The Art & Craft of Stop Motion Animation, from historical to current modern use ... including Retro & Classic Special FX ... miniatures, models, matte paintings, forced perspective tricks, in-camera effects, etc.
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Below is a behind the scenes of of a special effects sequence that Tippett Studio did for the feature 'Alien: Romulus'. It is somewhat short and some scenes are time-lapsed and speeded-up. Remember this trick ... in the Youtube video players you can change the playback speed. This is a useful tool if you want to slow down the video speed. You will be able to observe animation or movements in more detail including videos of real animals or people. Click on the gear icon at the bottom of the player. For this video I recommend speed .5, or you can even go slower at .25. I do this on a laptop computer. I do not know if this works on your mobile phones. First, watch it at regular speed then afterwards you can watch at slower speed.Geez ... I sure went off topic and down a rabbit hole ... LOL!😄
Here you go ....
Befores and Afters is an online special effects focused magazine by subscription service, however many times they provide free teasers & samples of their magazine content. B &A did a very good article about Tippett Studio doing this special effects for this sequence. You old schoolers may remember Cinefex magazine. Well, Befores and Afters has captured that similar vibe. Click the link below to read the article which includes some photos.
About a month ago the behind the scenes of the Disney Skeleton Crew series was posted. You can revisit here >> What's a Tet'niss? (Star Wars) . Well, Disney or Tippett Studio posted another follow-up behind the scenes of the Crab Creature. So this could be called a Part 2. It is short about 2 minutes, and so, do not forget that you have the option to change the speed and watch it in slow motion so that you can carefully study the details.
STOP MOTION WORKS 'Seal' - REAL Hand-Made Certified™ ( A.I.)
Among the few craftsmen who specialize in classic stop-motion creature and character puppet fabrication, Eduardo Oropeza stands out. Hailing from Mexico, Eduardo brings a unique twist to the tradition. Unlike many of his peers who gravitate towards CGI or digital effects animation, Eduardo has chosen to immerse himself in this hands-on creative niche. By doing so, he continues the legacy of the iconic stop-motion animation master, Ray Harryhausen.
Eduardo has collaborated with the exceptionally talented animator >>> Justin Rasch. I hope they continue to work together, as they would make a formidable team. As an independent production studio, they could offer their services in mixed media and stop-motion animation. Traditional animation will always captivate audiences, despite the prevalence of CGI and the current surge of A.I. generated animations.
Justin collaborates with various puppet fabricator artists, tailoring each puppet character design to be more stylized or cartoon-esque as needed. Eduardo contributed to the Del Toro / Gustafson, Oscar winning 'Pinocchio', working with the 2nd unit production team in Guadalajara, Mexico. If Eduardo were to come to Portland, Oregon which is currently a hotbed for stop-motion animation, his creative talents would undoubtedly be in high demand!
Eduardo has much social media content and I cannot post the many photos or videos here, but instead, these are the links ... his handle is TRexProduction3190
Take a look at this unique collaboration ...Eduardo Oropeza's detailed realistic stop motion puppets and Justin Rasch's awesome animation ... fabrication & stop motion, all hands-on tactile REAL!
STOP MOTION WORKS 'Seal' - REAL Hand-Made Certified™ ( A.I.)
Note - Any photos, 'click twice', then again 'one click', to zoom in or for larger image.
There are many AI generators out there, and now, free one's which I used here. My opinion of it ... "Meh" 😕. To me, it does NOT feel 'creative' ... you know, just typing 'words'. Like many Artists, Craftspeople, and Makers, we all have the PASSION to WORK with our HANDS to create & build with the Real & Tactile.
Maybe AI ... to spark some ideas but I am not sure. I gave AI something that is 'technical' and of course, 'it' does not understand the actual technical & mechanical workings of a stop motion armature.
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This is the prompt / text I typed ... "A stop motion jointed armature for an octopus creature". Apparently, Mr. AI cannot determine how many tentacles to use. See below, photos 1 to 4.
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For Photos 5 to 8 below, this is what I wrote, "A stop motion jointed armature for an octopus creature having 8 tentacles". I specifically requested eight tentacles but as you can see, in some of the photos, Mr. AI is still confused
Note - Any photos, click, then again, for larger image. Also, the video player option at Full Screen
On my facebook page, someone reminded me about Robocop 2. This was released in 1990. WTF, that was 33 years ago? Also, just think for a moment ... the original Robocop came out in 1987 ... 36 years ago. NO, I cannot take this anymore ... somebody ... SLOWN DOWN the fricken TIME CLOCK! 😠
Robocop 2 was directed by Irvin Kershner (Empire Strikes Back). He replaced another director and there was some minor controversy about that. The original Robocop was directed by Paul Verhoeven and his style was more gritty & expicit. By comparison, Irvin has a more sanitized style.
We are not here to discuss about directors or the mundane aspects of filmmaking, but instead, to explore the Special Effects of Robocop 2. For its time, it was a tour de force in blood, sweat, & tears in producing the effects work. In 1990, there was NO digital or CGI. All the visual effects done ol' school. Of course you know that Robocop 2 used the stop motion animation technique. There were NO Frame Grabbers, NODragonFrame, NOStop Motion Pro. It was literally Harryhausen method of stop motion. You only had Surface Gauges to keep track of the frame to frame incremental movements.
Take a look below at this end battle scene between the Caine cyborg robot and Robcop ... astounding work!
It was not just stop motion but much 'practical effects' were use ... model makers, full size props, explosives, make-up & suit prosthetics, etc. As I said, no digital computers at the time. Robocop 2 used Rear Projection Harryhausen style, to composite the live action with the stop motion puppet work. In addition, Bluescreen composting using the Optical Printer. In those days, that sure was painstaking work. It's a miracle how traditional effects were done compared to today's comfy computer mouse clicking effects. In general, Robocop 2 production was humongous ... the screen/film credits is lengthy.
According to the official screen/film credits of Robocop 2 ... it was primarily Seven Stop Motion Animators that did the hands on 'pushing of the puppets' ... Tom St. Amand, Randall Dutra, Justin Kohn, Mark Sullivan, Eric Leighton, Peter Kleinow, and Don Waller.
This MAKING OF / BEHIND the Scenes, appears to be from the 2017 Robocop 2, Blu-Ray, Special Collectors Edition. It is LONG at about 1 Hour & 49 Minutes. Here is the cut version, focusing on technical aspects of the Special Effects, about 30 minutes long. Again, this was from 2017. You will see Justin Kohn, Randy Dutra, and others commenting. Also, some unique behind the scenes in the Tippett Studios BEFORE it later went CGI. Watch ....
If you wish to watch the entire Making Of Robocop 2 ... go here LINK
Here is another behind the scenes , going back to 2014 from the Youtube TESTED channel ... Phil Tippett discussing Robocop 2 ....
I cannot keep up with Justin Rasch! Recently, I posted about his behind the scenes He-Man project ... and now .... he springs this on us 😀
Justin has referred to this as a 'Monster' or 'Creature' but of course it is the Terror Dog that made its appearance in the original Ghostbusters (1984). There were actually two Terror Dogs, a male & female. The shorter horned Terror Dog was the female.Only one stop motion puppet was fabricated ... they just switched the horns and optically cloned the puppet to make it appear that there were 2 Terror Dogs in the same scenes.
This Terror Dog stop motion puppet was constructed by the incredibly talented artist, Eduardo Oropeza who is a resident of the country of Mexico. At Eduardo's Instagram, he has posted additional photos of the Terror Dog puppet. Amazingly, from what I see, Eduardo does most of his puppet construction using 'build up' method. His Youtube channel demonstrates some of the puppet fabrication technique.
The stop motion puppet has a Ball & Socket armature inside it.* The overall puppet size appears to be about 11 - 12 inches long (28cm - 30cm), head to tail. The Terror Dog puppet in the original Ghostbusters was much larger and as many of us, may already know, the creature's final design was by Randall W. Cook and he also did the hands on stop motion animation.
*Update / Correction: It was 'planned' to have Ball & Socket armature but later, Justin preferred to have Wire armature in the Terror Dog stop motion puppet. Justin is still able to get smooth animation with wire armatures!
Okay ... here are some Teaser shorts that Justin Rasch has released ....
If you did not know, back in 2009, Peter Jackson (movie director) acquired an original 1933 King Kong metal skeletal armature, at a Christie's Auction. It is now in his private collection. Most everyone is familiar with the Bob Burns (collector, cinema historian) as the custodian of the other original Kong armature #2. Kong armature #1 was somewhat underground & remained hidden, but many years later it made a reappearance, and in 2009, Christie's offered it as an auction piece and that is when Peter Jackson purchased armature #1.
In 2016, Adam Savage ('Tested' Youtube channel), visited Peter Jackson's 'Collection Cave' at his New Zealand home.When I first saw Adam's video, it has always bothered me that someone altered or mis-positioned the PJ Kong Armature Torso/Chest block section. PJ's Kong armature chest block is backwards, and for a Gorilla, that is not anatomically correct. Both LEFT & RIGHT Kong ARMS are attached to the Chest Block which should be on the FRONT of the upper armature section. Adam Savage's video interview will be included here. Pay attention to the the armature upper shoulder area.
At the Christie's Auction, the Kong armature was correctly posed & displayed with the chest block in the front forward position.
However, afterwards, when Peter Jackson has the armature in his possession, we see this. Peter Jackson and Bob Burns displaying their Kong armatures.
When Peter and Bob met, they laid both armatures on a flat surface, side by side.
Historical Note: KONG Armature #1 (Long Face), was the FIRST armature made and used for the Log & Sailor encounter scenes, the infamous Kong vs T-Rex battle, and also the distant shot of Kong climbing the Empire State Building. Kong #1 might also have been used in other shots. KONG Armature #2 (Round Face) was the SECOND armature made. Kong puppet #2 was used in various scenes such as the Kong & Anne Darrow first encounter, also the final scene at the top of Empire State building. Armature #1 was larger (22 inches / 55.8cm) than Armature #2 (19.5 inches / 49.5cm). After all the rubber & fur taxidermy is done, covering the armatures, then when both puppets are posed & positioned in the hunched over gorilla stance ... the final puppets appeared to be approximately 18 inches (45.7cm) overall size. Gorilla's do not have a straight posture stance like a human.
In the photo below this is a close-up of the Bob Burns armature with the chest block in front, in the forward position, which is correct!
My theory is ... when Peter Jackson purchased the Kong Armature, it was delivered / shipped to him at his New Zealand residence. I am speculating that perhaps the New Zealand 'Customs', first inspected the armature shipment and perhaps the customs agents handling the Kong armature, twisted and wrongly positioned the armature upper section with the chest block facing backwards.When Peter received the 'inspected' shipping box with the Kong armature inside, and then he opened & unpacked it, and then perhaps, Peter was not aware of the error that the armature chest block was backwards and left it as it is. An imaginative possible scenario? 😁
Take a look at this, from the Adam Savage video.
Here is Adam Savage's interview in 2016, talking with Peter Jackson about the King Kong armature. If needed, you can play back key parts of the video in slow motion!
One more piece of evidence for you. Look at a real Gorilla's skeletal anatomy. Observe the Side View ... the upper shoulder collar bone / clavicle. Those bones are in a forward protruded position (front of neck). A gorilla walks hunched over ... called Knuckle Walking and basically, mostly walks on four limbs. So apparently, Willis O'Brien and/or Marcel Delgado designed both armatures with some degree of anatomical accuracy.
It is now the year 2023 and I have no knowledge if Peter Jackson
is aware of this technical armature detail. Personally, I think it is
important and why my 'lone voice in the wilderness', is calling
attention to this for Cinema Historical accuracy!
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury ... I rest my case!
This Manual Tapping stand, securely holds a tap bit at perfect perpendicularity to the metal work piece that you are tapping and NO wobble. You have high sensitivity tactile feed-back in your hand while you are tap-threading, especially with the mini-tap bits such at #0-80, #1-72, #2-56 tap sizes (USA, not metric). Absolute control and minimizing tap-bit breakage.
These are available at specialty industrial suppliers and the prices can vary. My hand tapper unit is not the best quality. It is an imported brand and has worked reasonably okay for many years..
Before I acquired this tapping unit years ago, I previously used a common bench top drill press to manually tap by hand: I removed the drill press belt from the pulley & motor. I then insert the tap bit into drill chuck, and you have the metal work piece in the vise ... then firmly grab the drill chuck with your hand and turn it. It works for medium size taps, but with mini size taps, it is difficult to 'feel' using the drill press tapper method.
Note: I do have a Mini-Mill and a small precision Lathe ... but ... NO costly CNC set-up, NO humongous size Bridgeport Mill, and NO massive turning Lathe.
Below is a behind the scenes of of a special effects sequence that Tippett Studio did for the feature 'Alien: Romulus'. It is somewhat short and some scenes are time-lapsed and speeded-up. Remember this trick ... in the Youtube video players you can change the playback speed. This is a useful tool if you want to slow down the video speed. You will be able to observe animation or movements in more detail including videos of real animals or people. Click on the gear icon at the bottom of the player. For this video I recommend speed .5, or you can even go slower at .25. I do this on a laptop computer. I do not know if this works on your mobile phones. First, watch it at regular speed then afterwards you can watch at slower speed.Geez ... I sure went off topic and down a rabbit hole ... LOL!😄
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