History of Animation & Visual Effects

Module II - Class 2
Experimental Animations
Experimental animations are made by artists for a variety of reasons,
most of which originate in their enthusiasm for the medium itself and
their desire to develop some technical or artistic aspect of it.

The term “experimental” suggests trial-and-error, the testing of new

forms, the taking of risks, thinking outside the box... which has been
applied to art that is concerned with exploring new ideas, concepts or
techniques. The outcome of experimentation is knowledge, and
failure is just as valuable as success, because one has expanded one’s
awareness of one’s own abilities, one’s deeper ideas, the potential of
a media, a process, a genre, an art-form.

Experimental animation is a form of animation that has its own

rhythm and movement, and has no narration or a specific structure. It
is considered to be subjective and non-linear that deals with
philosophic and spiritual concerns that the artists and filmmakers
convey.
1. Puppet Animation
Puppet animation evolved from stop motion animation. Puppets
were introduced to puppet animation because of their human-like
features, which allowed filmmakers to move the puppet freely
and more easily to show different movements. It works by
photographing the puppet and moving it around in different
frames.
Ladislas Starewitch, a Russian puppet animator, was a
filmmaker who created "The Cameraman's Revenge" in 1912.
He made an experimental stop motion film using dead insects
with wire limbs and really expressive puppets.
The Cameraman's Revenge is a complex tale of treason and
violence between several different insects. It is a pioneering work
of puppet animation and the oldest animated film of such
dramatic complexity, with characters filled with motivation,
desire, and feelings.
2. Pinscreen Animation
Pinscreen animation uses a screen with moveable pins that can be
pushed in and out by pushing an item against the screen. The pins cast
shadows since the screen is lit from the side. The approach has been used
to make animated films with a range of textural effects that are difficult
to recreate with any other animation technique, including cel animation.

Alexandre Alexeeff and his wife, Claire Parker, devised and perfected
the pinscreen animation method between 1932 and 1935 in their own
studio in Paris.
3. Cutout Animation
Cutout animation is a type of stop-motion animation that uses
flat figures, objects, and backdrops made of paper, card, stiff
fabric, or even pictures. The first animated feature film to
employ this technique was an Argentinian animator named
Quirino Cristiani's 1917 film El Apóstol.

Computers are now commonly used to create cutout

animation, with scanned pictures or vector graphics replacing
manually cut materials. South Park is a remarkable example
of the shift, since its pilot episode was created using paper
cutouts before converting to computer software.
4. Silhouette Animation
Silhouette animation is a form of stop motion animation where the
characters are only visible as black silhouettes. This is usually
accomplished by backlighting articulated cardboard cutouts.
Silhouette animation was invented by Lotte Reiniger. It uses figures
cut out of paperboard, sometimes reinforced with thin metal sheets,
and tied together at their joints with thread or wire, which are then
moved frame-by-frame on an animation stand and filmed with a
camera.

Don’t mistake Silhouette animation for Shadow Play, though they

both look similar in how they look. Shadow play does not make use
of the stop motion technique. In Shadow Play, animation is not
achieved by capturing movement on frames, but instead the
movement is achieved in real time in front of a live audience with
the help of support rigs.
5. Cameraless Animation
Cameraless Animation, also known as Direct Animation or, Drawn-on-film
animation is an animation technique where footage is produced by creating the
images directly on film stock, as opposed to any other form of animation where the
images are photographed frame by frame with a camera.

There are two basic methods to produce animation directly on film. One starts with
blank film stock, the other one with black (already developed) film. On blank film
the artist can draw, paint, stamp, or even glue or tape objects. Black film can be
scratched, etched, sanded, or punched.

Norman McLaren is one of the first practitioners of drawn-on-film animation.

Norman McLaren wrote a short illustrated introduction "How to make animated
movies without a camera" which was originally published by UNESCO in 1949.

Norman McLaren drawing directly on film

6. Sand Animation
The manipulation of sand to generate animation is known as sand
animation. In performance art, an artist uses sand to produce a
sequence of pictures, which is accomplished by putting sand on a
surface and then generating images with one's hands by drawing lines
and figures in the sand. A lightbox is usually used by a sand animation
performer and each frame of the animated film is created by moving
sand over a lit surface.

Caroline Leaf, was an undergraduate art student at Harvard

University in 1968. She pioneered sand animation and her first film,
Peter and the Wolf (1968), was made by dumping beach sand on a
light box and manipulating the grains frame by frame to create
figures, textures, and movement.
7. Claymation
Claymation is a stop motion animation technique that involves
moving clay or plasticine models progressively to generate a
life-like effect when the captured film frames are viewed in
quick succession.

Aardman Animations, based in the United Kingdom, is known

for producing claymations such as the Oscar-winning animated
feature film Chicken Run released in 2000. Wallace and Gromit
and Shaun the sheep are two more claymations from Aardman
Animation.
8. Pixilation
Pixilation is a stop motion technique wherein live actors pose
continuously while one or more frames are shot and then change
poses slightly before the following frame or frames are taken.
The actor takes on the role of a living stop motion puppet.

Norman McLaren's Oscar-winning “Neighbours” popularized the

form of character movement referred to as Pixilation. The term
Pixilation itself was created by NFB animator Grant Munro in an
experimental film also named "Pixilation".
9. Hybrid Animation
Hybrid animation is the combination of two-dimensional and
three-dimensional animation media. 2D and 3D animation
media can be used and are used independently of one another.

In feature animated films, probably one of the most

memorable combinations of media is found in Warner
Brother’s Iron Giant, where a young boy befriends an alien
robot, the robot being 3D in a 2D animated film.
10. Live-Action/Animation
Live-action/animation is a technique combining hand-drawn characters into
live action shots or live action actors into animated shots. One of the earliest
uses was in “Koko the Clown”, when Koko was drawn over live action
footage. Other examples include “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and “Space
Jam”.
Questions
Part A
1. Write a short note on Pixilation.
2. Write a short note on sand animation.
3. Write a short note on claymation.
4. Write a short note on silhouette animation.
5. Write a short note on cutout animation.
6. What is pinscreen animation.
7. Who are Alexandre Alexeïeff and Claire Parker?
8. Who is Grant Munro?
9. Who is Caroline Leaf?

Part B
10. Write a short essay on stop motion animation.
11. Write a short essay on Caroline Leaf and mention her works.

Part C
12. Write an essay of experimental animation from around the world.