Stop Motion - Research

The technique of stop action, or stop motion, is one by which the character or object in question, is photographed, moved slightly, and photographed again, until some kind of movement or animation is formed.

This became the standard technique by which many cinema special effects were achieved.

The still below is from a film considered to be one of the best trick film masterpieces made. 

'Voyage to the Moon' - 1902 - Melies

This clip shows the 1906 chalk animation by J Stuart Blackton, 'Humorous Phases of Funny Faces'

This was done by first off drawing the image, and then photographing it. The image was then erased and redrawn in the new movement position, and then photographed again. This was continued until the animation was finished, and an illusion of motion or movement had been created.

I think that this technique is brilliant, and it creates such an interesting effect. I would like to try out this technique for myself.

3Dimensional animation has 2 basic techniques, one using puppet models, and the other using clay models.

This is a still from children's TV show, 'The Magic Roundabout' - 1965

This was created using puppets and models.

Another still, this one from 'A Nightmare Before Christmas' - 1993. This was the first stop motion feature film to receive worldwide distribution and recognition.

A clip from the characters, 'Morph' and 'Chas'. These characters were an early creation of Peter Lord and Dave Sproxton. It first appeared in the BBC 'Vision On' series in 1976.

A still from 'A Grand Day Out' - 1989. The first Wallace and Gromit film which Nick Park completed after he joined the Aardman Studios.

This is a clip from the Lurpak adverts, with the character 'Douglas the Butterman'

I really like how smooth all of these clay animations are, and how seamless each frame is going into the next. I would like my own stop motion experiments to be as smooth as these.