Stop Motion Animation

What is a Stop-Motion Animation?

A stop- motion animation is the process of making inanimate objects come to life. Originating in Hollywood, the technique was first used in the film "The Humpty Dumpty Circus" (1897), a short animated film about a circus which was created using the producer, Albert.E Smith`s daughter`s toy circus (IMdB). 

                             

 In more recent years, animations have been used more frequently, particularly in children`s TV. Pingu (a children`s animated comedy series which aired from 1986- 2006) is one of the most popular stop-motion animation in the UK,  coming second in a poll of best programme of 1980`s by the Radio Times in 2014 (PinguWiki). According to IMDb, Pingu is a mischievous and playful penguin who lives in Antartica with his family and his friend Robby, the seal. Pingu is notorious for the "mweep mweep" sound that replaces talking in the series.

How it was made

The series was made using clay animations, a form of stop-motion animation using porcelain clay. Traditional animations were created by recording each frame using a still photo on film or on digital media then playing the frames rapidly in order. A story board is created to provide a guideline of what if needed to be done in each still shot. Once the story board is created, the animators begin to build the various characters our of the clay, making a number of copies of the same character in different positions to depict movement. The video below shows how the series was created.

The Advantages:

According to Qudos Animations, the advantages of using stop-motion animation is the freedom to make objects that cannot be moved, animated using minimal tools. Stop-motion animation requires a camera,a computer and and object to be moved however, creating effective animations require a lot of experience in animations. Creating animations as a team can be beneficial for developing team building and communication skills during which individual`s can build upon their skills and talents.

The Disadvantages:

Stop motion animations has many disadvantages as well.  The main disadvantage is that it is very time consuming due to the amount of still pictures required to make the object look like it is moving. While moving the object, it is important to remember the last position of the object to ensure that the object has not been moved too much or too little between shots. The other main disadvantage of using stop motion animations is to find the correct balance of items moving within the shots. If too many objects are moving at the same time, this can distract the viewer from the main purpose of the animation.