Stop Motion Animation; Techniques and Development Script

Hello, my name is Chloe and today I will be talking about the techniques and the
development of stop motion animation.
Intro
In this presentation I will be talking about the different techniques used in
animation, the development throughout animation, the developers,
contemporary work; such as Aardman animations, genre and form.

First of all, what is Stop Motion Animation?

Stop motion animation can be thought of a sequence of still images of objects,
drawings, photographs and puppets played together to stimulate movement. It
brings life to inanimate objects by capturing the film frame by frame. One wellknown example of stop motion animation is Wallace and Gromit.

Techniques
There are three techniques commonly used in animation, which are; Persistence
of Vision, Frame Rate and Stop Frames.
Persistence of vision is used to create the illusion of movement by showing us
frames in such a quick sequence that it appears to be moving smoothly. For
example, if you try moving an object in front of you really quickly, the image will
still be seen a split second afterwards. This means that if several images are
show in a set sequence you can create the appearance of smooth running
movement. Animators can use this to their advantage by setting the frame rate
higher therefore creating a smoother animation. So this technique relies on our
vision to create the illusion.
Frame Rate on the other hand uses frames per second. The higher the frame rate
per second is, the smoother the animation it is. One example of this is the use of
frames in Claymation, generally speaking it is shot in 24 frames per second or 30
frames per seconds in twos. If its shot in 12 frames per second they will show
the same clip twice making it 24fps. Some films shot in 24fps include Shaun the
Sheep and ParaNorman.
Last of all theres the Stop Frame technique, this approach means that between
each individual shot taken, the object is manipulated so that when all of the
images are played together in a sequence it appears to be moving on its own.
This technique is used with clay and other inanimate objects which are easy to
adjust.

The Development To start off with, the 15th century saw the first magic lanterns which used
projection from candle light to show multiple images at speed to create the
illusion of movement.
Then in 1817 Sir David Brewster invented the Kaleidoscope. It was a tube using
two mirrors to reflect multiple images of coloured glass pieces, it proved to be a
very popular optical toy.
John Paris then went on to invent the Thaumatrope in 1824/25. It was made to
test the persistence of vision and it was a very simple animation where there are
two drawings on each side of a piece of paper and it was held with string which
would twirl and flip the image creating one picture.
In 1833, Joseph Plateau created the Phenakistoscope (fen-akiss-to-scope) this
used cardboard discs with evenly spaced slots cut along the edge and in the
centre a stick or dowel is placed so it can spin. Whilst the disk is spinning you
can look through the slots creating a motion picture.
The zoetrope was then created in 1834 by William Horner. Similar to the
Phenakistoscope, the zoetrope had pictured drawn onto a strip and were placed
near the bottom of a metal drum. Again the viewers would look through the slits
as it was being spun to create the illusion of movement.
In 1838 Charles Wheatstone invented the Stereoscope which created a 3D image
for the viewer by looking through two lenses of two images next to each other.
The flip book first appeared in 1868 and was originally called a Kineograph or
moving picture. A flip book relies on the persistence of vision and its usually
made for children. Its basically a small book consisting of drawings or pictures
which when flipped rapidly, an animation can be seen.
In 1877, Charles-Emile Reynaud invented the Praxinoscope, which is similar to
the zoetrope. It has the same cylinder shape but instead of slits, mirrors are used
on the inside. When it was spun, you could see the animation in the mirrors.
The photographic pioneer Eadweard Murbridge invented the Zoopraxiscope in
1879. This could be considered the first movie projector which projects images
from rotating glass disks in rapid succession to create the illusion of movement.
This became inspiration for the Kinetoscope.
The kinetoscope was created by Thomas Edison in 1891 and is not thought of as
a movie projector. The design for the kinetoscope consisted of a closed cabinet
where the images were stored. The user would have to open the top and peer
through a small hole, the pictures would move across as series of rollers and a
light would be used to illuminate it. Moving at the correct speed, it would create
the illusion of movement.
Cel animation is a traditional form of animation used in the production of
cartoons or animated movies where each frame of the scene is drawn by hand. A
full-length feature film produced with Cel Animation would probably take over a
million drawings to complete. It uses 2D animation and 24 frames per second.

Clay animation, or Claymation, is a type of stop-motion animation that uses clay

figures or objects. Back in 1979 clay modelling was invented where the clay
models would be moved slightly and pictures would be taken.
Rotoscoping is a sequence of usually photographed action image frames so that
the artist can trace from the frame or create an image for it. It can be thought as
painting on movies. The same work can now be done with digital images and
special computer software. Digital Magic and Elastic Reality are tools that provide
efficient ways to rotoscope. It is frequently used for combining cartoon figures
with realistic settings in television commercials and can also be used in special
effects.
Drawn On Film animation is exactly what it sounds like; animation thats drawn
directly onto the film reel, using a number of tools, techniques and methods. This
skips the whole cel animation, photography and video sequencing or even more
modern processes of digital rendering. Instead, drawn on film animation imposes
the animated image directly on the individual frames of reel of a film.
Photographic stills are also known as stop-motion animations, this is the method
of making still objects seem as if they are moving, this is done by taking a
photograph of a still object moving it a little the taking another photograph and
so on. Then all the photos are played in a sequence to give the illusion of
movement for the animation. Dolls and clay are often used in this type of
animation because they are easy to reposition.
Lumiere Brothers:
In the early 1890s French brothers Louis and Auguste Lumiere began to figure
out how to combine film recordings and projection onto one device. The brothers
began experimenting in the winter of 1894 and by the next year they had
created their own device which was the Cinematograph which operated with a
hand powered-crank. It projected film at 16 frames per second which meant it
used less film and was less noisy. After several private screenings the brothers
unveiled the Cinematograph on the 28th December in 1895. After 1896 they went
on to create more than 40 films that year which included everyday life and
documentaries.
By 1905 the brothers had withdrawn from creating films to concentrate on
developing the first practical photographic colour process, also known as the
Lumiere Autochrome.
George Pal:
George Pal was born in 1908 known as the Hungarian-Born animator, director
and producer who was a lead figure in the sci-fi genre and worked very well with
special effects. He worked on stop-motion animations but in addition to that he
made live action films. His original animations went on to inspire many future
animators. After creating 5 short films he started to create different genres
including sci-fi and drama which then led him onto creating Destination Moon
that won the best special effects Oscar in 1950. George also worked at
Paramount in which he was the producer on War of The Worlds.

Developers

Willis Obrien: Born in Texas, he was raised as a cattle farmer, but eventually
realised that his true talent was film making as he spent his spare time sculpting
and illustrating and his natural talent led to him being employed first as
draftsman in an architect's office and then as a sports cartoonist for the San
Francisco Daily News. He was a stop motion animation pioneer, he is most
famous for his role in visual effects.
He worked on several famous films including The Lost World in the 1925s and
King Kong. Thomas Edison was impressed by the film and O'Brien was hired by
the Edison Company to animate a series of short films with a prehistoric theme,
these included R.F.D. 10,000 B.C. and Prehistoric Poultry (both 1917). During this
time he also worked on other Edison Company productions including Sam Loyd's
The Puzzling Billboard and Nippy's Nightmare (both 1917), which were the first
stop-motion films to combine live actors with stop motion models. These films
led to a commission from Herbert M. Dawley to write, direct, co-star and produce
the effects for another dinosaur film, The Ghost of Slumber Mountain (1918), for
a budget of $3,000.
Willis H. O'Brien really developed animation through making everything more
realistic - With the use of better models and armatures, the feel of the overall
animation increased dramatically. With added lifelike animation, the quality of his
overall productions were in a whole different league. Skin was another thing he
developed in animation he was one of the first to use good materials effectively
with his models, he revolutionised physical aspects. Willis H O'Brien generally
always used a glitch frame rate with dark lighting to create a sinister
atmosphere. Though for his time was an incredible film maker, but when
producing he preferred quantity over quality, which resulted in him leaving
behind 19 unfinished films when he died - one being about Vikings who fly on
eagles and fight dinosaurs. In 1949 he won a Best Visual effects academy award.
Interesting fact Willis was forced into his marriage with Hazel by her mother
and he was unhappy, he began to drink and just be a pretty poor husband and
father to his two sons. His wife and son then both contracted tuberculosis and his
son William became blind in one eye. Hazel was also suffering from cancer in
which she had several different treatments which affected her moods and
judgment. Willis continued to be close to his sons and saw them often but Hazel
looked after them. Whilst Willis was involved in making the film; Son of Kong and
after showing his sons the set and models he received devastating news. Hazel
had shot both of her two sons in the chest and then turned the gun onto herself.
Both sons died that night but Hazel lived.
She stayed in the LA General Hospital Prison ward until she then died in 1934,
Willis refused to visit her. Not long after the death of his sons, his girlfriend
learned that she had breast cancer and then went on to committing suicide on
New Years Eve in 1933. It was after that in which Willis met Darlyne Prennett,
who he would stay with til death.

Ray Harryhausen

Born in 1920 on the 29th of June, Ray was fascinated with the film King Kong
(1933) and was fascinated with how the ape moved, knowing that it was not a
man in a suit or a puppet. He eventually learned that it used stop-motion
animation. His father was very encouraging and then went onto building him a
little studio in the corner of his garage and his mother let him have a fur coat to
use for animals. After purchasing a camera Ray would test out how the animation
worked and then began to take night courses in motion-picture photography
which would then lead him onto enrolling in art classes which also included
studying sculpting and drawing.
His career took a massive step forward when he contacted Willis OBrien,
impressed with his work Willis hired him as his assistant to work on his film
Mighty Joe Young in 1949. OBrien had the role of the supervisor to sort out
various problems which came with the animation, however Ray actually executed
most of the actual effects. Harryhausen also re-teamed with his mentor, O'Brien,
for a sequence in the 1956 feature-length documentary "The Animal World."
Harryhausen continued on to create films including; The Three Worlds of
Gulliver (1960) and The Mysterious Island in 1961. However, it was his next
film that gained his legendary status which was Jason and the Argonauts in 1963.
This film featured his most complex work. He went onto release several books
devoted to his work and he was then honoured with a 1992 Lifetime
Achievement Oscar.

Ray died on May 7th 2013 at the age of 92 and in a way it signalled the end of an
era for cinematic effects.
Genre and Form
Advertising, Often on tv we see animated adverts such as Change for Life and
the Argos adverts over Christmas with the blue aliens and these are used for
grabbing attention, allowing a better understanding, communicating quickly,
keeping the audience engaged and making a lasting impression. In fact, the most
profitable time to advertise on tv is between the X-factor, the revenue for a 30
second advert is approximately 250,000 and overall throughout one series of
the x-factor, 75 million is brought in through advertising.
Gaming, Animation is a massive part of games including cutscenes and the
actual movements of characters within the game. This is a very marketable,
profitable area to invest in and the selling of games and merchandise will only
increase in their popularity as well as increasing the quality of gameplay.
TV animation: Animation in television can be 2D and 3D as well as Claymation
which isnt as popular. Some examples of animated TV series are; Family guy, the
Simpsons and childrens programmes such as Timmy time.
Animated series are aimed at both adults and children depending on the content.
By timing their shows correctly as to what time the age appropriate viewers will
watch, the companies manage to reach out to the audience who will be
interested therefore rising viewers and gaining more people who will buy their
merchandise.

3d Animated shows are very smooth and they are developed through special
software on the computer. 2D shows have to go through a lot more processes
and have to be drawn which takes more effort and these shows can be aimed at
anyone, as well as 3D depending on the content. A couple examples of
Claymation are morph and Wallace and gromit which are both massive hits in the
area.
Channel idents: Channel idents tend to show the channels logo by playing
through an animated sequence before and after shows. One example of this is E4
where they actually have consumers create the animated sequence to be sent in
for a competition. The winners will then have their idents shown on the channel.
Maybe theyre just too lazy to create their own
Cinema: Animated films tend to be aimed towards children, however many
adults are still interested in watching them.
Mobile phones: Smartphones, iPhones and Windows phones usually include
animations into the device, such as live apps, avatars and shuffling pictures. Not
to mention games, social networking sites and youtube. Because phones are so
popular it is a very competitive industry and each company uses animations to
make their device stand out and more interactive. There are also apps which
allow you to create your own animations using flip books and recorders.
Websites: Animation is also used on websites to make it more interesting to
look through otherwise its just boring and dull. If they are more interactive and
interesting to look at their website will be more popular. This is often seen on
childrens websites because the animations will really capture their attention.

Music videos:
The most well known music videos using animation has to be the Gorillaz, they
used the animations to create a more unique style to stand out. Most techniques
have generally been used in the music industry so they wanted to bring
something new to the scene. They use both 2D and 3D animations to get across
their point of the song.
Contemporary Work
The Brothers Quay:
Stephen and Timothy Quay were born in 1947 and graduated in illustration and
graphics in 1969. At the school of film and television they partnered up with
Keith Griffiths and created their first short film called Artificialia in 1979. They
then went on to work on TV advertisements, channel idents and numerous music
videos to help their financial situation. They constructed their own sets, arranged the lighting,
and operated the cameras themselves.

The brothers also received the Drama Desk Award for outstanding set design for their work on the play
The Chairs in 1998.

Tim Burton:
Born in 1958, Tim Burton worked as a Disney animator for about a year until he
decided to create his own work, he became incredibly well known for his fantasy
and horror themed films; Beetlejuice (which was his first film in 1988), Edward
Scissor hands, Batman and the nightmare before Christmas. In addition to his
film work, Burton showed over 700 drawings, paintings and other artwork at New
York Citys Museum. Several of his films are animations but others used real
actors.
Aardman Animations:
Aardman are a British animation studio based in Bristol UK. Founded in 1972 by
Peter Lord and David Sproxton they are well known for their titles; Chicken Run,
Wallace and Gromit, Flushed Away, Arthur Christmas and Shawn the Sheep. Their
first known animation was Morph which is what I believe to be a base foundation
for their stop motion clay animation productions they use today. Aardman
records nearly all of their video content to DVD for internal and external
distribution and approval process. They mainly aim their products towards
younger children and they gain a lot of money through merchandise.
Thank You For Listening!