Animation

Introduction to Animation

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What is Animation?• Working with the person next to you, write

a definition of animation.– You cannot use any resources (dictionary,

Internet, etc).– You must come up with the definition by

yourselves.– You will be sharing your definition with the

rest of the class.– Write your definition in your notes.

Animation

What is Animation?

• Animation is the art of creating a series of differing images that create the appearance of movement when played in rapid succession over time.

• Websters: The act or process of imparting life, spirit or motion.

• Art in movement

• The art of movement

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Movement• Movement makes static drawings come

alive.• It is the quality of the movement (the life)

that matters, not the quality of a particular image or drawing or frame of film.

• Whether it is a drawing or a lump of clay, the animator places life and meaning into the material by making it move!

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What does it take to be an Animator?

• A fascination with the way things move.

• Sharp observational skills

• A willingness to be an actor!

• Problem solving skills

• Lots of patience

• A little bit of perseverance!

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How do pictures move?

• A trick of the human eye and the brain

• Obviously, the images don’t actually move!

• The illusion of movement is created by a physiological phenomenon called persistence of vision.

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Persistence of Vision• Light is captured by the

eye

• The image is focused upon the retina (at the back of the eye).

• The brain reads and interprets the image.• The brain retains the image slightly longer than it is actually registered on the retina.

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Timeline: A History of Animation

1828 – The ThaumatropeA simple mechanical toy that created the illusion of movement was made popular by Paul Roget.

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1844 - Theatre Optique, ParisEmil Reynaud opens his Theatre Optique in Paris. The Praxinoscope实用镜 contained mirrors placed on an inside column that reflected out the sequential drawings that were on the inside of the drum. He was able to project 80 frames without changing reels and could project 10 to 15 minute "films". But the advent of film drove him out of business and in 1910 he threw all his equipment into a river and died destitute in a sanatorium in 1918.

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1893 - The Kinetoscope投映机Thomas Edison invents the Kinetisocope. Reels of celluloid were stretched over a set of wheels that passed in front of a viewing window. Only one viewer at a time could watch.

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1894 – First Copyrighted Film

• Thomas Edison copyrights the first motion picture, The Record Of A Sneeze.

• Thomas Edison opens his Kinetiscope Parlor in New York.

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1906 – First example of Frame-By-Frame Animation • James Stuart Blackton makes Humorous

Phases Of Funny Faces. This film is usually considered the first known example of animation as some of the drawn sequences are shot frame-by-frame. Blackton used a combination of blackboard and chalk drawing and cutouts to achieve animation.

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1914 – Gertie the DinosaurWinsor McCay's Gertie The

Dinosaur was the first major triumph in character animation (it is still a marvelous film). It was shown as a film in the theaters and also as a multimedia event on stage with McCay interacting with the animated Gertie. Play Movie

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1920 – Felix The Cat

Felix The Cat, the most popular character and series of this period, is created by Otto Messmer of Sullivan's studio.

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1926 – Adventures of Prince Achmed

Adventures Of Prince Achmed, a one-hour shadow puppet film was released. This film is considered to be the oldest surviving feature-length animated film.

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1928 – Mickey Mouse is born!

• Steamboat Willy, starring a little mouse named Mickey, opens in New York in November 1928. It is the first successful animated film with sound. It made Mickey Mouse a star and launched the Disney Studios. Play Movie

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1932 – Animation Wins an Oscar• Flowers And Trees, by Disney

Studios, won the first Academy Award for Animation. This film was the first to use three strip Technicolor in animation.

• Line & Cell Animation becomes the standard animation technique for the next 60 years!

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1993 – Stop-Motion Animation

• Nightmare Before Christmas, by Tim Burton, is released. A departure from traditional cell animation. Uses stop-motion object animation.

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1994 – A Billion Dollar Animation

The Lion King is released by Disney. This animated film made over $1 billion in theaters. It became a world-wide phenomenon!

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1995 – Computer Animated Film

Toy Story, is the first computer animated feature film released and it takes in more money at the box office than any other film in 1995.

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