KING KONG ANIMATION

1978 SUPER 8 FILM OF MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT ANIMATING KONG IN STOP MOTION.

[@prodprod]

I remember doing stuff like this when I was a kid (nothing nearly so ambitious or polished) -- I can just imagine how frustrating it must have been after endless hours of work -- getting the footage back and realizing that the edge of the background art peeked in in certain shots. Arrrgghh!

[@DanFiebiger]

Pretty impressive! Boy the restoration work I could do on this film, which is what I do for a living. First, I'd do a new transfer from the original 16mm on a transfer system that had a much higher sampling rate, and the transfer would be Hi-Def to begin with. (This would clean up the film considerably, but not entirely.) Then (using Final Cut Pro), I'd de-interlace the entire film (interfacing happens with all transfers to digital video. That's what causes those odd lines that are momentarily visible on some frames.) Then I'd use a video-noise reduction plug-in to get rid of as much video noise as I could, revealing more details of the original film images as could be done. Then I'd carefully crop all the shots only a little bit where you can see the edges of the sets. (8mm and Super 8mm, and even some 16mm cameras, are lousy for giving you an accurate look thru the view finder of what film in the camera is actually seeing.) Then I'd boost the color on the whole film to give the imagery more 'snap', then adjust the color-balance (called "timing the film" in the pro movie industry) of each shot to make them match up to each other better. I'd add a little blur to the whole film to soften the animation and make it more "Harryhausen"-like. Then I'd go thru the film frame by frame and clean off all the dust, dirt, and blotches (a very long tedious process that would take longer than even doing the original animation, but worth it on a little masterpiece like this). Then I'd go thru the entire film frame-by-frame AGAIN to adjust the position of (called "re-registering") each frame to every other frame so that there's no "drifting" around in each shot. (Another long tedious process, but then your shots would be 'locked down' as good as O'Brien's and Harryhausen's work.) (Amateur cameras have no "registration pins", which are little fixed (unmoving) sprocket pins that perfectly steadies each frame of the film during exposure. Only pro-level 35mm cameras have these pins, like Mitchells, Arriflex, and Panavision.) If these registration adjustments caused the edges of the film to be seen from time to time, the whole film would need to be cropped a tiny bit more so that no edges would vary in position for the duration of the film. Then (If I had access to the original sound elements), I'd do a re-mix of the sound (using Pro Tools, adding in some new elements) to make it sound less 'choppy' and more natural, and smooth out the differences in volumes and EQ of the various elements to match each other better, but maintaining a nice stereo mix. You've got a great little film here. Kudos to you for a genuinely impressive labor-of-love effort!

[@Titan52berg]

FANTASTIC ! A visual treasury of stunning animation work! Great fight scene between Kong and the pterosaur! Totally reminiscent of Willis O'Brien's 'King Kong'! All the set work and background paintings are just as impressive! You have reimagined the classic and succeeded with Top Honors! Great work! FIVE STARS!!!

[@MadnessIncTV]

was really good reminded me of 1933 kong

[@SlickGinoRomano]

for super 8 this sure is awesome...what am i sayin This AND Super 8 is awesome!

[@joeyd6702]

Your Kong had a very nice face Faye Ray could have used a haircut. Really good work. I enjoyed it. 🎭

[@resonator_95]

Great animation! I am currently making a Kong puppet for a new film "The Return of Kong", a sequel to the original.

[@darrellyoder6455]

0:49 The scream from Slugs (1988) and Sonic.EXE.

[@carmelopappalardo8477]

Great job.

[@Primevals33]

Considering this is from 1978 , this is well done.

[@cinescopefilms]

I have made a few animations in super 8 but this is a super cool!!

[@anibalbabilonia1867]

Very cool video 😎👍

[@StandardizedTest]

That is very, VERY good!

[@knightflyte]

Subtle work at 1:08. It's like he's thinking. If you saw PJ's King Kong there's a scene right after Ann says "no more" and the rock lands on his head that Kong looks puzzled and confused- as if he's thinking. You have that same look in your animation - like he's thinking. Nice work. Kongrats!

[@morlockmeat]

Nice work! I hope you stayed in the business!

[@Kousaburo]

Now that's awesome.

[@bsbob52]

Charming !

[@ZAYDRO100]

Impressive! Please do 7th voyage of Sinbad.

[@TedNewsom]

Very nice. Evocative of the original and consisten in action with the character, but not a carbon copy of it. This must have taken you an age!

[@Kingkongkessler]

very cool, nicely done and I love the score from Son of Kong playing

[@morlockmeat]

That was cool!

[@mdigitalman]

Really cool. Nice job

[@Blendre]

Awesome! Love it!

[@TenderTrap86]

This is good. It must have taken you forever. Stop motion is great. It's real art and actuall sweat goes into it. Bravo.

[@Nimulak]

I'm more impressed with the model, and I say that without knocking the animation!!!

[@SFVAfilms]

I would definately call that movie a success! I was no where near the quality of film-making you where doing back in 1978. I have to mention this, though, I could tell you had a few overlaps of what was behind those backdrops. It used to happen with me all the time with those non-relflex viewfinders on the old film cameras! I was sooo happy when they came out with reflex viewfinders! Your Animation is definately Harryhausen quality!!

[@paulalien]

LOL i love it keep up the great work ;-)

[@artguy53]

Thanks. I want to see your film when completed.

[@timsmythfilmsandanimations]

WOW! Really great job. I love the stop motion and the models. How did you make Kong's face? Does Kong have a ball and socket armature?

[@Vanoc93]

GREAT JOB!!! Where did you get the Kong puppet?

[@TheXboxReviewer]

I thought it looked great. Almost just like the original!

[@artguy53]

@Titan52berg Thanks for all the great comments and compliments. I have obviously been inspired by Harryhausen as have so many others. Stop motion will always be one of my favorite art forms. Thanks again!!!

[@spfxted]

VERY cool!! ;-)

[@artguy53]

Kong has a very crude wooden ball and socket armature in this film. I sculpted the face in clay and cast it in latex.

[@Nimulak]

What I meant was the animation is also great!

[@artguy53]

Thankyou. I thought Jacksons Kong was really fantastic. I appreciate the compliment.

[@artguy53]

Thanks!

[@HocusFocusProductions]

Wow! Your first attempt back in `78 looks an awful like what I'm striving for currently.

[@artguy53]

@SFVAfilms Yeah, I had some problems with the edges of the backdrop paintings showing for the reason you just mentioned. I just couldn't bring myself to reshooting the animation after having spent hours sweating over it. Thanks for the good comments!!

[@edwardbrady7599]

IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST ATTEMPT, PLEASE KEEP IT UP! THIS IS VERY VERY GOOD. YOU HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO DO A REAL MOVIE, IF YOU HAD THE BUDGET AND WRITERS. NOT BAD.

[@icanliveforever1243]

When you didn't read the description.

[@artguy53]

@TheKaijuKing9000 Thanks very much!!

[@artguy53]

Thanks, I appreciate the compliment.

[@Felix-iu8sf]

Please also post the 2nd part of this animation.......I'm really looking for to it

[@artguy53]

@prodprod Ahh yes, but by then it is too late and in no way was I going to re-animate that entire scene. You learn from your mistakes.

[@carmelopappalardo8477]

Where did you get the frame from? There was a guy out of California in 1978 who was selling copies of the original Kong. I think he paid a pretty heavy price to get it. He sold you the frame only, the frame with the foam, or the complete model. He also had other frames for other famous movie creatures.

[@artguy53]

If you are talking about the armature that the puppet is built on I made that myself. It was a very crude wooden ball and socket armature but it worked well enough for this model. He was covered with foam padding and fake fur. The face was molded in clay then cast in latex rubber. Hope this helps.

[@carmelopappalardo8477]

@@artguy53 very good job. I enjoyed it. I did stop ocean when I was in junior high and high School. I always wanted to buy one of the kits that the guy sold but never did. I subscribed and I hope to see more.

[@dltanner99]

Cryptozoology novel see video book trailer

[@jpaulstudios5152]

0:49 you're too slow want to try again