Bibliography

Phenakistoscopes (1833)- The Public Domain Review
Juxtapoz Magazine- A Short History of the Phenakistoscope
Stop Motion- Wikipedia
Frame Rates: A beginner's guide- TechSmith
Auguste and Louis Lumiere- Wikipedia
Thomas Edison- Wikipedia
Edward Muybridge- Wikipedia
Willis O'Brien- Biography- YourDictionary
Ray Harryhausen- American Filmmaker- Britannica.com
Jan Svankmajer- Out of my head- The Guardian
Where to begin with the Quay Brothers- BFI
Where to begin with Tim Burton- BFI
Nick Park- Wikipedia
Meet Nick Park- WallaceandGromit.com
Charley Says- Wikipedia
King Kong (1933 film)- Wikipedia
Joe and Petunia- Wikipedia
Early Man- BFI
WallaceandGromit.com/NPower
Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel song)- Wikipedia
Donkey Kong- Wikipedia
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Creature Comforts- Wikipedia
Timelapse Photography- Wikipedia
Plasticine- Wikipedia
Clay animation- Wikipedia
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Cutout animation- Wikipedia
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Stop motion- Wikipedia.

My Test Animation

Techniques and Formats:

Timelapse: The benefits of using Timelapse are that the resolution of the image looks extremely clear and picks up extremely minute and small details of whatever it is that is being filmed. The drawbacks of using timelapse is that because the resolution of the image being used on timelapse is so clear, it means that more data is taken up because of it, which means that more footage has to be deleted in order for new footage to be filmed.

Plastescine: The benefits of using plasticine are that it can give off an extremely vivid and unique look and since the technology surrounding plasticine stop motion animation has developed so much, a lot can be accomplished using it. However, the drawbacks to using plasticine are that it does take a lot of time to get right, and if not edited correctly, footage using plasticine could come out extremely choppy. Making plasticine models can also be extremely time consuming as it takes a lot of time for a model to be realistic and lifelike. 

Claymation: The benefits of using claymation are that clay models can be relatively easy to make and can be moved to the desired position extremely easily without any major problems. The drawbacks to using claymation however are that the models may still look extremely unrealistic and the lighting/heat from light equipment may dry the models out, making them much harder to work with. Some prominent examples of Claymation include Morph, as well as many Aardman productions including Wallace and Gromit and their latest offering Early Man (2018). 

Found Objects: The benefits of using found objects are that they can create a unique and striking object from the simplest items, such as kitchen cutlery or old mechanical equipment. The drawback to using found objects however are that they can be extremely time consuming to produce which may be difficult when they need to be used in a small amount of time.

Cut out: The benefits of using cut out are that they can give off a unique and striking look using very little material. TV shows such as South Park have achieved very striking and iconic images with very little material. However, like found objects this approach can be extremely time consuming and takes a lot of patience, as it can be hard to get right. South Park is an example of a cut out animation that has achieved worldwide success, showing that cut out animation cut be an extremely popular method of animation in order to create tv shows and other forms of media.  

Puppetry: The benefits of puppetry are that the variation in which puppets can be made is extremely large, ranging from classic (Punch and Judy) to more disturbing and surreal (Spitting Image). The downsides to Puppetry are that they can be time consuming to make and operate, which means there needs to be lots of time spent learning how to operate them. A TV show like Spitting Image is an example of a TV show that has achieved moderate popularity through its use of puppetry. 

Human Stop Motion: The benefits of human stop motion are that a unique and wacky look can be made from using it, which can make this technique stand out among other similar techniques. The downsides to it are that it needs to be edited extremely well otherwise, it may look messy and choppy when finished, and not have the original effect it was originally intended to have. An example of Human Stop Motion Animation would be the music video for Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" (1986), which was extremely progressive and almost unheard of for it's time.

TV: An example of a TV show that uses stop motion animation is Creature Comforts, and this TV show in particular really is ground-breaking for the time it was made. The reason why Creature Comforts is considered so groundbreaking in terms of its style and execution is because it marked a cultural shift in the way advertising was used in UK Television. It showed a shift from the consumerism and egotism of the 1980s to what was deemed a more sensitive and caring approach in the early 1990s and Creature Comforts has always been considered a prime example of this phenomena. It's use of humour is also to be noted as well, mixing surreal and bizarre events with mundane characters to create extremely amusing results, and it is here were Park's work takes a different turn and caters not only to a young audience but also an adult audience as well.

Websites: An example of a website that uses stop motion animation is Aardman.com, and since Aardman is a company that specialise in stop motion animation, their website explains a lot about their company and how they operate. It also explains a lot of the processes of stop motion that go into their films and how the creative process works. It’s use of colourful animation shows that it is aimed at children.

Computer Games: An example of a video game would be Nintendo’s “Donkey Kong.” Released in 1981, the video game was and remains extremely ground-breaking to this day, partly because it used animation in video games in a way that was extremely ground-breaking and unheard of for the time, the other most famous animation is video games up to that point being the rather primitive Pong 1972). The video game used fully animated characters that the player could control fully, and for this very reason it remains a turning point in animation in video games history. Many games that are being made even today are influenced by it, so it’s importance and influence cannot be ignored. It’s colourful and vivid nature meant that it was targeted towards a teenage audience.

Music Videos: An example of a music video would be Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer”, released in April 1986. The reason this particular music video works so well and is so effective was because at the time nothing like this had been done before. While there were certain early stop motion animation films, nothing like this had been done before in the form of a music video, and for the year 1986, it is really quite groundbreaking to see something this advanced being accomplished so early on in the life of Stop Motion Animation. The audience for the music video would have been Peter Gabriel fans, so around the age of early 30s to early 40s, and the reason this video works so well for that particular audience is because at that time that audience would not have seen anything like this before, and this video in particular really showed the power of stop motion animation and what it could do.