So what exactly is stopmotion? Otherwise known as stopframe or stopaction, it is a type of animation where every single frame is an individually taken photograph, and elements on the scene are adjusted to give the illusion that they are moving or changing independently. It has a number of sister strands including Claymation (think Creature Comforts) and Brickfilm (animation using lego, of which The Magic Portal is one of the earliest and most famous examples) and with the rise in digital photography, has becoming increasingly popular of late. The method gives a slightly jerky effect (maybe 12 or less frames will be used per second, whereas film has a standard 24 frames) which can be manipulated to create fascinating aesthetics. In this selection I’ve tried to go beyond films which merely look interesting, and instead show you films which have really embraced the possibilities of the medium and created something that a non stop-motion film simply could not achieve. Let’s go… As always we’ve put all clips available on YouTube into this playlist to makes things easy for you.

The Quay Brothers

The Quay Brothers: Stille Nacht I - Dramolet

A good place to begin, no discussion about stopmotion can fail to mention this astoundingly talented and prolific American duo whose skills have been showcased on both stage and screen – in both short and feature films. Often presenting an aesthetic that seems to come from another era altogether, their work regularly features puppets and gothic imagery to dazzling effect. The first of their Stille Nacht series below is incredibly powerful for its short duration. Watch Stille Nacht I: Dramolet here Incidentally The Quay Brothers played a key role in the design of Peter Gabriel’s renowned Sledgehammer video (although it is rumoured that they weren’t happy with the result). Whatever you think of the track, the quality of the video cannot be disputed – incredibly innovative for the time and still impressive, it is not surprising that it still makes top all-time music video lists worldwide today. Watch it here

Roof Sex

Pes is a US animator who has slowly built up a phenomenal internet following with his quirky and highly distinctive stopmotion animations. After doing some research on chair porn, he decided to make his own and spent 2 weeks roasting on a New York roof and savageing a family heirloom to do so. A must-see, and must-forward-to-friends. Watch Roof Sex here

Pes: Western Spaghetti

If you have an extra five minutes it’s worth checking out the making of to get an idea of just how much work goes into a small space of time in stop motion world. Making of Roof Sex Another of Pes’ shorts – Western Spaghetti – was deservedly one of the top viral clips of 2008. Watch Western Spaghetti here

Jan Svankmajer – Meat Love (1989)

Combining both the sex and food themes of the two Pes shorts above, Meat Love is a piece by Czech master Jan Svankmajer who was a key influence of our aforementioned Quay Brothers. A unique mind and talent – who else would think of entertaining us by showing two slabs of meat getting it on? Watch Meat Love here

La Tartine

This modern classic from French animators Guillame Colomb and Olivier Derivier brings a breakfast table to life in a heartwarming fashion. Watch La Tartine here

Her Morning Elegance

Oren Lavie – Her Morning Elegance

Unless you’ve been disconnected from the internet for the past year, you are unlikely to have missed the buzz that circled around Lavie’s video, directed by Yuval and Merav Nathan, who prove themselves to be more creative in bed than even your finest lover. After this clocked up over 7 million views of YouTube and catapulted Lavie to international stardom, we were all reminded of the potential that a good music video can hold. Watch Her Morning Elegance here

Blu

Blu creates evolving street art and some of the most labour intensive and eye-popping stopmotion I’ve ever seen. One of his first works, ‘Muto’, shot in Buenos Aires and Baden (Switzerland) has become an internet sensation and his latest Combo, in collaboration with David Ellis, pushed the boundaries even further in an old courtyard space. Watch Muto here Watch Combo here

The Panique au Village crew

Panique au village

Stopmotion was taken to the mainstream in the UK in its claymation form with Creature Comforts and Wallace and Gromit, produced by the renowned Aardman Studios in Bristol. From a similar school of thought, and perhaps somewhat wittier, are the Town called Panic shorts from La Parti Production in Belgium. Below you can see one of my favourites of the adventures of Cowboy, Indian and Horse – I personally think it’s funnier in its original French language (you don’t really need to understand the language) but it can also be watched dubbed into English here

Watch Le Grand Sommeil here

Sia – Breathe Me

The integration of photographs into stopmotion can add a whole other level of complexity and intricacy to this already intense art form. This video was co-directed by Sia herself and masterful Australian designer-director Daniel Askill (who is behind another of my favourite short films ever – We have Decided not to die – here, here and here) Watch Breathe Me here

The Pen Story

It’s almost a shame that this piece is actually an advert, but I suspect that only an advert-sized budget would have made it possible. Taking the stopmotion-photograph genre to a whole new level, this piece blew me away. Watch The Pen Story here

Paper

A paper Octopus in Origami

was the theme for another two adverts – from HP and Onitsuka respectively who conjure up magic with printers and Origami: Watch Invent here Watch Origami here Meanwhile, someone else raided the stationary cupboard to create Deadline.

Shaving by Hand

A clip which I stumbled across on YouTube, once again it reflects someone who has really thought about the possibilities of the medium and with an innovative and simple idea, has created a mesmerising little clip. Watch Shaving by Hand here

Shred

Another incredibly simple idea that made me wonder why I’d never thought of it – and that’s the only thought you need to have to know you’ve seen/read/heard a winner. Watch Shred here