ANIMATION

ANIMATION The word 'animation' is derived from anima, the Latin word for soul or spirit. The verb 'to animate' literally means 'to give life to'. http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/aim/a_notes/anim_history_01.html

ANIMATION Pictures of Motion

Lascaux cave drawings in the Dordogne, France Lascaux cave drawings in the Dordogne, France. From carbon dating, these prehistoric paintings, drawings, and engravings have been dated to about 15,000–13,000 BC. http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Lascaux+cave

Five images sequence from a vase found in Iran. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2D_Animation

The Egyptian mural, found in the thomb of Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum, at the Beni Hassan cemetery. The paintings are approximately 4000 years old and show scenes of young soldiers being trained in wrestling and combat. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2D_Animation

ANIMATION Animation is a type of optical illusion. It involves the appearance of motion caused by displaying still images one after another. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-animation.htm

This animation moves at 10 frames per second. Animation is a type of optical illusion. It involves the appearance of motion caused by displaying still images one after another. This animation moves at 10 frames per second. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-animation.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2D_Animation

ANIMATION Perception Eyes or Brain??

THE SYNTHESES OF MOTION Animation - as we might understand it as a technical process of synthesising motion from a series of static images - precedes the invention of the cinematograph by several decades. It has its roots in the numerous parlour-game toys popular in the early 1800s which experimented with persistence of vision effect known as the Phi phenomenon. http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/aim/a_notes/anim_history_02.html

Persistence of Vision First noted in 1820 by Peter Mark Roget, refers to the length of time the retina (the "screen" at the back of our eyes which is sensitive to light) retains an image. This illusion of pictures that seem to move occurs because the human brain remembers images slightly longer than the eye sees them. http://www.randommotion.com/html/zoe.html

Persistence of Vision Identification of persistence of vision can be traced to experiments by Newton and later to nineteenth-century Belgian scientist, Joseph Plateau. Scientific toys based upon the principle were developed in the early 1800s, but public fascination did not begin until the Victorian era. Toys such as the zoetrope became especially popular during this time. http://www.randommotion.com/html/zoe.html

The myth of persistence of vision is the mistaken belief that human perception of motion (brain centered) is the result of persistence of vision (eye centred). The myth was debunked in 1912 by Wertheimer but persists in many citations in many classic and modern film-theory texts. http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Persistence_of_vision

The Phi phenomenon is a result of human instinct The Phi phenomenon is a result of human instinct. Our brains strive to make meaning from what we perceive. When we see different images close together our brains quickly create a relationship between them. The metamorphosis of an umbrella into a mushroom makes a certain kind of sense, even though this is not something you would ever see in the real world. http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Persistence_of_vision

In the lilac chaser, we see a moving purple dot (a standard illustration of the phi phenomenon). However, if you stare at the image for long enough the dot appears to erase itself. This is because the dot produces an afterimage which is green (the complementary colour of the original dot). http://www.answers.com/topic/persistence-of-vision

When the green afterimage combines with a purple dot, a gray dot is produced, exactly the same colour of the background. Now, the existence of after image is presumed to be evidence for the persistence of vision hypothesis, but as you can see here, the afterimage actually interferes with the movement of the dot. Thus the presence of after image cannot be the cause of the movement. http://www.answers.com/topic/persistence-of-vision

Brain Tries to Make Sense

What Toys Did Victorian Children Play With? ANIMATION What Toys Did Victorian Children Play With?

During Victorian times, people became fascinated by toys that made pictures move. One of the earliest and simplest of these was the thaumatrope. This is a disc with a picture on either side that is attached to two pieces of string or a stick. When you spin the disc quickly, the two pictures appear to combine into one. http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/victorians/toys.htm

1.Thaumatrope (1824) 4. Zoetrope (180 AD; 1834) Many of the early inventions designed to animate images were meant as novelties for private amusement of children or small parties. Animation devices which fall into this category include: 1.Thaumatrope (1824) 4. Zoetrope (180 AD; 1834) 2. The magic lantern 5. Flip book (1868) 3.Phenakistoscope (1831) 6. Praxinoscope (1877) http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/victorians/toys.htm

pediaview.com/openpedia/Thaumatrope A thaumatrope is a toy that was popular in Victorian times. A disk or card with a picture on each side is attached to two pieces of string. When the strings are twirled quickly between the fingers the two pictures appear to combine into a single image due to persistence of vision. pediaview.com/openpedia/Thaumatrope

The magic-lantern -- the first projector -- was invented in the 1650s, and soon became a showman's instrument. By the end of the 17th century, wandering lanternists were putting on small-scale shows in inns and castles, using a lantern lit with a feeble candle. Often these shows featured goblins and devils -- hence the name the "magic lantern." www.magiclanternshows.com/​filmhistory.htm

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantasmagoria Phantasmagorias were a type of popular early magic lantern show (essentially the predecessor of the horror film). By the 19th century this genre was a standard part of the repertoire of the magic-lantern showman who traveled the country, playing in theaters. Some of these bizarre slides showed terrifying figures of the underworld, some were "dissolving views" in which beauty was transmogrified into beast, and some were moving caricatures -- the first animated cartoons. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantasmagoria

pediaview.com/openpedia/Thaumatrope In the Tim Burton film Sleepy Hollow, the thaumatrope is on a necklace which Johnny Depp's character Ichabod Crane carries with him. In the film The Prestige, Michael Caine's character repeatedly uses a thaumatrope as a way of explaining persistence of vision. Louis XIV's music video for "Guilt by Association" was inspired by thaumatrope. The video is edited in a way that even if only one member is on the screen, the other can be seen by persistence of vision. pediaview.com/openpedia/Thaumatrope

The phenakistoscope use a spinning disc attached vertically on a handle. Around the center of the disc a series of pictures was drawn corresponding to frames of the animation; around its circumference was a series of radial slits. The user would spin the disc and look through the moving slits at the disc's reflection in a mirror. The scanning of the slits across the reflected images kept them from simply blurring together, so that the user would see a rapid succession of images with the appearance of a motion picture (see also persistence of vision). orums.watchuseek.com/f1/​angular-momentum-new-product-phenakistoscope-timepiece-450994

The zoetrope was invented in 1834 by William Horner, who originally called it a Daedalum ("wheel of the Devil").  It was based on Plateau's phenakistoscope, but was more convenient since it did not require a viewing mirror and allowed more than one person to use it at the same time.  http://courses.ncssm.edu/gallery/collections/toys/html/exhibit10.htm#video

Horner's invention strangely became forgotten for nearly thirty years until 1867, when it became patented in England by M. Bradley, and in America by William F. Lincoln.  Lincoln renamed the Daedalum, giving it the name of "zoetrope," or "wheel of life."  http://courses.ncssm.edu/gallery/collections/toys/html/exhibit10.htm#video

Click picture to see it work If, when you spin the zoetrope, you look over the top of the drum at the drawings instead of looking through the slots all you will see is a blur. The illusion of motion is gone. The slots of the zoetrope simulate flashes of light, creating a strobe. Persistence of vision is a stroboscopic effect. The images you see must be interrupted by moments of darkness in order for the illusion to work. http://www.museumstuff.com/learn/topics/history_of_animation::sub::Victorian_Parlor_Toys

A flip book The first flip book appeared in September, 1868, when it was patented by John Barnes Linnett under the name kineograph ("moving picture"). They were the first form of animation to employ a linear sequence of images rather than circular (as in the older phenakistoscope). The German film pioneer, Max Skladanowsky, first exhibited his serial photographic images in flip book form in 1894. www.flipbookshd.com

Praxinoscope In 1877, Frenchman Charles Émile Reynaud, painter of lantern slides, refined the principle of the Zoetrope to use reflected light creating the Praxinoscope (patented December 1877). This was the first device to overcome the blurred distortion caused by viewing through narrow fast moving slots and it quickly replaced the Zoetrope in popularity. http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/aim/a_notes/anim_history_02.html

Praxinoscope Like the Zoetrope, a paper strip of pictures is placed inside a shallow outer cylinder, so that each picture is reflected by the inner set of mirrors. The number of mirror facets equaled the number of pictures on the paper strip. When the outer cylinder rotates, the quick succession of images reflected in the mirrors gives the illusion of movement. This produced a image that was more brilliant and sharper than with any previous device. http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/aim/a_notes/anim_history_02.html

'Praxinoscope Theatre' Reynaud set up this apparatus behind a translucent screen and gave most of the presentations himself, deftly manipulating the picture bands to and fro to extend the sequences, creating a twelve or fifteen minute performance from the 500 gelatine images. Other titles prepared for his 'Theatre Optique' ran to an astonishing 700 images. http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/aim/a_notes/anim_history_02.html

Traditional Stop Motion Types of Animation Traditional Stop Motion Computer Generated http://www.aaacaricatures.com/animation.html

Traditional Animation Also called cel animation, the frames of a traditionally animated movie are hand-drawn. A group of animators illustrated and colored the images on celluloid. The celluloid was transparent sheets, where the hand drawings were transferred. Each of these "cells", as they were called, were then photographed individually with a super 8 or Oxford camera. Example: The Lion King http://www.brighthub.com/internet/web-development/articles/67635.aspx http://www.aaacaricatures.com/animation.html

Stop Motion Animation Claymation Cutouts Lego Puppet Model White Board Stop-motion animation is any type of animation which requires the animator to physically alter the scene, shoot a frame, again alter the scene and shoot a frame and so on, to create the animation. Claymation Cutouts Lego Puppet Model White Board http://www.aaacaricatures.com/animation.html

Since the general animation renaissance headlined by the likes of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Little Mermaid at the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, there have been an increasing number of stop motion feature films, despite advancements with computer animation. The Nightmare Before Christmas, directed by Henry Selick and produced by Tim Burton was one of the more widely-released stop motion features. Henry Selick also went on to direct James and the Giant Peach and Coraline, and Tim Burton went on to direct Corpse Bride. http://www.aaacaricatures.com/animation.html

Clay Animation Often abbreviated to claymation, this is a type of stop- motion animation using figures made of clay or a similar malleable material. Example: Wallace and Gromit http://www.aaacaricatures.com/animation.html

Another individual who found fame in clay animation is Nick Park, who created the characters Wallace and Gromit. In addition to a series of award-winning shorts and featurettes, he won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for the feature-length outing Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Chicken Run, his first feature-length production, grossed over $100 million at the North American box-office, and garnered critical praise. Other notable stop motion feature films released since 1990 include Fantastic Mr. Fox and $9.99, both released in 2009, and The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb (1993). In December 2010, the NBC show Community had an entire episode in Stop-motion when character Abed wakes up to discover that everything is in stop motion animation, Professor Duncan and the study group help him try to discover the true meaning of Christmas. http://www.aaacaricatures.com/animation.html

Cutout Animation In this type of stop-motion animation, the animation is formed by moving 2-dimensional pieces of material such as paper or cloth. Example: South Park http://www.aaacaricatures.com/animation.html

Puppet Animation Example: The Nightmare Before Christmas Puppet animation typically involves puppet figures interacting with each other in a constructed environment, in contrast to the real-world interaction in model animation The puppets generally have an armature inside of them to keep them still and steady as well as constraining them to move at particular joints. Example: The Nightmare Before Christmas http://www.aaacaricatures.com/animation.html

Model Animation In this form of animation, model animated characters interact with, and are a part of, the live-action world. Example: Old School King Kong http://www.aaacaricatures.com/animation.html

Computer Animation It is simply a technique that uses software to mimic the animation tools of the past. Computer Generated Imagery involves creating multiple frames of a drawing and assigning keyframes, with a couple of clicks of the mouse. The animator still has to create the animated character or scene, either traditionally by hand drawing one image, or creating it from scratch with the computer. The main difference is instead of thousands of drawings, you can now use a handful which are duplicated with your software program. You can then manipulate the images to form the animation. 2D animation 3D animation http://www.brighthub.com/internet/web-development/articles/67635.aspx

2D Computer Animation Figures are created and/or edited on the computer using 2D bitmap graphics or created and edited using 2D vector graphics. This includes automated computerized versions of traditional animation techniques such as of tweening, morphing, onion skinning and interpolated rotoscoping. Examples: Simpsons http://www.aaacaricatures.com/animation.html

3D Computer Animation Figures are created in the computer using polygons. To allow these meshes to move they are given a digital armature. This process is called rigging. Various other techniques can be applied, such as mathematical functions, simulated fur or hair, effects such as fire and water. Examples The Incredibles. http://www.aaacaricatures.com/animation.html

History of Animated Film Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Film projectors usually run at a rate of 24 frames, or pictures, per second. VCR and DVD players play and/or record at a rate of 30 frames per second. But old silent movie projectors run at 16 or 18 frames per second. They are so slow they seem to flicker. http://www.randommotion.com/html/zoe.html

medlibrary.org/medwiki/Zoopraxiscope The zoopraxiscope is an early device for displaying motion pictures. Created by photographic pioneer Eadweard Muybridge in 1879, it may be considered the first movie projector. The zoopraxiscope projected images from rotating glass disks in rapid succession to give the impression of motion. The stop-motion images were initially painted onto the glass, as silhouettes. medlibrary.org/medwiki/Zoopraxiscope

medlibrary.org/medwiki/Zoopraxiscope A second series of discs, made in 1892-94, used outline drawings printed onto the discs photographically, then colored by hand. Some of the animated images are very complex, featuring multiple combinations of sequences of animal and human movement. medlibrary.org/medwiki/Zoopraxiscope

Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze 1894 was a pivotal year for Thomas Edison and his crew. It was the beginning of commercial film activity with the opening of the first public kinetoscopic parlors, and Edison was poised to be the prime supplier of films for this new form of entertainment.This film of Fred Ott's sneeze was among the earliest of these short subjects and was shot by Edison's masterful assistant, W. K. L. Dickson. www.opticaltoys.com/edison.htm

First animated film Humorous Phases of Funny Faces (1906) by J. Stuart Blackton. It features what appears to be a cartoonist drawing faces on a chalkboard, and the faces apparently coming to life; whereas it was actually black line art drawn on white paper and then printed as a film-negative to look like white chalk. www.juggle.com/​humorous-phases-of-funny-faces

medlibrary.org/medwiki/​Fantasmagorie_​(1908_​film) French animated film by Émile Cohl. This makes Fantasmagorie (1908) the first animation on film created using what came to be known as traditional (hand-drawn) animation. medlibrary.org/medwiki/​Fantasmagorie_​(1908_​film)

Influenced by Cohl, Russian scientist Ladislas Starevitch started to create animated films using dead insects with wire limbs. In 1911 he created "The Cameraman's Revenge", a complex tale of treason, suicide and violence between several different insects. It is a pioneer work of puppet animation, and the oldest known example of an animated film of such dramatic complexity, with characters filled with motivation, desire and feelings.

In 1914, American cartoonist Winsor McCay released Gertie the Dinosaur, an early example of character animation.

Resources I would like to thank all of the individuals cited on these slides. These slides are based upon the work from a variety of resources from the internet.