Getting Moving - Stop Motion: Passion, Process and Performance - page 198

of a good time making their puppets and sets. Conversely, in my CG classes, students remain at their
monitor, stare at the screen, don't talk or act out the movements with their bodies, and don't talk to
anyone unless they're interrupted. Why is this? It's because human beings enjoy touching and being
touched. We have a puppet that we created, that we can touch and manipulate through space. We've
given birth to this creature, and now we are giving it life. How can that not be fun? For the CG animator,
how can staring at a fl ickering monitor, with the only emotional link being a mouse, be considered
emotionally fun? Perhaps some people fi nd it so and that's fi ne, but in my experience, many CG students
don't seem to be connecting emotionally, or at least express it externally.
KD - For me, it's about bringing something to life, creating 3D 'real worlds' in which fairytales,
nightmares, love, humour all take place, a step further than the illustration, painting or photograph.
Once it's in the blood … that's it, you're hooked!
RC - The fi rst thing I love about stop motion is that there is something unreal being brought to life. Ray
Harryhausen says, 'It has a dream-like quality'. The fact that we are not machines allows the artist and
his imperfection to make the technique what it is … a near, but not totally, perfect performance that
appears to be something beyond reality.
DC - A unique Wallace and Gromitty charm? The strange magic of watching something live and breathe.
When all the elements work together and you stop thinking about why it works, then it's magic.
The design or movement or music or story on their own are not enough, they all have to work together in
harmony … like us!
AW - I love the process of making.
SB - I like the fact that it's physically there.
KP - Basically people just love watching real objects move on screen. It has something to do with
unconscious memories we all have from playing with clay and toys as children. Seeing obviously real
materials move with a life of their own, and in the back of your head knowing that human hands touch
them between frames, is a strange kind of Jungian wish fulfi lment. There's something very primal and
spiritual about watching stop motion. Computer models look pretty and can be very expressive, but
there's a distance there that's created without the sense of touch implied. It's a different kind of visceral
experience.
I've taught students from all over how to animate in stop motion, and I've found that many students I've
had from Mexico have a particular interest and passion for stop motion that is different from anyplace
else. I found this same quality when I visited Mexico City and spoke to students there. My theories are
that the Mexican culture still has a long tradition of pride in making things with their hands. It's evident
in their artwork, history and lifestyle, and they have traditions such as the Day of the Dead which are
such a part of their culture, that when they see a stop motion fi lm it resonates differently for them.
RH - I always loved the look of stop motion, and I later found that I loved the technique itself. Animating
from start to fi nish is an art form in itself, and the fact that you can't create your key frames before your
in-betweens is an exciting challenge. Sometimes other mediums can be easier and less rewarding for this
reason.
JC - I love that animation has its own reality. I love that we can create lifelike movements or push the
timings. We can animate a dancing Aardvark, a talking pig or a crying lady. We can capture reality or
push it to the edge. Though the technique is laborious sometimes, even tedious, its very nature means you