God Save Stop Motion

‘Is there a future for stop motion animation?’

Joanna Kirby Ack nowle dge ments I would like to use this section to take the opportunity to thank those who have helped me during this dissertation.

Firstly I would like to thank Mark Ingham, who hasn’t just been a tutor, but has injected excitement into the research that I have undertaken and provided me with even more enthusiasm for the subject.

Secondly I would like to thank my Mum, Julie Davenport, who, although has no idea what I am talking about most of the time has listened to me discuss this dissertation endlessly. Also thank you to my Auntie Chantie who as well as my Mum has been my reader through the entire dissertation.

In concerns of the production of the dissertation, I would like to say thank you to my Dad, David Kirby and his wife Cheryl Kirby, who helped me bring my dissertation to its 3D form.

Lastly I would like to thank all the animators that I have referred to within this dissertation. Some of them I was already aware of before beginning my work but others, especially Adam Elliot, have really opened my eyes to different approaches of storytelling. Any animator that takes the time to create stop motion animation and enjoy the entire process is a true inspiration to me! Con tents Introduction Does what it says

From pencil to mouse: The journey A brief history of animation and how stop motion has developed

Case study of Adam Elliot’s ‘Cousin’ A discussion of the animation and the animators that produced it

Case study of Pixar’s ‘Monsters Inc’ A discussion of the animation and the animation studios that produced it

Case study of Aardman and DreamWorks’ ‘Flushed Away’ A discussion of the animation and the animation studios that produced it

Don’t judge an animation by it’s technique! The heart of the dissertation

So has this ship sailed? The research pieced together

Conclusion My answer to the question

Bibliography Reference to all the information that I have used Intro duction This digital design dissertation will explore the question of ‘Is there a future for stop motion animation?’ My aim is to determine whether traditional stop motion will be replaced by digital stop motion and will digital stop motion go on to be replaced by other forms of digitally enhanced techniques such as CGI (Computer Generated Images). I have chosen the subject of stop motion as my research basis because I have always been keen to learn about animation, so where better to start than one of the earliest forms. 6 My interest grew within my first year at university, when I was able to complete a stop motion animation project. When completing this project my admiration for animation increased as I looked at animation companies such as Aardman Animation, who are the creators of characters such as, Shaun the Sheep and Wallace and Gromit. I enjoyed every minute of creating my animation from story boarding to the sound editing as it allowed me to use specialist animation equipment such as the rostrum camera.

Shaun The Sheep: Aardman: 2010

As a designer, doing this research will enable me to catch a glimpse of the future of animation and discover whether there is still a place for stop motion. I also want to find out what other people feel about stop motion or if indeed they know what it is!

To start the investigation I will look into the history of animation with the intention of highlighting how the technology has moved on since the animation phenomenon started. I then want to write a case study on several animations that are well known by animation lovers. I will begin with Adam Elliot’s ‘Cousin’, which is made using clay with the stop motion technique, followed 9 by ‘Monsters Inc’ and ‘Flushed’, away which uses CGI technologies.

Using the case studies as examples when needed, I will then get to the heart of my dissertation. I will present the research I have found to determine whether there is a future for traditional stop motion. I will give examples of the newer technologies that are being used and question why they seem to be towering over traditional stop motion. I will use relevant research I have gathered to support this. I will also discuss the differences between old and new techniques in relation to the production of the film (time, difficulty, software etc), the mood that can be achieved, the reality of the characters and the relationship with the viewer.

Using information gathered by questionnaires, I will discuss how people see stop motion as a whole: do they enjoy it? Do they even know what it is? The result of these questions will help verify whether new technologies have taken over. I will go on to express why traditional stop 10 motion is so magical and makes people happy when they watch it, and additionally why as an animator it is also so magical to create.

Following my main investigation I will collate all my research to try and answer the main question ‘Is there a future for stop motion animation?’ I will then go on to discuss how my views have changed since I first started my research if indeed they have at all!

Slodge’s Last Word: Kirby, J: 2009

From pencil to mouse: The journey In this section I will give a brief history of animation. I will include some important dates, within the animation timeline, which lead up to when stop motion was created 14 and what different techniques can be used. I will also present some key facts that are not only interesting but are things that have been questioned before, such as, what equipment is used and why do we use 24 frames per second.

Paul Wells is the Director of Animation, within The Animation Academy [Loughborough University School of Art and Design. 2010] and talks about some of the early involvements in animations. He discusses some of the equipment used and how animation was found by accident when experiments were undertaken for the cinematic moving image. He tells us how since 1798 people have been creating equipment that can project moving drawn images. [Wells:A. 2004:88]

The Phenakistoscrope was created by Joseph Plateau in 1832. This was an early optical toy which allowed the viewer to see horses or acrobats move. Andrien-Luc Sanders, is a freelance writer, animator, web designer, and graphic designer with a background in computerized design and animation. He wrote, on an information 15 website, how the device is made using a wheel with the animation on it. The animation is laid out in sequence around the circumference of the wheel. This would be known as each individual frame that is used to create a film today. There are slits made in the wheel and when placed in front of a mirror, the device is spun resulting in the viewer seeing the animated moving image. [Pictureshowman. 2004] This progressed to animators using the techniques of stop motion to create animation. Maureen Furniss is a writer, animation historian, animation theorist, critic, professor, and president of the Society for Animation Studies [Ask. 2010]. In the book called ‘Animation Bible’ she discusses the technique of stop motion stating that the technique is achieved by manipulating objects in front of the camera, frame by frame. [Furniss:A. 2008:232] I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in animation of all kinds, as she goes into great detail about the processes of different techniques used to create animation, and she 16 also gives some brilliant examples of those techniques. According to the website, Pictureshowman, James Stuart Blackton is known to be the father of the animated cartoon. He was born in England, Sheffield in 1875. In 1906 he created ‘Humorous Phases of Funny Faces’, which was the first cartoon made. He used stop-motion by drawing a face on a blackboard and filming it. When filming was paused he changed the faces and continued filming to create a moving image.[Mosley. 2010]

Phenakistoscope: Muybridge, E: 1893

The technique used by Blackton set a trend and in 1914, Windsor McCay (1867-1934) created ‘Gertie the Dinosaur’. Van Eaton’s website discussed how this animation was slightly different to ‘Humours Phases of Funny Faces’ because there was interaction between the character and the animator. Gertie was instructed to do tricks like bowing to the audience. [Eaton. 2010]

This technique continued to grow and animators started to experiment with different materials to create these 2D stop motion animations. Furniss [2004] spoke about the different types of 2D stop motion animation in the book ‘Animation Bible’. She explained how 2D stop motion 19 animation has many different forms and each technique that can be used is very unique. They can be made from sand, salt, pins which create shadows, cut out bits of paper and many more. In 1995 a polish animator called Aleksandra Korejwo used coloured salt to create an animation titled ‘Carmen Habanera’. Using gouache watercolours to change the colour of the sand she allowed it to dry in the sand before applying it to a black canvas and manipulating it with feathers from a local zoo. She used pre-drawn pastel images to guide her into creating each frame. [Furniss:A. 2008:232,236].

The technique of using frames to create a continuous moving image grew even further when animators started to use 3D objects to create stop motion animations. Furniss [2004] also spoke about 3D stop motion in the same book motioned in the previous paragraph. She described how 3D stop motion has become quite recognisable in 20 comparison to 2D as it is responsible for animations such as Morph and Wallace and Gromit, which have both become famous. Both animations use clay to create their characters and surroundings. Other 3D stop motion animations can include LEGO bricks, this technique is called Brickfilm. The animator uses the toy bricks to create a magical world. In 1989 an Australian animator called Lindsay Fleay created an animation made from LEGO bricks titled ‘The Magic Portal’. The sixteen minute film took four and a half years to complete. [Furniss:A 2008:243,244]

Gertie the Dinosaur: Winsor McCay’s: 1914

Jeff Goldner talks about the most recognised piece of equipment used to create 2D stop motion, on his blog he states it is the rostrum camera. The camera is pointed downward, parallel to a board (which is the stage for the animation). Each frame is then shot while the objects are manipulated under the camera. The same principle applies when creating 3D stop motion, however the camera is positioned to the side of the object to show the depth of the scene. [Goldner. 2008]

With technologies improving fast there are now easier ways of creating similar effects, using computers. Digital stop motion has allowed the feel of stop motion 23 techniques to be completed with less effort and time. It still looks like it has been created by hand, but does knowing it hasn’t been hand crafted decrease the sense of magic? Kit Laybourne, who is the Chief Creative Officer for The Whistle (a cross platform media company focusing on kids and sports), [Wikipedia. 2010] talks about how digital animation uses exactly the same process as the more traditional way but the tools are different. He also 24 discusses how these tools make the entire procedure easier. [Laybourne. 1998:65]

It is important to know, when creating the animation, the speed that will be used, this is known as frames per second. I wanted to know why it is more common to use 24 frames per second, when creating animation. John Wyver discusses, in quite scientific terms, the reason for having 24 frames per second. He states that the reason is simply so that our brains read the image’s continuously. He said: ‘Ever since (Isaac) Newton, (1642- 1727) scientists had recognized the common effects registered by the eye which has been staring at a light and then looks away. The retina retains a bright after- image, which quickly fades. Usually known as ‘persistence of vision’, this effect has been used by numerous historians to explain how the eye and brain connect the string of static images projected as a film, and mentally create the impression of smooth movement.. This information about changes is understood automatically, and in an area of the brain separate from the primary acts of perception. So as long as images are exposed at a speed below the perceptual threshold (as with film’s 24 frames per second) they will be read continuous.’ [Wyver. 1989:10,11] The idea of persistence of vision is explored on the Media College website. They agree with Wyver’s [1989] comment, but they say that these scientist’s ideas were accused of being false in 1912, as there is no evidence to suggest that this is the way our brains work. The website continues to inform that ‘...it is thought that the illusion of continuous motion is caused by unrelated phenomena such as beta movement (the brain assuming movement between two static images when shown in quick succession).’ [Wavelength Media. 2010]

Using 24 frames per second is also known as, ‘full animation’, where by each frame is different and is normally only used once, due to its accuracy. This is discussed by 26 Furniss in her book titled ‘Art in Motion Animation Aesthetics’. She goes on to explore ‘limited animation’ in comparison. Limited animation is different, as it uses less frames and tends to involve a lot of camera adjustments to make up for the loss of continuing movement in the animation. Furniss explains that ‘Panning over artwork creates a sense of motion while reducing the number of drawings needed.’ [Furniss:B. 2007:133,134] This would result in less production time. Furniss [2007] suggests comparing two different animations to help explain the differences. Her suggestions were to watch ‘Mickey Mouse Clock Cleaners’ (1937) and ‘The Birth of Astro Boy’ (1963). After watching these two animations the differences are clear. I feel as though I am missing the bits in between the frames in the limited animation; however I still understood the story. It seems as though everything is moving a lot faster 27 in the limited animation, it feels busy. Furniss (2007) quotes Jules Engles, who is noted internationally for his contributions to film and abstract animation,[Tobey Cmoss. 2001] clearly disagrees with my statement. He said that there is ‘no such thing as limited animation, only limited talent… Each style of graphic and each kind of gesture has its own requirements for motion’. [Furniss:B. 2007:136] However the fact is both of the animations have a narrative and entertain the viewer.

Astro boy: Mushi Production: 1963

Case Study of Adam Elliot’s ‘Cousin’ In this section I will discuss a traditionally made stop motion film called ‘Cousin’ by Adam Elliot. This section will give a short introduction to the animator, express what the film is about (the narrative) and explore the quality of the film in relation to the techniques used, the visual quality and the sound (do the characters have voices, or just a noise?). I will also discuss the affect the film may have on the viewer.

Adam Elliot is an independent Australian animator, who before becoming an award winning animator wanted to be a veterinarian. [Melodrama Pictures:B. 2010] He was 30 born on 2nd January 1972 [Melodrama Pictures:C. 2007] and has always suffered with a physiological tremor. He is now the official patron of ‘The Other Film Festival’. All of the films that take part in this festival are written and created and are about people with disabilities. [Melodrama Pictures:B. 2010]

Elliot’s series of films, including ‘Cousin’ made in 1998, are about people that he knows, and are about real life.

Cousin: Elliot, A: 1998

In the five minute animation of ‘Cousin’, Elliot touches on subjects that some people may find taboo, but these situations happen and it’s important that bad is represented in life animation as well as good.

‘Cousin’ is a relative of Elliot who has Cerebral Palsy. The story takes you through some of the fun times that they shared together, like when they dressed up as super heroes. The film takes a sudden horrific turn, when Cousin’s parents are killed in a car accident and he is forced to move away to a care home. Elliot explains through the narration; how they tried to stay in contact over the phone . However this soon faded and they didn’t 33 speak anymore. The story ends when Elliot is older, and while shopping he thinks he sees Cousin working in a super market, unfortunately, for some reason, he doesn’t go to speak to him.

Viewers would be able to connect to this story as it’s so true to life. The descriptions of the characters from the narrator, (William McInnes) build a bond with the viewer, and they begin to feel as though they know them. The use of humour in relation to the tragic events helps to prevent a terribly sad affect on the viewer. However because you automatically care about the characters, you are forced to feel some sorrow. In a biography by Melodrama Pictures, it is stated that, ‘Adam’s films have connected with audiences through focusing on loneliness and difference with compassion, humour and pathos.’ [Melodrama Picture:A. 2007]

34 The characters in the film are made from clay and are manipulated by hand, frame by frame. None of them speak so the understanding of the story is solely relying on the characters expressions and the narration from William Mclnnes (who has been the ‘voice’ for this series of films). I think that using a narrator was an excellent decision, as this allows a mono tone to be present throughout the entire animation, which helps to get across the feeling of sadness. The colours that have been used in this animation really compliment the story, as the plot isn’t really a happy one. The use of grey really helps to set the mood, and gives the feeling of depression and unhappiness. Iain Scott reviewed this film and agrees with my statement about the colour and the narration; this was mentioned in the previous paragraph. He explained how the colours used in the animation are mostly greys and blacks with an occasional show of muted colour. He goes on to explain that this use of colour ‘perfectly matches the sad tales and the beautiful melancholia of William McInnes’s outstanding 35 narration’. [Scott. 2008]

The film overall is really good quality and easy to watch and I believe that it doesn’t suffer due to the technique used. I believe that if it was done using CGI, for example, it wouldn’t hold the same degree of humour and the magic would be lost. I’m not sure that this animation would be suitable for children because of the subject and the mature humour.

Adam Elliot

Case Study of Pixar’s ‘Monsters Inc’ In this section I will discuss an animation created using CGI technologies, this film is called ‘Monsters Inc’. This section will give a short introduction to the animation studio, Pixar, who created the film. It will also express what the film is about (the narrative) and explore the quality of the film in relation to the techniques used, the visual quality and the sound (do the characters have voices, or just a noise?). I will also discuss the affect the film may have on the viewer.

Peter Weishar who is professor and Dean of the School 38 of Film and Digital Media, [Amazon. 2004] talks about the history and successes of Pixar in his book titled ‘Moving Pixels: blockbuster animation, digital art and 3D modelling today’. He explains that Pixar animation studio first started in 1986 and at the beginning of their career they created television advertisements. Pixar constructed some of the most sophisticated software in the CGI world, for example CAPS and RenderMan. Pixar were responsible for creating the first fully computer animated major feature film in 1995 titled ‘Toy Story’. They have gone on to create

Monsters Inc: Pixar: 2001

many more computer generated animations including ‘Monsters Inc’ (2001). [Weisher. 2004:112]

‘Monsters Inc’ is based on a world full of monsters that have been tricked into believing that children are dangerous and that scaring them generates electricity from their screams. The scream business is huge in this make believe world, and the story follows the main character Sullivan (Sully) and his one eyed side kick, Mick as they accidently let a child into their town. When realised 41 that the child, known as Boo, is not dangerous they soon fall in love with her and subsequently discover, that children are not dangerous and that laughter generates more electricity than screaming.

This film is made only by using CGI technologies. This means that each of the characters look realistic and are very detailed. I could see each hair on the characters and as a viewer you can notice things like the light reflecting in the characters eyes. Pixar said on their website, that ‘There are 2,320,413 computer animated hairs on

Monsters Inc: Boo: Pixar: 2001

Sullivan, and Pixar’s technical team will tell you that animating all that hair and making it look real was no easy task’ . [Pixar. 2010]

The narration of the story is told through the characters voices so there is no narrator needed, like in ‘Cousin’. I do believe, however, that this was a good idea for this film as I think this would make the story easier for children to follow, as it is quite a fast paced movie. The colours that have been used in Monsters Inc, are incredibly bright and 43 the shapes of the characters are very comical, therefore giving an automatic happy feeling to the viewer. I think this was a good choice in colour and shape for the characters because if the monsters were ugly and dull there would be a chance that the children watching the film could be frightened of them. The design of the characters is discussed by Justin Sluss on a review website. He says, in agreement with me that there is ‘...a rather vibrant color palette; the abundant use of vivid and bold shades within the fictional world of Monstropolis‘ characters and unique setting are beautiful’ [Sluss. 2009]

I think that the primary target audience for the film is children and that the film merely gives out a message to say, don’t be scared of monsters, they are your friend. A lot of children are scared about monsters being under 44 their bed or in their wardrobe so this film turns the child’s thinking around by making them unafraid of monsters and actually want them to be in their room because they are fun. IMDb say on their review of the film that‘Since the very first bedtime, all around the world, children have known that once their mothers and fathers tuck them in, and shut off the light, that there are MONSTERS hiding in their closets, waiting to emerge! What they don’t know is: it’s nothing personal. It’s just their job’. [IMDb. 2010] Case Study of Aardman and DreamWorks ‘Flushed Away’ In this section I will discuss an animation made using CGI technologies but in a way that appears to have been made from clay (stop motion). The animation in question is called ‘Flushed Away’ created by Aardman and DreamWorks. This section will give a short introduction to the animation studios who created the film, express what the film is about (the narrative) and explore the quality of the film in relation to the techniques used, the visual quality and the sound (do the characters have voices, or just a noise?). I will also discuss the affect the film may 46 have on the viewer.

The Aardman studios are a film and television animation studio founded by Nick Park and Peter Lord in 1972. They are the creators of Morph and Wallace and Gromit and have always been part of the clay stop motion animation group of animators. For the film ‘Flushed Away’ they partnered up with DreamWorks, which was their first CGI film, which was released worldwide.[Aardman. 2010]

Flushed Away: Aardman: Dreamworks: 2006

Peter Weisher wrote about how DreamWorks found an interest in PDI (Pacific Data Imaging) who are a leading broadcast graphic production house, in the book called ‘Moving Pixels: blockbuster animation, digital art and 3D modeling today’. He went on to explain how DreamWorks paired up with PDI and became a major shareholder in 2000. However just before this, in 1998, DreamWorks, created PDI’s first feature-length animated film, titled ‘Antz’. They went on to create ‘Shrek’ (2001) and ‘Madagascar’ (2005). [Weisher. 2004:105] 49 ‘Flushed Away’ is all about a world that lives under the city of London. Roddy St. James, who is the leading character, gets flushed down the toilet by an unwanted house guest. Roddy is a house pet mouse who, when flushed into the sewer, meets lots of new different creatures including, frogs, toads and singing slugs. He meets a girl mouse called Rita, who at the beginning doesn’t care for Roddy very much, but eventually they become great friends, while saving the world beneath London, from the evil toad. Roddy learns how important friends and family are and ends up staying in this secret world instead of going back to his rich, lonely life in a cage.

Using DreamWorks’ CGI software to create ‘Flushed Away’ was different compared to when they created ‘Shrek’ because they had the influence of the Aardman animators. This addiction to the team meant that the characters were based on clay models to resemble characters such as Wallace and Gromit. Josh Tylor wrote a review on the film 50 and spoke about the techniques that Aardman usually use, compared to what was used to create this film. He said ‘Missing from the film are their usual characters made of mud, but present is every bit of the creativity and cuteness we’ve grown to expect from Aardman… That doesn’t mean they’ve abandoned their trademark Aardman look. Sure, the movie is computer animated, but what DreamWorks has done for them is use computers to create the animated equivalent of claymation figures.’ [Tylor. 2010] In effect this film is a digital stop motion animation which allowed less production time. Due to the film not being made of clay you can notice subtle differences, which could be seen as a good thing. For example, the depth of the scene, the background seemed to have more detail and therefore creating a more realistic effect. DreamWorks, however, have really tried to mimic Aardman’s style as you will notice that the mouths move in a very similar way to how they would move on the Wallace and Gromit films. I noticed in the films that there were a few occasions where I thought that I saw finger prints 51 on the characters, as though they had inserted some clay stop motion. I noticed it mostly on the singing slugs. When reading the review by Tylor [2010] my suspicions were confirmed. He said‘If you watch closely, you might even spot a simulated thumbprint or two in the carefully rendered faux clay.’ [Tylor. 2010]

The colours that are used in ‘Flushed Away’ are not extremely bright or dull. I believe that they have kept to using the same range of colours Aardman would normally 52 use in their animations. The sound that is used in the film is very similar to that used in ‘Monsters Inc’. All the characters have voices and therefore there is no need for a narrator, just like in ‘Monsters Inc’. I believe that this was a good choice for this type of film with its target audience. I feel that the primary audience for this film is children. However, just like ‘Monsters Inc’, it would be accepted by adults as well, because there is humour throughout the entire film that would appeal to everyone.

Wallace and Gromit: Aardman

Don’t judge an animation by it’s technique! A sad story for guilty animators

My name is Pink, I am a little piece of plasticine, and I am an actor. I used to have a really good job playing as Morph. I turned up to work in a little plastic box, with fragile written on it, and a little hole in the top so that I could breath. I got pulled, stretched, squashed and poked. I loved being made into something new. Peter Lord, my boss, used to spend 56 the whole day with me, twisting and bending me into shape. He made me funny, he made me feel special. I liked being Morph. Now I’m alone in my plastic box, in Peter’s bottom drawer. He put me here one day and eventually he stopped getting me out. Every now and then the broken drawer gets jarred open, allowing me to see what is going on. Peter is always at his desk on his computer these days. It’s funny because the things I see on the screen are me, well Morph, but I don’t remember acting in the scenes. It’s lonely in this drawer. I wish I knew what I did wrong. Ice Age: Blue Sky: 2002

It’s not Pink’s fault that he is being forgotten. So have the viewers just lost interest in stop motion or have the animators lost the enthusiasm to create it?

This section will be the main part of my investigation. Here I will present the research I have found to determine whether there is a future for stop motion animation. I will give examples of the newer technologies that are being used and question why they seem to be towering over traditional stop motion, using the research I have gathered as support. I will also discuss the differences between old 57 and new techniques in relation to the production of the film (time, difficulty, software etc), the mood that can be achieved, the reality of the characters and the relationship with the viewer (I will use the film reviews from the previous chapters as an example when needed). Using information gathered by questionnaires I will discuss how people see stop motion in general. Do they enjoy it? Do they even know what it is? The result of these questions will support whether new technologies have taken over.

I will go on to express why traditional stop motion is so magical and makes people happy when they watch it, and on the other hand why, as an animator it is also so magical to create.

‘Monsters Inc’ (2001), ‘Ice Age’ (2002) and ‘Toy Story’ (1995) are just some of the most popular CGI animated films, with some appearances in cinemas. I briefly mentioned CGI technologies in the previous section called ‘Case Study of Pixar’s ‘Monsters Inc’’, and as one of the main threats to stop motion animation I think it is important to understand the differences between 59 how exactly these new realistic characters are made, compared to a stop motion character.

To create ‘Ice Age’, for example, Blue Sky Studio used their personally developed software called ‘CGI Studio’. On Blue Sky’s website it is explained how the software is able to simulate and retract light in a way that it would react on a real object. Their website also gives a step by step guide into exactly how the animation is created. They state that the 2D drawings of the characters, once approved are sent to the ‘Modellers’ who make them into 3D using computers. After this the 3D characters are given to the ‘Riggers’ who add a skeleton to enable them to move. They explain that ‘If Blue Sky were a puppet factory, then the Rigging department would be responsible for attaching the strings that the Animators would use to put on the puppet-show.’ [Blue Sky Studios. 2010]

‘Flushed Away’ is an animated film created using digital stop motion techniques, as discussed in the ‘Case study 60 of Aardman and DreamWorks’ ‘Flushed away’’, which is another threat toward the extinction of stop motion animation. I touched upon the idea of digital stop motion in the previous sections titled ‘From pencil to mouse: The journey’. From my understanding ‘Flushed Away’ is made in a very similar way to Ice Age. The differences being the animators have kept the same characteristics that Aardman have used in their other creations, such as ‘Chicken Run’ (2000) and ‘Wallace and Gromit’, thus resulting in the illusion of stop motion animation. On the Flushed Away website, it is explained how ‘Blending Aardman’s trademark style and characterizations with DreamWorks’ state-of-the-art computer animation, the film marks a unique new look for the art form.’ [Dreamworks and Aardman. 2006]

Is it time, effort, money or all of these elements that are the reason as to why computer animations seem to be taking over? Ben discussed stop motion animation on an open opinion website. He states that a lot of ‘time and effort goes into production of these (stop motion films) only to turn out a film that isnt loved by the critics’. [Ben. 2010] 61 It’s a well known fact that stop motion animation takes a lot more time to create than if you were to do it digitally, as you don’t have to work in intricate spaces. There is less physical effort needed to create digitally animated films as you are sat at a computer. Not that Adam Elliot sees this as a good thing as he said in an interview that ‘If I was a computer animator, I think I would get frustrated very quickly sitting in front of a computer every day, drinking coca-cola. It’s great to get plasticine under your fingernails.’ [Elliot. 2009]

Money is more of an issue now than it has ever been. Stop motion animation can be very expensive. In a report by David Mitchall, a student who studied an MA in History of Film and Visual Media, explains how obviously the success of 3D CGI will affect all the conventional forms of animation but it will be stop motion that suffers the most because the newer technologies can already create something that convincingly looks like stop motion. He 62 goes on to say how CGI is becoming cheaper (I think possibly due to its population increase which allows prices to decrease) however stop motion will get more expensive, [Mitchell. 2002] which I believe is due to material prices increasing.

The main advantage to using CGI technologies is the amount of realism that can be achieved in the characters and the surrounding scenes. Therefore we are being presented with creatures that look tremendously real

Jurassic Park: 1993

but can only exist in our imaginations. Paul Wells said, in a book called ‘An Introduction to Film Studies’, that animation is a form of resistance to realism as opposed to a live action movie which offers the most accurate representation of what is going on. He continues to say ‘Disney, however, still aspired to hyper-realism in his films, by making his characters correspond as closely as possible to the ‘real’ world in their movement and context while allowing for fantasy element in character and narrative.’ [Wells:B. 1996:197] This level of realism would never appear in a stop motion 65 animation because the amount of accuracy needed is near impossible or at least the precision needed would take a ridiculous amount of time with the end result never being as ‘crisp’ as a digital image. Could the amount of realism that is missing from the stop motion films be a reason to forget this form of animation? In an attempt to answer this question I found a passage by Andrew Paul who wrote about the realism that can be achieved in computer animation with the example of Steven Spielberg’s, ‘Jurassic Park.’ He said ‘by the early nineties computers could generate near photographic realism. By the time Steven Spielberg, initially an enthusiast for go-motion, switched to computer animation for his feature film Jurassic Park(1993) , stop motion was beginning to look like an extinct technology.’ [Paul. 2010]

As an animator your main priority would be to make something enjoyable for the viewer to watch. I thought as part of my investigation it was best to know what people think of stop motion. I created two questionnaires to help 66 me analyze people’s views. One of the answers that I was given by an anonymous participant was very interesting indeed, as it seemed to contradict what I had read from all of the other related sources. The question that I asked was ‘What do you like or dislike about stop motion animation?’ The participant answered ‘I like stop motion because it looks more real than computer generated effects.’ I think what this person was trying to get across was that they like stop motion because they know that the thing that is being animated is a physical object and lives in the ‘real world’. This shows that viewers have more of a bond with stop motion animation because it feels more personal.

In another answer to the same question somebody said ‘I think it’s clever because it makes an object come to life.’ This person not only shows an appreciation for the technique but also shares a similar view to that of the previous participant. They are attempting to discuss how magical it is that you can make a real non-moving object come to life. 67

Not one of the questionnaires demonstrated a dislike for stop motion and they all spoke about it with positivity. They also stated how they believe that there is a future for this technique. However maybe it comes down to the individual project and that sometimes stop motion isn’t the best technique to use, and maybe the focus should be on the animation that is being presented to you at one time. Richard Taylor, in a way touched upon this in 68 a book called ‘Encyclopedia of animation techniques’ by discussing how the importance isn’t about what the character or object looks like it about the way it moves, he states ‘How it moves is more important than what moves. Though what moves is important, in relative order importance, it’s how it moves that’s the important thing… What the animator does on each frame of film is not as important as what he or she does in between.’ [Taylor. 1996]

Toy Story: Pixar: 2005

So has this ship sailed? This section will piece together all the research I have gathered to attempt to answer the question, ‘Is there a future for stop motion animation?’ I will start off with a personal thought then use the research I have found to support my decision.

It might be seen as a biased opinion because I have always had a strong liking for stop motion animation, nevertheless I feel that stop motion as a technique hasn’t, and will never die. The fact that you can make an inadequate object move and allow this character to build a personality and 72 bond with the viewer without digital enhancement, is truly magical. When asked about the advantages of stop motion animation, Adam Elliot echoes my exact statement about the magical feel of stop motion by stating that ‘…audiences love seeing things on the big screen they know are not computer generated. When they see the fingerprints on the plasticine, they know that it hasn’t been generated by a computer, and there’s something magical about that. That’s why I think the art form is here to stay, and will never go away!’ [Elliot. 2009] With the research I have presented in this dissertation, I think it is safe to say that technologies are moving on extremely fast, which has affected animation in general. A great example to demonstrate how animation is still in its early stages and still has room to grow is ‘Toy Story’. As I have mentioned before, this animation was made in 1995 which was only fifteen years ago. The question is what could happen in the next fifteen years to come?

On reflection of the three case studies previously discussed it is clear to see the evolution in animation. However, the fact that we now have CGI technologies available for creating these super realistic characters 73 should mean that the world forgets stop motion animation. But this doesn’t seem to be the case. Strangely CGI technologies are now trying to mimic stop motion animations, like mentioned in the case study of ‘Flushed Away’. DreamWorks actually simulated pretend figure prints into the characters to represent handmade figures, consisting of clay. Therefore, the case maybe those newer technologies continue to try and be inspired by stop motion, and that stop motion as a technique can only get stronger and thrive with these new supporting technologies.

For those who are totally dedicated to the new digital technologies, maybe instead of forgetting about stop motion animation, there should be a compromise. What if there were more stop motion animations that had a slight dust of digital technologies sprinkled onto them? Surely this is 74 getting the best of both worlds. A great example of a stop motion based animation that uses digital technologies as a little complimentary, is a children’s program called the ‘Ooglies’. Although this program is located on a children’s channel there is no question that the humour in the series would not entertain adults. I strongly believe that this is because the main technique used is stop motion. The digital enhancements, work excellently because they do not take the ‘spot light’ and they just fit into the scene. Lawrence reviewed the ‘Ooglies’ on a public review website and agreed with my statement about the target audience and the quality of the animation. They said that this animation ‘… is one of those gems of an idea where the animators are allowed to let their imagination run wild and come up with characters that will surely become cult viewing and household names, not just household objects… At the moment this is one of those TV shows that you have to discover by accident because you 75 happen to be in the same room as some children who are watching it.’ [Lawrence. 2009]

Taking things one step further into the future, it is discussed in David Mitchall’s [2002] report that what if stop motion became more evolved and instead of using clay to animate you could use a robot that looks exactly like the desired character. He used the film ‘Stuart Little’ as an example and said:

Ooglies: BBC: 2010 ‘As more and more everyday objects become computerized (the average new car now contains at least a dozen tiny computers) it becomes both possible and cheap to make fully computerized, miniature models. We might expect to see a revival of stop-motion as the process of animating such models become simpler and more intuitive. As an example of what I mean, consider Stuart Little. Currently animators have to choose between a virtual, CGI-generated Stuart on the one hand, or a stop-motion model Stuart on the other. In the future one can imagine a real, robotic, model - an intelligent puppet - that exhibited the same range of expression and movement and did so in a semi- autonomous fashion. Where today, reshooting stop-motion scenes is a labour-intensive, completely manual process, such devices would make it possible to design and record such motions and then repeat them, with variations, at will. Stop-motion would effectively be transformed into live- action’ [Mitchell. 2002] So in essence, there is no way that this ship has sailed. It’s just a case of adapting to the surrounding technologies, and maybe allowing digital technologies to have their appearances in the animations. However I think that Richard Taylor once made a very good point in a book called ‘Encyclopaedia of animation techniques’ by saying that ‘it is important to emphasize that the quality of the sequence is 78 more important than the quality of the images. It is possible to make a bad film with beautiful drawings or models – the art of animated film is in the action.’ [Taylor. 1996]

Therefore there may be times when stop motion has to give into newer technologies because the outcome just wouldn’t be as good for the viewer’s experience, and vice versa. And as an animator what you want to achieve is an enjoyable sequence that tells narrative and forms a relationship with the viewer. Concl usion In this section I will reflect on my research and express whether my opinion has changed from the start of my investigation.

It seems that I have come out of the other end of the tunnel with near enough the same view that I held at the beginning, but perhaps with more knowledge to understand why I like stop motion animation so much. I said in my synopsis at the early stages of my investigation that, ‘I believe that there is a future for stop motion 80 animation however it may be more affective now in areas not including movies’. This would be the only view that I have changed. I don’t see any reason why stop motion cannot appear in feature films. From what I have understood in my research I think that viewers are more likely to appreciate films made in this way as they would know how much time and effort had gone into making it. My investigation has aided my realisation that I was naive to the fact that CGI isn’t the only threat towards stop motion; however digital stop motion is also a culprit. Stuart Little:1999

An important part of animation was brought to my attention when constructing this dissertation. The relationship between the animator and the animation is so much stronger when creating a stop motion animation, as the animator is in the same space as the scene. This results in a much more personal outcome and although the results will never be as defined as a digital image I have found that a lot of animators just like the connection that they can have with the material that forms the characters and this shines through in the animation, and makes it even more enjoyable to watch. 81 Doing this research has confirmed for me that there is definitely a future for stop motion animation. In fact I now feel even more passionate about this form of animation than when I first started my investigation. Whether this increase in passion is a result of what I have read about how animators feel when they are creating stop motion animated films, or if it is from hearing and reading what people say about the films, my research has confirmed how magical this technique is and therefore why it is here to stay!

Bibliography : John sia: to y 3-D to . Mala . a complete guide . cartoons sound to . King. Laurence ondon: -books : book : animation . Press Three Rivers : York . L . Bible Animation , M:A (2008). Aesthetics Animation in Motion Art , M:B (2007).

he T (1998). ybourne, Kit camera. It then talks about how computer techniques makes stop motion easier to work motion easier to stop makes techniques computer about how It then talks camera. that about the software a brief statement it also gives quicker, the process with and makes is needed. The section of this book that I found helpful describes the techniques of cut out animation helpful describes the techniques The section of this book that I found animation is made and about the rostrum cutout how It tells techniques. and computer flip from : filmmaking animated New . animation La is, and the differences between that and full animation. It also gave examples of examples It also gave between and full animation. that the differences and is, are. what the differences fully so that I could understand compare animations to imited y L Libbey & Compan motion animation stop of what limited get an understanding helped me to This book really better impression on each technique. on each technique. impression better Furniss create stop motion animation (2D and 3D) and digital animation. The book also gives book also gives The animation. digital motion animation (2D and 3D) and stop create a internet on the helps give watch that when you of each technique some good examples Furniss that can be used to techniques of the different each through the reader This book takes Books This section will hold all of the references I have mentioned in my dissertation, in my mentioned a brief with have I of the references hold all section will This about. was what the information and for used the information of what I annotation Taylor, R. (1996). Encyclopaedia of animation techniques. Oxford: Focal Press. I got two quotes from the ‘Introduction’ (page 7) of this book. The first quote explains that the quality of the story is more relevant than the quality of the execution. The second quote is about how the parts between each frame is more important than the actual frame. This quote although taken from ‘Encyclopaedia of animation techniques’ was said by Norman McLeren in his book called ‘On the Creative Process’.

Weisher, P (2004). Moving Pixels: blockbuster animation, digital art and 3D modeling today. London: Thames & Hudson. This is one of my favorite books. It helped me by providing me with information about different animation studios, practically Pixar as I have included some information about them in my work.

Wells, P:A (2004). The Fundamental of Animation. Crans-près-Céligny: AVA Publishing SA. This book talks about the history of the main types of animations which include stop motion and digital techniques. This book was useful to gather some of the key facts that I needed for the history part of my dissertation such as when some of the first pieces of equipment were invented.

Wells, P:B (1996). An Introduction to Film Studies. Canada: Routledge . This book was helpful to explain how realism appears and works in animation, CGI and stop motion.

Wyver, J (1989). The Moving Image An International History of Film, Television and Video. Oxford: Basil Blackwell Ltd. I only used a paragraph of this book but the information I got from it was about how the eye receives images and why we use 24 frames per second. Websites

Aardman. (2010). History. Available: http://www.aardman.com/about-us/history/. Last accessed 14th Nov 2010. This website helped me gain some information on the animation studio, Aardman including when they were founded and some information on ‘Flushed Away’.

Amazon. (2004). CGI: The Art of the 3d Computer-Generated Image:About the Author. Available: http://www.amazon.com/CGI-Art-3d-Computer-Generated- Image/dp/0810949679. Last accessed 16th Nov 2010. This website gave me information about Peter Weishar, one of the authors that I mentioned in my dissertation.

Ask. (2010). Maureen Furniss. Available: http://uk.ask.com/wiki/Maureen_ Furniss. Last accessed 16th Nov 2010. This website gave me information on Maureen Furniss, one of the authors I have mentioned in the dissertation.

Ben. (2010). Stop Motion Animation Sucks. Available: http://webcache. googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:z3wa9z1iO5kJ:media.gunaxin.com/ stop-motion-animation-sucks/65361+time+and+effort+stop+motion&cd=6&hl= en&ct=clnk&gl=uk. Last accessed 20th Nov 2010. This website helped to back up my statement about the amount of time that goes into making a stop motion film. Blue Sky Studios. (2010). How do we work? Available: http://www. blueskystudios.com/content/process.php. Last accessed 13th Nov 2010. This website gave me a great insight into the production of creating CGI animated characters to prepare them for the animating stage. This not only was helpful in my research but also good for me to know as I may go into animation when I have finished my degree.

Cmoss ,T. (2001). Jules Engels Anything but Still!. Available: http://www. tobeycmossgallery.com/still.html. Last accessed 16th Nov 2010. This website gave me information on Jules Engels who I quote in this dissertation.

Dreamworks and Aardman. (2006). About the Production. Available: http:// www.flushedaway.com/flash/fa_home.html. Last accessed 14th Nov 2010. This website informed me of the coordination between Dreamworks and Aardman to create Flushed Away the movie.

Eaton, V. (2010). A BRIEF HISTORY OF GERTIE THE DINOSAUR. Available: http://www. vegalleries.com/gerthistory.html. Last accessed 20th Nov 2010 This website gave me information about Windsor McCay and his animation ‘Gertie the Dinosaur’.

Elliot, A. (2009). Interview with Adam Elliot – Oscar winning Director/ Clay Animator. Available: http://cutprintreview.com/interviews/adam-elliot- interview/. Last accessed 13th Nov 2010. This website holds an interview with Adam Elliot. The questions that he was asked really helped me with answer the question of stop motions future.

Goldner, J. (2008). The Rostrum Camera. Available: http://www.animationpost. co.uk/doping/4-rostrum.htm. Last accessed 10th Sept 2010 This website helped me to understand the use of a rostrum camera. IMDb. (2010). Taglines for Monsters Inc. Available: http://www.imdb.com/title/ tt0198781/taglines. Last accessed 26th Oct 2010. This website helped me to back up my opinion about the effect Monsters Inc has on children.

Lawrence. (2009). Reviews for Ooglies. Available: http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/tv- programs/ooglies/1369546/. Last accessed 13th Nov 2010. This website allowed me to consider other people’s views on the ‘Ooglies’. It helped to back up my personal views on how good the ‘Ooglies’ is as an animation that includes stop motion and digital techniques.

Loughborough University School of Art and Design. (2010). Research - Professor Paul Wells . Available: http://www.lut.ac.uk/departments/ac/ mainpages/Research/staffpages/paulwells/paulwells.htm. Last accessed 16th Nov 2010. This website gave me information on Paul Wells, one of the authors I have mentioned in the dissertation.

Melodrama Pictures:A. (2007). Adam Elliot Brief Biography. Available: http:// www.neilstoolbox.com/bibliography-creator/reference-website.htm. Last accessed 20th Oct 2010. This website gave me a quote to express the effect Adam Elliot’s films have on the viewer.

Melodrama Pictures:B. (2010). About Adam. Available: http://www.adamelliot. com.au/About_Us.html. Last accessed 20st Oct 2010. This website helped me gain information on the history of Adam Elliot. Melodrama Pictures:C. (2007). Adam Elliot Expanded Biography. Available: http://www.harviekrumpet.com/aboutadam2007.pdf. Last accessed 20th Oct 2010. This website gave me key information about when Adam was born.

Mitchell, D . (2002). The Future of the Cartoon Feature Film . Available: http:// www.zenoshrdlu.com/zenocgi.htm#stop. Last accessed 14th Nov 2010. This website holds a report made by a previous student who studied an MA in History of Film and Visual Media. This was a very useful document to read as it gave me some quotes to include in my work as well as information that was helpful to back up my opinions.

Mosley, J. (2010). Compiled History of Animation. Available: http:// joshuamosley.com/UPenn/courses/Ani/AnimationHistory.html. Last accessed 20th Nov 2010 This website gave me information about James Stuart Blackton and his animation called ‘Humorous Phases of Funny Faces’.

Paul, A. (2010). Stop Motion Animation. Available: http://webcache. googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:3clp5cfZfzUJ:www.cinemas- online.co.uk/website/soapbox.phtml%3Flocalpage%3Dfeatures/stopmotion/ index+realism+stop+motion+animation&cd=5&hl=en&ct=cln. Last accessed 15th Nov 2010. This website gave me information on the realism of stop motion and CGI. I used a quote from the information to back up what I was saying. Pictureshowman. (2004). The Earliest Surviving American Animated Film. Available: http://www.pictureshowman.com/movies_featuredmovie4.cfm. Last accessed 20th Nov 2010. This website gave information about Joseph Plateau, one of the animators I have mentioned in my work.

Pixar. (2010). Behind the scenes. Available: http://www.pixar.com/featurefilms/ inc/behind.html. Last accessed 26th Oct 2010. This website gave me some information about how the films are made and I took a quote from it describing the amount of hairs there is one of the characters, and how difficult it is to animated each one.

Sanders, A. (2010). Phenakistoscope. Available: http://animation.about.com/od/ glossaryofterms/g/phenakistoscope.htm. Last accessed 20th Nov 2010. This website gave information about the Phenakistoscope and how it works to create animated moving images.

Scott, I. (2008). Adam Elliot’s Family Trilogy (1996-1999). Available: http:// ezinearticles.com/?Adam-Elliots-Family-Trilogy-(1996-1999)&id=1331880. Last accessed 28th Oct 2010. This website has a review of all the Adam Elliot films, and I used a quote about the colours that were used in ‘Cousin’.

Sluss, J. (2009). Monsters, Inc.– Blu-ray Disc Review. Available: http:// webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:6rjxS8SQ5wQJ:www. highdefdiscnews.com/%3Fp%3D29452+use+of+colour+in+monsters+inc&cd=3 &hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk. Last accessed 20th Nov 2010. This website holds a review on the film ‘Monsters Inc’ which talks about the use of colour within the film. Tyler, J. Flushed Away . Available: http://www.cinemablend.com/reviews/ Flushed-Away-1890.html. Last accessed 14th Nov 2010. This website has a film review of ‘Flushed Away’ and helped me to explain the techniques that were used to create the film and how it was different for Aardman to create an animation this way.

Wavelength Media. (2010). Persistence of Vision. Available: http://www. mediacollege.com/glossary/p/persistence-of-vision.html. Last accessed 20th Nov 2010. This website gave another side to the argument of the persistence of vision.

Wikipedia. (2010). Kit Laybourne. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit_ Laybourne. Last accessed 16th Nov 2010. This website gave me information on Kit Laybourne, one of the authors that I have mentioned in this dissertation. Illustrations

Shaun The Sheep: Aardman: 2010 http://files.shaunthesheep.com/2009/flock_1280x800.jpg

Slodge’s Last Word: Kirby, J: 2009

Phenakistoscope: Muybridge, E: 1893 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Phenakistoscope_3g07692u.jpg

Gertie the Dinosaur: Winsor McCay’s: 1914 http://www.gertie.org/

Astro boy: Mushi Production: 1963 http://livelikedirt.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html

Cousin: Elliot, A: 1998 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6njuCt5-U4

Monsters Inc: Pixar: 2001 http://www.fwallpapers.net/pics/cartoons/monsters-inc/monsters-inc_10.jpg

Flushed Away: Aardman: Dreamworks: 2006 http://images.allmoviephoto.com/2006_Flushed_Away/2006_flushed_away_008.jpg

Wallace and Gromit: Aardman http://monstervine.com/2009/03/wallace-gromit-grand-adventures-fright-of-the-bumblebees-review/ Ice Age: Blue Sky: 2002 http://www.dan-dare.org/FreeFun/Images/CartoonsMoviesTV/IceAge2Wallpaper800.jpg

Jurassic Park: 1993 http://photos.bravenet.com/272/478/925/3/93FE3893C9.jpg

Toy Story: Pixar: 2005 http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Toy-Story-2--pixar-67401_1024_768.jpg

Ooglies: BBC: 2010 ttp://downloads.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/grab/wallpapers/ooglies/1280_ooglies_wp_doughnutbuilders.jpg

Adam Elliot http://media.kika-dresden.de/kinos/23/adamelliot.jpg

Monsters Inc: Boo: Pixar: 2001 http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Boo-pixar-596136_500_607.jpg

Stuart Little:1999 http://hwcdn.themoviedb.org/backdrops/cb6/4bc92c1f017a3c57fe011cb6/stuart-little-original.jpg