Stop-Motion Books

I found this book to be very helpful and informative

This is the first book I've read on Richard Pryor. I think it is a good book. It is very difficult to convey Richard Pryor's impact on the black community in the 70's and 80's. It is comparable to the impacts Muhammad Ali and James Brown had in the 60's and 70's. This book captures some if not most of the reasons for Pryor's great popularity.

Peter Biskind uses "Seeeing is Believing" to look back at films from the 1950's from a socio-political perspective. Using terms such as corporate liberals to define characters in films, and classifying films as either right-wing or left-wing biased, Biskind dissects several well-known films, and more than a few not well-known, from the early Cold War era based on uncommon film criticsm methods. The book is not for the typical movie fan, but for readers with more intellectual pursuits in mind.

Biskind often reads too much into the films he analyzes to substantiate his points, and will quote dialogue out of context from a film under discussion, or from other films of the time. It is doubtful that the producer, director, or writer of a science fiction film like "Them" imagined their science fiction action adventure about giant ants taking over the world to be as complex as Biskind makes it out to be. It is rare that giant ant films are analyzed in the same book as such 1950's classics as "On The Waterfront" and "Rebel Without a Cause." Knowing the Hollywood studio assembly line structure of time, and the large number of contract employees who provided input into any one film, it is difficult to believe that the large number of disparate films analyzed in the book would follow the same general set of character and plot rules as Biskind imagines.

The reading may not be light and easygoing, but "Seeing is Believing" gives the reader new food for thought the next time one of the films discussed in the book pops up on cable television.

Some reviewers here accuse Shone of being simplistic in his rebuff of Peter Biskind's Easy Riders etc but in fact it's simplistic to view the book in this way. I think Shone just wishes to continue the story beyond the point at which Biskind chose to end his; the Biskind-bashing very evident in the early chapters comes off the back of this but one of Shone's main points is that Jaws and Star Wars should/can be seen as artistically rich and groundbreaking in their own right, just in a different vein to the films of Biskind's heroes.

The view glibly asserted by an earlier reviewer here, that Spileberg and his ilk are "dull" and therefore unsatisfying as subject matter, is exactly the somewhat sniffy received opinion that Shone attacks, and it's a pleasure to read, as is the long-overdue puncturing of some sacred icons. He isn't simply defending anything that gets called a blockbuster - he calls into question our use of that term when it's often used to describe over-hyped films that open big and then vanish. What is definitely simplistic is the notion that this is a phenomenon that can be blamed purely on Jaws and Star Wars.

I also like a good, genuinely informative list and his highest-earning films list adjusted for inflation I found very interesting (most of the very recent biggies vanish). And any book that has a graph of audience reactions during Jaws gets my vote.

Before I start of criticise, it should be noted that this is actually a rather good book. It is one of the best and most accessible books about film written in recent years; almost anybody with any interest in film of the last thirty years will find this book interesting and often entertaining.

The book is essentially a monologue (although Shone readily admits that it is the product of many conversations) expounding his thesis that blockbusters, starting with Jaws and Star Wars, saved Hollywood. Actually, it is not a particularly sophisticated thesis: he simply takes the opposite view to a very simplistic interpretation of the thesis expounded by Peter Biskind in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls that blockbusters killed Hollywood.

There is a good deal of Biskind baiting in the early chapters of his book (although Shone seems to lose interest in this as the book progresses) and Shone's makes some interesting points. However, he invites comparison between the two books and these comparisons are inevitably unfavourable to Shone.

Although there are lots of good and interesting sections, overall the book is a bit of a mess and there are some odd things about it. Shone seems strangely distant from the subject matter in the sense that this feels like a book written by a cinema goer rather than somebody with real inside knowledge and insight. Often he simply repeats well-known or previously published anecdotes. There is much less insider gossip (than the Biskind book), which some readers may approve of, but it also means that the characters are flat and uninteresting. It is also rather confusing that he wants to have his common man cake and eat it with a side order of rather esoteric, post-modern film criticism. At times it reminded me of an intellectual undergraduate post-pub rant.

Perhaps the biggest problem Shone faced is that his subjects Lucas, Spielberg et al, are dull (deathly dull in comparison to the characters in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls). Many of them appear to have no interest other than making profitable movies; this does not make them interesting characters to read about.

One other thing bothered me: the seriously over laudatory praise verging on hyperbole, from a group of people I suspect are his friends, which adorned to book cover.

Despite all my issues with the book I still enjoyed it. It is an enjoyable and interesting read.

I read this book based on Nick Hornby's review in the Believer. It's a strange beast. Shone makes very clear that he wants to deflate the argument made by Biskind in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls that the Blockbuster killed the New American Cinema. I really did enjoy Biskind's book, though it certainly is gossip-laden and pretty fast and loose with the facts-- so I was quite interested to read Blockbuster for an alternate take on the "Blockbuster killed the Art film" debate. Unfortunately, it is pretty weak. While Shone derides Biskind's take on the after-effects of Jaws, etc. - he really doesn't back up his own stance beyond some very basic observations that do little to convince. Basically, there is not much meat to the book - some good anecdotes are sprinkled throughout, but nothing that doesn't seem like it could have come from a back issue of Premiere magazine. All said though, I did tear through it. The prose is engaging, and it's an easy read.

I watch a fair amount of movies, but I would hardly call myself a "film buff". I was a little skeptical of the book, but I bought it anyway on Nick Hornby's recommendation in Polysyllabic Spree. It turns out that this is a pretty fascinating subject. I wouldn't have thought I'd be very interested in the making of Batman or Titanic, but I couldn't put the book down.

Shone has a very enganging writing style, and the book is as much a history of people as much as of movies. He starts with the first big blockbusters of 25 years ago -- Jaws, Star Wars, ET, Alien -- and recreates the excitement we felt when we first saw them. The latter half of the book examines Hollywood's hubristic blockbusters -- Gozilla, Last Action Hero -- and how we all went to see them anyway. I always thought of the big summer action films as something Hollywood slapped together to make a buck, but sometimes they represent somebody's dreams (Back to the Future). Then again, sometimes they really are something slapped together to make a buck, maybe crushing some dreams in the process (Batman, Godzilla).

If you're a movie snob, you may not like this book. Shone is going to take Spielberg over Scorcese, and you know if you're not going to like that. But if you can take that, I think you'll really like this book, and I say that as someone who hasn't even seen Jaws.

...But any movie where people talk to each other, instead of settling their problems with their fists, a crow bar, a car chase, witchcraft, or a snappy one-liner containing an adolescent observation about sex. Shone says he's setting out to prove the opposite, but then does little more than give us anecdotes about the making of his favorite films for 200 pages. The chapter on Star Wars, for example, was heavily lifted from Dale Pollack's book about George Lucas, while the chapter on Spielberg and Close Encounters was ripped mostly from Balaban's "Diary" and Julia Phillips' memoirs. More interestingly, the author starts out in his forward differentiating between true must-see blockbusters of years gone by and the everyone's-gotta-see-it films that he claims we've been getting lately--movies like The Running Man and Godzilla that grossed zillions yet were generally disliked by critics and audiences alike. Yet there have always been plenty of these latter films: Superman and Earthquake and The Swarm. Many of these films, 30+ years later, are now being referred to as "classics," but go back and read the original reviews (or just WATCH them) and you'll see they were anything but. (And the original reviews are right. Today's stinkers will become classics too when someone wants to remake them because they're out of original ideas.)

I don't think there's much doubt that blockbusters have eroded cinema, turning the most complex artform of the 20th century into little more than a glorified video game. Just listen to today's audiences discussing the latest spectacle film to see how this is so: they talk about the size of the explosions and not the characters or the acting. I was watching a documentary on the making of Bridge On The River Kwai recently and was amazed to see the filmmakers and actors debating and arguing over the motivations of the characters in the climactic scene. They actually took half a day of shooting time to decide where Alec Guiness's character accidentally or deliberately fell on the detonator that blew up the bridge just as the train was passing by. They went into great detail about exactly how the character would keel over. Today they would just worry about whether the fireball was big enough. But director David Lean stressed over and over that you can't leave details such as character intention neglected or you've cheated your audience and made a dishonest film.

Or consider Roman Polanski, talking about how he had wanted to work with Jack Nicholson for years, but couldn't find a good script until Chinatown came along, so he waited. *Worrying about the script!* Can you imagine a Roland Emmerich or a Michael Bay saying that? Today's films don't even have plots that make sense! Not that anyone notices.

Book came very quickly and in great shape. That's all I ask. Thanks so much.

This book details the processes of foam injection and build-up technique for stop-motion animation; techniques that are very difficult to find in other publications. Because of the advanced technical nature of the two processes, one should assume that puppets fabricated using these techniques are beyond the interest and scope of most children. More easy to understand publications for pre-teen children (as well as adults) on how to build more simple "cartoony" characters would be Craft Skills for Stop-Motion, by Susannah Shaw, and Creating 3D Animation, By Peter Lord. Both of these publications are outstanding sources of stop-motion material.

A consumer might find some of the manual's material "inappropriate". Chapter 2 of Stop-Motion Puppet Fabrication is devoted to anatomical sculpting, which details the clay rendering of a female nude in a dance pose. I suggest that before anyone criticizes such art through prejudicial censorship, they should well note that such innocuous anatomical nude figure studies can be found in centuries-old masterpieces: (Michelangelo's David, and the genius of Auguste Rodin [Lovers, etc.]. The general public (including children) are exposed to such masterful works of art on a daily basis, either in books or at museums. I champion the ideal that the human form is a natural sculpture of beauty and should be regarded as such. The best source of studying human anatomy for the pursuit and study of fine art is to go to the source; the human form. There is nothing distasteful or inappropriate about it, unless it becomes [...], which I do not personally advocate in my own work.

Chapter 5 outlines the rather difficult process of foam build-up. This technique enables the modeler/animator the ability to create very realistic models in the vein of the models of Ray Harryhausen, Willis O'Brien, Ladislaw Starevitch, et. al, if that is their aim. As very few, if any, publications have been devoted to realistic buildup technique, the aim of Stop-Motion Puppet Fabrication was to do just that. The puppet study detailed in Chapter 5 is of the minotaur, from classical Greek mythology. The sculpture is realistic, but in a classical stylized fashion.

The book is printed on low-quality paper, which I found rather disappointing, but this was the choice of the publisher. For the rarity of the subject matter (foam injection and build-up techniques), the manual is, in my opinion, appropriately the length it needs to be, though it may be a bit overpriced for such length.

As the title of the manual suggests, the book is a primer of learning the fundamentals of foam injection and build-up techniques, material which is (especially the unique process of build-up technique) difficult to find when wishing to create realistic Ray Harryhausen/Willis O'Brien-type animation puppets (as outlined in the build-up chapter of the manual).

The book is called "A Manual of Foam Injection, Build-Up, and Finishing Techniques", not "The Manual...", and therefore one would assume before purchasing it that is yet another text on creating stop-motion puppets, and would be a viable addition to one's stop-motion library. The copy at the back the manual (as well as in web advertisements) indicates that this manual also covers the creation of replacement models for animation. This topic was discontinued by the author for a later manual that he is writing on stop-motion animation, lighting and cinematography. Prior to going to press, the author contacted the published to edit the replacement models topic out of the advertisements, but they did not do so.

If would behoove web/book advertisers of this manual (or any book/manual) to include the page count of a given manuscript, so that consumers can know the size of the book in question.

The cost of this manual is, in my opinion, overpriced, but the pricing was the decision of the publisher, not the author. The manual is also printed on substandard paper stock.

Other stop-motion books currently on the market do not cover build-up technique as detailed as this manual, especially as it pertains to a machined armature. Virtually all stop-motion books on the market cover sculpted puppets using only wire armatures.

The manual adequately explains what it set out to do, namely to explain the process of foam injection and foam buildup techniques. A chapter is devoted to basic sculpting techniques to initiate a beginner in the amenities of muscle structure and its importance to the creation of more realistic stop-motion models. This was, however, not the crux of the manual per se, which is why only one chapter was devoted to sculpting.

The primarily complaints seem to be in its cost and the quality of the paper stock and images, as well as absence of more material to make the book more "saleable". However, further detail explanations of other types of anatomies (i.e. quadrupeds, fantasy creatures, etc.), would have driven the cost of the manual up exponentially. The manual is overpriced as it is.

An entire chapter is devoted to the foam injection technique, and is explained in a simple and concise easy-to-follow explanation. As such, the manual has been geared to people interested in the art form, but who do not have advanced skill levels in sculpting, mold making, and foam injection.

Regrettably, the publisher chose to use black and white photographs, and at low resolution. As such, the images suffer. It would have been preferable to use higher resolution images, and in color.

If a kitchen oven cannot be used for foam injection in one's home, one might try to be resourceful enough to not give up and think of an alternative solution; namely, to use a kiln oven in a garage or other room that is out of harms way. It is common knowledge in the visual effects/stop-motion community that hot foam can be difficult and toxic to work with. The manual only confirms this.

Given the subject matter and material covered within the manual, it should be less expensive, given what one gets for their investment. One should consider contacting the publisher if they feel that the manual is overpriced, or at the very least return the item if they are not satisfied.

I would probably be more forgiving if this book were less than half the price it is, but since this is nearly a $50 investment I have slightly higher expectations.

As an earlier reviewer noted, this book is 74 pages in length (including an index and glossary). If it weren't bound, this book could have been stapled together. I don't have a problem with a short book if it is packed with unique, focused insight into a topic, but unfortunately in my opinion this book only achieves this on a shallow level.

This is a book focusing on a specialized technique by an industry professional. I would expect it to contain a wealth of insight reinforced by a number of examples outlining different levels of complexity and various challenges facing foam puppet builders. Instead this book offers one simplistic example of sculpting a figure on a wire armature. It then takes the reader through a single example of the steps to create a foam injection puppet and an example of the foam build up technique. In about 25 pages the author covers sculpting, mold making, foam mixing, injecting, baking, removing the cast and painting. It feels more like an instruction pamphlet than a resource on the topic. I would have liked to see multiple examples illustrating varying levels of complexity. How would the author have dealt with a 4-legged puppet?

After reading this book (in about an evening) I'm left with many basic questions, such as materials appropriate or to be avoided in armatures for foam injection, issues surrounding undercuts in puppet sculptures, poses puppet sculptures need to be in for an injection mold, and there's practically nothing on feet anchors, a topic I believe there must be enough information out there to fill a few pages. I also completely agree with a complaint from a previous reviewer. Most of the illustrative photos in the book are low resolution, pixilated and muddy. Nowhere near the quality of the beautiful colour photo on the cover. In my opinion there is no excuse for this in a published book, especially at this price.

For the price of this book you could get a number of books focused on various aspects touched on in this book. For mold making I recommend The Prop Builder's Molding & Casting Handbook, by Thurston James ($13.59). I also recommend Stop Motion: Craft Skills for Model Animation (Focal Press Visual Effects and Animation) by Susannah Shaw ($23.07 )which looks at foam injection puppets (in almost as much depth) plus other puppet building techniques along with information on lighting, animation and set building, for less than half of this book's price.

Also, a word of warning for those of us who thought we could create foam injection puppets at home. The author states that standard ovens in our kitchen don't generate a consistent enough heat and special curing ovens that have fans to circulate heat are required to bake foam. He also notes that curing foam releases toxic fumes, something you probably don't want in your kitchen. So homemade foam injection puppets seem to be out of the question.

I am not sorry I purchased this book but I must agree with several other reviewers that the information contained in this book is rather shallow and the poor quality (printed on cheap paper, muddy b/w photos, etc...) only underscore the problem. The same info can be had in a number of superior quality books that also feature sections on other aspects of stopmotion filmmaking (storyboarding, lighting, camera work, etc...) for a lesser price. Also I must say aside from the poor photo reproductions featured the actual work on display is less than inspiring. The majority of books available on the subject feature cartoony characters this book attempts to present a more balanced example by demonstrating the construction of a fantasy monster creature unfortunately the results reveal a distinct lack of artistic ability in reproducing lifelike dynamic anatomy and detail.Also the chapter on sculpting employs a TERRIBLE and bizzare nude female character that seems inapropriate for the purposes of casting a workable model, this assessment is borne out by the fact that no model derived from this poorly done sculpture is demonstrated.Buy this only if you wish to fill out your book collection on the subject.

This book is not bad. If you are into old school animation. It is a profesionally leveled book with lots of insight into building armetures and machining. For me it is a bit to precise to the subject area but a perfect one for anyone in stop motion . I would give 5 star

First I'll state that as a shop manual the information contained within this book is great and indispenable. The author cleary describes the processes and tools needed to build stop motion armatures. What is disappointing is the quality of the book itself. I have a few books for which I have paid fifty dollars for (The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation, Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life, Industrial Light and Magic: The Art of Special Effects) and I have never had buyers remorse. The same cannot be said here. The cover belies the interior quality. This book is approximately one quarter inch thick with poor quality paper stock which I can only describe as better than a childs coloring book. All of the photographs are black and white. Many are extremely grainy with contrast that is too high and resolution so poor that it is hard to see what is being described accurately (See figures 2-10, 3-4, 3-5, 3-10, 4-9, 4-10, 4-13 as examples). Not what I expected at this price point. The same information also applies to Stop-Motion Puppet Sculpting. I strongly suggest you either buy used or take what I have written into consideration before purchasing new. (Should be three stars not two)

This one-of-a-kind text is a wonderful primer on machining your own armatures. It clearly details the various joints and explains their construction. I highly recommend this book for all stop-motion animators, even if you don't plan on building armatures yourself.

Like its two previous manuals, Stop-Motion Armature Machining and Stop-Motion Puppet Sculpting and Fabrication, the publisher chose to print Stop-Motion Filming and Performance on substandard paper stock, with low-quality images. This hurts the overall look of the manual, belies the content of the manual, and results in a product that is overpriced for what one gets visually.

The author had requested color photographs for the lighting portion of the manual, and was initially told by the publisher that up to 8 color images would be printed. Eventually, color photos were not used, which further impeded the manual's discussion on color lighting.

The most important aspects of filmmaking (be it live-action or animation) are the story and performances. As such, the author spent a great deal of time discussing story development and animation performance. The author would especially welcome comments from consumers of the manual on those aspects of the manual as well, and to provide more objective and fair criticism.

I am a film student at the University of Miami. I was trying a first time stop/motion experiment and bought this awful book. The section on lighting techniques are all introductory and in no way specific to stop/motion animation. The very few pictures in the book are in b/w and extremely muddy. It is way too general, a complete waste of time, and a rip off for 50 bucks.