Screen Arts 2/3

Stop Motion Animation

Ray Harryhausen - LA born artist, designer, visual effects creator, writer and producer. He created Dynamation which is a stop motion technique involving front and rear projecting footage to create each frame. The background was filmed first and then he used that footage and animate in front of it. This method is still used today. His works include Jason and the Argonauts(1963) and Clash of the Titans(1981). His work has inspired many filmmakers inc Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Tim Burton, James Cameron and Guillermo del Toro. Most of his films feature modeled, animated characters integrated with the live action world. He maintained full technical control by developing and executing most of the miniatures personally.

Phil Tippett - American movie director, Oscar and Emmy-award winning VFX supervisor and producer. He specialises in creature design, stop-motion and computerised animation. He has worked with Industrial Light and Magic and Dreamworks. He formed Tippett Studio in 1984 and his claim to fame is the original Star Wars trilogy, Dragonslayer, Jurassic Park and Starship Troopers. Created Go-Motion, models had motors in them to create small moves while the frame was being exposed, creating motion blur.


I prefer Phil Tippetts work more than Ray's, most likely because it is more modern, and with the technology advancements between them, the overall end product looks nicer to me. Not to mention I am a little biased towards Industrial Light and Magic due to loving Mythbusters when I was younger(Adam Savage has worked for ILM).