Stop-motion

Continuing on with ideas in the previous post, I've decided to start doing some research into the art of stop-motion animation. I was surprised to find that the first instance in which stop-motion can be credited was in 1898 in The Humpty Dumpty Circus by Albert E. Smith and J. Stuart Blackton. It is a short film where a set of toy circus animals and acrobats come to life. It is always interesting to see where something began, noting what things have developed and what things have stayed the same.

I was surprised to find that stop-motion was used as a common special effects tool in a lot of movies in the 70s and even up to the 90s. Many major Hollywood films, such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Robocop, and Terminator, used stop-motion animation in many of the special effects sequences. Looking back, it seems obvious that that was how they did the sequences, but I suppose I never really thought about it. Stop-motion has very unique look to it, but I guess you don't notice it as much when your not as familiar with it.

It's interesting to see that a lot of movies are still using stop-motion. Movies like Corpse Bride, Coraline, and Fantastic Mr. Fox are still using these techniques, all of which were made in the 2000s. It can be difficult to tell if a movie is actually using stop-motion or if they are just simulating it's style, which is becoming more and more common with a lot of older animation techniques. It is very rare nowadays to find an animated cartoon that was actually hand drawn. It's much more common to just simulate the look to save time and money.

It's always nice to see movies come out like this that try to create a more interesting atmosphere by using stop-motion. The differences in styles between movies like Coraline, which is a much smoother animation, and Fantastic Mr. Fox, which is very rough and raw looking. Although I would like to use these techniques for creating art, I believe a lot can be learned from these movies. I look forward to seeing what other movies will utilize stop-motion in the future.