1. UNIT 14: Computer Animation
OCR Level 3
UNIT 14:
Computer Animation

2. Assessment & Grading Criteria
Learning Outcomes
Pass
Merit
Distinction
Understand the types and uses of animation
P1 Explain the different types of animation
M1 Discuss the history of studios that produce animations
D1 Compare the different animation styles of key animators
P2 Explain different uses of animation
M2 Describe the benefits of using animations in the media
P3 Discuss the advantages and limitations of animated GIFS
Know the software techniques used in animation
P4 Describe the software tools available for animation
P5 Describe factors that need to be taken into account when creating animations for the web
Be able to design and implement digital animations
P6 Design computer animations using different techniques
P7 Implement animations using different animation techniques
M3 Use advanced software features to enhance the animation
D2 Justify how the use of advanced software functionalities has improved the animation

3. Summer Task Set up a new Word document with the following information
Read all of the information from slides 5 – 10 about the different types of animation and then using your own knowledge and any other information that you can find whether that be from the Internet (not just copied and pasted) or from a book write about each of the different types of animation and include images.
Read through slide 11 and create the table from slide 12 – research the advantages and limitations of GIFs and fill out the table explaining in detail about the advantages and limitations.

4. P1 & 2: Explain the different types of animation
Learning Objective: To be able to explain the different types of animations To be able to write about how the different types of animation are created To be able to give an example of each type of animation To be able to give examples of where/when each type of animation might be used

5. Flip Book
Flip books were created early on in the animation industry. They are a series of pages that contain different images. When you flick through the pages at a rapid pace it gives the illusion of movement.
Flip books are used in magazines & newspapers to show a comic strip.
Flip books are used in primary schools by both teachers and pupils for note taking and story telling.

6. Zoetrope
This was an early attempt at creating animation created by William George Horner in It is static images drawn in a cylinder shaped object with small slits equally spaced around the shape. When the image is spun the light reflecting through the slits gives the illusion that the static images are in fact moving.
Zoetrope has been used within children’s toys.
It was also used in the early planning stages of some of the Star Wars films.

7. Cell Animation
This is sometimes referred to as traditional animation. Each frame is drawn by hand, making it a lengthy process. The cel is an important innovation to traditional animation, as it allows some parts of each frame to be repeated from frame to frame, thus saving labor. A simple example would be a scene with two characters on screen, one of which is talking and the other standing silently. Since the latter character is not moving, it can be displayed in this scene using only one drawing, on one cel, while multiple drawings on multiple cels are used to animate the speaking character. This type of animation was used in the early days of cinema as this was the only method of creating animated films.

8. Stop Frame Animation
Stop frame animation is where you have a physical object for example made from clay or plasticine and you make it appear like it is moving on it’s own. Each object is moved very slowly and photographed each time making up different frames. When these frames are put together you get the motion of the object moving. In the 1970s and 1980s this type of animation was often used within films. The chess scene in Star Wars “The Empire Strikes Back” was created in this way.

9. Clay Animation
Clay animation is a similar form to stop frame animation. Characters are made from clay or plasticine and moved very slowly, while photographs are taken rapidly and then put together to make an animation. "Freeform" clay animation is an informal term referring to the process in which the shape of the clay changes radically as the animation progresses, such as in the work of Eliot Noyes, Jr. and Ivan Stang's animated films.

10. CGI
CGI stands for Computer Generated Imagery CGI is when computerised graphics are used to contribute to the making of computer games, arts, films, cartoons ect. These images may be 2D or 3D but they are more likely to be 3D. They can be static or moving images. It is used to create special effects in films or computer games.

11. P3: Discuss the advantages and limitations of an animated GIF
Learning Objective: To be able to explain what a GIF is To be able to explain advantages of a GIF To be able to explain disadvantages of a GIF What is a GIF? GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format, it was developed in 1987 and it is a bitmap image.

12. Advantages & Limitations of a GIF
Explanation Advantages
Disadvantages
Explanation Disadvantages