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In-Depth Information
What seemed so different about stop motion?
JD - My awareness of technique was minimal but I was excited by the 'look' of the puppets.
TB - The effects animation that I saw in Jason , particularly the skeleton sequence, I knew was something
far from a person in a suit. I knew it had to be some trick, but I didn't know how it was done. Through
publications like Forest J. Ackerman's Famous Monsters of Filmland , I found out about stop motion and the
work of Ray Harryhausen, Willis O'Brien and Jim Danforth. Jason hit me so hard emotionally because two
years before, I'd researched and presented a topic report on the Greek myths for class. I became fascinated
by the Greek myths, and read everything I could. When I saw Jason on TV, I was smitten and in shock, and,
coining a famous quote from Mr Harryhausen, I haven't been the same since.
KD - 100% fantasy and storytelling, something was more magical about stop motion. I never
questioned what was different from say a Disney animated fi lm to stop motion; only that it was telling
me a story.
RC - There was something about the look … a solidity missing from marionettes, and a strange life
quality different than a man in a suit.
DC - I knew it was different to drawn animation and liked how more accessible it was. It was like having
your toys come to life!!
SB - I had no idea how it was done. That's what made it scary. I didn't like it at all. Clash of the Titans
was the fi rst time I was mystifi ed by an animated character, I liked the robot owl - oh the shame. I hate
it now, spoils the fi lm; he was probably only there because of Star Wars and they wanted an R2D2 type
thing. I was blown away by Phil Tippet's 'go-motion' dragon effects in Dragonslayer .
TD - I knew there was a perceptual illusion in place, and I liked some of the stories and characters
portrayed. I was more fascinated by the magical aspect of inanimate objects being fi lled with life. I
understood the perception that life was dependent upon a successful illusionary process. It seemed that
something was coming through the process from somewhere else, the way a gifted actor can 'channel' an
authentic personality out of the thin air. The shamanistic elements that stirred quietly beneath the whole
process captured my attention. Gumby and Pokey were especially prone to evoke that response, what
with all their shape-shifting and walking into and out of topics and all.
RH - Stop motion was in a league of its own because it had that wonderfully realistic three-dimensional
look. Those puppets were real objects you could touch, and this made them believable as characters. I
was aware of how it was done by looking and taking it all in, but this didn't spoil the illusion for me. I
was fascinated at how well it was done! The Wind in the Willows and Postman Pat were always the most
appealing to me, but I still have fond memories of Portland Bill , Cockleshell Bay and Bertha .
JC - I didn't make a connection between drawn animation and stop motion. I loved cartoons, particularly
Tom and Jerry and their contemporaries, but felt that the puppets were more 'real'.
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