THE STOP-TRICK

And who invented it

SO WHO INVENTED IT?

George Méliès was born in Paris 1861. When he was child Méliès

was very interested in the arts. Particularly in puppetry and stage

design.

He would go on to invent the stop trick special effects technique.

He could be considered the pioneer of special effects.

SO WHAT IS THE STOP-

TRICK?

Stop-trick was accidentally discovered by Georges when his

camera jammed, and he lost a bit of footage in the middle. He

thought nothing of it until he reviewed the footage, when he

discovered that objects jumped around/moved/transformed into

other objects. This is the stop-trick.

EXAMPLE OF STOP-TRICK

SO WHAT IS STOP TRICK?

During this time he bought his own theatre and developed new

illusions to marvel the crowd. He used stop-trick to create comedic

and serious shows in which he gradually became more famous. He

then became interested in directing and working behind scenes of his

theatre and began to make films. One of his most famous films he

made was A Trip To The Moon (1902). This features a spaceship

flying into the moons eye.

A TRIP TO THE MOON(1902

SO HOW FAMOUS WAS HE?

During his later life he vanished from the public eye and became the

owner of a toy shop. When modern day filmmakers started to study his

work he was given lots of praise as being the first “cinemagician”.

He received a legion of honour for his contribution to cinema in

October 1931. This is for the decoration of 20-25 years of public service

and constant praise for work. After receiving this even Disney offered

praise toward him. “discovered the means of placing poetry within the

reach of the man in the street”.