacting with, and the sets where the video takes place.
Sabina also encouraged her audience to get started on their own fabrications with recyclable materials or things commonly found in the household.
And lastly, Deborah presented some key points for character design. She highlighted the importance of understanding storytelling elements, knowing the psychology of the actors, and using the right techniques to form characters for the project. A fun part of Deborah’s presentation was the power to convey a character’s physicality and potential through shapes.
To sweeten the whole deal, Fizzbuzz gave away Stikbot toys as prizes to those who visited our booth and asked questions during the presentations.
TOFICON 2019 was a blast, and we really hope we inspired people to try out stop-motion animation. It warms our hearts to meet more and more geeks each year, and we look forward to meeting the rest of Cebu’s passionate community of enthusiasts, hobbyists, and collectors. Until next time!