Question: Why Is Claymation So Jerky?
Claymation (also known as stop-motion animation) is generally characterized by somewhat jerky motions, where characters and objects can seem to subtly change positions in ways that have nothing to do with their motion - and that motion can sometimes seem a little stiff and forced. Why is that?
Answer: Claymation tends to look the way it does because of the way the animation is captured. Each individual shot in a sequence is posed by the animator, then captured on film as a still. The animator does this for every frame; even lifting the character's arm requires that the animator raise it in slow increments and capture each one to create the illusion of motion. What can happen in this situation is that the object being animated might get bumped a little too far to one side or another during repositioning, or the position of the animation being captured may be pushed a little too far as the objects are posed. The former can make the character appear to bobble or change position oddly, while the latter can make the animation seem to jump.
