Stop motion history:
Robbie Seeley
Unit 33: Stop motion animation
Understand the techniques and development of stop motion animation
Stop-motion animation is a form of animation that involves taking a series of pictures, each that are slightly different, which are then strung together to give the illusion of movement. Stop-motion has been done with people, but more often than not, stop-motion is performed with poseable figures.
Some of the earliest noted instances of stop-motion animation in film include Albert E. Smith and J. Stuart Blackton’s The Humpty Dumpty Circus from 1897, and The Haunted Hotel, also by J. Stuart Blackton from 1907.
One of the original forms of stop motion animation was performed with the Phenakistoscope, a device consisting of a spinning disk, with a sequence of images drawn on to it, that when spun would give the illusion of movement. The Phenakistoscope was invented in 1841 after its function was theorized by the Greek mathematician Euclid, and experimented on by Newton. The word Phenakistoscope is derived from the Greek word for deceive, or cheat, referring to the fact that the device does not show real movement, it simply fabricates it.
Another device with a similar function appeared earlier in 1833, named ‘The Zoetrope’, a spinning cylinder with viewing slits above every image, which meant the cycle could be viewed from any angle, and still make sense. The word Zoetrope comes from the Greek words for life and spinning.
In 1877, inventor Charles-Émile Reynaud developed upon the earlier Zoetrope, by using a spinning cylinder of mirrors, which would reflect images on an outside circle of images. This offered better viewing opportunities for the people using it.
In 1893, Thomas Edison commissioned the development of a device, which he wrote the original concept for in 1888: the Kinetoscope. The Kinetoscope consisted of a large box with a peephole and a crank. When the crank is turned, a roll of film inside the box is spun past the peephole, creating a moving image. The Kinetoscope didn’t necessarily feature stop motion films, or fabricate movement, considering that the films displayed in the Kinetoscope was actually filmed on early moving image cameras, but it represented such a functional similarity to other early animation devices, that it is worth mentioning.
Ray Harryhausen is credited for creating some of the best-known scenes in stop motion history for films such as Jason and the Argonauts, the voyage of Sinbad, clash of the titans, and it came from beneath the sea. Harryhausen’s work is especially notable since it helped popularize stop motion in, even though the method of animation had been around for more than 80 years and played a pivotal role in special effects, before the evolution of computer generated animation or effects.
The most influential names in stop motion include Nick Park’s Wallace and Grommit franchise and the music video for Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer. Aardman animations was responsible for both of these projects, and has been influential in other large names in stop motion, including the BBC mockumentary interview program creature comforts and the feature length comedy Chicken Run, for which they teamed up with DreamWorks animations.
Another hugely influential name in stop motion is Tim Burton. Many of Burton’s animated films are stop motion efforts, including the corpse bride, Frankenweenie, and easily his most recognizable effort; The nightmare before Christmas. Burton’s stop motion films are not as renowned as Nick Park’s Wallace and Grommit franchise, however they are still largely regarded as successful cult films, and present some of the best stop motion animation in history.
The typical frame rate for stop-motion animation is 24 frames per second, or FPS. This means that the figures or people used in stop-motion animation have to be moved 24 times to create a single second worth of movement. 24 frames per second is also the standard in film, however there are films and animations that use 48 frames per second; double the frame rate, to give a smoother image, however some filmmakers believe that if the image quality is too smooth, then the film looses its cinematic quality.
Treatment:
Stop motion treatment:
The aim of my stop motion animation is to make a character-defining piece of fight animation, featuring two self built Bionicle Lego figures.
The working title of my production is ‘The stand off’, since it features two characters standing opposite to one another, in a violent and tense manner.
I am going to make a 30 second short of these two characters, and attempt to shoot it at 24 frames per second.
My piece will fulfil the brief by being longer than five seconds, and by correctly targeting my target audience, by presenting items of their interests.
The target audience of my stop motion animation will be early teenaged boys with an interest in Lego, stop motion animation, and action adventure story lines in media. My piece is correctly targeted for this audience because it features all of the things mentioned above.
The ideological stance taken in my piece is the triumph of good over evil, since the characters I have used depict the roles of good and evil, and the stance of good is represented as more correct than that of the evil character.
The context that my media will reach its target audience would be YouTube, because it’s an unlicensed amateur stop motion film, made for a non profit situation.
Target audience in detail:
The target audience of my stop motion animation is boys in their pre-pubescent to early teens, from ages 10 to 15.
The gender of my target audience is stereotypically male, since it features subjects and themes that are generally targeted at young males.
The interests of my target audience will be amateur stop motion animation, Lego, Bionicle, action adventure films and ultra violence.
The prior knowledge that my audience would require to enjoy my animation is of Lego, Bionicle, stop motion animation and action adventure story lines and tropes.
The values of my target audience will be ones of justice, since my piece features a battle between good and evil.
The institutions represented in my piece will be youtube (the site my piece will be hosted on), and the Lego company for providing the pieces of which my figures are comprised.
Stop motion evaluation:
My stop motion film lasts for roughly 30 seconds, a full 25 seconds longer than our piece was required to be, and therefor excels in terms of volume of material.
My stop motion piece is shot at roughly 24 frames per second, which is the industry standard for shooting stop motion animation on film, so my piece is industry accurate.
My stop motion piece properly fulfils the brief that we were told to work to at the start of the unit, by properly identifying and targeting my target audience, by standing up to industry standard in FPS, by being longer than 5 seconds, and by featuring a developed story.
My stop motion suffered in the fluidity of the animation in some places, and excelled at it in others, so the consistency of my animation is questionable, and definitely something I could work on if I ever have to do stop motion again.
Robbie Seeley
Unit 33: Stop motion animation
Understand the techniques and development of stop motion animation
Stop-motion animation is a form of animation that involves taking a series of pictures, each that are slightly different, which are then strung together to give the illusion of movement. Stop-motion has been done with people, but more often than not, stop-motion is performed with poseable figures.
Some of the earliest noted instances of stop-motion animation in film include Albert E. Smith and J. Stuart Blackton’s The Humpty Dumpty Circus from 1897, and The Haunted Hotel, also by J. Stuart Blackton from 1907.
One of the original forms of stop motion animation was performed with the Phenakistoscope, a device consisting of a spinning disk, with a sequence of images drawn on to it, that when spun would give the illusion of movement. The Phenakistoscope was invented in 1841 after its function was theorized by the Greek mathematician Euclid, and experimented on by Newton. The word Phenakistoscope is derived from the Greek word for deceive, or cheat, referring to the fact that the device does not show real movement, it simply fabricates it.
Another device with a similar function appeared earlier in 1833, named ‘The Zoetrope’, a spinning cylinder with viewing slits above every image, which meant the cycle could be viewed from any angle, and still make sense. The word Zoetrope comes from the Greek words for life and spinning.
In 1877, inventor Charles-Émile Reynaud developed upon the earlier Zoetrope, by using a spinning cylinder of mirrors, which would reflect images on an outside circle of images. This offered better viewing opportunities for the people using it.
In 1893, Thomas Edison commissioned the development of a device, which he wrote the original concept for in 1888: the Kinetoscope. The Kinetoscope consisted of a large box with a peephole and a crank. When the crank is turned, a roll of film inside the box is spun past the peephole, creating a moving image. The Kinetoscope didn’t necessarily feature stop motion films, or fabricate movement, considering that the films displayed in the Kinetoscope was actually filmed on early moving image cameras, but it represented such a functional similarity to other early animation devices, that it is worth mentioning.
Ray Harryhausen is credited for creating some of the best-known scenes in stop motion history for films such as Jason and the Argonauts, the voyage of Sinbad, clash of the titans, and it came from beneath the sea. Harryhausen’s work is especially notable since it helped popularize stop motion in, even though the method of animation had been around for more than 80 years and played a pivotal role in special effects, before the evolution of computer generated animation or effects.
The most influential names in stop motion include Nick Park’s Wallace and Grommit franchise and the music video for Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer. Aardman animations was responsible for both of these projects, and has been influential in other large names in stop motion, including the BBC mockumentary interview program creature comforts and the feature length comedy Chicken Run, for which they teamed up with DreamWorks animations.
Another hugely influential name in stop motion is Tim Burton. Many of Burton’s animated films are stop motion efforts, including the corpse bride, Frankenweenie, and easily his most recognizable effort; The nightmare before Christmas. Burton’s stop motion films are not as renowned as Nick Park’s Wallace and Grommit franchise, however they are still largely regarded as successful cult films, and present some of the best stop motion animation in history.
The typical frame rate for stop-motion animation is 24 frames per second, or FPS. This means that the figures or people used in stop-motion animation have to be moved 24 times to create a single second worth of movement. 24 frames per second is also the standard in film, however there are films and animations that use 48 frames per second; double the frame rate, to give a smoother image, however some filmmakers believe that if the image quality is too smooth, then the film looses its cinematic quality.
Treatment:
Stop motion treatment:
The aim of my stop motion animation is to make a character-defining piece of fight animation, featuring two self built Bionicle Lego figures.
The working title of my production is ‘The stand off’, since it features two characters standing opposite to one another, in a violent and tense manner.
I am going to make a 30 second short of these two characters, and attempt to shoot it at 24 frames per second.
My piece will fulfil the brief by being longer than five seconds, and by correctly targeting my target audience, by presenting items of their interests.
The target audience of my stop motion animation will be early teenaged boys with an interest in Lego, stop motion animation, and action adventure story lines in media. My piece is correctly targeted for this audience because it features all of the things mentioned above.
The ideological stance taken in my piece is the triumph of good over evil, since the characters I have used depict the roles of good and evil, and the stance of good is represented as more correct than that of the evil character.
The context that my media will reach its target audience would be YouTube, because it’s an unlicensed amateur stop motion film, made for a non profit situation.
Target audience in detail:
The target audience of my stop motion animation is boys in their pre-pubescent to early teens, from ages 10 to 15.
The gender of my target audience is stereotypically male, since it features subjects and themes that are generally targeted at young males.
The interests of my target audience will be amateur stop motion animation, Lego, Bionicle, action adventure films and ultra violence.
The prior knowledge that my audience would require to enjoy my animation is of Lego, Bionicle, stop motion animation and action adventure story lines and tropes.
The values of my target audience will be ones of justice, since my piece features a battle between good and evil.
The institutions represented in my piece will be youtube (the site my piece will be hosted on), and the Lego company for providing the pieces of which my figures are comprised.
Stop motion evaluation:
My stop motion film lasts for roughly 30 seconds, a full 25 seconds longer than our piece was required to be, and therefor excels in terms of volume of material.
My stop motion piece is shot at roughly 24 frames per second, which is the industry standard for shooting stop motion animation on film, so my piece is industry accurate.
My stop motion piece properly fulfils the brief that we were told to work to at the start of the unit, by properly identifying and targeting my target audience, by standing up to industry standard in FPS, by being longer than 5 seconds, and by featuring a developed story.
My stop motion suffered in the fluidity of the animation in some places, and excelled at it in others, so the consistency of my animation is questionable, and definitely something I could work on if I ever have to do stop motion again.