Frame-By-Frame Stop Motion: The Guide to Non-Traditional Animation Techniques

214 Pages·2011·8.26 MB·English

by  Tom Gasek

Advance praise for Frame-by-Frame Stop Motion
“Tom's extensive experience as a stop motion animator, combined with his
knowledge of the field and his natural teaching ability, make this book a clear,
well-organized, and empowering introduction to stop motion animation. This
book will be an invaluable resource for student and teacher alike.”
– Steven Subotnick, animator, educator, and author of
Animation in the Home Digital Studio
“In the digital age it pays to remember that innovative ideas can still be inspired
using even the most basic techniques. This book is a timely reminder that a
rewarding process depends as much on ingenuity as it does on facility.”
– Dave Borthwick, animation director, Bolex Brothers
“A must-have book for any animator's library. Frame-by-Frame is a reminder of all
the magical possibilities animation has to offer and all you need is a camera and
an idea.”
– Jim Capobianco, filmmaker, “Leonardo”
“This book is a wonderfully inspiring, accessible and thorough guide to a number
of techniques that have seldom been written about or charted before. It is an
essential manual for any student, professional or creative person who has ideas—
and wants to be encouraged with a sense of ‘I could do that'—and wants to get
their ideas out there. I just wish this book had been written when I was a student
of animation (I still am, so I will buy it anyway).”
– Nick Park, Academy Award winner and creator of Wallace and Gromit
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Frame-by-Frame
Stop Motion
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Frame-by-Frame
Stop Motion
The Guide to Non-Traditional
Animation Techniques
Tom Gasek
AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON
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Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and
experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices,
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Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in
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ISBN: 978-0-240-81728-6
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Dedication and
Acknowledgments
As in any large endeavor, many people are always involved. Like
filmmaking itself, a team effort is critical to the success of any book, and
Frame-by-Frame Stop Motion is no exception. I have written this book
from my own point of view and acknowledge that it is only one point of
view. I was fortunate to have two friends and colleagues review each of
my chapters and add their comments and observations. Many years ago,
Bryan Papciak, Jeff Sias, and I used to work together in the stop-motion
industry at a studio called Olive Jar in Boston. We came to appreciate our
collective contributions to many projects, and it seemed natural to have
them involved in this process. I am eternally grateful for their input. I am
also grateful for the positive and encouraging attitude of my editor, Katy
Spencer at Focal Press.
The critical elements to this text are the many contemporary artists
and filmmakers that contributed comments and images to this study
of alternative stop-motion techniques. This includes Terry Gilliam, Jan
Svankmajer, PES, Blu, William Kentridge, Dave Borthwick, Nick Upton,
Dave Sproxton and Aardman Animations, Jan Kounen, Caroline Leaf, Evan
Spiradellis, Jim Blashfield, Joan Gratz, Joanna Priestly, Ken Murphy, Miki
Cash, Eric Hanson, Tom Lowe, Yuval and Merav Nathan, Chris Church, Juan
Pablo Zaramella, Jeff Sias, Bryan Papciak, Daniel Sousa, Eugene Mamut,
Joe Lewis, Jamie Caliri, Adam Fisher, Monica Garrison, J. P. Crangle, The
National Film Board of Canada, Lindsay Berkebile, Jordan Greenhalgh, Jason
McLagan, Rachel Fisher, Marlee Coulter, Stevie Ward, Clare Kitson, Nick Park,
Roxann Daniel, and the School of Film and Animation at The Rochester
Institute of Technology. Many more artists and filmmakers are practicing
these techniques than I was able to cite or interview. These frame-by-frame
techniques are as varied as the artists who practice them, and I was able
to touch on only a few approaches. I tried to incorporate principles and
practices that are common to most of these techniques, but I am sure that
I left out a few. My aim is to open up the door a bit wider to handmade
animation approaches. These approaches have been evolving since
technology continues to expand, and this makes these techniques as viable
as ever. All one has to do is scan the web and see what is out there; suddenly
you realize that this is a vast and potentially exciting area of filmmaking. The
old saying “what is old is new” applies to this book, but again, technology
has made these approaches to single-frame filmmaking much more
accessible, and I hope many new filmmakers are able to explore this area of
animation. The book can serve as a guide.
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Dedication and Acknowledgments
So I dedicate this book to all the new filmmakers and established filmmakers
that want to expand their means of expression through frame-by-frame
animation.
Drawn illustrations by Brian Larson.
Photographic illustrations by Tom Gasek and artists cited in each chapter.
viii
Contents
Dedication and Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
Chapter 1: What Are the Possibilities? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Creating Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Silent Films and Beyond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Stop Motion and Its Various Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Chapter 2: Shooting Frame by Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Technique to Serve the Idea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Preproduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Equipment and Setting Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Chapter 3: Pixilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Take Advantage of the Medium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Who Is the Director? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Humor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Shooting on Twos, Fours, and More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Variations on Pixilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
The Moving Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Chapter 4: Time-Lapse Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Expand Your Awareness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
The Intervalometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Understand Your Subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Contrast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
Shutter Speeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
Time-Lapse Rates and Formulas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Time-Lapse Photography and Pixilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
Motion Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
Chapter 5: Cinematography, Lighting, and Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Cameras and Lenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
Camera Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
Lighting for Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
Compositional Beginnings and Ends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78
ix