Stop Motion

Stop Motion FX Design, Consulting & Product Manufacturing

MFX & Manufacturing are industry leading Professionals in Stop Motion. Stop motion is an old film technique that involves frame-by frame filming of objects that are moved incrementally off camera. It gives the appearance that they are moving by themselves.

Mike Emiglio designs and builds the armatures — the skeletons of puppets or action figures used in animation films. The armatures he builds are placed in molds and rubber or foam latex is applied before they are painted. For the figures to work, the armatures have to be exceptionally bendable and durable. MFX & Manufacturing guarantees 100% the quality of their Armatures.

STOP MOTION 101

Stop motion or stop action is a film technique in which an object, such as a puppet, appears to move by itself. The object is actually filmed one frame at a time with stage crews moving it incrementally when the camera isn’t rolling. The smaller the off-camera movements, the more realistic the movement appears to be.
A classic example of the technique was in the campy Gumby television series, which used clay figures. ❚ The technique traces its roots to the 1898 film The Humpty Dumpty.
Circus, in which the director used his daughter’s toy circus acrobats and animals and created the illusion they were moving by themselves.
Modern-day practitioners include Tim Burton, who used the technique in the movies The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride. Other notable examples include the films Coraline and James and the Giant Peach.
The original Star Wars movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Robocop and Terminator all had sequences that used stop motion.

MFX & Manufacturing Credits:

2009 - National Film Board

A stunning display of a stop-motion animation, Dancers of the Grass vividly depicts the majesty of the hoop dance, a tradition symbolizing the unity of all nations.

TITAN MAXIMUM for Shadow Animation

Titan Maximum is an American stop motion animated television series created by Tom Root and Matthew Senreich. The series premiered on Cartoon Network's late night programing block

TELETINA for the Teletoon Network

An earlier stop-motion mascot that Teletoon had in the 90s

HENRY'S WORLD for Cuppa Coffee Animation

Henry's World is a Canadian animated children's series produced for Canada's Family Channel by Cuppa Coffee Animation and Alliance Atlantis Communications. It was first aired from 2002 to 2005, with reruns still currently seen on Family Channel as well as Disney Junior Canada and Nick Jr. in Germany. The series follows Henry Wiggins, a boy who has an extraordinary ability to make his wishes come true when eating his mother's mashed carrots. Henry's World was the first stop-motion animated series to be entirely produced in Canada

JO JO'S CIRCUS for Cuppa Coffee Animation

JoJo's Circus is an interactive stop-motion musical comedy series for preschool children. The series is created by the combined efforts of Jim Jinkins, David Campbell, Lisa Jinkins and Eric Weiner and produced by Cuppa Coffee Studios and Cartoon Pizza. The series is written by Douglas Wood, the creative executive for Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs. It first aired on the Disney Channel as part of the Playhouse Disney morning programming schedule (6am eastern time) from September 28, 2003 to February 14, 2007, It is currently being broadcast on Disney Junior.

EDISON & LEO for Perfect Circle Productions

Edison and Leo is a 2008 stop-motion animated feature film produced by Perfect Circle Production and Infinity Entertainment. It is Canada's first stop-motion animated feature.

HIGGLETY PIGGLETY POP! for Clyde Henry Productions

Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life is a 2010 live-action/animated short film about the fictional adventures of Maurice Sendak's pet dog Jennie, based on his 1967 children's book of the same name. It is directed by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, collectively known as Clyde Henry Productions, and features the voices of Meryl Streep, Forest Whitaker and Spike Jonze. Jonze also served as producer along with Vincent Landay and Marcy Page. Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life was produced by the National Film Board of Canada in association with Warner Home Video.

Armature Components and Supplies Available From MFX & Manufacturing:

MFX Stainless Steel Ball & Socket Human 7-8" High Armature (203019)

MFX Stainless Steel Ball & Socket Human 7-8" High Armature (203019)
The Stainless Steel Ball & Socket Human Armature is constructed from 100% machined stainless steel. Used for professional processing applications of stop-motion animation figures. Can be adjusted to any position due to its 18 points of articulation.

MFX Aluminum Block & Wire Armature Kit (Chest/Hip/Feet) (203020)

MFX Aluminum Block & Wire Armature Kit (Chest/Hip/Feet) (203020)
The Aluminum Block & Wire Armature Kit consists of 6 basic component pieces precision machined from aluminum and stainless steel. Perfect for easy, quick and economical processing of stop-motion figures.

Kit includes: chest, hip, and feet. See Aluminum Wire & Block Kit Brochure.

MFX Stop-Motion Magnetic Rigging Kit (203014)

MFX Stop-Motion Magnetic Rigging Kit (203014)
The Stop-Motion Magnetic Support & Rigging Kit is a 21 piece 100% stainless steel construction machined rigging kit for the professional animator. Multi-piece components configure to multiple functions for holding animation puppets on set. Universal base mounts to any surface via magnetic bolting/fastening patterns. See Technical Bulletin for animation applications.