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ith mighty dinosaurs, sword wielding skeletons and sheer ingenuity, Ray Harryhausen took the leaps and bounds for the special effects industry at a time when hardware and software were unheard of. He single-handedly revolutionised the way stop-motion films were made in the 1950s with his unique technique called “Dynamation”. It allowed Harryhausen to combine his amazing stopmotion creatures into the live action frame of a film. The staggering results were something Hollywood had never seen, and instantly sparked inspiration in generations of filmmakers and artists. Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, James Cameron, George Lucas and Tim Burton all credit their blockbusters to this man regarded as the “Father of Stop-Motion Animation”. Born in Los Angeles to Frederick and Martha Harryhausen, Americans of German ancestry, Raymond Harryhausen harboured a fascination for prehistoric animals, fantasy fiction, movies and art. It was at the L.A County Museum where he came across the murals of prehistoric creatures of Charles R. Knight. These dinosaurs particularly inspired a young Harryhausen and augmented his curiosity and wonder. His parents encouraged his interest in these models and ancient animals, egging him on to watch films and go the distance to quench his thirst for a medium he would revolutionise forever.
Animation Reporter w June 2013
Five-year-old Harryhausen was impressed with The Lost World (1925) but his real life defining experience came at the age of 13 courtesy King Kong (1933). The film left an indelible impression on his young mind that was now brimming with questions. He harnessed his curiosity with perseverance to learn more about a medium that he was so irresistibly drawn to. He embarked on a solitary self education and found answers in his own reconstruction of the images in King Kong using marionettes. He browsed and deliberated on articles which led him on to something known as ‘stop-motion animation’. A visit to an
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