Stop motion is an animation technique that makes mhysical objects move on their own. the object is moved in tiny increments between idividually photographed frames, creating the illusion of mvoement when played as a sequence. The first instance of the stop motion technique can be credited to Albert E. Smith and J. Stuart Blackton for The Humpty Dumpty Circus (1897), in which a toy circus of acrobats and animals comes to life. It has since become popular in many films and TV series such as The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, Wallace and Gromit, and very recently Fantastic Mr Fox, which all use clay or plasticine type figures for their ease of movement and remodelling. Stop motion animation can be done with an array of media, including real objects, people, clay, paper, food etc. in both 2D and 3D and some fo the best often mix media and play aorund with dimensions.
I really like the different aesthetic effects that can be achieved with stop motion, they often look much more handmade and realistic, much less digitally produced than typical computer animation, that can look flat and very computerised. With stop motion inanimate everyday objects can be brought to life, and it is easy to make anything look as though it can move, walk, dance etc. I like the childlike whimsical feel of stop motion animations. however, When not proffessionally made, stop motion videos can look very amateur and poorly done, many people have made their own stop motion video's and they all tend to look really scrappily made and childish. I think it is a difficult thing to get right.
I have had a little look at some different styles of stop motion -
- This is a short film by an artist named PES, who works with real objects, rather than modelling his own, and is very clever with his ideas, often giving everyday objects new roles and personalities. I like the way he uses things around him that we use day to day and see's them differently, giving them a new function, using them in a different way. It is very comical and clever.
- The use of camera angles is good here, the way the camera is close to the action, and the angle changes quite often, keeping it quick, so it is a Birds Eye View shot, then switches suddenly to a high angle. The camera remains constantly close tot he objects though, so the surroundings are not seen, it keeps an element of surprise, because the viewer can only focus on what is shown, and doesnt know what is next or what is going on around it.
- The use of sound effects are very important, they are over exaggerated for effect, like childrens TV shows. They support the images.
- The lighting is key too, and the colour in the shots, it is very brightly lit so all the colours pop and really stand out, and the light is consistent throughout the animation
Coffee Time from wan-tzu on Vimeo.
- This stop motion uses a range of materials that are hand crafted into objects, including paper and string.
- I included this as an example of how important sound is, the sounds have been added here and over exaggerated, they are key to the whole effect. I think sound effects are one of the most important things if you want a stop motion to be really effective, because they make it so much more dynamic and interesting.
- the lighting here is good too, it is consistent and bright, and also very colourful, much like the PES film.
- i am not keen on the narrative in the film, but i think some of the stop motion effects are really good, some fo the ways the paper folds and emerges are very clever.
The Seed from Johnny Kelly on Vimeo.
- Johnny Kelly is a proffessional animator who creates amazing stop motion videos, This one "the Seed", was creating predominantly with paper, and then digitally animated over the top. This is my favourite stop motion video i have found, as the effects and ideas are really clever, it is very bright, and i love the way it combines 2D and 3D, also combining very lifelike objects with artistic representations of objects, so it is very different in its style.
- I love the representation of the human body in paper - how bright and simplistic it is, but its very effective, its visually striking, and the way he represents the apple going down is very clever.
- The whole animation is very bright and not too busy - its quite simple and minamalistic
- It has a soundtrack that really fits with the action, and gives a sense of interest
- It is really proffessional looking
what have i learned about stop motion?
- It wouldn't be easy to do well, there is a chance it could end of looking sloppy if i chose to use stop motion for my advert, it is very difficult to do it as well as the professionals do
- colour is extremely important, for it to look neat and simplistic, bright bold colours look really good
- a mix of 2D and 3D makes it interesting, playing around with dimensions
- a mix of camera angles is good, Birds Eye View is good for 2D and high angle, or point of view shots work well too
- Sound is crucial - probably the most important thing in terms of making action look real and creating a sense of verisimilitude, and soundtracks are crucial for creating a mood and sense of pace
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