Genres and Forms
Stop motion is used in many genres and forms as it is a very versatile style as nearly anything can be made. It is used in films such as the ones mentioned above by Aardman and Burton. This is the most common form for people to think of when thinking of stop motion animation as films like Wallace and Grommit and The Nightmare Before Christmas are so popular. In films they can be used in any genre. For example, Tim Burton films often fall into the category of childrens films, however, are often more gothic than typical children’s films. For example, Frankenweenie and The Corpse Bride both centre around death but are approached in a child friendly manner. Aardman animations on the other hand
are light-hearted comedies.
However, they are also used in other forms such as TV, adverts and TV indents. Angry Kid is an example of a stop motion TV series produced by Aardman animations. This used different techniques to many Aardman films as it used a mixture of pixilation and puppetry compared to the typical Claymation. This is also falls into a different genre as it is an adult comedy. Adverts can use stop motion as it can give them a lot more creative freedom. For example, Xbox made an advert which featured someone moulding different shapes related to the Xbox out of clay before finally moulding the shape of the Xbox. Channels often use stop motion in their idents between programmes. E4 does this a lot as they use a variety of different styles in their indents. Stop motion is also used in music videos for example, Peter Gabriel’s video for Sledgehammer was made from stop motion. As stop motion is a style of animation it can be used in any genre as shown by the animators above work. For example, O’Brien and Harryhausen’s work was often action films; while Svankmajer’s and the Quay brothers work is surrealist; Burton’s is gothic and Aardman’s is comedy.
(Angry Kid)
(Xbox adverts)
(E4 Indent)
(Peter Gabriel Sledgehammer)