Techniques for Stop Motion

Techniques for Stop Motion

Persistence of Vision, Stop Frame and Frame Rates were all crucial in paving the way for modern day films and animations. Early discoveries which were found after Edward Muybridge theorised about whether or not all four of a horse’s legs left the ground when it was running. They used 24 different cameras, each activated by a tripwire to see the movement of the horse at as many points as possible.

Persistence of Vision – This relates to the human eye merging multiple images all at once, to create an illusion of movement. This theory states that the human brain can store any one image at one time for 1/25^th of a second. This means that when a larger amount of images is shown, as long as the difference between them is only slight, the human eye and brain will be able to see those images moving. For example, if you were to show (chronologically) 100 slightly different frames over the span of four seconds, it would be perceived as fluid movement and motion.

In 1912, Max Wertheimer defined the Phi Phenomenon. This was defined as the optical illusion in which when a series of still images are viewed by a human in rapid succession, it will be perceived as continuous motion.

Similar to this is the Beta Movement, also coined in 1912. This was the idea that a sequence involving several still images will give the viewer the illusion that they are moving, creating a piece of “film” which flows smoothly. This “movement” only occurs with a frame rate greater than 12 frames per second. In the below example, the white space will move from the top of the shape (Position 1) to the next position, clockwise in the circle (Position 2 etc.). If the white space moves from 1 to 2, then to 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 in a clockwise circle at a fast enough framerate, then the illusion of movement will be created.

If the framerate of the piece is too low (below 12) then the intervals of darkness between each frame begin to create a flicker. The shutter creates 3 periods of darkness between each frames, and so the viewer is actually seeing 72 frames per second.

This idea of the persistence of vision, combined with the Phi Phenomenon and the Beta Movement, created a foundation for modern day stop frame animations to exist.

Stop Frame – Stop frame is a technique used for creating movement in an animation in which each individual frame is manipulated, before being placed on the timeline. Stop frame means that you have more control over the production of the animation, you can make inanimate objects move around is if they have a mind of their own, you can create interesting effects as well as having strange and often surreal storylines, however, always maintaining the right speed is difficult, it can be time consuming, and you need to split the final production into two audio tracks.

A good example for stop frame animation is the Zoetrope. The Zoetrope is a “pre-film” device used for animations. It can produce the illusion of a moving image by showing a sequence of images of a certain motion (e.g. a horse running, or a person waving).  The Zoetrope was invented in 1834 by William George Horner. The images within the Zoetrope device were rotated in a circular motion, passing a slit of light which showed the images to be “moving”. This was an early example of the importance of framerate for moving images. This was because if the device was spun at an incredibly slow pace, the gaps between each image would be visible to the viewer, therefore removing the illusion of movement that was attempted to be created. In the modern day, films and music videos are shot at either 30 frames per second, 48 frames per second or 60 frames per second. Films which are shot in 30 frames per second are done so that the viewer can recognise the smoothness of the movement (remember that the human eye renders images for 1/25^th of a second) and so this would solidify the smoothness of movement within the film/animation.

Stop frame over time has become incredibly advanced, with works such as Early Man, Shrek, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Fantastic Mr Fox, The Emoji Movie and Coraline. These films, even the older ones, are incredibly advanced, and would take huge amounts of time to make and produce. For example, it took one entire week to animate one minute of The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Today’s animations have the earliest animations to thank, films such as Steamboat Willie, from Walt Disney Animations, for discovering new things about film making which had never been thought of before.

Some techniques for stop motion animation are:

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      Pixilation – using live actors, who are, frame by frame, pictured doing a certain action. This is then placed into editing and made to seem as if it is a fluid motion. Actors will ever so slightly change their position before the next frame, so that they appear to be moving when all the frames are compiled together.

·         Claymation – Claymation is when you use clay. or plasticine to present real life characters, or inanimate objects, but it gives the opportunity for customisable movements, for example making a chairs legs extend, without having to actually break/alter a real chair.

·         Object animation – This is a type of animation in which you use real, inanimate objects within your film. It is essentially the animation of any object which is not drawn, so for example, toys, blocks or dolls.

·         Cut-out animation – Cut-out animation is a form of stop motion animation in which you use flat characters and props, which are placed on a flat background. This is usually done with paper, but can also incorporate card, fabric and also photographs

Frame Rates – Considering the framerate of your production is essential to creating a film, whether it be an animation, or a live action movie. The human brain and eye process images at 1/25^th of a second, and so 25 frames per second is a safe enough bet for being able to create smooth movement. For an added level of safety, movies are often shot at 30fps. However, sometimes movies will be shot at a greater amount of frames per second. This greatly enhances the movement and dynamics of each action. Some examples of films which have been shot at higher framerates are:

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (48FPS)

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (48FPS)

It has been said that in the future, all films (especially big blockbusters) will be shot at the higher 48 frames per second, rather than the standard 24 frames per second. There are more specific framerates for media productions now, such as 29.97 frames per second, as well as 59.94 FPS. These framerates are used because, after colour television was invented in 1954, the information of this being added to the TV caused the picture to look unwatchable, so the solution was to place a frame dip (of 0.03fps) to remove two of the disruptive signals out of the phase, which created a bearable image for viewers. These 0.03 frame differences make a massive change, but may not have been implemented if it were not for the previous discoveries about framerate.