process
Tie-down
Puppet / Armature
Overview
A system for anchoring a stop-motion puppet to the animation set between frames, preventing the figure from falling or shifting during shooting. Three main approaches: (1) Threaded tie-down: machine screws pass up through pre-drilled holes in the set floor and thread into tapped foot plates. Most stable, professional-production standard, but requires under-set access and time to drill and plug each position. (2) Magnetic tie-down: neodymium magnets embedded in puppet feet grip a steel shooting surface below a raised stage. Faster to reposition, leaves no visible holes, but magnets are fragile, feet must be large enough to carry the magnets, and a metal platform stage is required. (3) Pin-down: map pins or fine pegs push through foam-board or soft stage surfaces. Cheapest and fastest, but least stable and only suitable for very lightweight student puppets. Set construction must account for the chosen tie-down system before shooting begins.
Connections
Split rule
Split into threaded, magnetic and pin-down sub-pages once each has three or more sourced production examples or supplier references.
Next research action
Add supplier references (Animation Toolkit LTD for magnetic systems, Morezmore for threaded foot hardware); find LAIKA or Aardman making-of sources naming their specific tie-down approach.