suitmation
n.— «Two years later Godzilla, King of the Monsters, as it was called, was released in the United States and won critical acclaim despite the use of “suitmation” (a guy in a rubber suit) and the insertion of many scenes featuring popular actor Raymond Burr.» —“Godzilla films offer excitement, adventure and a history lesson” by John Yeara Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York) Ju;y 21, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Sigrin writes from Albany, New York, that she misheard our earlier conversation about the expression shaving yak hair meaning “performing a monotonous, tedious task.” At first she thought we said shaving gnat hair, which she figures is...
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Ask any Kaiju fan….They all know what ‘suitmation’ is. It is in several books also (‘Godzilla on my mind’, for example) OS it is curious (even flattering!) that my little article generated interest in the word.
BY THE WAY…. Actors in monster suits are always criticized for being ‘so fake looking’, but cgi looks so real!…
I offer this….How do you know what a real 100 meter monster that breathes fire and wrecks buildings would look like? there has never been or never will be any such thing. So CGI is essentially an elaborate cartoon.
Cartoons are fake by definition.
The Rubber suit is real! The actor inside is REAL; the miniature buildings they crush are real…..so which one is more ‘realistic?????’