- Pixilation is a stop motion technique where live actors are used as a frame-by-frame subject in an animated film, the actors repeatably pose for different frames, thus creating the illusion of animation as the actor becomes a live action stop motion puppet. The earliest example of this is the film "El Hotel eléctrico" by Segundo de Chomón.
- Here is the film in question is has been said that it is one of the first films to use stop motion animation.
- Pixilation is considered one of the easiest stop motion animation tecnniques to utilise whether it be a Film or a music video.
Friday, 24 April 2015
Early Animation Devices
The Zoetrope is a device that produces the illusion of motion by displaying a sequence of drawings or photographs showing progressive phases of that motion. The Zoetrope is made out of a cylinder that has vertical slits, on the the inside of it there is a 'band' which has several slightly different images on it,the cylinder spins round and as you look through the slits The scanning of the slits keeps the pictures from simply blurring together, and the user sees a rapid succession of images, producing the illusion of motion. Although they are a early example of simple animation they are still used and referenced in modern culture for example in the film 'House On Haunted Hill'(1999 remake) there is a man sized Zoetrope used as a horror tool also Artist Scott Blake created a Zoetrope that let viewers relive the events of 9/11 although morbid it is still an example of a modern Zoetrope in action.
The phenakitoscope was a very early animation device that employed the use of a disk that spun round with a sequence images on it again it used the persistence of vision principle to trick the eye into watching the images come to life, a famous example of one of the first phenakitoscopes was created Edweard Muybridge created in 1893 it showed a couple dancing the waltz.
The first Phenakistoscope was invented in 1841 by the Belgian Joseph Plateau who was the first person to demonstrate the illusion of a moving image with the Phenakistoscope.
The phenakitoscope was a very early animation device that employed the use of a disk that spun round with a sequence images on it again it used the persistence of vision principle to trick the eye into watching the images come to life, a famous example of one of the first phenakitoscopes was created Edweard Muybridge created in 1893 it showed a couple dancing the waltz.
The first Phenakistoscope was invented in 1841 by the Belgian Joseph Plateau who was the first person to demonstrate the illusion of a moving image with the Phenakistoscope.
The Praxinoscope was another early animation device known as the successor to the Zoetrope it was invented in 1877 by the French inventor Charles-Emile Reynaud similar to the Zoetrope it used a 'strip' of images placed around the inner cylinder that when spun round you can see the animation The Praxinoscope improved on the Zoetrope by replacing its narrow viewing slits with an inner circle of mirrors, placed so that the reflections of the pictures appeared more or less stationary in position as the wheel turned.
The Zoopraxiscope is another early animation device that was considered the first movie projector, it PROJECTED images from a rotating glass disk that rapidly spun this again would trick the eye into seeing a moving sequence/ animation, Initially the images were painted onto glass as silhouettes later on outlined drawings that were printed on disc then coloured by hand some of the animated sequences were extremely complex the device has been named as the inspiration behind Eddison's Kinetoscope.
Model Based Animation
Model based animations are made with different materials the most commonly used Plasticine clay, the clay is used to make all the characters whether human or animal, there is a freedom to what can be made in claymation. All the things that are made using the clay are "deformable". This means that because they are made from a malleable substance they can be easily changed and morphed into different things, you could change a policeman into a shark if you wanted.
Each object or character is usually around a wire skeleton called an armature, and then arranged on the set, where it is photographed once before being slightly moved by hand to prepare it for the next shot, and so on until the animator has achieved the desired amount of film. Upon playback the illusion it created tricks the human eye so it looks like real time movement.
The most famous example of claymation works are all productions done by Aardman animations, the British company that was founded in 1972 and has made over $894 million world wide from their films. The most famous example of Aardman Animations work would be the long running TV series and movie Wallace And Gromit.
Each object or character is usually around a wire skeleton called an armature, and then arranged on the set, where it is photographed once before being slightly moved by hand to prepare it for the next shot, and so on until the animator has achieved the desired amount of film. Upon playback the illusion it created tricks the human eye so it looks like real time movement.
The most famous example of claymation works are all productions done by Aardman animations, the British company that was founded in 1972 and has made over $894 million world wide from their films. The most famous example of Aardman Animations work would be the long running TV series and movie Wallace And Gromit.
Here is a 20 minute video on how Aardman studies makes their work, it has some great information on the claymation community of animators.
Model Based Animation films were produced in the United States as early as 1908, but didn't become popular until; 1916 when East Coast artist named Helene Dayton and a West Coast animator named Willie Hopkins produced clay-animated films on a wide range of subjects, with Hopkins producing over 50 model based animated sequences.
Thursday, 23 April 2015
Cut Out Animation
Cut out animation is a technique that uses flat characters, props and backgrounds that are made from materials like felt,paper, card and even photos. it is one of the earliest surviving techniques of animation, although in modern times cutout animation can be created using vector graphics or scanned images an example of this would be Matt stone and Trey parkers South Park. One of the first feature films to utilise cut out animation was the 1926 film "The Adventures of Prince Achmed" by the animator Lotte Reiniger, it is one of the oldest animated films to survive for nearly 100 years. The film uses a technique Reiniger had invented which involved manipulated cutouts made from cardboard and thin sheets of lead under a camera. The technique she used for the camera is similar to Wayang shadow puppets, though hers were animated frame by frame, not manipulated in live action.
Lotte Reiniger is considered the pioneer of silhouette animation and she made over 40 films in her career that all used her invented technique. Here is a short video that has lotte working and showing her unique animation style.
Lotte Reiniger is considered the pioneer of silhouette animation and she made over 40 films in her career that all used her invented technique. Here is a short video that has lotte working and showing her unique animation style.
Another huge name in cut out animation is the american animator and Python member Terry Gilliam who has also become famous for his huge contributions to the cut out animation community, when he moved to Europe he started work on the TV series Do Not Adjust Your Set which featured Eric Idle Terry Jones and Michael Palin his future partners in comedy, When the Flying circus took off he took control of all animated sequences including shorts like "The Miracle Of Flight"
Here is a video that shows Gilliam showcasing his work and showing how he works, it has some very detailed information on his style of cut out animation.
Cel Based Animation
The traditional form of animation used by most when producing an animated sequence by drawing the characters ( traditionally by hand on to plastic sheets) now it is done on computers and isn't hand drawn however some of the most popular shows in american television history are made by using cel animation.
The illusion of animation is created by moving different points on something to make it move, this can get incredibly hard and complex which is why the job of animator is highly sought after although the average salary is not that good. A cel based animation production is most used because of the wide diversity of things you can do, you can have the freedom to make anything whether violent or romantic these themes would definitely be harder to achieve on other formats of animation, here is an example of Family Guy An American Animated series that used crude humour and violence for humorous effect.
Process Of Cel Animation
First, a storyboard is created showing a quick sketch of the general idea and direction of the cartoon. Next, the dialogue is recorded before the actual animators create the final inked cartoons on pieces of clear celluloid acetate, or cels. After inking, animators paint in the colour on the opposite side of the cel and finally combine all the cels to be photographed, using a special film motion picture camera. Cel animation allows animators to repeat certain frames, eliminating the need to draw each individual frame over and over in a sequence of animation. Backgrounds and fixed objects may be included in every background cel while other cels are removed and replaced over and over to simulate movement by animated characters. For example, if there are two characters in a scene and only one character is moving in this scene, an animator would draw character A on a clear piece of film called a cel. Then, using another second cel, the animator will draw character B. As character A is jumping up and down in a sequence of moves, a new cel is created for each movement. These cels are then combined and shot on a special film camera in a logical sequence that makes character A look like he's jumping up and down, while character B remains unmoving. The animator can just leave the first cel attached to the base plate which contains the unmoving character B while placing and removing the cel containing character A's movement sequence. When each subsequent cel containing character A's movements is placed on the plate, a special camera takes a quick shot of both characters that appear together. These quick shots are combined later to simulate movement, or animation.
The illusion of animation is created by moving different points on something to make it move, this can get incredibly hard and complex which is why the job of animator is highly sought after although the average salary is not that good. A cel based animation production is most used because of the wide diversity of things you can do, you can have the freedom to make anything whether violent or romantic these themes would definitely be harder to achieve on other formats of animation, here is an example of Family Guy An American Animated series that used crude humour and violence for humorous effect.
Process Of Cel Animation
First, a storyboard is created showing a quick sketch of the general idea and direction of the cartoon. Next, the dialogue is recorded before the actual animators create the final inked cartoons on pieces of clear celluloid acetate, or cels. After inking, animators paint in the colour on the opposite side of the cel and finally combine all the cels to be photographed, using a special film motion picture camera. Cel animation allows animators to repeat certain frames, eliminating the need to draw each individual frame over and over in a sequence of animation. Backgrounds and fixed objects may be included in every background cel while other cels are removed and replaced over and over to simulate movement by animated characters. For example, if there are two characters in a scene and only one character is moving in this scene, an animator would draw character A on a clear piece of film called a cel. Then, using another second cel, the animator will draw character B. As character A is jumping up and down in a sequence of moves, a new cel is created for each movement. These cels are then combined and shot on a special film camera in a logical sequence that makes character A look like he's jumping up and down, while character B remains unmoving. The animator can just leave the first cel attached to the base plate which contains the unmoving character B while placing and removing the cel containing character A's movement sequence. When each subsequent cel containing character A's movements is placed on the plate, a special camera takes a quick shot of both characters that appear together. These quick shots are combined later to simulate movement, or animation.
Modern animators have said to have taken inspiration from the likes of Walt Disney or the Hanna-Barbera Company that consisted of the two co founders: Joseph Barbera and William Hanna.
and also the Polish born American Max Fleischer who created characters like Betty Boop and Popeye.
Wednesday, 18 March 2015
Time Lapse
Time Lapse
A piece of animation that is done by using the time-lapse technique is achieved by taking lots and lots of photographs ( 24 photos equals 1 sec in real time) over a long period so when they are played back in real time it alludes the human eye into seeing the object move when in reality it would only move extremely slowly, this is used to showcase subtle processes like a sun rise or a flower growing. Time Lapse has been around since the first use of it in a feature film by George Méliès, the film Carrefour De L'Opera (1897) since the invention of the camera it has been embedded into photography techniques for hundreds of years. However it say a major popularity spike when it was used successfully in the 1982 Experimental film Koyaanisqatsi by Godfrey Reggio. The film achieved cult status for its cinematography style of time lapse
1. Here is a video that was shot over 4 days and shows the decomposition that occurs when a piglet dies. The film shows the different insects and things that inhabit and eat the corpse.
This is an early of example of a time lapse film from the doctor Dr. Jerry Payne.
2. Here is a video that shows the journey a man took travelling across china, as he had no access to shaving supplies or scissors so he took a photo a day to show a time lapse of his hair and beard growth.
3. Here is a time lapse that Kev did of the class room it shows the class going about this task.
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