Cut Out Animation

Terry Gilliam (Monty Python)

Terry Gilliam is best known for his work with the series 'Monty Python.' he uses the technique known as 'cut out animation' which is the process of animating using cut out pieces of paper. Normally Gilliam does this by cutting out images from newspapers such as political icons and animating them by moving each body part with separate pieces of paper. His style of animating is very distinctive and iconic in the world of animation. Here is an example of one of his most famous ones in the film 'monty python's flying circus'

This can prove a very tedious process unless you are well organised during production. By this I mean adding hinges to each part of the character to maintain good flow within the stop motion. This also means parts won't get lost during the process refraining from jumpy shots.

South Park

South Park is an American Sitcom which uses the technique of cut out animation for the whole of the show. At least this is how it used to be done. In the modern age the creators of the show use software instead. This software emulates cut out animation. Therefore, the show appears to have been done just through cut out animation. The show was created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Both animators were inspired by 'Monty Pythons Flying Circus'. Due to this they decided to create there own show based around the same methods. The first episode which was aired on 'Comedy Central' gained 980,000 viewers. At the time this was seen as very high for a cable t.v programme. The show gained massive popularity. So much that the show continued even into to now (2013) and a movie was also made out of the t.v series.



WARNING MAY OFFEND SOME VIEWERS

Independent projects

With the boom of technology it is easy enough for one to create a stop motion feature in the comfort of your own home. This is seen below in the 2010 independent film 'The Invention of Love.' As you can see cut out has come a long way since it's primitive days. With nicely flowing and realistic movement which looks almost surreal.

All in all, cut-out animation is a very efficient way of making creative pieces of animation. It is effective for creating very nice looking visuals and sett a rather surreal theme.