Relentless

In the pre-Pixar days of making movies, post-production and special effects weren’t done digitally, they were pain-stakingly produced by hand.

Giant gruesome monsters were, in actual fact, beautifully made small models. Models that were made, manipulated, re-made and re-manipulated to make stop-frame animations.

The process was long, laborious and often very very monotonous. However, it often produced something exceptional.

In comparison to today’s blockbusters and big budgets, some of those same effects do look simplistic, clumsy and even unbelievable. But there is something genuine living in those plasticine models; something which is too often missing from today’s pixelated pictures.

The time taken, care and craftsmanship add an analogue warmth which no amount of digital wizardry can re-create.

A master of this lost art was Ray Harryhausen - the man behind the killer skeletons in Jason and The Argonauts and many other pieces of cinematic magic.

With his 90th Birthday approaching, Harryhausen is finally getting the recognition he deserves. The London Film Museum has launched an exhibition in his honour called Myths and Legends.

For more info click here