Video Essay. Stop Motion Animation. Improved.

Since people were able to draw there is proof that we have been attempting to
create the illusion of motion on archeologic artefacts. Examples from the
European renaissance show decorated pots that when spun can give the illusion
of motion. In 1603, a device called the magic lantern was invented to project
images from a sheet of glass. This is considered the first ever form of projected
animation. In the early 20th century, characters such as Felix the cat and Gertie
the dinosaur were invented using hand drawn animation, these are considered
the first ever cartoons. Walt Disney used drawings to create well known
characters such as Mickey Mouse which is still a big hit in todays television.
The first stage of animation was created by pioneers. They created hand held
devices which used perception of image to give an illusion of movement.
Because the human eye retains images for around 0.04 seconds after seeing it,
when multiple images are shown in quick succession it can give the illusion of
movement. This is called persistence of vision. In the early 1800s, Joseph
Plateau created the Phenakistocope. This was a hand held device which
consisted of two disc mounted on an axis. One of the discs had hand drawn
images around the circumference and the other had multiple slots. When the
two discs were spun they created the illusion of movement. This meant one
person could view the movement at a time and it was viewed directly from the
device. There was no use of models or frame rates, however, the speed it was
spun at decides the fluency of the images movement.
Another early pioneer of animation, William Horner created a slightly more
advanced version of the Phenakistocope called the Zoetrope. This device
consisted of a drum with an open top. It had a strip of paper around the inside
with hand drawn images and slots in the side. When the drum was spun the
illusion of movement of the images could be seen by multiple people through the
slots. However, this was still a hand held device and didnt involve models or any
recording/ projecting equipment.
These inventions led to further development as perception of vision was better
understood and it allowed other animators to have a base to work from and build
upon. Because these devices were hand held, there was no way of projecting
them to for people to see, however the concept of creating a stop motion was
there.
Animation was then developed further by introducing models, taking pictures
and experimenting with frame rates to make a film. Willis OBrien who is best
known for his film King Kong, was one of the first people to make models for
animation. He even used rubber bladders which could give his models the
illusion they were breathing, and ball and socket joints to make the models move
as realistically as possible at the time. OBrien studied things such as lighting to
create appropriate shadows and highlights in his films. He also worked on used
green screens to mix animation with real actors to create one film. However, the
frame rates were too slow and therefore the film was slightly jerky and not
smooth enough to be realistic. This was a real development from the pioneer
stage as the perception of image had been turned into films that people could
watch and enjoy in an easier way than the hand held devices shown in the
pioneer stage.
Ray Harryhausen is an example of another animation developer. He worked
closely with OBrien, and took advice from him on things like model making.
Because of the rise in popularity of animation due to the advance of technique,

making animation films became an expensive task. Therefore, Harryhausen

tended to have a low budget for his films. This meant he couldnt have wellknown actors in his films but allowed him to have more creativity when he was
making them. It is as a result of this that he created some very interesting and
popular monster animation films. Harryhausen took pictures of his models one
frame at a time and sometimes worked all night using a foot petal to take the
photo, just so that he wouldnt forget which frame he was up to. His films had
been further developed than the works of OBrien as he developed frame rates
by making them higher and worked on having smaller movement between shots.
Harryhausen created a technique called dynamation which allowed his
animations to look much more developed than they previously had been. It
consisted of a split screen with a projector behind it. Harryhausen would film a
background image, for example a city or forest scene, this would often include
actors who would act appropriately to the scene. He would then project the first
frame onto a back projection screen. The back screen is a thin piece of plastic
stretched across a frame. When an image is projected from behind it appears on
the front of the screen. Another camera is set up in front of the screen which is
locked in position and can re-photograph the projection on the screen. A piece of
black painted glass is placed between the camera and the screen. This allows
some parts of the image to appear closer than the background, so that his
creatures can, for example, come from between two buildings or trees. He will
place a model on a table and create a stop motion film using a background
setting which can include actors.
Todays animations are much more advanced than they were in this phase of
development. The Brothers Quay are an example of improved contemporary
animators. Frame rates had become understood and therefore there was a
higher amount of frame rates per second which meant the film became much
more fluid and more realistic. Models are much better made and other things like
removable facial feature were made to make the emotion of characters more
believable and fluent. The Brothers Quay created weird creepy animations which
heavily involved materials like metal nails, dolls heads and blood. They show a
significant improvement between how animation was in the development phase
and the contemporary phase as their films are much more fluid.
Another example of a contemporary animator is Tim Burton. Tim Burton is an
animator like Walt Disney who draws pictures and turns them into animation. He
also used models in his films, like Harryhausen and OBrien and he builds sets
specifically for each film. In 1982 he released an award winning short film called
Vincent. This film is a good example of his style of work. Burtons films show an
even more improved development of frame rates as his films flowed much more
realistically than The Brothers Quay. Technology had improved and the quality of
his films is much higher than the quality of any animators I have previously
talked about. Many of Burtons films are very well known and popular to this day,
for example The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, Frankenweenie and
James and the Giant Peach. His work has a distinctive style and he adds a creepy
touch to stories to make them more interesting and aesthetically unique.
Aardman, who are considered the best animators at the moment, have signifcally
developed the way animations look. They have mastered the idea of frame rates
so that their animation flow as realistically as possible and look believable. They
have also managed to study the shapes of mouths and allow their characters to
lip sync to dialogue, which makes it more interesting and engaging to the viewer.
In many of their stop motion animations, the characters are able to jump of fly.

They do this by either sticking their models to a 2D background and moving it

slowly. They also use thin wire which they attach to their models to give the
illusion of flying. The wire is then individually edited out in every single shot they
use.
Stop motion animation is used in a number of different types of media, for
example Films, TV programmes, channel idents, advertising and music videos.
This style can give something a new and original touch and make it more
interesting for the viewer to watch. From the beginning of animation to now,
people have always shown an interest in this unique form of media.

References:
The UnMuseum - Ray Harryhausens Dynamation (no date) Available at:
http://www.unmuseum.org/dyna.htm (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
In-text citations:(The UnMuseum - Ray Harryhausens Dynamation, no date)
Cotterill, C. and profile, V. my complete (2011) Early pioneer: Joseph Plateau. Available at:
http://animationgeek.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/early-pioneer-joseph-plateau.html (Accessed: 8
November 2016).
In-text citations: (Cotterill and profile, 2011)
EarlyCinema.com (no date) Available at: http://www.earlycinema.com/technology/zoetrope.html
(Accessed: 8 November 2016).
In-text citations: (EarlyCinema.com, no date)
EarlyCinema.com (no date) Available at: http://www.earlycinema.com/technology/praxinoscope.html
(Accessed: 8 November 2016).
In-text citations: (EarlyCinema.com, no date)
Eadweard Muybridge (no date) Available at:
http://www.wildfilmhistory.org/person/180/Eadweard+Muybridge.html (Accessed: 8 November 2016).
In-text citations: (Eadweard Muybridge, no date)

Bibliography
'Artist of the Uintas' (2009) Willis OBrien stop-motion photography. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2PjgxnyyQo (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
Brighton Cinecity (2008) Street of Crocodiles excerpt. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNOfsJz4TjA (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
DistantMirrors (2013) Phenakistoscope. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJQAck27l6s (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
epicfantasy (2015) Make a Phenakistoscope. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQVdTXEo2qM (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
Filmman Cine Mix (2013) The Harryhausen chronicles. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y19kfPCFHWY (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
Jo Ward (2012) Zoetrope animation toy of A galloping horse | Zoetrope. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBg6dAE3mI0 (Accessed: 18 November 2016).

magicalmotionmuseum (2012a) 1867 Milton Bradley Co. - Zoetrope series no. 1 (12
early animations). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG6ywByMAyE
(Accessed: 18 November 2016).
magicalmotionmuseum (2012b) 1915 Willis H. OBrien - the dinosaur and the
missing link (essential edit). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=RClif87GM1A (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
Mat Bergman (2006) The Ray Harryhausen creature list. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9kmjW73-v4 (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
Mati Kettell (2013) Peel - E4 TV Ident (stop motion). Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3egCTZMGi_A (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
Oren Lavie (2009) Her morning elegance / Oren Lavie. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_HXUhShhmY (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
petrover (2006) Vincent - Tim.Burton.Short.Animation.1982. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxQcBKUPm8o (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
Raffi Asdourian (2012) The Quay brothers interview. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuW-RchDq2Q (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
Robbie Jardine (2013) Wallace and Gromits cracking contraptions complete series
with behind the scenes (2002). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=mbBO-hiF8wE (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
Sony Pictures DVD (2013) Tim Burton sits down with Ray Harryhausen. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMLMi-zQvL4 (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
teajay74 (2009) Target dreaming girl commercial. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IVgo9WEUEc (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
Citations, Quotes & Annotations
'Artist of the Uintas' (2009) Willis OBrien stop-motion photography. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2PjgxnyyQo (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
('Artist of the Uintas', 2009)
Brighton Cinecity (2008) Street of Crocodiles excerpt. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNOfsJz4TjA (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
(Brighton Cinecity, 2008)
DistantMirrors (2013) Phenakistoscope. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJQAck27l6s (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
(DistantMirrors, 2013)
epicfantasy (2015) Make a Phenakistoscope. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQVdTXEo2qM (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
(epicfantasy, 2015)
Filmman Cine Mix (2013) The Harryhausen chronicles. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y19kfPCFHWY (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
(Filmman Cine Mix, 2013)

Jo Ward (2012) Zoetrope animation toy of A galloping horse | Zoetrope. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBg6dAE3mI0 (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
(Jo Ward, 2012)
magicalmotionmuseum (2012a) 1867 Milton Bradley Co. - Zoetrope series no. 1 (12
early animations). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG6ywByMAyE
(Accessed: 18 November 2016).
(magicalmotionmuseum, 2012a)
magicalmotionmuseum (2012b) 1915 Willis H. OBrien - the dinosaur and the
missing link (essential edit). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=RClif87GM1A (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
(magicalmotionmuseum, 2012b)
Mat Bergman (2006) The Ray Harryhausen creature list. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9kmjW73-v4 (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
(Mat Bergman, 2006)
Mati Kettell (2013) Peel - E4 TV Ident (stop motion). Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3egCTZMGi_A (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
(Mati Kettell, 2013)
Oren Lavie (2009) Her morning elegance / Oren Lavie. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_HXUhShhmY (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
(Oren Lavie, 2009)
petrover (2006) Vincent - Tim.Burton.Short.Animation.1982. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxQcBKUPm8o (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
(petrover, 2006)
Raffi Asdourian (2012) The Quay brothers interview. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuW-RchDq2Q (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
(Raffi Asdourian, 2012)
Robbie Jardine (2013) Wallace and Gromits cracking contraptions complete series
with behind the scenes (2002). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=mbBO-hiF8wE (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
(Robbie Jardine, 2013)
Sony Pictures DVD (2013) Tim Burton sits down with Ray Harryhausen. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMLMi-zQvL4 (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
(Sony Pictures DVD, 2013)
teajay74 (2009) Target dreaming girl commercial. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IVgo9WEUEc (Accessed: 18 November 2016).
(teajay74, 2009)