Since the earliest days of the motion picture, people have been using the art of stop motion to breathe life into seemingly inanimate objects. Read on for a whistle-stop tour of stop motion history, meet some notable icons, and learn about the evolution of the craft over the years!

In this first part of our three-part series on the history of stop motion animation, we delve into the pioneering experiments that laid the foundation for this captivating art form. Join us as we explore the origins, early innovators, and groundbreaking techniques that started it all. Don’t miss the upcoming articles, where we’ll continue to uncover the evolution of stop motion through the decades.

1898 – The Humpty Dumpty Circus

The very first known example of a stop motion movie is widely regarded as J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith’s film The Humpty Dumpty Circus back in 1898! Sadly, the finished movie has been lost to the sands of time as there are no known copies of the original that we can watch today. Thankfully, there have been a few “remakes” or imaginings of the film so we can get an idea of what it might have looked like. 

1902 – Fun in a bakery shop

When you hear the name Thomas Alva Edison, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? A light bulb? A telegraph? Probably not stop motion animation. And yet, one of the earliest stop motion animations was produced by Thomas A. Edison.

1912 – The Cameraman’s Revenge

Created by Polish-Russian animator Władysław Starewicz, The Cameraman’s Revenge is an experimental stop motion short film depicting a classic tale of love, betrayal, and revenge starring dead insects as the ‘actors’ in the film. 

Starewicz, a keen entomologist, reportedly got the idea for The Cameraman’s Revenge while trying to film two stag beetles fighting. Unfortunately, the insects weren’t willing to perform in front of the camera so Starewicz, quite literally, took matters into his own hands and used the stop motion technique to capture the action instead. 

1926 – The Adventures of Prince Achmed

The oldest surviving stop motion animated feature film was created by German film director, and silhouette animation pioneer, Lotte Reiniger. Reiniger’s best-known film, The Adventures of Prince Achmed, was created by painstakingly animating intricate cut-out puppets on an early form of multiplane camera. 

With the accessibility of technology such as digital cameras and software for capturing and playing back frames, it is now easier than ever for budding artists and filmmakers to get started creating their own masterpieces.

And you can too! Buy a HUE Animation Studio kit now to recreate any of the techniques showcased above!

See all episodes in this series:
The history of stop motion part 1: Early cinematic experiments
The history of stop motion part 2: The rise of stop motion special effects
The history of stop motion part 3: Stop motion in the digital age

Author: Ruari Chisholm. Ruari works as a content creator for HUE, making animations and artworks. He has been classically trained in animation and loves everything stop motion!

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