(From the excellent Pixillation Vimeo album by Kina Grannis & Robert Morgan):
Pixillation is a non-traditional animation technique where live actors (people) are used as a frame-by-frame subject(s) in an animated film. A live actor(s) holds a pose while a frame is taken/captured, then they change their pose slightly before a successive frame/still is captured. This frame-by-frame capture is repeated until a complete movement has been represented from beginning to end. When the still frames are assembled and played back at speed (24 fps – 30 fps), the illusion of movement is created. Pixillation is both physically and mentally demanding. Keys to a successful project are well choreographed movements, that clearly demonstrate animation principles, in addition to a creative concept or story that introduces the audience to something unusual, unexpected, or seemingly impossible in real life. Use of illusion fully exploits creative potential of this technique.
- A simple demo, with hand pixillation
- Norman McLaren, Neighbors (1952, 8'06")
- Oren Lavie, Her Morning Elegance (2009)
- Guillaume Reymond, Stop My Motioned Movie Characters
- Guillaume Reymond, Human TETRIS (2007)
- Hovering people (common on YouTube)
- Cassandra C. Jones, Snap-Motion Re-Animations
- Cassandra C. Jones, Eventide (2004)
- Cassandra C. Jones, Car Fire (2009)
- Cassandra C. Jones, After Muybridge (2010)
- Marco Brambilla, Sync [Destricted] (2005, NSFW)
- C-Mon & Kypski, One Frame of Fame
- Sour, Hibi no Neiro