6/26/10

History of Visual Effects - J. Stuart Blackton

We studied a few more of the pioneers of early film visual effects this week. The one I was most impressed with was J. Stuart Blackton. He is often regarded as the father of stop-motion animation. His clever use of quick substitution in film is shown here in The Enchanted Drawing:


Another one of his films that is notable is called Princess Nicotine (never mind the content matter). One of the interesting things that is shown in this film is the use of trick photography rather than double exposure of the film. For the parts where both the gentleman and the small faeries appear in frame, the effect was actually achieved by using a mirror placed at a 45° angle behind the table. The actress was then a great distance off from the mirror, making her appear as though she was very small:

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