Understand the

Techniques and
development of stop
motion animation
Robert Eastwood
Techniques
 Persistence of Vision
Persistence of vision is a commonly-accepted controversial theory where it suggests that the
human eye always retains images for a fraction of a second. This suggests that everything we
see is a mixture of what we are seeing right at that moment as well as what we saw a friction
of a second ago. This theory works in film and video as this theory is often claimed to account
for having the ability to perceive a sequence of frames as a continuous moving picture. But
this idea was destroyed in 1912 as there is no evidence that persistence of vision works that
way. In drawn animation, moving characters are often shot on twos, that is to say, one
drawing is shown for every two frames of film (which usually runs at 24 frames per second),
meaning there are only 12 drawings per second. Even though the image update rate is low,
the fluidity is satisfactory for most subjects. However, when a character is required to perform
a quick movement, it is usually necessary to revert to animating on ones, as twos are too slow
to convey the motion adequately. A blend of the two techniques keeps the eye fooled
without unnecessary production cost. A two-dimensional POV display is often accomplished
by means of rapidly moving a single row of LEDs along a linear or circular path. The effect is
that the image is perceived as a whole by the viewer as long as the entire path is completed
during the visual persistence time of the human eye. A further effect is often to give the
illusion of the image floating in mid-air. A three-dimensional POV display is often constructed
using a 2D grid of LEDs which is swept or rotated through a volume. POV display devices can
be used in combination with long camera exposures to produce light writing. In digital film
systems, the scan rate may be decoupled from the image update rate. In some systems,
such as the DLP(Digital Light Processing ) system, there is no flying spot or raster scan at all, so
there is no flicker other than that generated by the temporal aliasing of the film image
capture.
 Stop-frame Animation
Stop-Frame Animation is a 2D or 3D animation techniques where you can make an object look like it is
moving on its own. The object can be a ball or more commonly known clay characters such as Wallace and
Gromit or Chicken Run. The 2D version would be drawn images or cut out objects. Stop motion is often
confused with the time lapse technique, where still photographs of a live surrounding are taken at regular
intervals and combined into a continuous film. Time lapse is a technique whereby the frequency at which
film frames are captured is much lower than that used to view the sequence. When played at normal speed,
time appears to be moving faster and thus lapsing. Stop motion has very rarely been shot in stereoscopic 3D
throughout film history. The first all stop motion 3D feature is Coraline which came out in 2009 and it was
based on Neil Gaiman's best-selling novel and directed by Henry Selick. Another recent example is the
Nintendo 3DS video software which comes with the option for Stop Motion videos. This has been released
December 8, 2011 as a 3DS system update. Also, the movie ParaNorman is in 3D stop motion. There are lots
of example of stop motion in TV:
From 1986 to 2000, over 150 five-minute episodes of Pingu, a Swiss children's comedy were produced by
Trickfilmstudio. In the 1990s Trey Parker and Matt Stone made two shorts and the pilot of South Park almost
entirely out of construction paper. In 1999, Tsuneo Goda directed an official 30-second sketches of the
character Domo. With the shorts animated by stop-motion studio dwarf is still currently produced in Japan
and has then received universal critical acclaim from fans and critics. Goda also directed the stop-motion
movie series Komaneko in 2004. In 2003, the pilot film for the series Curucuru and Friends, produced by
Korean studio Ffango Entertoyment is greenlighted into a children's animated series in 2004 after an approval
with the Gyeonggi Digital Contents Agency. It was aired in KBS1 on November 24, 2006 and won the 13th
Korean Animation Awards in 2007 for Best Animation. Ffango Entertoyment also worked with Frontier Works in
Japan to produce the 2010 film remake of Cheburashka. Since 2005, Robot Chicken has mostly utilized stop
motion animation, using custom made action figures and other toys as principal characters. Since 2009
Laika, the stop-motion successor to Will Vinton Studios, has released four feature films, which have
collectively grossed over $400 million. Showing how popular the stop motion still is.
 Frame Rates
Frame rate is the number of frames or images that are projected per second. Frame rates are
used in synchronizing audio, pictures or video. In movies and TV the frame rate is
standardized by the SMPTE (Society of Motion picture and Television Editors). The temporal
sensitivity and resolution of human vision varies depending on the type and characteristics of
visual stimulus, and it differs between individuals. The human visual system can theoretically
process 1000 separate images per second but is not noticeable to the untrained eye after
about 150 and up to around 240 where motion looks realistic. Modulated light is perceived as
stable by the majority of participants in studies when the rate is higher than 50 Hz through 90
Hz. This perception of modulated light as steady is known as the flicker fusion threshold. Early
silent films had stated frame rates anywhere from 16 to 24 frames per second but since the
cameras were hand-cranked, the rate often changed during the scene to fit the mood.
Projectionists could also change the frame rate in the theatre by adjusting a rheostat
controlling the voltage powering the film-carrying mechanism in the projector. When sound
film was introduced in 1926, variations in film speed were no longer tolerated as the human
ear is more sensitive to changes in audio frequency. Many theatres had shown silent films at
22 to 26 FPS which is why 24 FPS was chosen for sound. Interpolated 300 FPS along with other
high frame rates, have been tested by BBC Research for use in sports broadcasts. 50p/60p is
a progressive format and is used in high-end HDTV systems. While it is not technically part of
the DVB or ATSC broadcast standards yet, reports suggest that higher progressive frame rates
will be a feature of the next-generation high-definition television broadcast standards.
Modern smartphones such as the iPhone 6s and action cameras including Sony and GoPro
can take 240fps as a maximum in 720p with audio. 240fps when played back at normal
speed on a 240Hz monitor is also near the limits or about of perceivable smoothness.
Development
 Joseph Plateau
Joseph Plateau was one of the first people to demonstrate the illusion of
a moving image. To do this Plateau made the Phenakistoscope is 1832.
To use the Phenakistoscope you have to counter rotate disks with
repeating images in very small increments of motion on one and
regularly spaced slits in the other. In 1832, Plateau invented an early
stroboscopic device, the Phenakistoscope, the first device to give the
illusion of a moving image. It consisted of two disks, one with small
equidistant radial windows, through which the viewer could look, and
another containing a sequence of images. When the two disks rotated
at the correct speed, the synchronization of the windows and the
images created an animated effect. The projection of stroboscopic
photographs, creating the illusion of motion, eventually led to the
development of cinema. Plateau also studied the phenomena of
capillary action and surface tension. The mathematical problem of
existence of a minimal surface with a given boundary is named after
him. He conducted extensive studies of soap films and formulated
Plateau's laws which describe the structures formed by such films in
foams.
 William Horner
In 1834 William Horner made the Zoetrope which was a much more
convenient device to the Phenakistoscope as it eliminated the need for
a mirror and allowed more then one person to view it at a time. Horner
used a drum without the top on and placed the pictures around the
inside of the edge of the drum and then it could be viewed through slots
in the outside of the drum. After taking notice of Joseph Plateau's
invention of the Phenakistoscope, British mathematician William George
Horner thought up a cylindrical variation and published details about its
mathematical principles in January 1834. He called his device the
"ddaleum" as a reference to the Greek myth of Daedalus, but often
erroneously claimed to mean "the wheel of the devil". Horner's revolving
drum had viewing slits between the pictures instead of above them as
most later zoetrope variations would have. Horner planned to publish
the ddaleum with optician King, Jr in Bristol but it "met with some
impediment probably in the sketching of the figures".
 Charles-Emile Reynaud
Charles-Emile Reynaud created the Praxinoscope in 1877 which is quite
similar to the zoetrope but it is improved as it replaces its narrow viewing slits
with inner circle mirrors which would make the images much faster, making
the images much brighter and less distorted than the zoetrope also. The
Praxinoscope was an animation device, the successor to the zoetrope. It
was invented in France in 1877 by Charles-Emile Reynaud. Like the zoetrope,
it used a strip of pictures placed around the inner surface of a spinning
cylinder. The Praxinoscope improved on the zoetrope by replacing its narrow
viewing slits with an inner circle of mirrors, placed so that the reflections of
the pictures appeared more or less stationary in position as the wheel turned.
Someone looking in the mirrors would therefore see a rapid succession of
images producing the illusion of motion, with a brighter and less distorted
picture than the zoetrope offered. In 1889 Reynaud developed the Theatre
Optique, an improved version capable of projecting images on a screen
from a longer roll of pictures. This allowed him to show hand-drawn
animated cartoons to larger audiences, but it was soon eclipsed in
popularity by the photographic film projector of the Lumire brothers. The
word Praxinoscope translates roughly as "action viewer", from the Greek
language
 Edward Muybridge and Thomas Edison
Louis Le Prince made the Kinetoscope and in 1889 Thomas Edison copied it
and got it developed. Edison and his team also made the Kinetograph
which is an innovative motion picture camera which photographs movies.
When Edison meet with photographic pioneer Edward Muybridge he seems
to have spurred Edison to pursue development of the motion picture system.
The Zoopraxiscope projected images from rotating glass disks in rapid
succession to give the impression of motion. The stop-motion images were
initially painted onto the glass, as silhouettes. A second series of discs, made
in 18921894, used outline drawings printed onto the discs photographically,
then coloured by hand. Some of the animated images are highly complex,
featuring multiple combinations of sequences of animal and human
movement. The device appears to have been one of the primary
inspirations for Thomas Edison and William Kennedy Dickson's Kinetoscope,
the first commercial film exhibition system. Muybridge is known for his
pioneering work on animal locomotion in 1877 and 1878, which used multiple
cameras to capture motion in stop-motion photographs, and his
Zoopraxiscope, a device for projecting motion pictures that pre-dated the
flexible perforated film strip used in cinematography.
 The Lumiere Brothers

The Lumiere brothers were the first filmmakers in history. They patented
the cinematograph which compared to Edisons kinetoscope it allowed
simultaneous viewing by multiple parties. he Cinematograph produced
a sharper projected image than had been seen before due to its
design, in which a kind of fork held frame behind the lens in place using
the perforations in the sides of the film strip. In 1897, the Lumiere brothers
further added to their invention by using a glass flask of water as the
condenser to concentrate the light onto the film frame and to absorb
heat. The flask also acted as a safety feature, as the light would no
longer focus on the flammable film if the glass were to break due to
overheating or accident. The Lumiere brothers saw film as a novelty and
had withdrawn from the film business in 1905. They went on to develop
the first practical photographic colour process, the Lumire Auto
chrome.
 George Pal
George Pal was born in Cegled, Hungary on February 1, 1908, into a theatrical family.
Both parents were famous stage celebrities. George attended the Budapest Academy
to train as an architect, but a clerical error put him in illustration classes. George
graduated with an architectural degree. He moved to Berlin with his wife and found
work at the famous UFA studio and within sixty days Pal had become in charge of the
cartoon production. The Pal family had to leave Germany when World War 2 started as
the Gestapo came to them just because they were foreigners. The Pals moved to
Prague but the problem was there were no cartoon camera in Prague at all but then
George Pal had an idea which was to use puppets because then he could using any
kind of camera with his cartoon puppets. Most animated films were advertisements so
Pal started with making a advert for cigarettes. The Czechs were not interested so the
Pals moved to Paris. Then a company approached Pal about the advert and he
accepted and it was a huge success and Pal was famous. Pal relocated to Eindhoven,
Holland where opened his "Dollywood" studio, which was partly financed by an
investor who wanted numerous ads made for $7000-$8000 each. In the mid 30s, Philips
Radio in America saw Pal's films and started sponsoring their own, breaking his client
base out of Europe. Paramount Pictures signed Pal to a long-term contract to produce
a new series of non-advertising Puppetoons. At these studios, some of his now-famous
animators included Gene Warren, Wah Chang, Bob Baker, and a very young talent
named Ray Harryhausen, who would later become possibly the most famous stop-
motion animator of all time. Pal produced dozens of Puppetoons for Paramount, and
they were pleased enough to let him try feature films starting with "Destination Moon" in
1949. The film was a success with the public and critics and won an Academy Award
for special effects, so he was allowed to make another: "When Worlds Collide", which
Cecil B. DeMille had planned to film earlier. This film also did quite well, and won
another Academy Award for special effects.
 Willis OBrien

Willis OBrien was an American motion picture special effects and

stop-motion animation pioneer, who according to ASIFA-
Hollywood "was responsible for some of the best-known images in
cinema history," and is best remembered for his work on The Lost
World (1925), King Kong (1933) and Mighty Joe Young (1949), for
which he won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
he was posthumously awarded the Winsor McCay Award by
ASIFA-Hollywood, the United States chapter of the International
Animated Film Society ASIFA. The award is in recognition of
lifetime or career contributions to the art of animation. His
interment was located at Chapel of the Pines Crematory.
 Ray Harryhausen

Ray Harryhausen was an American-British visual effects creator, writer,

and producer who created a form of stop-motion model animation
known as Dynamation. His most memorable works include the animation
on Mighty Joe Young (1949), with his mentor Willis H. O'Brien, which won
the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects; The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
(1958), his first colour film; and Jason and the Argonauts (1963), featuring
a famous sword fight with seven skeleton warriors. His last film was Clash
of the Titans (1981), after which he retired. Harryhausen moved to the
United Kingdom, becoming a dual US-UK citizen and lived in London
from 1960 until his death in 2013. During his life, his innovative style of
special effects in films inspired numerous filmmakers including George
Lucas, Steven Spielberg, John Lasseter, Peter Jackson, John Landis,
Henry Selick and Tim Burton.
 Jan Svankmajer

Jan Svankmajer is a Czech animator and filmmaker born in Prague. An

early influence on his later artistic development was a puppet theatre
he was given for Christmas as a child. He studied at the College of
Applied Arts in Prague and later in the Department of Puppetry at the
Prague Academy of Performing Arts. He has greatly influenced other
artists such as Terry Gilliam, the Brothers Quay, and many others.
Svankmajer has gained a reputation over several decades for his
distinctive use of stop-motion technique, and his ability to make surreal,
nightmarish, and yet somehow funny pictures. He continues to make
films in Prague. Svankmajer's trademarks include very exaggerated
sounds, often creating a very strange effect in all eating scenes. He
often uses fast-motion sequences when people walk or interact. His
movies often involve inanimate objects being brought to life through
stop motion. Many of his films also include clay objects in stop motion,
otherwise known as Claymation. Food is a favourite subject and
medium. Svankmajer also uses pixilation in many of his films.
Contemporary Work
 The Brothers Quay
The Brothers Quay are identical twin brothers that are influential stop-
motion animators. Most of their animation films feature puppets made of
doll parts and other organic and inorganic materials, often partially
disassembled, in a dark, moody atmosphere. Perhaps their best known
work is Street of Crocodiles, based on the short novel of the same name
by the Polish author and artist Bruno Schulz. This short film was selected
by director and animator Terry Gilliam as one of the ten best animated
films of all time and critic Jonathan Romney included it on his list of the
ten best films in any medium. They have made two full-length live action
films: Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life and
Janine Marmot, and The Piano Tuner Of Earthquakes. They also directed
an animated sequence in the film Frida. The Quay Brothers were the
subject of a grand retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern
Art, New York entitled Quay Brothers: On Deciphering the Pharmacist's
Prescription for Lip-Reading Puppets which featured work spanning their
entire career, tracing back as early as childhood, with much of the
material shown for the first time. Organized by Ron Magliozzi, Associate
Curator of MoMA's Film Department, the exhibition ran from August 12,
2012 through January 7, 2013 and included a full coinciding film
program.
 Tim Burton

Tim Burton is also an animator and he has made films such as Edward
Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride,
Frankenweenie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in
Wonderland. Burton began making short movies when he was a kid in
his backyard, ranging from live-action shorts with his friends to stop-
motion animated movies without sound on his Super 8mm camera,
many of which were inspired by some of his childhood heroes including
Dr. Seuss, Roald Dahl and Edgar Allan Poe. In addition, he spent a lot of
his time painting, drawing and watching movies. The Nightmare Before
Christmas actually originated from a three page poem Burton wrote in
1982 while still under Disney's employment, and originally had the idea of
turning it into a television special narrated by Vincent Price or a
children's novel. After creating some concept art, storyboards and
character models with production designer Rick Hendricks, as well as
showing them to fellow Disney animator Henry Selick, Burton pushed for
Disney to consider making it into a feature-length film, but could never
properly convince them to make it before being terminated a couple
years later.
 Aardman Animations
Aardman was founded in 1972 as a low-budget project by Peter Lord and David
Sproxton, who wanted to realise their dream of producing an animated motion
picture. The partnership provided animated sequences for the BBC series for deaf
children Vision On. After creating a segment called "Greeblies" (1975) using clay
animation, became what was the inspiration for creating Morph, a simple clay
character. Around the same time Lord and Sproxton made their first foray into adult
animation with the shorts Down and Out and Confessions of a Foyer Girl, entries in the
BBC's Animated Conversations series using real-life conversations as soundtracks.
Aardman also created the title sequence for The Great Egg Race and supplied
animation for the multiple award winning music video of Peter Gabriel's song
"Sledgehammer". They produced the music video for the song "My Baby Just Cares For
Me" by Nina Simone in 1987. Later Aardman produced a number of shorts for Channel
4 including the Conversation Pieces series. These five shorts worked in the same area as
the Animated Conversations pieces, but were more sophisticated. Lord and Sproxton
began hiring more animators at this point; three of the newcomers made their
directorial debut at Aardman with the Lip Synch series. Of the five Lip Synch shorts two
were directed by Peter Lord, one by Barry Purves, one by Richard Goleszowski and one
by Nick Park. Park's short, Creature Comforts, was the first Aardman production to win
an Oscar. Park also developed the clay modelled shorts featuring the adventures of
Wallace and Gromit, a comical pair of friends: Wallace being a naive English inventor
with a love of cheese, and Gromit his best friend, the intelligent but silent dog. These
films include A Grand Day Out (1989), The Wrong Trousers (1993) and A Close Shave
(1995), the latter two winning Academy Awards. Aardman Animations have made
films such as Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run and Flushed Away.
Genres and Forms
 How Animation is used in TV, Channel Idents, Cinema,
Advertising, Music Videos and Computer Games
Animation in TV is better then a live version because a live version
requires actors and models and it can be harder to schedule if
the actors are popular. Also actors can be expensive to hire.
Animation is also in cinema and you can have a little animated
short before the actually movie start. Animated Films are ones in
which individual drawings, paintings, or illustrations are
photographed frame by frame. Usually, each frame differs
slightly from the one preceding it, giving the illusion of movement
when frames are projected in rapid succession at 24 frames per
second. The earliest cinema animation was composed of frame-
by-frame, hand-drawn images. When combined with
movement, the illustrator's two-dimensional static art came alive
and created pure and imaginative cinematic images - animals
and other inanimate objects could become evil villains or heroes.
Animation is also in music videos; a good example of this is the
music group Gorillaz who use animation in all of the music videos
with characters playing the singers. There are cut scenes in video
games with lots of animation being used to make it look like the
characters are talking and moving.
 How Animation is used in TV, Channel Idents, Cinema,
Advertising, Music Videos and Computer Games

There is a lot of animation in Advertising with Aardman

Animations doing a lot of advert. Some popular and
all known adverts with animation are the coco pops
adverts with animated animals. Channel Idents have
animation such as channel 4 which have little blocks
come together to make the number 4 on their
Channel Ident.