What Are the Possibilities? - Frame-by-Frame Stop Motion: The Guide to Non-Traditional Animation Techniques - page 6

McLaren's use of animated people and objects, dramatic action, and art
direction made the technique perfect for this film. The battle between
neighbors, in an extremely territorial fashion, has great humor but also a dark
tone that delivers a message in an effective manner. Pixilation continued
to grow after McLaren's continued use of this technique. One of the most
notable and inspirational masters of this technique is the Czech surrealist Jan
Svankmajer. Although Svankmajer used puppets on occasion he also used
everything else from humans to meat to household furniture as animated
objects. His concentration on textural imagery and suggestive conceptual
filmmaking made him stand out from all other filmmakers. His 1971 film
Jabberwocky , based on a poem by Lewis Carroll, features a cabinet running
through a forest, dancing clothes, maggot ridden apples, distraught dolls,
and flipping puzzle parts.
Fig 1.6 a series of stills from the
cabinet in Jabberwocky , directed
by Jan Svankmajer 1971. Courtesy
of Jan Svankmajer. Photos © Athanor
Ltd Film Production Company, Jaromir
Kallista, and Jan Svankmajer.
Although Svankmajer uses puppets, he mixes his animated subject matter
so wildly that the photographic, textural, fast-paced editing leaves an
audience feeling rather assaulted. Animators like the American Mike Jittlov,
with his pixilated 1979 film Wizard of Speed and Time , and French-born Jan
Fig 1.7 Stills from Gisele Kerozene , Jan Kounen, 1989.