Pixilation
Pixilation is a stop-motion technique and describes the filming of people or objects with individual frames . The term was likely coined by Norman McLaren , who used this technique in his Oscar- winning film Neighbors (1952). The word is based on the English term pixilated - slightly crazy, bizarre, eccentric - and alludes to the fidgety, crazy movements that arise with this technique. The term pixilated, in turn, comes from the word pixie - a goblin-like creature from Celtic mythology .
technology
Pixilation gives the movements of people the slightly faltering character of characters in a stop-motion film. Various effects are also possible. Objects and people can appear and disappear in the picture. If a person moves one step forward between two images, but stands still for the image itself, one gets the impression in the film that they are sliding across the floor without moving their feet. If a person jumps in the air every time the shot is taken, it appears in the film as if they are flying. It is advisable to use a tripod, otherwise the film will be shaky.
Pixilation is one of the simplest film tricks and can be implemented with any camera with single frame switching. Especially those who work with the Super8 cine film format can make their first attempts at animation with Pixilation without much effort. But also in experimental films and music videos , pixilation is often used for the sake of the special look.
Examples
- Neighbors (short film by Norman McLaren , 1952, Oscar-winning)
- The story of the chair (A Chairy Tale) (short film by Norman McLaren, 1957)
- Stop, Look and Listen (short film by Len Janson and Chuck Menville, 1967)
- Monsieur Pointu (short film by André Leduc and Bernard Longpré , 1975)
- Sledgehammer (music video for Peter Gabriel from Aardman Animations , 1985)
- Das kleine Fressen (Jídlo) (short film, partly in pixilation, by Jan Švankmajer , 1992)
- Gisèle Kérozène (short film by Jan Kounen , 1999)
- The Hardest Button to Button (music video for the White Stripes , by Michel Gondry , 2003)
- Dead Reckoning (short film about the rhythm of Vienna by Paul Wenninger and Susan Young , 2006)