1. Stop Motion Animation
Techniques
By William Brighouse

2. What is Stop Motion?
Stop Motion describes the process of making a sequence of pictures play in order
at a speed which creates the illusion of movement. This is generally achievable by
taking many photos of an object, though moving it slightly between each
photo, creating an animation.
A well known example of Stop Motion would be the famous ‘Wallace and
Gromit’ animations. All the characters in said animation are made out of
plasticine, and are therefore endlessly pose able. For every photo taken, parts of
the characters are moved slightly. These individual photos are known as ‘Stop-
Frames’. After the shooting, these Stop-Frames are all played quickly to create the
illusion of real movement, much like the different frames that make up an
animated cartoon.
Wallace and Gromit

3. How quickly do the Stop-Frames
change?
This partially comes down to personal preference. Ideally, a stop motion animation would
hold 24 Stop-Frames within each second, though some may wish to attempt higher for smoother
playback, or less with the price of more jagged animation. The frame rate may also need to
be adjusted in some cases to suit the amount of motion present in the pictures. For example,
if a lot of motion takes place between only a few Stop-Frames, using a higher frame rate may
cause too much movement for the viewer to properly comprehend.
The best way to create fluid animation is to use a high framerate with very little movement
between each frame. If done correctly, it can breathe life into the characters.
The plasticine characters are being posed
for the next Stop-Frame

4. Persistence of Vision
Stop Motion also takes advantage of human senses. If an object moves quickly, the human eye
will not process straightaway, leaving a slight after image for roughly one twenty-fifth of a
second.
Try moving your hand quickly right now. If you watch carefully, your hand will still remain in it’s
original position for a split second; this is known as ‘Persistence of Vision’. Naturally, this comes
into play when working with stop motion. By applying the correct framerate and motion
between Stop-Frames, persistence of vision can be used to the editors advantages, as it will
appear that the frames moves more smoothly than intended.
This does not necessarily mean that using many stop-frames is a fruitless effort. The effect still
persists at lower frame rates, though it appears almost lifelike when backed up by a higher frame
rate.
A very early, yet good example would be Edward Muybridge’s ‘Running Horse’ animation, which
we will be looking at in more in depth shortly.

5. What must be used in Stop Motion?
What MUSN’T be used? Stop Motion is limited by no means whatsoever. In terms of objects
that can be animated. Though plasticine is used in most professional productions due to it’s
endless artistic potential and pose-ability, many other objects, even real people, can be
animated using the same method.
Stop Motion is a very flexible form of animation, and plasticine can be difficult for beginners
(the figures could break, be squashed, etc). Stop motion in general is good for beginners, as it
is simple to understand (though not always easy to create), though plasticine is very easy to
mess up, and often not easy to fix, so more simple, less poseable objects are ideal for starting
out, particularly Lego as they can easily be snapped into place.
Lego Stop Motion

6. The Pioneers of 3D Stop Motion
The conception of Stop Motion can be credited to quite a few notable names, some of
which were known primarily for other feats in life. Thomas Edison, for example, is known
for inventing the light bulb, yet he is also known for presenting one of the earliest stop
motion productions in history, ‘Fun in a Bakery Shop’.
The conception of Stop Motion can be tracked as far back as the 1800s, when film itself
was beginning to see the light of day. We shall be looking at the various pioneers from
past to present who played and continue to play a large role in the industry.

7. Edward J. Muybridge
Muybridge’s ‘horse’ animation.
Arguably one of the most important pioneers of 3D stop motion, Edward Muybridge was
an English photographer of the 1800s; best known in the stop motion industry for his
‘running horse’ animation.
Muybridge’s initial goal was to prove the theory that a horse is airborne at least briefly
during a gallop, which he accomplished in 1877 after successfully photographing such
a point in the horse’s motion. Muybridge further proved this theory by taking several
pictures of a horse running, placing them one after the other to create a moving image
of a horse’s gallop. This animation demonstrated exactly which point of the gallop the
horse is airborne, though this is the least of the industry’s interests; Muybridge had
created an animation of a running horse by simply using photographs,and arguably one
of the earliest forms of animation; an effort which can still be appreciated by today’s
standards.
However, it is worth noting that this animation was not neccesarily ‘animated’ at the time
of it’s creation, but rather each frame of the animation was created. It’s thanks to another
pioneer of the 1800s that such motion could be created…

8. William George Horner
A ‘Zoetrope’ or ‘Daedalum’.
William George Horner was a mathematician of his time, known to have published
several books related to this as well as other basic subjects such as English Language
and History. Horner is erhaps best known for his conception of the ‘Daedalum’, a modern
reimagining of an old device, originally created in China, known as the ‘Zoetrope’.
The Daedalum generally consists of a cylinder with a series of images on the inside and
holes on the outside. When spun, the pictures appear to move in succession if one looks
through the holes on the side. This is one of the earliest, if not the earliest animation tool
used in history, and it’s conception not only inspired ideas for the creation of more
practical animation tools, but most likely inspired many to try their own hand at animating.
Whilst actual stop motion was not a virtue of William George Horner, his Daedalum
opened up endless possibilities for others to take advantage of, eventually leading to
animations such as the 1897 short ‘The Humpty Dumpty Circus’, the world’s first
professional stop motion production, in which several toys come to life at the absence of
humans and display a circus performance. (Sadly, this animation has been officially
labeled as ‘lost’, and very little is known of it to this day).

9. Edwin Stanton Porter
Edwin Stanton porter is known in the Stop Motion industry mostly for his early short film
‘Fun in a Bakery Shop’, the second oldest application of Stop Motion animation (though
considered the oldest by some due to the lack of information on ‘The Humpty Dumpty
Circus’. ‘Fun in a Bakery Shop’ was created by Edwin S. Porter and released in 1902 by
Thomas Edison; this could suggest that it was presented as a ‘tech-demo’ demonstrating
the genre’s capabilities, as Thomas Edison was known forconceiving many forms of
revolutionary technology.
‘Fun in a Bakery Shop’ depicts a baker as he procrastinates in his workplace, using
dough to create the faces of celebrities using dough that ‘shape shifts’ before the viewers
eyes. As very few have seen ‘The Humpty Dumpy Circus’, this animation received
significantly more media attention and is still frequently referenced as a revolutionary
inspiration for countless stop motion ventures today, as a film that blended live action
with stop motion, much like the film adaption of Roal Dahl’s childrens story ‘James and
the Giant Peach, and MTV’s most played music video as of 2011, ‘Sledgehammer’, also
known as one of the first proffesional productions that contemporary animator ‘Nick
Park’ worked on…

10. Nick Park
Known to some as the end-all master of stop motion, Nick Park has created
many familiar titles such as Creature Comforts, Chicken Run and the beloved
Wallace and Gromit.
Park’s early career consisted of animation for several television advertisements,
as well as the aforementioned ‘Sledgehammer’ music video. His Wallace and
Gromit animation ‘A Grand Day Out’ was released in 1989 after nearly twenty
years of production, and won the BAFTA Best Animated Film Award a year later.
Nick Park also won his first Oscar with another short animated film, ‘Creature
Comforts’, which consisted of human voices from real interviews being placed
over a plasticine animal speaking in synch with said human’s voice.
All these animations are part of Aardman Animations, a proffesional animating
company known almost exclusively for their clay animations.

11. The Modern Stop Motion Industry
Whilst most animated films are now CGI, 3D Stop Motion is far from out of the picture.
Aardman Animations are still producing the children’s television series ‘Shaun the
Sheep’, and a feature film is currently under development.
Though Aardman Animations are well known in the stop motion industry, esteemed
Director ‘Tim Burton’ has also created two animated 3D stop motion feature films, ‘The
Nightmare Before Christmas’ and ‘The Corpse Bride’, the former of which is frequently
looked back upon as a masterpiece in animation, and holds a vast cult following for it’s
unique style and memorable characters.
‘Laika’ is also known to have produced the feature length film ‘Coraline’, with several
key production members from Tim Burton’s ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’, and
currently have another stop-motion in the pipeline titled ‘Paranorman’.
Despite being somewhat overshadowed by CG-I animation, the stop motion industry
is still thriving and likely will continue to do so for many years to come.

12. And that concludes this analysis of the techniques and
History of Stop Motion
Thank you for taking the time to view this presentation!
~William Brighouse