Neighbors By Norman McLaren (Pixilation)

Why is stop-motion animation, and pixilation in particular, a good approach to this subject matter? What does this technique allow for that film/ video might not?

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Using pixilation in this work was an absolutely amazing approach and helps emphasize the exaggerated realism that the artist was trying to portray.The use of pixilation in this short film is crucial in order to portray the drastic nature of the character's actions and emphasize their movements and make them perform some normally physically impossible things while keeping the realistic look of the actors. If the characters were for example, animated as 2D characters instead of using real people for pixilation, I think the work would be much harder to compare to real life situations and part of the meaning would be lost.

The use of pixilation is most noticeable in scenes like when the neighbors smell the flower for the first time and slide around, jumping up and down and ice skating on still grass like they are young children who are hyped up on sugar after having soda for the first time. Their movements heavily benefit from the stop motion animation, as it allows the artist to really push and exaggerate the harshness and wildness of their actions. My personal favorite use of pixilation is the kicking and throwing of the babies. Obviously there is a jumpcut where the child is replaced with a doll, but seeing the baby wiggle its arms a few frames before and that silly electronic synth sliding up and down like a slide whistle? I know the moment is supposed to be serious with the characters violently hurting their neighbor's families, but I couldn't help but giggle at the absurdity of watching a man punt an infant with goofy sound effects accompanying it. I really liked watching this short film, and the use of the pixilation only added to my enjoyment.