Techniques of Stop-Motion Analysis: Crooked Rot

Stop-motion's appeal to realism possesses the power to utilize firm visual imagery in order to portray a concept that is interrelated with existence. However, stop-motion also gives the opportunity to use manual effects which can introduce a more hyperbolized level of realism: surrealism. "Crooked Rot" is a stop-motion animation created by David Firth in 2008, and is one of my favorite dark-atmospheric animations. Unsettling and mesmerizing, the animation is an ambiental-surrealist masterpiece in my own opinion due to the intricate use of lighting to hint the atmosphere along with the eerie soundtrack in the background that caters to every action within the animation. What is most interesting about the animation is that it's 100% pure stop-motion with no digital effects, which proves that the authenticity of manually generating graphic effects during production (and not post-production) can outweigh the digital rendering because they seem more natural, ultimately giving the animation a bigger appeal. In this situation, the animation's intention is to be bizarre in a way that it uses psychological conventions to create a horror tone giving the audience an unsettling feel. For example, the scene where one of the severed heads is wearing a mask and screaming incoherently uses the natural human fear of masks (because without facial expressions, our mind cannot differentiate emotion) along with the fear of ambiguous noises which cannot be subconsciously explained. All in all, I was compelled to try to analyze the techniques used in "Crooked Rot", as I too stick to natural effects when animating in stop-motion (for example, cigarette smoke in "LSDuck"). The hovering lights which are made with a slow shutter speed responding to quick circular movements of a synthetic light in contrast with the darkness make for a unnatural luminosity that beguiles the human mind, releasing feelings of awe. During the scene where the pig head protrudes through the wall the rapid and quick animation of his hands (on the computer and at the camera) are presented in a chaotic manner which instigate a series of shock scares because of the difference in every frame. The most important factor in what makes this animation particularly scary is the pre-production - all the props together make the imagery aesthetically frightful, something I personally try to incorporate in my stop-motion animations.

"Crooked Rot" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYjny4qNy24