My Aardman Animations Pitch for Creative Media.

1. Aardman Animations Pitch
Thomas Horbury

2. Introduction
I am Thomas Horbury and I work in Aardman Animations as a
Stop Motion Animator. This pitch aims to tell you about the
history of animation from the first pioneers, all the way up to
present day. This pitch will also talk about Aardman
Animations themselves too, telling you a bit about the work
that happens there as well as giving examples and how it is
all made.

3. How many techniques of animation are there?
Although the main techniques of animation that people remember are CGI
and Stop Motion, these are not the only two techniques used in animation.
Even though these two techniques are the two most common techniques
used, there are actually 5 techniques/methods of animation that people
can use. On the next 5 slides will be each technique, along with a brief
explanation of what it involves.

4. 2D Hand Drawn
As suggested in the name, 2D Hand Drawn animation is animation that has been
drawn by hand. This is done by the animator drawing each frame and then putting
them all together to make the animation flow smoothly. This can be ruined
however by one frame being out of place or if the drawing on the frame is different
to the one before/after it.

5. 2D Vector-Based Animation
2D Vector-Based Animation is similar to 2D Hand Drawn Animation, however it is
all done on the computer. This shares similarities to 2D Hand Drawn Animation
since it is made by using separate frames that are then put together in a sequence
in order to make a production. This is one of the most common methods of
animation that is used across all types of media.

6. 3D Computer Animation
3D Computer Animation is exactly as it says. It is animation that is 3D which is
completely made on a computer. This is one of, if not the most, commonly used
technique used in film and tv production since it is so easily accessible and also can
be made into anything. There are many examples of this being used such as in
popular tv shows and films such as Clone Wars (TV show), Finding Nemo (film),
Toy Story (film), Monsters Inc (film), Ice Age (film) & Shrek (film).

7. Motion Graphics
Motion Graphics is used to create the illusion of motion or
movement in an object, for example in logos on websites. This is a
very common thing to see on websites since they are simple,
effective and interesting.

8. Stop Motion
Stop Motion is animation that is made up of many individual images that have
been put together to form a production. This can be done either by hand or on a
computer, however each frame has to move slowly so that when it is played back
the objects look as though they’re moving.
These are two examples of basic stop motion that I have made alongside some
co-workers:
Weather Cycle - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17PxUb7wSX8
BTEC Morph Animation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G724lwDc6X4

9. Timeline Of Animation Pioneers
There have been a lot of pioneers in animation, starting all
the way back in 1832. These next few slides are going to go
through each pioneer, what they made and when they made
it.

10. Order Of Appearance:
- Joseph Plateau
- William Horner
- Eadweard Muybridge and Thomas Edison
- Charles Emile Reynaud
- Lumiere Brothers
- Willis O’Brien
- Ray Harryhausen
- Jan Svankmajer
- The Brothers Quay
- Tim Burton
- Aardman Animations

11. Joseph Plateau
Joseph Plateau invented the phenakistoscope in
1832. The phenakistoscope works since the
human eye can only process 10-12 separate
images per second, retaining an image for up to
fifteenth of a second. If a subsequent image
replaces it in this period of time it will create the
illusion of continuity. This means that whilst it is
being spun around, the images that the eye is
looking at seem to be moving although they aren’t
moving whatsoever.
A few examples of these are the ones of the right.

12. William Horner
William Horner invented the zoetrope in 1834. The
zoetrope works in the same way as the
phenakistoscope since it uses the illusion of
continuity to create moving pictures. However, this
was made within a circle type object which meant
that people had to get close to it in order to see it.
This meant that only a few people could see it at a
time.

13. Edward Muybridge & Thomas Edison
Edward Muybridge & Thomas Edison created the
kinetoscope in 1861. The kinetoscope was a
large box that allowed a single person to look in to
stand view a motion picture. It was not a projector
and could only be viewed by one person at a time.
It worked by creating an illusion of movement by
conveying a strip perforated film with sequential
images on it, much like a flip book. Development
started in 1889.

14. Charles Emile Reynaud
Charles Emile Reynaud invented the first
projected animated cartoon films and created the
praxinoscope in 1877. It used a lantern to
project the moving images on to a small screen
allowing a larger audience to view it. It was
however limited to 12 image. In 1888 he created
a larger version of the praxinoscope called the
Theatre Optique. His film film was called Pauvre
Pierrot and was premiered in Paris 1892. It
consisted of 500 individually pained images.

15. Lumière Brothers
The Lumière Brothers wanted to overcome the
issues of the peephole kinetoscope. They
developed and invented a device called the
‘cinematograph’. Their first film was ‘sortie de
l’usine Lumiere de lyon’. The cinematograph was
much smaller than Edison’s and used a lot less
film. It used 16fps compared to the kinetoscopes
48fps. The cinematograph was invented in 1892.
16fps then became the standard film rate for the
next 25 years.

16. Willis O’Brien
Willis O’Brien was a stop motion film maker who
is best known for his visual effects (used entirely
out of clay) in films such as King Kong (1933),
Mighty Joe Young (1949), and The Lost World
(1960). These movies were and still are famed for
being some of the first films to use claymation in
them (claymation = a method of film animation using
adjustable clay figures and stop-motion photography).

17. Ray Harryhausen
Ray Harryhausen worked alongside Willis
O’Brien on Mighty Joe Young, however he
did other films such as Clash of the Titans
(1981) and Jason and the Argonauts (1963).
While working on the movie The Beast from
20,000 Fathoms (1953) Harryhausen came
up with a new technique which he later
named Dynamation. This consisted of the
camera filming 2 separate images and then
putting them together to create the final
product in the editing phase.

18. Jan Svankmajer
Jan Svankmajer is an animator who is known for his
claymation. His animations are created using stop
motion, which creates a surreal ‘nightmarish’ tone. He
uses exaggerated sounds and uses strange effects in
eating scenes (food is one of his favoured subjects).
Two of his most famous pieces of work are Meat
Love and Darkness (top photo); as well as Light,
Darkness (bottom photo).

19. The Brothers Quay
The Brothers Quay are twin brothers (Stephen and
Timothy) who have led a unique brand of
experimentation in stop-motion puppet animation for
over 30 years. In their time working as stop-motion
animators, they have produced more than 45 moving
image works which were inspired by various animators,
artists and writers from Central Europe. Street of
Crocodiles (1968) is one of their most famous works,
and it also shows their favoured gothic tone which
inspired other animators and movie directors such as
Tim Burton.

20. Tim Burton
Tim Burton is a director who has made films using stop-
motion and also made films not using stop-motion. He
makes his movies with a gothic tone which is similar to
The Quay Brothers, since they were one of his biggest
influences. Some of the gothic movies that he has made
are: The Nightmare Before Christmas; Corpse Bride;
Sweeny Todd & Sleepy Hollow. Tim Burton made a
gothic style movie called Frankenweiner which was about
a child who brought his dog back to life in the same way
as Frankenstein did to his monster. This film was aimed
towards kids, and was made by Disney however after this
film’s release he was fired due to it not fitting the gentle,
light hearted tone that they preferred.

21. How/Who influenced who? (ORIGINAL PIONEERS)
The original pioneers (William Horner, Emily Reynaud, Edward Muybridge & Thomas Edison as well as The Lumière
Brothers) were all heavily influenced by each other with it all starting with Joseph Plateau.
William Horner - William Horner used the principles of the Phenakistoscope, which was created in 1832, to created the
Zoetrope in the 19th century.
Emile Reynaud - Emile Reynaud then used the principles of the Zoetrope to create the first projected animated cartoon
films, by creating the Praxinoscope in 1877.
Edward Muybridge & Thomas Edison - Edward Muybridge and Thomas Edison then made the Kinetoscope which as
shown earlier, could only be seen by one person at a time which meant that people had to wait in line to see it.
The Lumière Brothers - The Lumière Brothers didn’t like the Kinetoscope, and wanted to change it to allow more people to
watch it at one time. This is when they created the Cinematograph which used less film than Edward and Thomas’s, and
was smaller. It also used 16fps compared to the 48fps that the kinetoscope used, which later became the standard film
rate.

22. How/Who influenced who? (STOP MOTION ANIMATORS)
In 1925, animation because to take a new approach to filmmaking, using new techniques and materials to create more
realistic and futuristic approaches. This is where Willis O’Brien, Ray Harryhausen and Jan Svankmajer come in.
Willis O’Brien - Willis O’Brien was a stop motion animator best known for his films King Kong (1933), Mighty Joe Young
(1949), and The Lost World (1960). He made all of these movies from claymation, mainly focusing on animals such as can
be seen in these three movies. O’Brien gained lots of his fame after King Kong was shown, which meant that he came up
with the idea for Mighty Joe Young, which Ray Harryhausen helped to animate.
Ray Harryhausen - Due to him working on Mighty Joe Young with O’Brien, he gained lots of experience with stop motion
animation which he used in his movies, Clash of the Titans (1981), Jason and the Argonauts (1963) and The Beast from
20,000 Fathoms (1953) In these movies, Ray Harryhausen used a similar technique to create his models for the creatures
by making them out of clay just as seen in O’Brien’s movies.
Jan Svankmajer - Svankmajer tends to make his films in a dark tone, that can be seen in two of his most famous pieces of
work, Meat Love and Darkness & Light, Darkness. Both of these are dark in tone, with Meat Love being about 2 pieces of
meat that fall in love, and get cooked; and Light, Darkness being about a human being formed. Svankmajer uses
exaggerated sounds for everything in his films, whether it be from a light knock on a door or oil sizzling in a pan.

23. References