Dinosaurs and Things

From the collection of

East Anglian Film Archive at the University of East Anglia

The East Anglian Film Archive, the UK's first regional film archive, offers a unique record of the East of England's social and cultural history. As part of the University of East Anglia, we continue to lead moving image heritage research and inspire audience participation through community projects and events. Our collections represent a broad range of amateur and professional creativity, from 1896 to the present day.

Dinosaurs and Things

East Anglian Film Archive at the University of East Anglia
1981-01-01
Silent
13m

Those 'things' being spiders, serpents, pre-historic monsters and God. Stop-motion clay animation inspired by the work of Ray Harryhausen.

This showreel of animation illustrates the scope of filmmaker Jon Coley's stop-motion technique, and was used to show to film companies in the hope of gaining further work. Sequences include 'Sacrifice to the Great God 'Moore'', 'Attack of the Serpent' (which features a part-live-action sequence with the filmmaker), and 'In the Shadow of Punchinello'. Coley worked on these sequences under the supervision of the legendary fantasy animation filmmaker Ray Harryhausen.

Jon Coley garnered much attention when in 1976, BBC East produced a short documentary about him, titled 'The Boy Who Makes Monster Films'. Coley was 17 years old, however, his fascination with monster films started much earlier. Coley remembers, aged just three he was introduced to the work of Ray Harryhausen after watching an excerpt on TV from the 1953 film 'The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms'. He was hooked, and began to make his own models of dinosaurs using plasticine clay. Coley has devoted a lifetime to animation and filmmaking. Spanning a 40+ year period he has produced over 7000 feet of original footage, working with Super 8 colour Kodachrome and 16mm film, and utilising more than one hundred model figures.

DIY Animation

Amateur animation auteurs bring their homegrown creations to life

The requirements for making an animated film are pretty low. With a camera that shoots in single frames and an idea in your back pocket, you're well on your way. This collection showcases an assortment of dining table Disneys, who combine homebrewed talent with the all-important dedication and patience required to bring a story to life one frame at a time. Not that this was necessarily a solitary pursuit. From the 1950s onwards networks of amateur animators like The Grasshopper Group collaborated on filmmaking and distribution, and animated shorts were often a highlight of the amateur filmmaking scene.