Claymation Trivia Quiz

Answer: Armature

Each object takes shape from the sculpting of clay or of another pliable material such as plasticine. The object is then built around a wire skeleton called an armature. Stop-motion animation is a time consuming project where each sculpted object is moved only ever so slightly for each film frame that is taken.

This cycle of movement is repeated over and over until the final desired filming of the animation is complete. The frames are given the wonderful illusion of movement because they are played with a very rapid motion.

Answer: Doubles

When the practice of exposing two frames in one shot that is taken, then it is called "doubles". A time-consuming and very careful set-up must be taken to prevent each object from being changed in some way by accident. Some of the changes that could happen are smudges, dust, dirt, hair, indents, scratches and more. Careful lighting is also essential so the film flows properly.

Answer: Clay melting

"Clay melting" uses heat on, near and underneath the clay. This process makes the clay melt while it is filmed using a time-lapse setting on the camera. The computer sequence called "Closed Mondays" by Will Vinton and Bob Gardiner used "clay melting".

In "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981) a similar method of "clay melting" was used so that the believable illusion of the antagonists' faces would appear to be melting.

Answer: "The Sculptor's Welsh Rarebit Dream"

Clay animation films were produced as early as 1908 in the USA. Edison Manufacturing released "The Sculptor's Welsh Rarebit Dream". This silent film used both processes of clay animation and live action together. Trick films used "stop trick special effects", which were accidentally discovered by Georges Melies. Trick films successfully produced the illusion of a subject disappearing into thin air. They did this by simply turning the camera off, having the subject moved out of the frame and then simply resuming the filming again.

Answer: "Kli-Kla-Klawitter"

"Kli-Kla-Klawitter" was created for the Second German TV-Channel in 1972. Andre Roche also created a education series about traffic which he titled "Herr Daniel paßt auf". The translation into English means "Mr. Daniel Pays Attention". "Kli-Kla-Klawitter" was a German language instruction program for children, which helped non-German children to learn how to speak German.

Answer: Art Clokey

Art Clokey created Gumby, the interesting little green clay human-like figure. Gumby appeared in 233 episodes of "The Gumby Show". He was animated using stop motion clay animation. The show ran from November 12, 1955 to December 30, 1989. Gumby's sidekick was Pokey, who was a talking pony. Pokey's voice was actually done by Art Clokey, himself as well as by Dallas McKennon. Art Clokey was born on October 12, 1921 and died on January 8, 2010.

He began his filming experience with clay animation in 1955 with "Gumbasia", which is where our star character, Gumby, made his start.

Answer: "The Sand Castle"

"The Sand Castle" (1977) won an Academy Award for short films. Some other Academy Award winners were "Closed Mondays" (1974) and "Creature Comforts" (1989). "The Sand Castle" was created by Co Hoedeman and it was the winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 50th Academy Awards in 1978. Gaston Sarault produced "The Sand Castle" for the National Film Board of Canada.

The story is about the sandman and the many wonderful creatures that he decides to sculpt out of the sand. Together, they work and eventually build a wonderful sand castle.

Answer: A man and a dog

Four short British films, created by Nick Park of Aardman Animation, were about a man named Wallace and his dog Gromit. All of the characters in these four short films were moulded out of plasticine onto some metal armatures. Stop motion filming was used. Wallace, an absent minded inventor with his intelligent dog, Gromit, have starred in a few "Claymation" animations. Gromit always managed to save Wallace from danger or embarrassment.

The films were "A Grand Day Out" (1989), "The Wrong Trousers" (1993), "A Close Shave" (1995) and "A Matter of Loaf and Death" (2008).

There was also a full length feature film, starring Wallace and Gromit, called "The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" (2005). Wallace and Gromit also appeared in "Cracking Contraptions: (2002) and "Wallace and Gromit's World of Inventions" (2010).

Answer: Computer games

Computer games have also been produced using "Claymation". These include "The Neverhood" (1996) and "Clay Fighter" (1993). "Clay Fighter" was a fighting game for Super NES.

Answer: Yes

"Claymation" is indeed a registered trademark in the USA. It was registered by Will Vinton in 1978 as his personal way of describing his clay-animated films. The word "Claymation" is often used in both the United States and in the United Kingdom when referring to animations which use plasticine and other modeling substances. "Claymation" is a portmanteau, in other words, a blend of two other words so as to create a new word. "Claymation" is a blend of both of these words: clay and animation.