Stop motion is an animation technique which relies on the manipulation of an object between photographed frames creating the illusion of movement. It is one of my greatest interests in the film world and a technique which I myself have worked with for my short film Rollo and Imara. Stop motion was developed in the 1890’s and has remained popular ever since despite being a painstakingly slow procedure.
The intricate process hasn’t prevented it from becoming a staple of cinema, with some of the most well-known stop motion characters becoming household names. Wallace and Gromit are a prime example of the success of this complex cinematic technique. The films are shot using a style of stop motion which is also known as claymation due to the use of plasticine models and are shot one frame at a time, at a rate of 24 frames per second of film. This makes it an arduous process but is also what makes it special and separate from other forms of cinema.
Stop motion has become increasingly popular in the creation of television adverts as it creates a talking point and such adverts have often become viral hits. The most recent stop motion advert was premiered during the Rio Olympics Opening Ceremony and was created by Honda. The ad, known as ‘The Power of Ridgeline’, was directed by Adam Pesapane and was designed to show the creative side to what would normally be sold as a commercial vehicle used on construction sites. It has already clocked up over 130,000 views on YouTube over a single weekend which proves the popularity of stop motion as an art form.
Stop motion hasn’t just been limited to film or advertising, it also has a close relationship to the music industry and has been adopted by big names such as Coldplay for their music videos. ‘Strawberry Swing’ utilises stop motion alongside chalk drawings to create a superhero narrative and was produced at film resolution, allowing it to be shown in cinemas as well as on video-sharing sites and music channels. Shynola, the group behind the animation, have worked on a number of similar projects with different bands which highlights the growing overlap between music and cinema.
Stop motion allows for the stripping back of a production to its most basic form and the creative process itself requires a great deal of time and effort. Stop motion requires a great deal of focus but can result in a piece of work which has been painstakingly put together and reflects the thought process of the creator. I am hoping to create another stop motion piece in the near future, if you have any questions or comments on this upcoming piece please get in touch.