Suitmation

Suitmation is the name of a film technique that is used in the special effects in monster movies. Here, an actor is in a monster costume and it must move from the inside by the true to scale scenes.

The material of the costumes is made ​​of rubber and let the makeup artists plenty of creative freedom. Depending on the application in the film, the latex material has to be treated fire resistant and thick enough to protect the actor against fire injuries. For eye and head movements, there are battery-powered radio-controlled technology, the actors themselves can only see out of small holes or slits. The physical exertion caused by heat and the weight of the costumes, the actors very claim and often leave only short scenes.

Slightly higher image acquisition frequencies, ie more than the usual 24 frames per second when turning, the effects of monstrosity may widen, as the replayed at normal speed scenes then in slow motion and thus still appear the movements of the monsters clumsy and cumbersome. Eiji Tsuburaya has done as a special effects technician at the Toho film studios pioneering work in the field of Suitmation and got his first film award 1954 best technique for the use of Suitmation in Godzilla. Other Japanese studios such as the Daiei Motion Picture Company, Toei Animation, and even Eiji Tsuburaya Productions Tsuburayas own business emulated them, and a large proportion of Japanese monster movies, Kaiju Eiga, have originated with the ever more advanced technology.