AARDMAN

ANIMATION
MAGAZINE
In this volume:
Persistence Of Vision
Stop Frame
Frame Rates
Movement of Models
Persistence of vision is the idea
that the eye continues to see an
afterimage for approximately one
twenty-ffth of a second after is
disappears. This means that when
still images used to make a stop
animation are edited together, it
gives the illusion of a continuous
moving picture. William Horner
was a British mathematician who
invented the zoetrope in 1834. The
zoetrope was an improved model of
phenakistoscope, and involved the
theory of persistence of vision. .
Stop-frame is when a series of photos are
taken in sequence are put together and shown
as an animation. Eadweard Muybridge was an
English photography, most importantly known
for his studies into animal motion. In 1878 a
race horse owner hired him to answer a very
debated question - whether all four feet of a
horse were off the ground at the same time.
The zoetrope is designed like a cylinder, with a number of images, each slightly changed
(for example a person raising their hand and waving) put in sequence around the inside of
the cylinder. Above that row of images were a series of slits which the person would then
look through. The cylinder would then be spun and the person would look through the
slits, and the images appeared to be moving. The persistence of vision theory comes into
place here, as you do not see each individual image, but instead the image appears to be
moving smoothly. In 1877, Charles Emile Reynaud - a French photographers apprentice
- developed the praxinoscope, which was an improved version of the zoetrope. This was
an improved design, as mirrors were placed inside (instead of having slits), refecting
the image on the inside of the cylinder, meaning that the animation was easier to see
Muybridge placed several cameras along the side of the track. The shutters were
triggered by wires as the horse ran past. He then took these images and put them into
Zoopraxiscope (the frst movie projector) to see how the horse moved. Thomas Edison
was an American inventor who created the kinetoscope in 1891. The Kinetoscope showed
flms to one individual at a time through a peephole viewer window at the top of the
device. The roll of flm would be run through the machine to show the images moving.
Willis OBrien was a special effects artist and pioneer of the technique of stop motion. As
a former newspaper cartoonist and sculptor, O'Brien started making short flms in 1914.
He was most famous for his work on the 1925 animated version of Arthur Conan Doyle's
The Lost World, and his work on the 1933 version of King Kong. These are considered
classic examples of stop-motion photography. Charlotte "Lotte" Reiniger was a German
flm director and pioneer of silhouette animation, anticipating Walt Disney by over ten
years. Reiniger made over 40 flms over her lifetime, and her most successful flms are
The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) and The Magic Flute, featuring music by Mozart.
Movement of models is that technique that Aardman Animation use to create their
animations. Their specifc technique is Claymation, which is where they use plasticine
sculpted around a wire armature to create the models. This means that they are easy to
move around between each shot. The technique is the same as most other animations
regarding the way they create the animation, by taking a picture then moving the fgure
slightly then taking another shot. The Aardman Animations are responsible for the
Wallace and Gromit shorts and flms, along with Chicken Run and Shaun the Sheep. T
Animation can be used in various different ways, such as TV shows, flms, adverts and music videos.
Animation has been used greatly in flms and TV shows, and these forms are probably the most well-
known for animation. For example, the Aardman Animations are an example for TV shows and flms
and, in my opinion, are one of the most famous stop motion animators. Animation is less popular
in music videos, but there are a few famous ones which are really good. For example (http://www.
metacafe.com/watch/yt-6gvOVWKKxmo/frekites_autumn_story_chalk_animation) Channel Idents also
dont usually include animation, but again there are some famous ones, for example the E stings for
the channel E4.
his technique takes a long time when making a
flm, for example Aardmans A Matter of Loaf
and Death took 5 years to make and release.
Tim burton is another hugely successful stop
motion animator. He has made a large variety
of famous flms such as Corpse Bride and
The Nightmare Before Christmas. Burton
is known for his seamless animations, using
more shots per second than other animators