Animators in the 1980s used Super 8 cameras to film stop motion animations. Stop motion records action frame by frame for sequential playback, similar to a flip book. Animators positioned clay and paper cut-outs in specific poses, altering them slightly with each frame. Super 8 cartoon animations worked in a similar way, with animators drawing a figure in slightly different poses in each frame. These animations often employed bright colors and surreal action sequences not possible in live action. Because they were shot by single frame, music and sound effects were recorded with separate equipment.
Bruce Bickford is an important figure in the history of Super 8 animation. Getting his start making clay animations in the 1970s, he became more prominent in 1984 when musician Frank Zappa scored music for his film, "The Amazing Mr. Bickford." This film influenced much of Super 8 animation for the rest of the 1980s. Bickford's "Prometheus Garden 27 Minutes" was released in 1987 and is his most widely released work. Bickford straddled the line between commercial and amateur animations because his films enjoyed wide releases despite his surreal imagery and sometimes inaccessible themes.
Disney began releasing home video versions of their animated films on Super 8 film in the 1980s. Other Super 8 animations from the 1980s that are registered with the Motion Picture Association include "Better Off Dead," "Adventures of Mark Twain," "Return to Oz" and "Pee Wee's Big Adventure," which featured a combination of live-action and Super 8 animation.
Many amateur Super 8 animations survive from the 1980s. While these films did not enjoy a wide release, they indicate the style and influences present at the time. Such films include Mark Tapio Kines's clay animations "Metamorphosis" and "Train Dream" and Marv Newland's student cartoon animation "Bambi Meets Godzilla." These Super 8 animations illustrate how animators created films without computers in the 1980s.