Model animation
Encyclopedia
Model animation is a form of stop motion
animation designed to merge with live action footage to create the illusion
of a real-world fantasy sequence.
, and it was first used in The Lost World
(1925). His work also includes
Picking up the model animation baton from O'Brien, and refining the process further, introducing color and smoother animation, was his protege, Ray Harryhausen
. Assisting O'Brien in Mighty Joe Young in 1949, Harry went on to do model animation (and other special visual effects) on a series of feature length films, such as:
The third generation of model animators featured such notables as Jim Danforth, David Allen
, and Phil Tippett
.
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
animation designed to merge with live action footage to create the illusion
Illusion
An illusion is a distortion of the senses, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. While illusions distort reality, they are generally shared by most people....
of a real-world fantasy sequence.
Works
Model animation was pioneered by Willis O'BrienWillis O'Brien
Willis Harold O'Brien was an Irish American pioneering motion picture special effects artist who perfected and specialized in stop-motion animation. He was affectionately known to his family and close friends as "Obie"....
, and it was first used in The Lost World
The Lost World (1925 film)
The Lost World is a 1925 silent film adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel of the same name. The movie was produced by First National Pictures, a large Hollywood studio at the time, and stars Wallace Beery as Professor Challenger. This version was directed by Harry O...
(1925). His work also includes
- King KongKing Kong (1933 film)King Kong is a Pre-Code 1933 fantasy monster adventure film co-directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, and written by Ruth Rose and James Ashmore Creelman after a story by Cooper and Edgar Wallace. The film tells of a gigantic island-dwelling apeman creature called Kong who dies in...
(1933) - The Son of KongThe Son of KongThe Son of Kong is a 1933 American adventure film/monster movie produced by RKO Pictures. Directed by Ernest Schoedsack and featuring special effects by Buzz Gibson and Willis O'Brien, the film starred Robert Armstrong, Helen Mack and Frank Reicher...
(1933) - Mighty Joe Young (1949)
- The Black ScorpionThe Black Scorpion (film)The Black Scorpion is a 1957 American horror film released by Warner Brothers, with stop motion special effects done by Willis O'Brien.-Plot:...
(1957) - The Giant Behemoth (1958)
Picking up the model animation baton from O'Brien, and refining the process further, introducing color and smoother animation, was his protege, Ray Harryhausen
Ray Harryhausen
Ray Harryhausen is an American film producer and special effects creator...
. Assisting O'Brien in Mighty Joe Young in 1949, Harry went on to do model animation (and other special visual effects) on a series of feature length films, such as:
- The Beast From 20,000 FathomsThe Beast from 20,000 FathomsThe Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is a 1953 science fiction film directed by Eugène Lourié and stars Paul Christian, Paula Raymond and Cecil Kellaway with visual effects by Ray Harryhausen. The film is about an atomic bomb test in the Arctic Circle that unfreezes a hibernating fictional dinosaur, a...
(1953) - It Came from Beneath the SeaIt Came from Beneath the SeaIt Came from Beneath the Sea is an American science fiction film produced by Sam Katzman and Charles Schneer for Columbia Pictures, from a script by George Worthing Yates designed to showcase the special model-animated effects of Ray Harryhausen. It was directed by Robert Gordon and stars Kenneth...
(1955) - Earth vs. the Flying SaucersEarth vs. the Flying SaucersEarth vs. the Flying Saucers is an American black and white science fiction film, directed by Fred F. Sears and released by Columbia Pictures. The film is also known as Invasion of the Flying Saucers. It was ostensibly suggested by the non-fiction work Flying Saucers from Outer Space by Donald...
(1956) - The Animal WorldThe Animal World (film)The Animal World is a 1956 documentary film that was produced, written and directed by Irwin Allen. The film includes live-action footage of animals throughout the world, along with a ten-minute stop motion animated sequence about dinosaurs....
(Opening Dinosaur sequence, with O'Brien, 1956) - 20 Million Miles To Earth20 Million Miles to Earth20 Million Miles to Earth is a 1957 American science fiction film written by Bob Williams and Christopher Knopf from an original treatment by Charlott Knight. The film was produced by Charles H. Schneer's Morningside Productions for Columbia Pictures and directed by Nathan H. Juran...
(1957) - The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)
- The Three Worlds of GulliverThe Three Worlds of GulliverThe Three Worlds of Gulliver is a 1960 Columbia Pictures fantasy film loosely based upon the 18th-century English novel Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. The film stars Kerwin Mathews as the titular character, June Thorburn as his fiancée Elizabeth, and child actor Sherry Alberoni as...
(1960) - Mysterious IslandMysterious Island (1961 film)Mysterious Island is a 1961 film released by Morningside Productions. Based very loosely upon the novel The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne, the film was produced by Charles H. Schneer and Ray Harryhausen. Directed by Cy Endfield, it was released through Columbia Pictures...
(1961) - Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
- First Men in the MoonFirst Men in the MoonFirst Men in the Moon, also known as H.G. Wells' First Men in the Moon, is a 1964 science fiction film directed by Nathan Juran. It is an adaptation by the noted science-fiction scriptwriter Nigel Kneale of the H. G...
(1964) - One Million Years B.C.One Million Years B.C.One Million Years B.C. is a 1966 British adventure/fantasy film starring Raquel Welch, set - loosely - in the time of cavemen. The film was made by Hammer Film Productions, and was a remake of the 1940 Hollywood film One Million B.C., and it recreates many of the scenes of that film...
(1967) - The Valley of GwangiThe Valley of GwangiThe Valley of Gwangi is a 1969 American western-fantasy film directed by Jim O'Connolly and written by William Bast. The film is also known as Gwangi, The Lost Valley, The Valley Time Forgot, and The Valley Where Time Stood Still...
(1969) - The Golden Voyage of SinbadThe Golden Voyage of SinbadThe Golden Voyage of Sinbad is a fantasy film released in 1974 and starring John Phillip Law as Sinbad. It includes a score by composer Miklós Rózsa and is known mostly for the stop-motion effects by Ray Harryhausen...
(1974) - Sinbad and the Eye of the TigerSinbad and the Eye of the TigerSinbad and the Eye of the Tiger is a 1977 fantasy film, the third and final Sinbad film that Ray Harryhausen made for Columbia, after The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. The film was directed by Sam Wanamaker...
(1977) - Clash of the TitansClash of the Titans (1981 film)Clash of the Titans is an American 1981 fantasy–adventure film involving the Greek hero Perseus. It was released on June 12, 1981 and earned a gross profit of $41 million domestically, on a $15 million budget , by which it was the 11th highest grossing film of the year. A novelization of the film...
(with Jim DanforthJim DanforthJim Danforth is a stop-motion animator, known for model-animation and matte painting. Danforth is known for his work on When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth , a sequel of sorts to Ray Harryhausen's One Million Years B.C....
, 1981)
The third generation of model animators featured such notables as Jim Danforth, David Allen
David W. Allen
David W. Allen was a film and television stop-motion model animator.Considered among the finest stop-motion model animators, Dave Allen has contributed some of the best stop-motion sequences to many feature films, rivaling the work of other premier model animators Ray Harryhausen and Jim...
, and Phil Tippett
Phil Tippett
Phil Tippett is a movie director and an award-winning visual effects supervisor and producer, who specializes in creature design and character animation.-Early career:...
.
See also
- List of stop-motion films
- Go motionGo motionGo motion is a variation of stop motion animation, and was co-developed by Industrial Light & Magic and Phil Tippett.- History :Tippett and Industrial Light & Magic created the go motion technique for the first time for some shots of the tauntaun creatures and AT-AT walkers in the 1980 Star Wars...