THE TRUMPTONSHIRE TRILOGY
CAMBERWICK GREEN,TRUMPTON AND CHIGLEY
ON THIS PAGE -Fire and water were in short supply in Trumptonshire,as the firemen found out.But running water was shown, although next-to-no fire.So it's very much a watery bias here as we look into their use -or lack of it.
Episode 6 - Captain Snort
During the "fishing in the sun" segment at the bottom of Carraway's garden there are ripples on the stream -circles that radiate out from a central point and appear several times throughout the scene.Raised white lines placed on top of the blue water,which is logically the only way they could have done it I suppose.Although it's not easy to make out how they made them.
The stream also appears in P.C.Mcgarry's episode 9. Although it's a different part of it and accessed by the green gate in between The Fishmongers & the Post Office,rather than through Mr.Carraway's shop as in episode 6.
No ripples this time probably because it was a much shorter scene with less water in view and it was obviously quite time-consuming to animate.
And the reason why they bothered to take the time to do it in ep.6 reflects my earlier comments.Because the scene would've looked weirdly static without it,even to a pre-school audience.
What was the big deal about showing water in Trumptonshire ?
Well,simply that it's very tricky representing water using frame-by-frame stop
motion animation,nevermind fire.And all perfectly logical if you think about it.
And remember that even a seemingly still mill pond ripples and reflects,whilst
running water taking it to a whole new level.
So the problem for the Trumptonshire animators was that even if they could fake it
convincingly enough for a pre-school audience,they still had to take the time to do it.
And that was unfortunate,because they had neither the time nor the budget.
So it was simply avoided wherever possible.
Why bother at all ?
This was supposed to be a real world.
You get away without showing fire,which is why its one appearance is restricted to
the bottom of this page.But even pre-school kids would've noticed a complete
absence of water at some stage -even subliminally.And with 39 episodes it was impossible to dodge the subject completely,even though they tried to engineer the storylines as far as possible to do just that.
But all producers have to make a judgement call about how much corner-cutting they can get away with before the production starts to suffer and the audience thinks they're being short-changed -no matter how young.Which is why,for example,some of the ladies in Trumptonshire were given floor length dresses because it was far quicker animating them gliding about like a dalek than actually walking.But not all of them,because they weren't Victorian and kids aren't stupid.
Fortunately though,even small glimpses give an overall impression of normality.Meaning that you don't need to show it raining to plant the idea in the subconscious that the climate's normal.Green foliage can do that perfectly adequately.And a quick glimpse of a flowing tap is as good as a long panning shot of a raging river.
Did it look any good when it was shown ?
It actually worked quite well -if only because the glimpses were very brief and disappeared before your brain had time to question it.Obviously they look pretty basic when frozen in the pics below,but play them in context and they're surprisingly effective.Although the Chigley fountain scene probably shows why they were best used sparingly.
How did they do it ?
Good question,and I don't know.But for the flowing water and splash scenes it looks like they used clear cellophane,or something very similar.And,in view of the budget,it probably wasn't anything much more technical than that to be honest.
Was the lack of it an issue ?
No. It's only mentioned at all because the firemen never had a fire to put out.But aborted appearances of the hose were deliberately written in as a running gag,and they had more than enough other attractions to compensate.So no-one cared.And far better to bask in the notoriety of what they didn't do than be remembered for its poorly-executed inclusion.
Trumpton Episode 10 - Cuthbert's Morning Off
Fireman Cuthbert falls in the duck pond in Trumpton park.
Fire !
Yes.Fire.
Well,sort of.
Because it's even harder to animate successfully than water.
So the only sight of it in all 3 series was in Trumpton episode 7,"The Rag and Bone Man"
Mr.Craddock,the park keeper,ignites a flame to light a bonfire.
But it only lasts for a couple of seconds before being put out (sight unseen),the bonfire remains unlit and that's that.
And all cruelly played out under the noses of the firemen !
Episode 8 - Roger Varley
Mickey Murphy runs a tap in his bakery.And the shot lasts for a good 6 seconds, which is an eternity in stop animation terms,and rather odd because of it.But it looks pretty realistic actually, even when scrutinised rather than just watching normally.Although that's largely because it's very small scale.
And that's it for Camberwick.And if anyone vaguely remembers that Windy had "a duck pond" you'd be right,but it was only ever mentioned in passing and never actually shown.
But there was a pond in Trumpton Park.............
All the instances of running & rippling in
Camberwick
The preamble involves him feeding the ducks.But the water's completely still and they simply skate around on the surface without any ripple effects.
The "falling in" sequence is pretty straightforward too.Captain Flack shouts "Cuthbert !".Cuthbert looks round quickly, becomes unbalanced and falls in.Too complicated to show him actually fallng in of course,so we cut to a shot of water splashing up and then the next shot we see is just his head sitting on top of the blue surface with not so much as a ripple.And as you can see the join between neck and water it's a bit disconcerting if you look closely.But you'll need to get out the dvd to see that.
When he's next shown,he's out of the pond,and the Mayor mentions his "wet clothes" but he looks exactly the same as he did before he fell in,and drip-free.
Episode 11 - The Plumber
The pic's a bit unsatisfactory for this one.But there's really not much to capture.
In the Mayor's Parlour in Trumpton Town Hall,a leaking header tank in the attic drips down from the ceiling.One drop each for both the Mayor and Mr Troop.
But the only water we see is on the back of the Mayor's hand as he wipes it from his nose -the white-ish mark in the photo.
There's no physical evidence of the drop that lands on Troop.No shot of the ceiling. And no water left in the tank when we go up to have a look at it either.
In fact, no other water in the whole of an episode called "the plumber".
Although,these days,finding the plumber is the hard bit.
Chigley is always viewed as the poor relation of the 3 series of course,assuming people actually remember it at all.
But compared to its 2 predecessors it's positively awash with water.Presumably reflecting a bit more confidence in its use.
A new fountain is built in the forecourt of Cresswell's Chigley Biscuits factory and is switched on at the end of the episode.
I think this highlights how tricky it was to show moving water realistically.And why they were right not to try unless it was very small scale or in very short bursts.
Because this is neither.And a tot would probably think it looked naff even in 1969,so they probably shouldn't have bothered.Not that the animator's had much choice when an episode called "The Fountain" plopped their leterbox.
But,to be fair,neither the episode nor the few seconds of dodgy cellophane footage haved stayed long in the memory.Which I suppose is a sort of perverse way of saying they could've got away with more.But it's as well they didn't.
Episode 1 - Lord Belborough's Secret and Episode 9 Clay for Mr.Farthing
Harry Farthing uses "plenty of water" when giving Doc Mopp and the Trumpton telephone repair men respectively,a pottery demonstration.
"Plenty of water" presumably giving rise to a few wry smiles when it was written.
Again,it looks like our old friend the clear cellophane.Probably a crumpled sheet attached to the underside of his hand.Or,at least that's what it looks like when he brings his hand up from the reservoir at the bottom of the wheel and up over the pot.
But,however they did it,it's undeniably effective.
Episode 7 - Lord Belborough's Lucky Day
The canal is seen to be flowing about 8 mins in.
Not too sure how it was done but it looks like they simply split the water up and turned the bit under the boat into a conveyor belt ie. boat static on the surface and the "water" moving.With the join highlighted in the pic.
Interestingly,there's a much longer canal scene at the start of episode 13,but there are actually fewer shots of the water and when it is seen it's completely still.So they clearly had a rethink,and either thought it didn't work or took too long to film.
Episode 4 - The Fountain
Episode 10 - Trouble with the Crane Private Armitage from the ranks of the Camberwick Pippin Fort "soldier boys" dives into the canal to receive a crate,because we're told he's "the best swimmer".
His entry point is cleverly masked by the front of the barge,and there's a small cellophane splash,just visible in pic 3.
He's shown in the water from another angle too,but not doing anything.And,as with all its predecessors,it's very much mission accomplished -minimum effort for maximum return,or at least enough that no-one would think twice about it.
Who'd have thought it. Fishing in Trumptonshire !
And just to finish off this elemental look at Trumptonshire.........
Which was the nearest they ever got to a fire of course.And there's lots more about them on the Pugh,Pugh page.
Footnote- Wasn't there an 80's pop song called World of Water ? Yes.Absolutely nothing to do with Trumps,but I pinched the title in my quest to call this page something.And just in case it's gnawing away at you....here's a direct youtube link
" Funny looking doughnut "
Welcome to T3
