Pesca(2025): Stop-Motion Filmmaking by Sophia Monteiro

 Pesca: Reflection on Process and Play in Stop-Motion Filmmaking by Sophia Monteiro

I always had the desire to create a short stop-motion film with a full plotline—something that felt professional, intentional, and dreamlike. I had a story idea in mind at first, but as I started sketching it out, I realized it was too complex for what I was capable of pulling off alone. If I were to do this project again, I would definitely ask for more help. I worked completely on my own with no access to studio space, and looking back, I feel like I didn’t do my best—but I also recognize how much I learned from trying.

There were three main stages to this project: planning, crafting, and editing.

Planning
As I started mapping out the project, I tried to keep things as simple and grounded as possible. I wrote a poem inspired by some of my old writings from junior year of high school. Even though I didn’t develop a complex story, I still wanted to create a complex character I could return to in the future—someone deeply hypocritical of the world around them, a lost individual with no real sense of self. The poem itself, from the perspective of this character, was an undeveloped take on what it feels like to experience the first breath of freedom—like being home alone for the first time and suddenly feeling like an adult. There’s a sense of freedom in doing simple things, learning about yourself, experimenting, existing without oversight that I wanted to explore.

This character, who I named Pesca, came from one of my doodles—a figure with a fishtail-like head. The name “Pesca” means “to fish” in several languages, and that meaning stuck with me. I imagined this character fishing the skies, casting lines into the unknown, searching for purpose in an absurd, drifting sort of way. Pesca became the center of the visual narrative, a dreamlike being floating between delusion and discovery. I translated this idea into storyboards, planning each scene as simply and efficiently as I could. I also set specific dates in advance to keep myself on track for crafting the sets and characters.

Poem: Attached at the bottom

Crafting
I built two main sets: an exterior and the interior of a small house. I created props out of cardboard, hot glue, papier-mâché, and acrylic paint. My goal was to keep the materials accessible, but still make everything feel handmade and emotionally resonant. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, poor time management, and a lack of space, I wasn’t able to customize the scenery as much as I wanted. I kept having to compromise.

At first, I wanted to animate using modeling clay—I practiced by animating a face with a horn growing out of its forehead, like a kind of unicorn-man hybrid. I did a lot of research on claymation techniques using YouTube tutorials, which helped a lot. But the modeling clay I had was only gray, and I really wanted the character to be colorful and textural. I tried using air-dry clay I had on hand, but it wasn’t sturdy enough, and the slightest touch would deform it. So I pivoted.

Instead of claymation, I ended up falling in love with a process I hadn’t planned for: paper-mation. I printed and hand-cut multiple versions of Pesca, each with slight changes in facial expression and body posture—basically like a paper doll. This method let me keep the character consistent while also giving me creative control. I filmed Pesca frame-by-frame on top of a clear plastic surface layered over a green screen backdrop. I used a stop-motion app from the App Store to capture the movements. It wasn’t perfect, but it gave the film a strange, surreal, floating quality that I actually liked a lot.

Editing
Halfway through capturing scenes, I transferred everything to Adobe After Effects, where I’ve had prior experience. I wanted to see how the visuals were matching up with the storyboard, and whether the transitions made sense. I recorded the poem narration scene by scene in GarageBand, layering my voice to match the mood of each shot. In After Effects, I keyed out the green screen, added subtle effects, and played around with color and timing.

The biggest issue I ran into was rendering. I wasn’t able to fully export the final film due to app crashes and storage limitations. But I managed to complete about 75% of the storyboard, which I consider a win, even if it left me a bit unsatisfied.

Conclusion
This creative project gave me a chance to try something I’ve always dreamed about but never had the opportunity to actually attempt. While the final product isn’t perfect, it wasn’t really about perfection—it was about the process, the experimentation, and the challenge of stepping outside of what I already knew how to do. I had to get scrappy, problem-solve, and let go of a lot of control, which was frustrating at times, but also weirdly freeing.

If I connect this experience to the broader themes of our course—like improvisation, philosophical perspectives, and biological constraints—I think Pesca becomes a metaphor. A being searching for selfhood, trying to make meaning with limited tools, stumbling through hallucination and impulse. The character is a product of nurture and imagination, responding to their strange environment with curiosity and delusion. That’s sort of what this project was for me too. I learned how to rethink my creative process, to embrace limitations as opportunities, and to trust my ability to improvise.

Poem/Script: Story of Pesca

BEGINNING
First Person: Reflecting Monologue

“It’s been two days since the one I once knew has left to another town. To say I’ve felt sad would be an overstatement. I must admit things are uncomfortably quiet which has amplified my own thoughts. In a way, the discovery of self—it has revealed a lot of things. It was as if colored glasses were removed and now I see everything much clearer. I see everything in front of me.

I’ve been closely observing the surrounding environment; it’s my new favorite hobby. To stroll down Park Avenue and enter every shop has been a discovery of my own interests. I walked into a thrift store, bought a toolbox, and had the sudden desire to fix something. In the past two days, I’ve had sudden desires to embark on something new. Everyone seems so aimless nowadays, everyone preoccupied with absolutely nothing.”

SCENE ONE
Cut to: Sitting at the park. At a pond. Watching a bird build a nest.

Pesca (watching the bird collect sticks) "Hello"

Bird "Hi"

Pesca "I hope to not bother, but I have a question for you if that’s alright. Do you know where the sky begins?"

Bird "Well I cannot know what I don’t. I can’t say I know much! I don’t!"
(Chirp chirp)
"That’s an interesting question. The sky seems endless, so it must mean it’s beginningless."

Pesca "I figured you would know something since you can view from up above. In my world, everything starts from a beginning."

Bird "From above everything gets smaller and unclear. I have no clue of anything around me, everything constantly changes, although that doesn’t affect my objectives."

Pesca "In my life, I dream of a greater purpose to strike me. Every day I come to realize it is something I have to cultivate on my own, something I can’t wait for. Or maybe I could just live like you do—without the weight of searching."

SCENE TWO
A journal entry. Interior: Small Room, Afternoon Light.

“Today I met a lady at the gift store named Beth. I have seen her many times before, however this was my first time speaking to her. I bought a kite at the register and asked her about her family. Come to know she has a daughter named Lucy with a successful journalism career in New York. Beth says that because of her, she can live comfortably, but she still chooses to work a mild job for the principle of it. Maybe it’s to gather some control over her life.”

SCENE THREE
Exterior: On a hill. Flying the kite. Looking over the town in the distance. Long pause.

Pesca I crave the sound of another.

A squirrel appears.

Squirrel "Hello Pesca"

Pesca (looks down) "Hello squirrel"

Squirrel "Pesca, oh Pesca. Your memory so invigorating and vivid. You have the potential to bloom like a flower."

Note: That was a dream—Pesca had imagined that interaction.

Pesca (internal monologue) Perhaps I’ve been mistaken my whole life.

My purpose is relative to the things around me. I have the knowledge of wishes and dreams of others. If I don’t have control, surely I’ll find a way to keep on living.

Lets go of the kite

SCENE FOUR
AT THE BEACH

Journal entry :With no trace left behind, the one I once knew had vanished five days ago. A faint whisper of uncertainty has followed me throughout these days. In fact, I can’t seem to remember anything. This disappearance is starting to hit me; I’m compelled to start an investigation.