Nick Hilligoss
Encyclopedia
Nick Hilligoss is an Australian stop motion
animator working with modelling
and animation
, with many past projects for Australian Broadcasting Corporation
and ABC Natural History Unit
in Melbourne
. Hilligoss has received many awards for his animation
s,.
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...
animator working with modelling
3D modeling
In 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical representation of any three-dimensional surface of object via specialized software. The product is called a 3D model...
and animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
, with many past projects for Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
and ABC Natural History Unit
ABC Natural History Unit
The ABC Natural History Unit was a department of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a desire to consolidate the Corporation's growing number of nature-related programs. The unit was based at the ABC's Southbank offices in Melbourne, and won numerous awards. In 2007 the unit was...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. Hilligoss has received many awards for his animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
s,.
Filmography
- Once upon Australia: produced in 1995, this 26 minute documentary tries to show how the prehistoric life could have evolved besides the Continental driftContinental driftContinental drift is the movement of the Earth's continents relative to each other. The hypothesis that continents 'drift' was first put forward by Abraham Ortelius in 1596 and was fully developed by Alfred Wegener in 1912...
of AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The program feature Sarcopterygian fishesSarcopterygiiThe Sarcopterygii or lobe-finned fishes – sometimes considered synonymous with Crossopterygii constitute a clade of the bony fishes, though a strict classification would include the terrestrial vertebrates...
, amphibians, dinosaurs (AllosaurusAllosaurusAllosaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 150 million years ago during the late Jurassic period . The name Allosaurus means "different lizard". It is derived from the Greek /allos and /sauros...
, TimimusTimimusTimimus is a genus of small coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur, which was originally identified as an ornithomimosaur, from the Early Cretaceous of Australia.-Discovery and species:...
and LeaellynasauraLeaellynasauraLeaellynasaura is a genus of small herbivorous ornithischian dinosaur from the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous, first discovered in Dinosaur Cove, Australia. The type species is Leaellynasaura amicagraphica...
) and after them giant kangarooKangarooA kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
s. Other figures are the turtle MeiolaniaMeiolaniaMeiolania is an extinct genus of cryptodire turtle from the Oligocene to Holocene, with the last relict populations at New Caledonia which survived until 2,000 years ago....
, a Tasmanian tiger and the giant lizard MegalaniaMegalaniaMegalania is a giant extinct goanna or monitor lizard. It was part of a megafaunal assemblage that inhabited southern Australia during the Pleistocene, and appears to have disappeared around 40,000 years ago...
from the ancient Australian megafaunaAustralian megafaunaAustralian megafauna are a number of large animal species in Australia, often defined as species with body mass estimates of greater than 30 kilograms, or equal to or greater than 30% greater body mass than their closest living relatives...
. The end of the program shows the extinctionExtinctionIn biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
of humanHumanHumans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
ity. Hilligoss says that he got some negative feelings during the production after watching Jurassic ParkJurassic Park (film)Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
, because he thought people would not be impressed by his work after the CGIComputer-generated imageryComputer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
work on Steven SpielbergSteven SpielbergSteven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
's film. It took Hilligoss 2 ½ years to finish his work on the documentary.
- Turtle world: a 8-minute long film based on the belief held by some ancient peoples that the world exists on the back of a giant Testudines. In the jungleJungleA Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
growing on her back, a group of monkeyMonkeyA monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
s live. In time, they begin to build houseHouseA house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
s, causing deforestationDeforestationDeforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
and havoc. When the turtleTurtleTurtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
realize what is happening, she dives into the deep oceanOceanAn ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
below her, destroying her world.
- Good riddance: In a town lives "Eco", a single living man working as exterminatorPest controlPest control refers to the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest, usually because it is perceived to be detrimental to a person's health, the ecology or the economy.-History:...
. He tries to find ecologically acceptable methods to destroy verminVerminVermin is a term applied to various animal species regarded by some as pests or nuisances and especially to those associated with the carrying of disease. Since the term is defined in relation to human activities, which species are included will vary from area to area and even person to person...
, instead of the devastating system used by the competing company SPLAT (Serious Pest Locators And Terminators), whose methods obliterate both varmints and owners in the mansions. Sadly, this series is not available as a retail product.