Monday, 14 October 2013
Friday, 11 October 2013
Tim Burton, The Brothers Quay and Aardman.
The brothers quay.
Born in 1947, the twin brothers Stephen and
Timothy Quay have received awards in the past for being two of the most
influential stop-motion animators. Together they studied illustration at the
Philadelphia College of Art, which later led them to move to England,
furthering their education and experience at the Royal College of Art, London.
This is where they made their first short films, which sadly no longer exist
after their only copy was damaged beyond repair. Teaming up with another
college student named Keith Griffiths, the trio worked together to create
Koninck Studios, which is based in Southwark, London to this day.
The brothers’ are influenced by a tradition of Eastern European animation. Their unique, creepy animating style is instantly recognizable, making their work stand out from the rest. The twins are best known for their film “Street of crocodiles” which can be found here:
Aside from their animation, The Quays have also directed some advertisements, including some for MTV, Nikon and Slurpee.
In 2012 the Quay Brothers were honored with a career retrospective gallery exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Stephen Quay describes their work as “dark fairy tales with elements of grotesquerie and the pathological.” His brother Timothy Quay adds to this by saying “We set them in a twilight world, midway between sleep and wakefulness.” (source)
Because this sort of dark, surreal style is rarely ever seen in animation, their work has influenced the likes of Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam, who recently has selected their film “Street of Crocodiles” as one of the ten best-animated films of all time.
As a youngster, Burton would produce short films in his back garden using stop-motion animation techniques on his first camera. He loved drawing, painting and watching films and was inspired by Roald Dahl and Dr. Seuss. Burton studied at California Institute of Arts to study character animation. During his student life, he created "Stalk of the Celery Monster" and "King and Octopus" graduating in 1979.
His creation of "Stalk of the Celery Monster" attracted the attention of Walt Disney Productions animation studio, which then went to offer Burton an apprenticeship in animation at the studio. As an animator there, he worked as a storyboard artist for films such as The Fox and The Hound and Tron. Unfortunately, Burton's personal style didn't bode well with Disney's standards, and he wished to work on his solo projects.
Whilst he was working at Disney studios, he created his first ever short motion film, "Vincent" which is based on a poem written by a filmmaker, depicting a young boy and his fantasies. It can be found here:
Stephen Quay describes their work as “dark fairy tales with elements of grotesquerie and the pathological.” His brother Timothy Quay adds to this by saying “We set them in a twilight world, midway between sleep and wakefulness.” (source)
Because this sort of dark, surreal style is rarely ever seen in animation, their work has influenced the likes of Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam, who recently has selected their film “Street of Crocodiles” as one of the ten best-animated films of all time.
Tim Burton
Timothy Walter Burton is a film producer, director, poet, writer and stop-motion artist from California, U.S. His work is recognised by his gothic, dark and quirky style, with quirky fantasy films such as Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas being prime examples. Burton is widely known for using recurring collaborators in his films, Johnny Depp being the most relevant. They've shared a close bond ever since their first film together.As a youngster, Burton would produce short films in his back garden using stop-motion animation techniques on his first camera. He loved drawing, painting and watching films and was inspired by Roald Dahl and Dr. Seuss. Burton studied at California Institute of Arts to study character animation. During his student life, he created "Stalk of the Celery Monster" and "King and Octopus" graduating in 1979.
His creation of "Stalk of the Celery Monster" attracted the attention of Walt Disney Productions animation studio, which then went to offer Burton an apprenticeship in animation at the studio. As an animator there, he worked as a storyboard artist for films such as The Fox and The Hound and Tron. Unfortunately, Burton's personal style didn't bode well with Disney's standards, and he wished to work on his solo projects.
Whilst he was working at Disney studios, he created his first ever short motion film, "Vincent" which is based on a poem written by a filmmaker, depicting a young boy and his fantasies. It can be found here:
Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations is a studio based in Bristol which produces animated films, mostly known for its release of "Wallace and Gromit" a film using clay animation. The studio was founded by Peter Lord and David Sproxton, wanting to publicise their dreams of producing an animated motion picture. They created the segment "Greeblies" in 1975 using clay animation, which was the inspiration behind creating the character, Morph.
In 2000, they created Aardman's first feature film, Chicken Run, teaming up with DreamWorks. They signed a $250 million deal to make an additional four films in the following 12 years. When Chicken Run was released, it was very successful. In 2006, they released their first computer-animated film "Flushed Away".
Lots of films which they released were targeted at children. Their realistic character models were one of the main reasons to which they were incredibly successful. Wallace and Gromit are made from moulded clay on metal armatures, which is a popular technique to create a realistic character in clay animation.
A short extract from Wallace and Gromit can be found here:
A short extract from Wallace and Gromit can be found here:
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