Czech filmmaker Karel Zeman spent most of the 20th century pioneering animation techniques. He began as an advertising producer, creating animated film ads in the '20s and '30s. Zeman began making stop-motion films in the 1940s, using puppets and special effects techniques he developed. He experimented with stop-motion, glass animation, miniatures, forced perspective, layering, and 3D techniques. As you can see in the compilation above, he used a wide range of tricks to get to the finished product.
In the 1950s, Zeman began a series of six feature films that combined animation with live-action footage, which he is most famous for. Many of Zeman's works are available at YouTube. The full 1980 documentary by Zeman, from which the above compilation was taken, is available online, but the film quality is poor. -via Everlasting Blort
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