CUTOUT ANIMATION
Cutout animation is the simplest way of using drawings to create action.
· Cutout work, where the action of animating is done directly under the camera, carries a
high personal charge. It is in a sense miming, since the animator is using only his or her
judgment and experience to achieve the action. The great master of cutout, Yuri
Norstein, was once asked to what extent he used electronic controls on the special
rostrum he had made for himself. He rejected them completely, and to explain why, he
made an eloquent gesture, tapping his forehead and running his finger from there down
his own arm to his hand.
· This direct connection between brain and hand is the spirit of cutout animation. There are
two other advantages for a solo animator.
· First, you need many fewer drawings; the pieces that make up a single figure can be
used to create movement that might require hundreds of drawings and cels.
· Second, the cut out pieces are likely to be designed and made by the animators
themselves.
· The range of subject is almost as wide as for any animation technique, stretching from
robust gag-based action to something as delicate and sophisticated as Norstein's, "Tale
of Tales". It is true that there are limitations.
· Fluid movement, particularly in perspective, is not easy to achieve with flat puppets, and
cutout will not usually sustain lengths of more than five minutes.
· Close-ups of faces don't work well, which makes dialogue requiring lip-sync less common,
though it is achievable.
· A mimed story is most typical.