History and development of stop motion

Part 1
Persistence of vision:
Animation works by using an optical illusion. By presenting a sequence of still images in quick enough succession, the viewer interprets them as a continuous moving image. This is the same principle that enables live action film making and projection to work. Film theorists often refer to this illusion of movement as the persistence of vision.. Persistence of vision works because the human eye and brain can only process 10 to 12 separate images per second, retaining an image for up to a fifteenth of a second. If a subsequent image replaces it in this period of time it will create the illusion of continuity.

Animation in pairs:
Animation is held for 2 frames rather than films where films run at one frame. So animation overall runs at 12 unique frames per second whereas in films it's 24 unique frames.

Thaumatrope:
A thaumatrope is an optical toy that was popular in the 19th century. The invention of the thaumatrope is usually credited to British physician John Ayrton Paris. Paris was said to have used one to demonstrate persistence of vision to the Royal College of Physicians in London in 1824. A thaumatrope works by having 2 images drawn on either side of a circle and attaching string to the sides, when the string is spun, the two images appear to be the same. the visual example I created is shown below with the video. these animations were sold as toys by vendors.

Phenakistoscope:
In 1832, Belgian physicist Joseph Plateau and his sons introduced the phenakistoscope ("spindle viewer").  It was also invented independently in the same year by Simon von Stampfer of Vienna, Austria, who called his invention a stroboscope. the Phenakistoscope was the first widespread animation device that created a fluent illusion of motion. The device was operated by spinning the cardboard disc, and viewing the reflection of the image in a mirror through a series of moving slits.

Example:


Zoetrope:
The zoetrope consists of a cylinder with slits cut vertically in the sides. On the inner surface of the cylinder is a band with images from a set of sequenced pictures. As the cylinder spins, the user looks through the slits at the pictures across. The scanning of the slits keeps the pictures from simply blurring together, and the user sees a rapid succession of images, producing the illusion of motion.William Ensign Lincoln invented the definitive zoetrope in 1865. my own example can be seen below.

Praxinoscope:
The Praxinoscope is a typical optical toy from the 19th century. It consists of a cylinder and a strip of paper showing twelve frames for animation. As the cylinder rotates, stationary mirrors in the centre reveal a ‘single image’ in motion. The Praxinoscope was invented in 1876 by Charles-Émile Reynaud (1844-1918), a Paris science teacher My example is below.


Kinetoscope:
creating the illusion of movement by conveying a strip of perforated film bearing sequential images over a light source with a high-speed shutter.  invented by Thomas A. Edison and William Dickson of the United States in 1891. below is an example of the kinetoscope which is of the creator sneezing.



Info gathered from:
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/explore-animation/0/steps/12222
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaumatrope
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenakistiscope
http://courses.ncssm.edu/gallery/collections/toys/html/exhibit07.htm
http://zoetrope.org/zoetrope-history
http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/exhibits/fancy-names-and-fun-toys/praxinoscope/

Part 2

George pal
Where/When born?: Pal was born in Cegléd, Hungary, in February 1, 1908

George Pal worked with puppets and time lapses. He is behind the films 'The Time Machine' and 'The War of the Worlds'. he began work creating cartoons for children called the puppetoons, these were animated short films featuring a cast of animated puppets

This clip shows the time lapse photography and stop motion used in the Time travel scene.


Willis O'Brien
Where/When born?:March 2, 1886.Oakland, California, U.S.

Though his method of live action mixed with stop motion animation is a standard process today, the special effects techniques developed by Willis O'Brien was ground-breaking.  For the first time, a cellulose-acetate screen was used for rear projection.  This new type of cellulose screen was flexible and stretched over a frame like canvas. He also began using a blue screen behind live action actors to allow them to be matted into existing footage. This technique as well as rear and miniature projection improved the optical process.  Until computer animation became widely used, these techniques were utilized in most monster films until the 1990's.

Ray Harryhausen
Where/When born?: June 29, 1920. Los Angeles, California, U.S

Ray Harryhausen found his fame in creating prehistoric films and the research of Dynamation. His most famous film was 'Jason and the Argonauts', which featured early stop motion footage of a variety of creatures made from clay, such as skeletons and a moving statue.



Phil Tippet
Where/When born?: September 27, 1951 in Berkeley, California, USA

, Tippett headed the ILM animation department with Jon Berg for The Empire Strikes Back (released in 1980). For this film, Tippett co-developed the animation technique called go motion to animate the sinister AT-AT Imperial Walkers and the hybrid alien tauntauns. In 1981 Tippett continued using go motion for Dragonslayer



Otmar Gutmann
Where/When born?: April 24, 1937 in Münstertal/Schwarzwald, Germany

was a German television producer, animator, and director. He is best known for his long-running creation of the British-Swiss stop-motion children's television series Pingu. He produced the show during 1986 to 2000 by a Swiss animation studio named Tricksilmstudio


Tim Burton/Henry Selick
Where/When born?:
Tim: August 25, 1958. Burbank, California, U.S.
Henry: November 30, 1952. Glen ridge, New jersey, united states.

Tim Burton and Henry Sellick work using very detailed puppets and small models. they are well known for their abstract and usually creepy style of film. Most famously, they created 'The Nightmare before Christmas' which was entirely stop motion.


Adam shaheen
Where/When born?: October 13, 1964 (age 52) London, England

He is the founder and owner of Cuppa Coffee Studios where he develops and produces all original programming. Shaheen's credits include shows and movies like JoJo's Circus, Celebrity Deathmatch, Starveillance, Bruno, Bruno and the Banana Bunch, Tigga and Togga, Little People among other works

The Brothers Quay
Where/When born?: 1947 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

The brothers Quay create their film using inorganic items such as dolls or screws, using disassembled and rearranged. The style of their films is unusual and relies heavily on music without much dialogue.



Nick Park
Where/When born?: 6 December 1958. Preston, Lancashire, England

best known as the creator of Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep. His 2000 film Chicken Run is the highest-grossing stop motion animated film. In 1985, he joined the staff of Aardman Animations in Bristol, where he worked as an animator on commercial products (including the video for Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer", where he worked on the dance scene involving oven ready chickens). He also had a part in animating the Pee-wee's Playhouse which featured Paul Reubens.


Info gathered from:

George pal:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Pal
Willis O brien:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willis_H._O%27Brien
Ray harryhausen:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Harryhausen
Phil Tippet:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Tippett#Stop_motion
Otar guttman:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otmar_Gutmann
Tim Burton:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Burton
Adam Shaheen:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Shaheen
Brothers Quay:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_Quay
Nick park:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Park

(Links used to find dates of birth and works created)
Part 3

TV programmes:

Wallace and Gromit appeals to people of all ages. with it's ridiculous plots (for example a penguin with a revolver being chased on a toy train) and it's colourful settings and characters. Postman pat appeals to children primarily due to how colourful it is, it's upbeat theme and simplistic character designs.

Feature Film:



Kubo and the two strings focuses at a more teenage audience with themes such as monsters and a more darker color scheme presented throughout, a more complicated narrative and much more action and adventure than other animated films.

Advertisement:



The xbox commercial is targeted towards everyone because of the highly memorable characters that get created. The Honda advert is targeted at an older audience with it's antique feel of animating with paper and it showing time passing.

Music video:



These are targeted towards more older audiences due to the animation being very artistic, which the vivid colours and creativity and different to the sort of childish animation of Clay modelling.

Part 4

Stop motion is a very powerful story telling medium that I believe began as a more adult aimed audience as most of the older animations had a much deeper meaning and were slightly creepier but as time went on it became a more child friendly medium with things such an pingu and postman pat.

I believe that stop motion won't ever be outdone by computer animation because there are certain feels that can't be captured in computer animation for example the gothic feel of tim burtons films 

just wouldn't be captured well in computer animation. this links to the documentary Pencil to pixel