Stop motion animation is a storytelling technique as old as cinema itself. Despite the mainstream medias seemingly overwhelming thirst for computer generated animation and fast paced action films, the medium of stop motion appears to be booming. Yet the title of a ‘dying art’ still follows it everywhere. 

As with everything, the medium has had to embraced new technology in order to survive the changing times. This has only widened the split between how Futurists* and Luddites* approach the style of their animations. I have delved into their methods of how they produce their films to try and find out what the future holds for the miniature world. There seems to be a fine line between losing the aesthetic of stop motion in a mass of VFX* elements and films not being engaging enough to hold an audience’s attention for a whole hour and a half. If this technique of filmmaking is to continue it seems essential that this balance is found, and technology is not used in excess. Is there point in using a labour-intensive technique such a stop motion only to have it look like computer animation? With huge new investments from the film industry, it seems that stop motion animation is alive and kicking.

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* Indicates definition available in Appendix