What Are the Possibilities? - Frame-by-Frame Stop Motion: The Guide to Non-Traditional Animation Techniques - page 4

in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were like magic shows
that featured special effects. This kind of filmmaking was the precursor to
several different branches in the tree of stop motion, including modern
day special effects, puppet or model stop motion, and pixilation and its
various forms. Melies's The Conjuror , filmed in 1899, is a clear example of the
relationship that he made between magic and his filmmaking.
Fig 1.3 The Conjuror , 1899.
He covers a woman with a cloth and pulls it off revealing that the woman
has disappeared and reappeared on an adjacent table. He then, through
what appears to be magic, continuously switches positions between
him and the woman, using smoke and confetti to enhance the effect.
This is most likely attained through editing the film and re-enacting the
action with different elements. The continuous movement of the actors
helps create a smooth transition from one person or object to the next.
The editing process was the first technique used in the manipulation of
imagery, but before too long, frame-by-frame manipulations shot in the
camera became the most effective way to have ultimate control on the
film's outcome.
Another French contributor to stop motion and pixilation was Emil Cohl.
His 1911 film Jobard ne peut pas voir les femmes travailler ( Sucker Cannot See
the Women Working ) utilized real people and is one of the earliest pixilated
films known. Unfortunately, many of Cohl's films have been lost due to fire
and neglect.
The Edison Company, founded by Thomas Edison, created some of the first
motion pictures in the United States in his infamous “Black Maria” studio in
West Orange, New Jersey, in 1893.
Fig 1.4 the “Black Maria” studio,
circa 1893. Courtesy of the Black
Maria Film Festival.