The Dropping Heads (Cutout) - Frame-by-Frame Stop Motion: The Guide to Non-Traditional Animation Techniques - page 183

between the hands, separating the head from the shoulders. Next, raise the
arms and hands above the body as far as you can with the head starting to
rise just above the hands and being jettisoned out of the upper frame.
ExErcisE Fig 5.F several different positions in the animation.
Once your head is out of frame, bring the arms back down to the sides of the
body, matching the opening position. You can refer to the opening frame and
make an onionskin comparison with that frame and your final settled new
position of the arms down to the sides of the body. Once the arms are settled,
drop in one of your magazine heads from the upper frame. Have it drop pretty
fast (about three to five frames) and settle on your headless body. It would be
fun to drop your body down about an inch, ease out and then raise the body
back up to its beginning default position. The end of the arms (hands) should
stay in the same position but keep the shoulder attachment connected to the
body so the arms slightly drop down with the body at the shoulders when
the body sinks. This gives the new head a bit of weight when it hits the torso.
Once the new head is on, hold for 20 to 30 frames, so we see what the new
head is, then raise the arms again to jettison the new head, the same way you
did with your original head.
You can carry on this way with as many heads as you like. The final head
should be your own head dropping into frame once again. Settle out this final
position and compare the body, arms, and head with the original first frame to
make it as close in position as possible. This way you can loop your dropping
head exercise.