Institutions and techniques
Animation
Animation is the illusion of movement by rapidly displaying a sequence of static stills. These stills, frames or cells can be created by using an array of different techniques. Animators are artists who specifically create animations.
Early Techniques
- Zoetrope The Zoetrope is a circular device, lined with a set of looping stills that, when rotated, create the illusion of movement which can be observed by whoever looks through the small slits places around the device. Invented in 1834 by William Horner, it was originally named "The wheel of the Devil" until it was patented years after his death by William F. Lincoln, who renamed it to the Zoetrope (Wheel of life). - Flipbook/Kienograph The first flipbook originates from 1868, and was patented by John Barnes Linnet under the name of "Kineograph" (Moving picture). It was one of the first forms of actual animation and was not forced to loop over and over consecutively, as it followed a linear design. The mechanic of the invention is very simplistic, all the animator had to do was draw the frames they wanted to see in sequence, then simply run the pages through their fingers to view their work. -Claymation Claymation or Clay-Animation made its appearance during the early 20th century, the technique was used by Editson Manufacturing to created the 1909 trickfilm" The Sculptor's Welsh Rarebit Dream" which is one of the earliest examples of this technique being used. The technique revolves around an animation or sculptor making slight movement to what was often a clay model, then taking a photograph of said model. These photographs would pile up as the scene progressed, but once placed in sequence and played at speed, the illusion of animation will look to have brought the clay model to life. Modern Techniques -Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) CGI is used widely in the modern film and television scene, as it is a way of creating imagery that could not possibly exist, as well as granting a variety of narrative aides. It has been used in many famous films in recent times, for example: Toy Story, The Matrix and Avatar all pushed the boundary on what we assume to be possible. -Green/Blue Screening Green screens are used to crop out the background of a filmed sequence, and replaced it with another (often computer generated). This technique is frequently used by modern day professionals who have access to CGI equipment, or just people who are unable to film on location, so instead they just super-impose the image onto the green screen. What colour screen is used often comes down to lighting and clashing colours. -Flash Animation Flash is a program created by the Adobe company in that grants animators the ability to create works that would have otherwise taken many months to complete, in half the time. It is also much cheaper to produce lengthy animations because it does not rely on physical equipment like paint, cells and ink. |
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Early Techniques:
- Zoetrope - Scrapbook - Flip Animation - Claymation Early Techniques:
- Zoetrope - Scrapbook - Flip Animation - Claymation Digital Techniques
- Motion Capture - Flash & CGI - Green/Blue Screen |
Analogue Techniques:
- Puppet Animation - Cell - Stop Motion -Rotoscope 2D Techniques:
-Flash -Dynamation -Stop Motion -Cut-out |
Contemporary Techniques:
- Computer Generated Imagery (C.G.I) - Green/Blue Screening - Flash - Motion Capture 3D Techniques
- CGI - Claymation - Motion Capture - Stop Motion |
Key works and directors
notable works
-Steam Boat Willy
- Le Voyage Dans la Lune/ A Trip to the Moon -Toy Story - Monty Python Directors- Tim Burton
-Terry Gullian - Was Anderson -Henry Sclick - Nick Park - Jan Svankmajer -Ray Henryhausen |
An Early Disney film, portraying Mickey Mouse in his debut appearance
Directed by Georges Melieies, this early 20th century film briefly used stop motion animation for the first time in cinema history. Created by Disney's Pixar Animation Studies, Toy Story was the first feature length film ever made. An abstract comedy with famous scenes animated by Terry Gillian that granted the act a unique style. The scenes were made using the stop motion technique of moving object (in this case cut-outs) frame by frame. Institutions- Walt Dinsey
- Hanna Barbera - Waner Brothers - Len Lye - DHX - ILM - Pixar |