Whilst working through my research project I encountered a point where I was to branch out a tiny bit in order to broaden my investigation. After my talk with Chris Bowden where he started responding to my questions in relation to children, for example he stated that
"children like seeing something they can touch and play with so I think that's why younger audiences like stop-motion animation"
This was just one of his reasons as to why stop-motion is still popular, this got me thinking, I've focused on the practitioners and their reasoning for the topic at hand but I didn't derive any responses from the average consumer of animation. this led me to create a short survey in which to gather some more research in the form of different audience methods. here is the questionnaire with all the responses:
The survey was entitled: What Kind of Animations do you Watch?
Are you aware of different animation techniques? if so write below
Yes, Optical MoCap, Sensor driven MoCap (Moven), 3D/2D keyframe, Stop Motion/Claymation, Motion Graphics
12/10/2015 12:44 PM View respondent's answers
None
12/9/2015 7:28 AM View respondent's answers
I'm aware of the difference between 2D and 3D animation, between stop-motion and digital techniques?
12/9/2015 2:32 AM View respondent's answers
stop motion 2D 2D digital 3D digital
12/8/2015 8:46 PM View respondent's answers
Cgi traditional frames stop motion claymation
12/8/2015 8:07 PM View respondent's answers
No
12/8/2015 7:27 PM View respondent's answers
rotascoping, 3D rigged and skinned models, traditional hand drawn, stop motion.
12/8/2015 7:17 PM View respondent's answers
CGI, puppets, stop motion
12/8/2015 7:14 PM View respondent's answers
stop motion, hand drawn, clay-mation, CGI
12/8/2015 7:09 PM View respondent's answers
yes
12/8/2015 7:06 PM View respondent's answers
Yes. Stop motion, CGI, hand drawn traditional,
12/8/2015 6:56 PM View respondent's answers
3D, 2D digital, 2D traditional, cel-painted, stop-motion, claymation, motion-graphics.
12/8/2015 6:51 PM View respondent's answers
yeah man!
12/8/2015 6:43 PM View respondent's answers
2d paper+digital 3d computer Stop motion
12/8/2015 6:40 PM View respondent's answers
Traditional 2D, stop motion, digital
12/8/2015 6:38 PM View respondent's answers
No
12/8/2015 6:26 PM View respondent's answers
Stop motion, CGI
12/8/2015 6:20 PM View respondent's answers
Traditional hand-drawn, stop motion (Puppets, cutout, claymation, pixilation), 3D, rotoscoping, motion capture
12/8/2015 6:16 PM View respondent's answers
What was the last animated film/show you watched?
Inside Out
12/10/2015 12:44 PM View respondent's answers
Frozen
12/9/2015 7:28 AM View respondent's answers
The Dam Keeper.
12/9/2015 2:32 AM View respondent's answers
a woodworking show on youtube which features a small ammount of stop motion animation
12/8/2015 8:46 PM View respondent's answers
How to train a dragon
12/8/2015 8:10 PM View respondent's answers
Lion king
12/8/2015 8:07 PM View respondent's answers
Family guy
12/8/2015 7:27 PM View respondent's answers
One punch man, watch it, it's got some great key animation and it's fucking hilarious.
12/8/2015 7:17 PM View respondent's answers
High School of the Dead
12/8/2015 7:14 PM View respondent's answers
The Lego Movie
12/8/2015 7:09 PM View respondent's answers
Final Fantasy VII Advent Child
12/8/2015 7:06 PM View respondent's answers
The Good Dinosaur
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Kiki's Delivery Service, The Cat Returns, The Simpsons
12/8/2015 6:51 PM View respondent's answers
Rise of the Guardians
12/8/2015 6:43 PM View respondent's answers
Toy story 3
12/8/2015 6:40 PM View respondent's answers
Happy Feet
12/8/2015 6:38 PM View respondent's answers
Dragon Ball Z
12/8/2015 6:26 PM View respondent's answers
Howls moving castle
12/8/2015 6:20 PM View respondent's answers
South Park
12/8/2015 6:16 PM View respondent's answers
Do you know what stop-motion animation is?
yes
|
89.47%
17
|
no
|
10.53%
2
|
know of it but not how its done fully
|
0.00%
0
|
| Total | 19 |
If you answered yes to question 3, why do you think stop-motion animation is still popular today?
I agree stop motion is still a viable animation method however its popularity has decrease in feature creation due to time and budgetary expense. That it is unpopular - however the enjoyment from the style is absolute, when produced correctly with a matching story concept stop motion brings more to the show than any other method. Due to the ambiguous nature of popularity I suppose SM can be considered unpopular given that main feature heavily rely now on CG integration with prop builds, miniature or otherwise. Therefore SM has become obsolete in main stream show production. But the love of determined traditional methods still bring joy to most - John Lewis' The Bear and the Hare - https://vimeo.com/78254514
12/10/2015 12:44 PM View respondent's answers
Because it is a very distinctive style, that is neither too polished that the human element is often lost (like with 3D animation) nor is it so flat that the sense of reality is lost (like with 2D animation).
12/9/2015 2:32 AM View respondent's answers
for the same reason books haven't been replaced by tablets. It will always have a place even if its possibly slightly out of date.
12/8/2015 8:46 PM View respondent's answers
Gives a unique feel to the film
12/8/2015 8:07 PM View respondent's answers
Class
12/8/2015 7:27 PM View respondent's answers
cool aesthetic
12/8/2015 7:17 PM View respondent's answers
I've never really thought about it!
12/8/2015 7:14 PM View respondent's answers
people have much more accessible technology enabling them to do so.
12/8/2015 7:09 PM View respondent's answers
Honestly do not know, i don't like it myself but i guess it has some interesting aspects to it
12/8/2015 7:06 PM View respondent's answers
The hand crafted talent is obvious in the films and you can really appreciate how much work goes into it
12/8/2015 6:56 PM View respondent's answers
It has a certain appeal possibly due to enhanced texture, ability to play more with lighting, and the movement of the characters looks very rough and ready which is attractive to some people.
12/8/2015 6:51 PM View respondent's answers
Maybe the authentic feel to it? The realisation that is handcrafted and not "just in the computer"
12/8/2015 6:43 PM View respondent's answers
Because it's like magic. Bringing a model alive.
12/8/2015 6:40 PM View respondent's answers
It has a basic rawness which shows the talent and work that produces a great experience.
12/8/2015 6:38 PM View respondent's answers
It has a cool appeal to it. Because I know what it is and how long and tedious the process is to produce something I can appreciate it greater than other forms of animation
12/8/2015 6:26 PM View respondent's answers
Because you can see the craft behind it
12/8/2015 6:20 PM View respondent's answers
Honestly I thought it was just a British thing, ahaha. But, jokes aside, stop motion certainly still has its charm (Especially when it comes to Aardman's works), it is especially a technique that even kids that play around with at a very early age, which brings out their potential pretty early as future animators.
12/8/2015 6:16 PM View respondent's answers
Do you know what CGI animation is?
yes
|
94.74%
18
|
no
|
5.26%
1
|
I know of it but not how its done
|
0.00%
0
|
| Total | 19 |
if you answered yes to question 5, why do you think CGI is becoming more popular?
Again, the answer is show dependant. It would be derived from shear usage in main stream media production. However this does not mean that it is more popular - CGI animation can be used improperly or in unnecessary ways which the now more and more computer literate generations are able to notice. Given that the advancements in CGI are still in rapid progression there's no telling when the popularity of the discipline will stop growing, owing additionally to the community development of new innovations surrounding it, VR for instance.
12/10/2015 12:44 PM View respondent's answers
It allows clearer more engaging stunts
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Easier to mass produce, less work, less messiness involved. You could make a TV series in CGI easily, but a half hour movie would take a year or more with stop motion.
12/9/2015 2:32 AM View respondent's answers
its becoming easier to produce
12/8/2015 8:46 PM View respondent's answers
Comparative ease of production to get realistic Images
12/8/2015 8:07 PM View respondent's answers
Ease of use
12/8/2015 7:27 PM View respondent's answers
better advances in 3D visualisation with high res character models being fast to create with software like zbrush. With the advent of PBR texturing as well photo realism in games engines is now available.
12/8/2015 7:17 PM View respondent's answers
More realistic and not as time intensive
12/8/2015 7:14 PM View respondent's answers
The advancements is graphical manipulation and output only increases with the power of the computer its being processed on
12/8/2015 7:09 PM View respondent's answers
Because it is literally everywhere these days so people are more involved and interest grows
12/8/2015 7:06 PM View respondent's answers
You can create huge spaces and detailed 3D characters in less time and for less money.
12/8/2015 6:56 PM View respondent's answers
Special effects and more realistic-looking animation due to technological advances. Easier to mimic reality and be used in game technology.
12/8/2015 6:51 PM View respondent's answers
The possibilities are basically endless, with the right knowledge. Practically every film that comes out nowadays has at least a bit of CGI in it, and some studios that produce full on 3D animation are starting to explore more and more options with it
12/8/2015 6:43 PM View respondent's answers
Because it looks more modern and technical and that's the way the whole world is going
12/8/2015 6:40 PM View respondent's answers
I think people are demanding more lifelike animations.
12/8/2015 6:38 PM View respondent's answers
Strong visuals bro
12/8/2015 6:26 PM View respondent's answers
It's a faster way of getting results
12/8/2015 6:20 PM View respondent's answers
A lot of people are probably thinking that CGI is cheaper, less time consuming and probably looks more appealing as compared to other techniques... most of the time that is.
12/8/2015 6:16 PM View respondent's answers
If you answered yes to both question 3 and 5, which is your favourite type of animation between stop-motion and CGI and why?
Features - CG, No dialogue story driven shorts - SM.
12/10/2015 12:44 PM View respondent's answers
Personally prefer 2D animation, not crazy about 3D stuff, I like stop-motion more than 3D. So I don't quite know how to answer since I don't know what you count as CGI.
12/9/2015 2:32 AM View respondent's answers
CGI, theres more you can do with it. Video games and such.
12/8/2015 8:46 PM View respondent's answers
Stop motion love the images it producesand tthe work that goes into it
12/8/2015 8:07 PM View respondent's answers
Stop motion - just better innit
12/8/2015 7:27 PM View respondent's answers
CGI because games dev student aylmao
12/8/2015 7:17 PM View respondent's answers
CGI because it's pretty!
12/8/2015 7:14 PM View respondent's answers
CGI, personally i fucking love visual effects and much depth they can add to a film
12/8/2015 7:09 PM View respondent's answers
CGI definitely, it just appeals to me more than stop motion
12/8/2015 7:06 PM View respondent's answers
Stop motion because I like the hand crafted models and sets.
12/8/2015 6:56 PM View respondent's answers
CGI all the way! The ability to mimic reality is appealing as it feels like more of an escape when immersing yourself in it. CGI in my opinion feels more overwhelming and exciting to see - plays with your perception of reality.
12/8/2015 6:51 PM View respondent's answers
To create I really love CGI and the fact that it can take my breath away (like rise of the guardians, come on that was beautiful). I also really love the production that gets into stop motion animation but I prefer CGI just a tad bit.
12/8/2015 6:43 PM View respondent's answers
Cgi I think because I like the finish but I am jealous of the people who can do stop motion well
12/8/2015 6:40 PM View respondent's answers
I am amazed by both. I like the realism of CGI but I love the rawness of stop motion.
12/8/2015 6:38 PM View respondent's answers
CGI, theres less restraints on what can be produced. Stop motion is limited
12/8/2015 6:26 PM View respondent's answers
Stop motion, because it's a form of art
12/8/2015 6:20 PM View respondent's answers
Wow, that's just cruel... I don't really prefer any one to the other, to be honest, both have their pros and cons.
12/8/2015 6:16 PM View respondent's answers
Considering stop-motion is very expensive for independent animators to do, why do you think its still very popular?
Well produce SM still instils a sense of nostalgia along with beauty to the performance of moving picture in my opinion. To an extent I would think that it also is a true determination factor which keeps it a popular challenge.
12/10/2015 12:44 PM View respondent's answers
The human element should never be underestimated. Stop-motion satisfies the need to feel with your sight, to be comforted and entertained by the textures and imperfections that are beyond the capabilities of CGI to replicate.
12/9/2015 2:32 AM View respondent's answers
see above.
12/8/2015 8:46 PM View respondent's answers
Love of the art and workmanship and the unique visuals possible
12/8/2015 8:07 PM View respondent's answers
What an odd question. The viewer doesn't care about the cost.
12/8/2015 7:27 PM View respondent's answers
Because it looks more visually interesting and people appreciate the effort put into it more.
12/8/2015 7:17 PM View respondent's answers
I guess it's because they're going for a certain kind of effect with their movies?
12/8/2015 7:14 PM View respondent's answers
through crown funding websites such as kickstarter or indie gogo
12/8/2015 7:09 PM View respondent's answers
as stated before, i don't really know, if it stopped being popular tomorrow i wouldn't really mind.
12/8/2015 7:06 PM View respondent's answers
It's worth the time and money because of the unique style.
12/8/2015 6:56 PM View respondent's answers
It has a childlike appeal which is popular and can be widely appreciated because it is obvious that a lot of materials and effort has been put into it rather than relying on software (like CGI does). Anyone can do stop motion as a camera and materials are easily found and not too expensive, however on a professional scale it can become expensive!
12/8/2015 6:51 PM View respondent's answers
I honestly don't know. I guess because there are people who are stubborn enough to create it and that there are enough people who love to watch it.
12/8/2015 6:43 PM View respondent's answers
Because they enjoy it
12/8/2015 6:40 PM View respondent's answers
I imagine animators feel very close to their creations as they can manually manipulate them and 'feel' them.
12/8/2015 6:38 PM View respondent's answers
Because art is popular and we all want to be in awe of their talent.
12/8/2015 6:20 PM View respondent's answers
The romantic side of me believes that no one wants to see this form of technique die out... the other side of me just thinks they cray-cray. Pft, nah, it's obvious that a lot of these practitioners just hold a great deal of love for it. And while I can't see that for myself, I can understand and appreciate why they wish to specialise in that.
12/8/2015 6:16 PM View respondent's answers
Finally, Can you think of any examples where stop-motion animation and CGI were used together? (don't worry if you can't). Thank you for taking the time to answer my survey!
There was elements mentioned about the Lego Movie. Star Wars (ish) Miniatures are used frequently however in most features - or should be.
12/10/2015 12:44 PM View respondent's answers
No
12/9/2015 7:28 AM View respondent's answers
Sorry, I'm not very helpful here. My preference is mainly for 2D animation.
12/9/2015 2:32 AM View respondent's answers
Boxtrolls!
12/8/2015 8:46 PM View respondent's answers
Tim Burton probably Frankenweanie
12/8/2015 8:07 PM View respondent's answers
Naaaaa. Keep cool. Stay off drugs and stay in school.
12/8/2015 7:27 PM View respondent's answers
No idea probably the lego movie???
12/8/2015 7:17 PM View respondent's answers
Nope, sorry!
12/8/2015 7:14 PM View respondent's answers
Without googling it no. curse you and your trick questions Ell. I will defeat you in the realm of wonder and all that is fathomed. I have your sent and shall track you down until the end of days my dear boy. i know none of this is particularly useful but im just trying to distract myself from the uni work i have to do myself. I can only hope you enjoyed this little segment of our brief conversation and i wish you well. Merry Christmas dude, see you soon :D
12/8/2015 7:09 PM View respondent's answers
yes i can :D
12/8/2015 7:06 PM View respondent's answers
Coraline, LEGO movie, Corpse Bride, Jurassic Park originally used stop motion dinosaurs I think, but switched to CGI?
12/8/2015 6:51 PM View respondent's answers
I thought every laika film has a tiny bit of cgi, like to get rid of the lines in the face of the replacements and the ghosts in paranorman and stuff.
12/8/2015 6:43 PM View respondent's answers
No, but I'm going to have to look that one up! And it's a pleasure (from Mom X)
12/8/2015 6:38 PM View respondent's answers
Not sure
12/8/2015 6:20 PM View respondent's answers
The Pirates! Band of Misfits! My absolute fave too! ... The Lego Movie probably doesn't count but its obvious that they are still trying to replicate the stop-motion style with its movements, and the same goes for that new Charlie Brown movie.
12/8/2015 6:16 PM View respondent's answers
This survey was very beneficial to my theory work as it gave me an insight into the consumers response to my subject matter and helped me get a few extra quotes that weren't biased to one form of animation where with practitioners there will always be some form of bias due to their career path.
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