The Evolution of Stop-motion Animation Technique Through 120 Years of Technological Innovations

Vincenzo Maselli

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijla.20180603.12

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The Evolution of Stop-motion Animation Technique Through 120 Years of Technological Innovations

Vincenzo Maselli

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 6, Issue 3)

Received: 20 June 2018 Accepted: 17 July 2018 Published: 18 August 2018

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Abstract

Stop-motion animation history has been put on paper by several scholars and practitioners who tried to organize 120 years of technological innovations and material experiments dealing with a huge literature. Bruce Holman (1975), Neil Pettigrew (1999), Ken Priebe (2010), Stefano Bessoni (2014), and more recently Adrián Encinas Salamanca (2017), provided the most detailed even tough partial attempts of systematization, and designed historical reconstructions by considering specific periods of time, film lengths or the use of stop-motion as special effect rather than an animation technique. This article provides another partial historical reconstruction of the evolution of stop-motion and outlines the main events that occurred in the development of this technique, following criteria based on the innovations in the technology of materials and manufacturing processes that have influenced the fabrication of puppets until the present day. The systematization follows a chronological order and takes into account events that changed the technique of a puppets’ manufacturing process as a consequence of the use of either new fabrication processes or materials. Starting from the accident that made the French film-pioneer Georges Méliès discover the trick of the replacement technique at the end of the nineteenth century, the reconstruction goes through 120 years of experiments and films. “Build up” puppets fabricated by the Russian puppet animator Ladislaw Starevicz with insect exoskeletons, the use of clay puppets and the innovations introduced by LAIKA entertainment in the last decade such as Stereoscopic photography and the 3D computer printed replacement pieces, and then the increasing influence of digital technologies in the process of puppet fabrication are some of the main considered events. Technology transfers, new materials’ features, innovations in the way of animating puppets, are the main aspects through which this historical analysis approaches the previously mentioned events. This short analysis is supposed to remind and demonstrate that stop-motion animation is an interdisciplinary occasion of both artistic expression and technological experimentation, and that its evolution and aesthetic is related to cultural, geographical and technological issues. Lastly, if the technology of materials and processes is a constantly evolving field, what future can be expected for this cinematographic technique? The article ends with this open question and without providing an answer it implicitly states the role of stop-motion as a driving force for innovations that come from other fields and are incentivized by the needs of this specific sector.

Published in	International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 6, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijla.20180603.12
Page(s)	54-62
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2018. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Stop-motion Animation, Puppets, Interdisciplinary Approach, Innovation Material Driven, Technology Transfers

References

[1]	Harryhausen, R. & Dalton, T. (2008), A Century of Stop-Motion Animation: From Melies to Aardman. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, pp. 21- 73, 165, 204-223.
[2]	Holman, L. B. (1975), Puppet animation in the cinema. History and technique. New York: A. S. Barnes, pp. 12-56.
[3]	Salamanca, A. E. (2017), Animando Lo Imposible. Los orígenes de la animación stop-motion (1899-1945). Madrid: Diabolo Ediciones.
[4]	Priebe, K. A. (2010), The Advanced Art of Stop-Motion Animation. Clifton Park: Cengage Learning Inc, pp. 4-57, 139-142, 272-276.
[5]	Pettigrew, N. (1999), The stop-motion filmography. A critical guide to 297 features using puppet animation, Vol 1. Jefferson: McFarland & Company Inc. Publishers, p. 10.
[6]	Bessoni, S. (2014), Stop-motion. La fabbrica delle meraviglie. Modena: Logos Ed, pp. 8-16.
[7]	Lord, P. & Sibley, B. (2015), Cracking animation: The Aardman book of 3D animation. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd, pp. 25-53.
[8]	Furniss, M. (2017). Animation the Global History. London: Thames & Hudson, p. 48.
[9]	Brierton, T. (2004), Stop-Motion Puppet sculpting. A manual of Foam Injection, Build-Up and Finishing Techniques, Jefferson. North Carolina, and London: McFarland & Company Inc. Publishers, pp. 1-47.
[10]	Freirson, M. (1994), Clay animation. New York: Twayne Publishers, pp. 31- 43.
[11]	Shaw, S. (2004), Stop motion: craft skills for model animation. London: Focal Press, p. 77.
[12]	Polo, E. (2008), Mi piego, ma non mi spezzo! Plastilina, Pongo® e paste per modellare. In: AIM magazine. Ferrara: Pacini Editore, p. 27.
[13]	Shires, J. (2001), Careers in computer animation, New York: The Rosen publishing group Inc., p. 50.
[14]	Alger, J. (2012), The Art and Making of Para Norman. San Francisco: Chronicle books, pp. 50.
[15]	Goldberg, D. (2018) History of 3D printing: It’s older Than You Are (that is if you’re under 30). Retrieved from https://www.autodesk.com/redshift/history-of-3d-printing/
[16]	Dima, M. (2013), A design-led approach for transferring the embodied skills of puppet stop-motion animators into haptic workspaces, PhD thesis, Edinburgh College of Art.
[17]	N. a. Eye Compositing Videos from Seven Minutes in the Warsaw Ghetto. Retrieved from https://itsoncraft.com/eye-co mpositing-videos-from-seven-minutes-in-the-warsaw-ghetto/
[18]	Sfetcu, N. (2014), The Art of movies, ebook.

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Vincenzo Maselli. (2018). The Evolution of Stop-motion Animation Technique Through 120 Years of Technological Innovations. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 6(3), 54-62. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20180603.12

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Vincenzo Maselli. The Evolution of Stop-motion Animation Technique Through 120 Years of Technological Innovations. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2018, 6(3), 54-62. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20180603.12

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Vincenzo Maselli. The Evolution of Stop-motion Animation Technique Through 120 Years of Technological Innovations. Int J Lit Arts. 2018;6(3):54-62. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20180603.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20180603.12,
  author = {Vincenzo Maselli},
  title = {The Evolution of Stop-motion Animation Technique Through 120 Years of Technological Innovations},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {6},
  number = {3},
  pages = {54-62},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20180603.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20180603.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20180603.12},
  abstract = {Stop-motion animation history has been put on paper by several scholars and practitioners who tried to organize 120 years of technological innovations and material experiments dealing with a huge literature. Bruce Holman (1975), Neil Pettigrew (1999), Ken Priebe (2010), Stefano Bessoni (2014), and more recently Adrián Encinas Salamanca (2017), provided the most detailed even tough partial attempts of systematization, and designed historical reconstructions by considering specific periods of time, film lengths or the use of stop-motion as special effect rather than an animation technique. This article provides another partial historical reconstruction of the evolution of stop-motion and outlines the main events that occurred in the development of this technique, following criteria based on the innovations in the technology of materials and manufacturing processes that have influenced the fabrication of puppets until the present day. The systematization follows a chronological order and takes into account events that changed the technique of a puppets’ manufacturing process as a consequence of the use of either new fabrication processes or materials. Starting from the accident that made the French film-pioneer Georges Méliès discover the trick of the replacement technique at the end of the nineteenth century, the reconstruction goes through 120 years of experiments and films. “Build up” puppets fabricated by the Russian puppet animator Ladislaw Starevicz with insect exoskeletons, the use of clay puppets and the innovations introduced by LAIKA entertainment in the last decade such as Stereoscopic photography and the 3D computer printed replacement pieces, and then the increasing influence of digital technologies in the process of puppet fabrication are some of the main considered events. Technology transfers, new materials’ features, innovations in the way of animating puppets, are the main aspects through which this historical analysis approaches the previously mentioned events. This short analysis is supposed to remind and demonstrate that stop-motion animation is an interdisciplinary occasion of both artistic expression and technological experimentation, and that its evolution and aesthetic is related to cultural, geographical and technological issues. Lastly, if the technology of materials and processes is a constantly evolving field, what future can be expected for this cinematographic technique? The article ends with this open question and without providing an answer it implicitly states the role of stop-motion as a driving force for innovations that come from other fields and are incentivized by the needs of this specific sector.},
 year = {2018}
}

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N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20180603.12
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Author Information

Vincenzo Maselli

Department of Planning, Design and Technology of Architecture, “Sapienza” University, Rome, Italy

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Vincenzo Maselli. (2018). The Evolution of Stop-motion Animation Technique Through 120 Years of Technological Innovations. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 6(3), 54-62. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20180603.12

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ACS Style

Vincenzo Maselli. The Evolution of Stop-motion Animation Technique Through 120 Years of Technological Innovations. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2018, 6(3), 54-62. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20180603.12

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AMA Style

Vincenzo Maselli. The Evolution of Stop-motion Animation Technique Through 120 Years of Technological Innovations. Int J Lit Arts. 2018;6(3):54-62. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20180603.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20180603.12,
  author = {Vincenzo Maselli},
  title = {The Evolution of Stop-motion Animation Technique Through 120 Years of Technological Innovations},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {6},
  number = {3},
  pages = {54-62},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20180603.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20180603.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20180603.12},
  abstract = {Stop-motion animation history has been put on paper by several scholars and practitioners who tried to organize 120 years of technological innovations and material experiments dealing with a huge literature. Bruce Holman (1975), Neil Pettigrew (1999), Ken Priebe (2010), Stefano Bessoni (2014), and more recently Adrián Encinas Salamanca (2017), provided the most detailed even tough partial attempts of systematization, and designed historical reconstructions by considering specific periods of time, film lengths or the use of stop-motion as special effect rather than an animation technique. This article provides another partial historical reconstruction of the evolution of stop-motion and outlines the main events that occurred in the development of this technique, following criteria based on the innovations in the technology of materials and manufacturing processes that have influenced the fabrication of puppets until the present day. The systematization follows a chronological order and takes into account events that changed the technique of a puppets’ manufacturing process as a consequence of the use of either new fabrication processes or materials. Starting from the accident that made the French film-pioneer Georges Méliès discover the trick of the replacement technique at the end of the nineteenth century, the reconstruction goes through 120 years of experiments and films. “Build up” puppets fabricated by the Russian puppet animator Ladislaw Starevicz with insect exoskeletons, the use of clay puppets and the innovations introduced by LAIKA entertainment in the last decade such as Stereoscopic photography and the 3D computer printed replacement pieces, and then the increasing influence of digital technologies in the process of puppet fabrication are some of the main considered events. Technology transfers, new materials’ features, innovations in the way of animating puppets, are the main aspects through which this historical analysis approaches the previously mentioned events. This short analysis is supposed to remind and demonstrate that stop-motion animation is an interdisciplinary occasion of both artistic expression and technological experimentation, and that its evolution and aesthetic is related to cultural, geographical and technological issues. Lastly, if the technology of materials and processes is a constantly evolving field, what future can be expected for this cinematographic technique? The article ends with this open question and without providing an answer it implicitly states the role of stop-motion as a driving force for innovations that come from other fields and are incentivized by the needs of this specific sector.},
 year = {2018}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Evolution of Stop-motion Animation Technique Through 120 Years of Technological Innovations
AU  - Vincenzo Maselli
Y1  - 2018/08/18
PY  - 2018
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20180603.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20180603.12
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 54
EP  - 62
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20180603.12
AB  - Stop-motion animation history has been put on paper by several scholars and practitioners who tried to organize 120 years of technological innovations and material experiments dealing with a huge literature. Bruce Holman (1975), Neil Pettigrew (1999), Ken Priebe (2010), Stefano Bessoni (2014), and more recently Adrián Encinas Salamanca (2017), provided the most detailed even tough partial attempts of systematization, and designed historical reconstructions by considering specific periods of time, film lengths or the use of stop-motion as special effect rather than an animation technique. This article provides another partial historical reconstruction of the evolution of stop-motion and outlines the main events that occurred in the development of this technique, following criteria based on the innovations in the technology of materials and manufacturing processes that have influenced the fabrication of puppets until the present day. The systematization follows a chronological order and takes into account events that changed the technique of a puppets’ manufacturing process as a consequence of the use of either new fabrication processes or materials. Starting from the accident that made the French film-pioneer Georges Méliès discover the trick of the replacement technique at the end of the nineteenth century, the reconstruction goes through 120 years of experiments and films. “Build up” puppets fabricated by the Russian puppet animator Ladislaw Starevicz with insect exoskeletons, the use of clay puppets and the innovations introduced by LAIKA entertainment in the last decade such as Stereoscopic photography and the 3D computer printed replacement pieces, and then the increasing influence of digital technologies in the process of puppet fabrication are some of the main considered events. Technology transfers, new materials’ features, innovations in the way of animating puppets, are the main aspects through which this historical analysis approaches the previously mentioned events. This short analysis is supposed to remind and demonstrate that stop-motion animation is an interdisciplinary occasion of both artistic expression and technological experimentation, and that its evolution and aesthetic is related to cultural, geographical and technological issues. Lastly, if the technology of materials and processes is a constantly evolving field, what future can be expected for this cinematographic technique? The article ends with this open question and without providing an answer it implicitly states the role of stop-motion as a driving force for innovations that come from other fields and are incentivized by the needs of this specific sector.
VL  - 6
IS  - 3
ER  -

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