Hi there! I’m Ben. I’m a stop motion artist and visual engineer based in Los Angeles.

To be a bit more specific, I build motion control rigs and devices, then use them to shoot a stop motion or a live action video. I also take care of post-work especially if the project is complicated.

 

I combine stop motion, engineering knowledge, prop fabrication, real time video and post work magic to make one-of-a-kind content in a small studio scale.

What I Do

  • Make stop motion / Full motion videos
  • Design/Build custom rigs
  • Design/Build motion control rigs, drivers and controllers
  • Fabricate props and stop motion set items

Education

  • MFA in Graphic Design
  • B.Sc in Electronic Engineering

If you’d like to learn more about how I’ve got here and doing what I’m doing now, I should say it’s been an interesting journey for me so far in my career. At each point, I’ve learnt different skills in graphic design, animation and engineering. Here is a brief explanation:

Arts and Engineering

When I started college, I was quite sure about the major I love; electronic engineering. In fact I would never have guessed that in just a year after graduation I’d be working as a graphic designer – which was no more than a hobby for me in school years. I realized I enjoy playing around with visual elements more than electronic elements. I finally decided to change paths and become a professional designer. So three years later I got my MA in Graphic Design.
Not only I never regretted starting as an engineer, but also it helped me a lot in rational thinking and design analysis. Now that I’ve put my focus on stop motion, technical skills play a big role as much as understanding visual literature and image structure.

Multidisciplinary Designer

For many years I used to design visual brand identity and logos, brochures, posters and any other type of printed or digital collateral, which all were created digitally on a computer. One day I happened to see some tangible design from the Snask agency, which unbelievably resonated with my love of making tangible objects. It was simply the starting of a path that finally led towards making stop motion.
It’s always been interesting to me how often being a graphic designer has helped in making stop motion; from creating a 2D vector illustration for a paper-cutout stop motion to shooting a food recipe on seamless paper.

Contraptions and Crafts

I’d like to explore under the hood. Gears and shafts are so interesting to me. In my teenage years, if I wasn’t reading an article on howstuffworks.com, I was probably making something with my hands, like simple wood working or making a flashing LEDs kit for my bicycle.
Having a DIY mentality, I learned working with tools along the way, from hand saws and drills to more advanced tools like CNC, 3D printer and laser cutter.
That’s how I’ve got into designing and developing my own tools to make high quality stop motion. I enjoy being able to re-create a feature that needs super expensive equipment with some DIY lower budget device made in-house.

If you’d like to chat about making a stop motion, building a custom rig or motion control device, or simply saying hi, send me an email to:

info@behnam-osroosh.com

 

Or fill out the form below and I will contact you: