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.
Note - Any photos, click, then again, for larger image. Also, the video player option at Full Screen
This hour long documentary is an overview about Art Clokey, the creator of the 'Gumby' stop motion clay character. In the documentary, some well known 'in the animation biz' names commenting about Art. As for myself, I interacted with Art back in 1987-1988, working as a stop motion animator, for 'The New Adventures of Gumby',TV animation series.
Art Clokey's experiences were somewhat, a 'roller coaster ride' as part of the evolution of Gumby, especially his personal life. Very interesting and much nostalgic times when it covers the social counter-culture period of the 'Hippie' phenomenon, in which Art got into 'it' and explored other non-mainstream alternative life style.
GUMBASIA (1953) Art Clokey
MANDALA (1977) Art Clokey
Art Clokey born 1921, passed away in 2010 at 88 years of age.
Art Clokey's son, Joe Clokey took over the Gumby estate, brand, & marketing. After Joe's unfortunate death in 2018, Fox Entertainment acquired the Gumby franchise in 2022.The acquisition includes all characters from the Gumby universe, with plans for new series on various platforms.
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 ....
This almost, 16 minute stop motion short (mixed with live action) was initially release a few years ago. I am guessing it did some film festivals. The director / creator of The Vandal is Eddie Alcazar. I was not familiar with his work. His Biography ... LINK
I would suggest that you might watch in this order, preferably on your laptop at full screen, for a better immersion experience! 😁 Note - Any photos, click, then again, for larger image. Also video player option at full screen
THE VANDAL - Trailer
THE VANDAL - Animated Short - "A man recovering from a lobotomy (Bill Duke) suddenly loses the love of
his life, who was also his caregiver. The aftermath leads his mind into
the incomprehensible." WATCH ....
BONUS - Behind the Scenes! 👇
This appears to have been released some months ago in 2023 - Making of THE VANDAL
It looks like the stop motion puppets were made of cast Silicone Skins. I do not see in credits if they were 3D printed. Perhaps the main characters heads were actually sculpted by an artist, then afterwards, molded to make the skins. The heads/face have a neutral expression. In the film, the puppets do not talk. Only the close-up live action, we see the actors talking then cuts away to the stop motion.
Inter-mixing live action with puppets gives it a surreal, fantasy element. Not meant to represent reality. CGI would NOT work! Eddie Alcazar has labeled the effect technique as 'Meta-Scope'! The primary tricks of The Vandal were: Using very large LCD Screens as the background elements (of the pre-filmed miniature sets), somewhat similar to old school Rear Projection. The other trick was ... motion tracking the puppets heads and compositing the actor's REAL eyes onto the puppets. This reminds me of similar technique used years ago in 2007, on another stop motion short titled Madame Tutli-PutliLINK.
Here is something else, I do not see mentioned much. Apparently, the final version of The Vandal was re-edited and the scene below was deleted .....
I, Barnabé / Moi, Barnabé is an indie animation by artist-creator, Jean-Francois Levesque. Through the Canadian NFB (National Film Board) this independent produced stop motion short was released in 2020. As with many indie features, they are first made available to the audience at various film festivals, then later, through other distribution such as dvds or online streaming.
In late 2021, 'I, Barnabe' was released for everyone to view and enjoy. It is not an Aardman or comedy stye entertainment animation, but instead, it is low key with some humor, and its topic touches some deep themes. There are no words or dialog. All the story telling is through the visual animation performance. In addition to stop motion there is some mixed animation styles including 2d drawn.
Here is a quick storyline description from the NFB .... "Confronted with doubt and feelings of emptiness, drunk with unhappiness and seeking to drown his sorrow, Barnabé experiences a curious metaphysical visitation; lightning strikes the spire of his church and a mysterious bird appears, forcing him to reconsider his life. What is his truth pointing him towards? What is the deeper meaning of his life on earth?"
Any Video, you can click player for Full Screen viewing
You can watch the entire animated feature here (15 minutes) ....
JIM RANDALL - Armature 'Puppet Head Mechanics' Designer/Engineer and BRENDA BAUMGARTEN - Expert Puppet Fabrication Artist
Below is for the Hardcore Stop Motion Fanatics 😲
So ... you cannot get enough for your Stop Motion Addiction? 😉 Take a look at Jim Randall's Facebook posting of over 30 photos that he has made available for your viewing knowledge edification.
Nooooo! This October 2023, will be the 30th Year Anniversary of The Nightmare Before Christmas. It feels like, it was only recently that I attended the 25th anniversary year reunion (that was 5 years ago). This is like the Twilight Zone, an altered state of time, another dimension, transporting us into the future at warp speed. I do not like 😕 ... but ... I digress!
2018 Reunion, 25 Year NMBC Anniversary - Mike Belzer, Lionel Orozco, & Anthony Scott
SF Studios was a general commercial studio for many years. Later it became the studio for Nightmare Before Christmas and renamed Skellington Productions. This building, including the pink one next to it, no longer exists. That location is now an elementary school.
In the past years, there has been a variety of books about Nightmare B4 Xmas. Just released in August, is a fresh NEW book. The Nightmare Before Christmas - Beyond Halloween Town: The Story, Characters, & Legacy ... EMILY ZEMLER is the Author.
This is not exactly a behind the scenes about the technical stop motion effects, but more about the production process from the beginning incentive of the story and interviews with some of the original crew & key players involved. Also it goes into the enduring impact & cultural phenomenon
that it still has, even in 2023, in spite of the current mind-numbing
excess of CGI movies and its onslaught & bombardment on the
audience, perhaps getting weary of it. Maybe that is why the Guillermo del Toro Pinocchio was a refreshing change.
Since we are on the topic of The Nightmare Before Christmas, I am going to briefly and shamelessly promote myself. I just have a sense that Youtube's Search Algorithms seems to have been suppressing my channel for a long time. After over 5 years since I posted the above video ....it has only received 64 Likes. I say What the F'k? If I was of the opposite gender and showed some 'skin' ... the videos would get a plethora of Likes & thousands of views in a very short time. This Social Media Game is insanity & illogical 😡
We now return to the BOOK 😁 I do not always like to refer people to the corporate empire entity known as Amazon ... but ... they have a good descriptive page about this new Nightmare book ... also some free preview pages and the price for a hardcover copy is reasonable. As of this posting, it is under $27. (USD), it is about 168 pages. The link is here ....
I have not been current with these kinds of poseable figures. I recall from some years ago, there was a line of poseable very small toy figures called Stikfas. This one, is another brand known as Stickybones. They are not the action super hero figure types, but instead, these are designed with ideal human anatomical proportions. Stickybones figures are produced as a reference poseable figure for artists & illustrators. It is a more sophisticated version of the old school Artist Manikins (Link). From what I see, these figures can be very expressively posed, similar to what a real human person can do, mimicking action poses of ... athletes, dancers, martial artist, etc.
One of my observations - I do not see any mention whether Male or Female figures. Stickybones just calls them 'human high performance poseable figures'. They are basically all the same anatomical form ... a somewhat androgynous design ... perhaps reducing manufacturing costs. Actual measurement is 8.5"(215mm) height. If an artist were using these figures as drawing / sketching reference of a female anatomical form, I suppose that you can add clay to the 'chest and hips', to give it a more curvy appearance.
The price is on the higher scale at $71. (US) for one figure. Stickybones are sold as kits, and so, you have to assemble them. If you are a drawing / sketch Artist, it would be a one time investment ... a tool to aid in producing your art works. At Amazon (Link), there are various similar jointed figures at much less cost but quality maybe not so good, according to some of reviews. Also, the figures are small at about 6 inches (152mm).
For Stop Motion: I have seen some reasonably good animation using these Stickybones. They are very useful for practice animation, but it might be restricted to more realism human motion. IMO, not ideal for stylized or cartoon-esque animated characters. It depends on the animators skill & talent if they can get some creative animation with these figures.
Some have also modified the look of the Stickybones and made miniature clothing or turned them into an action figure. Stickybones figures appear to be made from mold injected plastic resin. The joint tension relies on the plastic balls being pre-compressed by the plastic sockets ... the balls snap into the sockets. If the joints loosen, you can maybe use a heat gun to bend the plastic sockets for tighter tension, however there is the risk of damage ... or maybe use Tacky Putty (Link) in the Sockets.
If you add clothing to the figures, the ball tension might not hold in certain poses. If you are animating the figure 'as is', just the bare figure form ... the joints seems to hold the tension during animation posing. It has magnetic feet, tie-downs and of course, you can use a simple animation support rig to hold and stabilize the figure.
Stickybones started as an Indiegogo Funded Campaign back in 2016 (Link). They received over $ One Million Dollars $ (Usa) in contributions 😮
You know ... searching briefly, I could not find that much stop motion use of Stickybones ... it is minimal. Mostly out there, it is from beginners doing only a few quick seconds of stop motion. The better stop motion examples are actually from the Stickybones Company. They hire experienced animators for their promotional ads! So, I'm guessing that the primary consumers are perhaps Artists who are using these poseable figures as human anatomical body form reference ... which was the original design & purpose of this product.
About 3 years ago (2020) I originally posted this at the Stop Motion Works facebook page and also, at that time, uploaded Mark's HighRise short at my SMW Youtube channel. Recently, some kind of glitch occurred where the video image had lots of lines and static. I had to delete that original Youtube post, and re-uploaded the HighRise video again. Here is the new one ....
Just paraphrasing my past commentary:
'HighRise' was one of Mark Sullivan's earliest indie personal project as a filmmaker. All filmed with a 16mm Bolex movie camera using stop motion, hand made
miniatures & models, and matte painted scenery & backgrounds.
Old school classic special effects.
Mark's career progressed,
becoming a professional artist - creator in special effects work, contributing to many well
known Major movies. He earned a reputation of being very talented &
skilled in Matte Painting visual special effects. Also, he is an accomplished Stop Motion Animator
and versed in puppet fabrication & other eclectic skills as needed,
to create Cinematic Visual Magic!
Note - Some of photos you can 'click' to see larger size image
Setting up a shot ... Suspended from an 'aerial brace' rig, the miniature building is hanging in front of the large background sky painting.
Looking at the photos, it appears that there were Two miniature models of the high-rise skyscraper. For close-up shots, this was about 4 feet (122cm) tall and the small model for distant scenes, appears to be about 12 - 13 inches (30 - 33cm).
Mark Sullivan animating the alien UFO space craft, landing on the large miniature model of the skyscraper building.
This is a 'Multi-plane' set-up. The miniature building model is attached with wires to an overhead 'aerial brace' rig. The clear glass (in the window frame) was air brushed to create an atmospheric haze in front of the model. The glass, foreground, and other elements are animated frame by frame on the sliding base, creating the 'trick effect' that the alien craft is flying over the desert planet landscape.
Another photo with a clearer view of the 'Multi-plane' set-up. You can see the glass window frame and other miniature ground elements which slide on top of the animation table surface, by way of stop motion animation. Each sliding element is calibrated to move a very small incremental distance for each animated frame.
So basically, the miniature building did not move much or only minimally animated. The illusion of movement over the desert terrain was mostly created from the moving foreground, mid-ground, and background elements. Mark said that he added timed exposure 'blurs' to the front foreground which moves faster than the other sliding elements.
On location: Mark mentioned that he used a home made Camera Matte Box (similar to this here & here) which was attached in front of the 16mm Bolex camera lens. I assume the matte box had a front clear glass pane. Looking through the camera reflex viewfinder, on the glass (attached to matte box), you 'tape off' the outline of the building rooftops to create a hold-out matte for later double exposure (film back winding).
In the Studio: A counter black matte is made using black tape, black paint, etc.. This creates a reverse hold-out matte for the bottom half of the film. Now the miniature high-rise building can be inserted into the top half of the film, again, by way of double exposure (film back winding).
The final composite ... achieved by 'back winding' the film a number of times in the camera, similar to the Harryhausen Dynamation technique of in-camera compositing.
I think this is a 'glass' pane set-up on location. I am not sure if that is the miniature skyscraper model or perhaps it is a 'painting' of the building on glass, and lined up above the distant real city skyline ... maybe a test. This shot was not in the movie.
A 'Location Glass Painting' of background, distant desert field, mountains, & sky ... the painted glass pane in front of camera ... blending the live action foreground with the matte painting ... the actor is Mark Sullivan's father, Thomas Sullivan.
A perspective matte painting of the high-rise building ... smoke & slight orange flame-like glow was added by double exposing (back winding the film).
This is the Alien / UFO that has the bothersome addictive habit of stealing large buildings from the planet Earth. The bug-like miniature model was 'scratch built' by Mark Sullivan. The body was carvable, sandable rigid foam. It uses 'Wire' Armature for the slight movements of the leg appendages.
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