Friday, 11 September 2015

The History and Development of Stop Motion Animation

Part 1

Thaumatrope

John Ayrton Paris is mostly remembered as the probable inventor of the thaumatrope. He first demonstrated the thaumatrope in a book called Philosophy in sport made science in earnest: being an attempt to implant in the young mind the first principles of natural philosophy by the aid of popular toys and sports of youth. Paris used one in 1824 at the Royal College of Physicians to demonstrate persistence of vision.

Its a double sided disk attached through a of string that is wound up and released to spin the two sides of the disk creating the illusion of what is drawn on both sides of the disk to produce one complete image. 

Here is an example of a thaumatrope - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD0ovANHdqQ 

This is the thaumatrope that I created - 


Phenakistoscope

It began as a theory recognized by both Euclid of Alexandria and Issac Newton but it wasn't until in 1829 that Joseph Plateau put the idea into practice and then came up with the phenakistoscope in 1832. The word phenakistoscope comes from the Greek word phenakizein which means to deceive or cheat, as it deceives and cheat your eyes into believing the images are in motion.

A phenakistoscope is a disk with multiple images each a different stage of animation, the disk is spun and is then reflected into a mirror giving the illusion of the animation with is very similar to the gif.

Here is an example of the phenakistoscope - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbmjCi6HFL8


Zoetrope

The zoetrope was originally created by Chinese inventor Ding Huan around 100 BC. The drum used in modern zoetropes was created in 1833 by British mathematician William George Horner. 

The 19th century optical toy of a drum with a series of pictures that when viewed through slits on the drum give the impression of continuous movement.

Here is an example of the zoetrope - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3yarT_h2ws


Praxinoscope

Charles-Emile Reynaud invented the praxinoscope in 1877. He got the idea in 1872 and turned it into theatrical entertainment. He showed this project off by giving the public performances using broad long strips of hand painted frames.

A praxinoscope is a combination of pictures in a metal drum design that revolves and the images are reflected in a prism of 12 mirrors. The mirrors flash a clear image of the picture as it flashes past, this works by rotating the drum quickly and watching the images reflect in the mirrors

Here is an example of the praxinoscope - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez_UJAafRMs

Kinetoscope

The Kinetoscope was designed by Thomas Edison and William Dickson in 1891. It was designed for an individual to view the film at one time, through a window or scopes in the top of the machinne. The video inside the machine is made up of a series of images on a film reel flicking through. 46 frames per second with a single bulb to illuminate and to give the illusion that the images are moving.

In 1892, the kinetoscope was finalised with a minor change of the film running process, it was replaced from a horizontal spool to a vertical spool. It was unveiled and introduced to the public at the Brooklyn institute of arts and sciences in 1893. The reason for the small scope to see the images is due to the light, if too much light is introduced to the film reel, the picture will become less clear and harder to see, the darkness and the single bulb ensure that the images are as clear as possible. 

Here is an example of the kinetoscope - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRIjUYh3MEs

Part 2 

George Pal

He was a Hungarian animator and film producer, principally associated with the science fiction genre. He became an American citizen after emigrating from Europe. He was nominated for Academy Awards (in the best short subjects cartoon) for seven consecutive years (1942-1948) and received and honorary award in 1944.

Here is a list of films he has created:



Here are some examples of what he created:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvrYPXFnWA4 - Sweet Pacific
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0qR7BiIWJE - The Time Machine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgFUzqrbKSc - Where Shall The Tulips Grow


Willis O'Brien

In his spare time he started sculpting with marble and illustrating which led to him being hired as a draftsman in an architects office. In marble he sculpted a dinosaur and a caveman starting his career in stop motion animation with The Dinosaur and the missing link (1915). He was hired by Thomas Edison after the release The Dinosaur and the missing link to create most short films with a pre-historic theme. Outside of Edison he made many more short films up until he created The Lost World.

The Lost World and King Kong were Willis' most popular films and both followed his pre-historic style. Both of these films helped bring a larger audience to stop motion animation and influenced other artists to use the style. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ1DaT7f5lE - The Dinosaur and the missing link


Phil Tippett

He specialises in stop motion and visual effects, he made the chess models in Star Wars IV The New Hope plastercine models also he animated the AT-AT Walkers which were made out of model kits (Imperial Walkers).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dGpd69_x5M - T-Rex Go Motion (Stop Motion) - Jurassic Park


Otmar Gutmann

Otmar is the creator of Pingu, Pingu was a British-Swiss stop motion animation which lasted from 1986 to 2000. Pingu also aired on the BBC from 1995-2006 and it won a BAFTA. The episodes were not written ny Otmar but were directed and animated by him using clay animation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sct5j7Quo54  - Pingu as a chef


Tim Burton & Henry Selick

Time Burton is an American film director, producer, writer and animator. He is known mostly for his work on The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride (animated films). Using puppetry and detailed models, Burton, along with his associate, Henry Selick, created the alternative stylings we know and love today. 

Henry Selick is an American stop-motion director, best known for The Night Before Christmas, also James and the Giant Peach and Coralline.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry7PcYtKPhA - The Nightmare Before Christmas 


Adam Shaheen (Cuppa Coffee)

Adam Shaheen is a British animator, TV producer and screenwriter. He is the founder and  the executive producer of Cuppa Coffee Studios where he develops and produces all original programming. Shaheen has produce over 200 adverts and won over 100 awards from around the world, he has made a variety of adverts for well known companies such as Disney, Warner Bros and Cartoon Network.

The Quay Brothers

The Quay Brothers are stop motion animators. They formed Koninck studios and they produce dark moody animations. The animations they create include doll parts and other organic and inorganic materials often partially disassembled. The films they have created are Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life and The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes as well as films they have also created shorts as well an example of a short is Street of Crocodiles. 



Nick Park (Aardman)

Nick Park is an English director, writer and animator. He has won multiple awards for his work and is a key role in the company 's most important features. Aardman is a British animation studio which is based in Bristol. Aardman is known for stop motion clay animation and is known best for Flushed Away. Aardman and Dreamworks teamed up to create Chicken Run which was Aardman's first feature film. They and Dreamworks signed a $250 million deal to make four additional films within 12 years one of them being Wallace and Gromit. They are also known for shows like Shaun the Sheep and Morph. 




Examples of stop motion in:

Tv Programmes 

Wallace and Gromit is an example of a stop motion TV programme. Wallace and Gromit is aimed at younger audiences because of the simple storyline and very likeable characters. Wallace is a very likeable character as he is very kind, funny and dumb but in a funny way. Gromit is a very likeable character as well because he is also very kind but also intelligent and children will like this because a dog is acting like a person with they will find entertaining. As well as the very likeable characters the soundtrack for the show is very upbeat with suits the target audience. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0qagA4_eVQ - Wallace and Gromit -  A Grand Day Out


Creature Comforts is another stop motion animation example. This one is aimed at families because there is a wide range of talking creatures and it is also funny it watch. 


Feature Film

Both of these feature films are aimed at the same audience. Both of these are successful Aardman productions, Shaun the Sheep Movie and Flushed Away. Both of these films are fun and upbeat with simple characters that the audience can relate to, these are very much family films that everyone can watch and enjoy because of its simpleness and the humour. The storylines are very simple so the children can understand it but not so simple that adults get bored of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ryzz9JyD_N4 - Shaun the Sheep - Hiding from Trumper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hnBixaLmk0 -  Flushed Away - Slugs

Advertisement 

Change 4 life is aimed at parents and children to eat healthy and to be physically active. 


The McCoy's stop motion advert is pretty hard to define who it is actually aimed at. Because of the voiceover you would say that its aimed at adults and because the packet of crisps becomes aggressive you ould say its aimed more towards males. 


Ident

The E4 ident is aimed at teenagers because it is set in a bedroom and also that is there primary audience. Teenagers are also known for just laying around in their bedrooms doing nothing. 






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