JAN SVANKMAJER

He currently lives in Prague and was born there in 1934. From the years of  1959 to 1954 he trained at the Institute of Applied Arts then he studied puppetry at the Prague Academy of Performing Arts. 

Since 1964 Svankmajer has made some of the most memorable and unique animated films. He has a reputation as one of the world's foremost animators, influencing film makers from Tim Burton to The Brothers Quay.

He used quite dark and twisted imagery in most of his films, he experimented with clay morphing body parts, strange things in jars and still managed to create slight comedic effect because the themes are so abstract.

I feel that the animations he has made are great and will be around for years as every shot has so much detail. This an extract from is his first Feature film ALICE, an adaptation of alice in wonderland made in 1987.

Svankmajer uses a mixture of live action shots and stop motion animation to make the stories blend together. He also uses lots of different camera angles and shots including close up's where you can see the detail of the craft which i think is very clever. Every sound in his videos are pre-recorded effects. The objects and characters are made of a variety of materials from clay to fabric and toys. Jan Svankmajer's next project is set for release in 2015.