Assignment 1

Techniques
Traditional 2D Animation
Flick Book
A flick/flip book is a book that has a series of pictures printed or drawn on
each page that vary slightly between each
one. This then creates an illusion of
movement when the pages are flicked
through at a fast pace, giving them the name
Flick/Flip Book. Flip books are usually
illustrated books that are aimed towards
children, but they can also be altered to be
aimed towards adults and use a series of
photographs rather than hand drawn images.
Flip books arent always their own books, they are sometimes included in
other books or magazines, usually in the corner of the pages. This is just
for some other form of entertainment within these books and magazines,
away from the main point of them.
Flick books are basically a primitive form of animation. They rely on the
persistence of vision, just like motion pictures do, to create that illusion of
motion rather than just a series of images that are slightly different to one
another. A viewer that is using a flick book stares at the same place whilst
flicking through it, which is what allows them to see the illusion that they
are made for. This is how it differs from a normal book, because the viewer
doesnt read from left to right, they stare at one spot. The flick book needs
to be used with enough speed so that the pages flick quick enough to
make a smooth illusion of movement. The standard way of reading a flick
book is by holding the book with one hand and then using the other hand
to flick through the pages with a thumb.
The first flick book appeared in September, in 1868, and was created by
John Barnes Linnett with the name Kineograph, meaning moving picture.
Flick books were the first form of animation that showed a linear sequence
of images, rather than a circular one like the phenakistoscope. Max
Skladanowsky, a German film pioneer, first exhibited photographic images
in a flick book in 1894 because he didnt create their own film projector
until the year after.

Cel Animation
A celluloid, or cel, is a transparent sheet which objects are drawn or
painted on to, for a traditional, hand-drawn animation. Celluloid, which
consists of cellulose nitrate and camphor, was used in the first half of the
20th century. However, since it is flammable and
dimensionally unstable, it was replaced by
cellulose acetate. With the computer generated
animation technique that is used nowadays, Cel
Animation has been abandoned in major
productions. Because of this, Disney stopped
using Cel Animation in 1990 when the Computer
Animated Production System, the CAPS, replaced
this in their animation process. Other major animation companies started
to do this as well within the next decade and a half, because computer
generated animation was a lot easier and faster to use.
In Cel Animation, the characters that are used are drawn on cels and then
placed on a static background drawing. This reduces how many times an
image needs to be drawn and allows studios split up the production
process of an animation to different specialized teams. Using this
technique of creating animations, it has made it possible to produce films
in a much more cost-effective way. This technique of animation was
invented in 1914 by Earl Hurd. The outline of the characters and images
are drawn on the front of the cels, whereas the colours are painted on the
back so that it eliminates all of the brushstrokes. The outlines were
originally hand-inked, but they are almost exclusively xerographed on,
since the 1960s.

Rotoscoping
Rotoscoping is an animation technique that is used by
animators to trace over motion picture footage frame by
frame, usually when realistic action is needed.
Photographed live-action movie images were originally
projected onto a glass panel and then re-drawn by an
animator. This projection equipment that was used is
referred to as a Rotoscope. Even though this device has
now been replaced by computers, this process is still
referred to as Rotoscoping. The term Rotoscoping refers
to the technique of manually creating a matte for an
element on a live-action plate, in the visual effects
industry. This is so that it may be composited over another background.
Rotoscoping has been used as a tool for visual effects in live-action
movies and it can often be abbreviated as Roto. The moviemaker creates
a silhouette, called a matte, by tracing an object. This can then be used to
extract that object from a scene so that it can be used on a different
background. Even though blue and green screens have made this process
of layering objects in a scene a lot easier, rotoscoping is still a major part
in the production of visual effects imagery. In the digital domain,
rotoscoping is usually aided by motion tracking and onion-skinning
software. It is usually used in the preparation of garbage mattes for other
matte-pulling processes. Rotoscoping has also been used to allow a
special visual effect to be guided by the matte or rotoscoped line. These
special visual effects can be something like a glow, for example. In the
original trio of Star Wars movies, rotoscoping was used to create the effect
of the glowing lightsabers. This is one classic and well known traditional
use of this technique. To do this effect, the actors were given a matte
based on sticks to hold, which the effects technicians then traced a line
over each frame with the prop and enlarged each line and added the glow
to it.

Drawn on Film
Drawn-on-film animation, which can also be known as
direct animation or animation without camera, is a
technique where the footage is produced by creating
images straight onto film stock. This differs from any
other form of animation where the images or objects
are photographed frame by frame with an animation
camera.
There are only two basic methods to produce animation
straight onto film. One method starts with blank film
stock, whereas the other method starts with black film
(already developed film). The main difference between
these two methods is that on blank film, the artist can draw, paint, stamp,
glue or tape objects onto it. However, on black film the objects can be
scratched, etched, sanded or punched on. The artist can use any tool that
they find and think may be useful for this and the techniques can
endlessly be combined. A third method that can be used takes place in a
darkroom, using unexposed film that is exposed frame by frame. The
artist places objects onto the fresh stock and then uses a small light beam
to create the images. This third category of work needs to be sent off to a
lab to be processed, like films created with a camera do.
Len Lye, Norman McLaren, Stan Brakhage and then later Steven
Woloshen, Richard R Reeves and Baerbel Neubauer were the first and best
known practitioners of drawn-on-film animation who produced numerous
animated films using these different methods. All of their work covers the
whole span from narrative to completely abstract animation. Some film
makers in the 1960s expanded the idea and subjected the film stock to
radical methods, even up to the point where the film was destroyed in the
projection process. Some artists would use this as a statement, whereas
others would go back a step and copy the original film strip so that they
could get a projection copy.
In conclusion, I have researched all of these to find out how the forms of
animation have changed through the years. All of this information shows
the different techniques that people have invented, used and how they
are done. It also shows how they are effective in the animation industry
and how they are successful techniques of animation.

Digital Techniques for 2D Animation

2D Bitmap Graphics
Bitmap graphics, or Raster Images, are stored as a series of tiny dots that
are called pixels. Each pixel is a small square that has its own colour and
they are all arranged in a pattern to form the whole image. If you zoom in
on a bitmap graphic a lot, the pixels start to become obvious to the eye.
This is known as an image being pixelated. Bitmap graphics can be edited
easily by changing the colours or erasing the pixels in an image, on a
piece of software like Adobe Photoshop. Bitmap graphics are useful and
they are used a lot because their file formats are compatible with being
shown on the web. The two most popular file formats that can be used on
the web are GIF and JPEG, which are both bitmap graphic file formats.
Bitmap graphics are also good for images that need a wide range of colour
gradations, like the majority of photographs.
2D Vector Graphics
Vector graphics use polygons to represent images in
computer graphics. Vector graphics are based on vectors,
which lead through different locations which are called
control points, or nodes. These points have positions on
the x and y axis of the work canvas and they determine
the direction of the path.
Points are the starting parts to creating vector images. A
digital artist will trace out the image by using points on
each graphic within the image, which will give an overall
outline of the whole image. The artist will then move on to connecting
each dot together with lines. This will give a view on what the shapes and
image altogether will look like.
Curves are the alternative to lines in vector images. A curve in a vector
image makes a cleaner cut curve for the image that the curve is being
used in. This is one main reason as to why vector images are meant to be
better than raster images. This is because the curves in raster images
uses pixels which make them an uneven curve. However, vector images
use geometric formulas that lets it create curves. This also means that the
quality of the curves doesnt change at all because the line is traced out
with dots which gives the formula a perfect curve to follow.
A polygon is a number of straight lines that create a closed circuit or
chain. Polygons can be and are used quite often in vector logos. This is
because scaling will work perfectly fine because its a vector image so it
will keep its quality. A downside to this is that the file size will be quite big
and may cause problems when putting it on to a website. Polygons are
usually the overall shape within vector images, depending on whether or
not they have curves in them and if the straight lines create a circuit or
chain.
In conclusion, I have researched what these two different types of
graphics are and when they are used. This shows me and will help me for
when it comes to creating my animation. This is because I have
researched what the difference is between both of these types of graphics
so I know which will be the best to use when I create and save my
graphics.

Application Software
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia software platform that is
used for things such as production of animations, rich
internet applications, desktop applications, mobile
applications and mobile games. Flash can display text,
vector and raster graphics to provide animation, video
games and applications. Flash also allows the streaming
of audio and video and it can capture mouse, keyboard,
microphone and camera input. This is why it is one of the most commonly
used pieces of software for creating animations and other productions.
Flash is now known as Adobe Animate, since it has been updated and has
more of a relatable name to what the software is used for.
The first version of Flash that was released was called FutureSplash
Animator, which was a vector graphics and vector animations programme
that was released in 1996. FutureSplash Animator was developed by
FutureWave Software, which was a small company and its first product,
SmartSketch, was a vector based drawing programme for pen-based
computers. With the pen-orientated operating systems crashing, it was
ported to Microsoft Widows and Apples Mac OS.
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop will be the other main piece of software that I will use
whilst creating my animation. Photoshop is useful for creating and editing
all of the graphics that I will need for my animation. It is also useful as the
Photoshop file format, .PSD, is compatible with Adobe Flash. Photoshop
allows me to create graphics how I like with a high quality, or edit already
existing graphics, also with a high quality. This gives me a large range for
what I can do with creating my graphics for my
animation. It lets me either create my own graphics
from scratch, or create my own graphics based off
already existing ones. This give me a wider choice for
what I will want my characters to look like. It could
also save me some time. If I was creating an apple,
then I could get an image of an apple from the
internet and use that as the base image of my
graphic, which saves a lot of time rather than drawing
out the whole apple from scratch, avoiding making a
lot of mistakes. It also makes it so that my character
looks a lot cleaner and more professionally made, rather than the outline
of it being drawn poorly and not being one solid, neat line. Photoshop is
also a good piece of software to use as it has a lot of options for how I can
edit my graphics. These are things such as adding shadows or areas of
light onto my graphics. This lets me make my graphics have more depth
to them, so they arent a boring, flat graphic. I also have a large range of
colours that I can use when it comes to putting colour into my graphics
and I can do different things with the colours, such as giving them a
gradient or fade.
I have researched and wrote about these two different software. I have
done this as these are the two pieces of software that I will be using to
create my animation. I have researched what both of these software are
good for and useful for creating, so that I know what I will use each one
for. I will use Photoshop for creating my graphics as it is the best
programme for this, and I will use Flash for the animation, as this is what
Flash is for and it is the best programme for it.

Pioneers
Joseph Plateau
Joseph Plateau was born in 1801 in Brussels and then died in 1883. In his
life, he studied at Ghent University.
Joseph Plateau was a Belgian physicist and he was one of
the first people to show the illusion of a moving image. He
used counter rotating discs that had repeating images
drawn in small movements to create this illusion. He then
named this device the phenakistoscope. This was the first
animation device that showed a fluent illusion of motion.
This can be compared to the GIF that is used today on any
forms of technology devices with screens. It can be
compared to this as they both have a short length of
animation and continuously play until the viewer stops it.
William Horner
William Horner was a British mathematician and was born in 1786, then
later died in 1837. Horner was also a schoolmaster,
headmaster, school keeper and proficient in classics along
with mathematics.
He invented the zoetrope, which produces the illusion of
motion by showing a sequence of images or drawings that
show a progression of motion. However, the original name
of this invention was the Daedaleum.
The zoetrope is a cylinder with vertical slits cut in it around
the edge. On the inside of it contains the images around the
cylinder in a sequence. The cylinder is then spun to see the
illusion, and the faster that it is spun, the more smooth the illusion is.
Emile Reynaud
Emile Reynaud was a French inventor who was born in
1844 and then later died in 1918. He was responsible
for the first ever projected animated cartoons. In
1877, he created the Praxinoscope and the Theatre
Optique, then he projected the first animated cartoon,
Pauvre Pierrot, in 1892 in public at the Musee Grevin
in Paris. This is also the first instance of film
perforations being used.
The Praxinoscope was exactly like the zoetrope,
except it was created to be more successful in how it
was used. It was the same as it, but it used mirrors in
it. This is so that the illusions was shown stationary in
the same place, as the viewer would look into the mirror and see it rather
than look into the wheel.
Edward Muybridge
Edward Muyrbridge, born 1830 and then died in 1904,
was an English photographer. He was important and
known for his work in photographic studies of motion
and in motion picture projection.
He is known for his pioneering work on animal
locomotion that he did in 1877. This used multiple
cameras to capture motion in stop motion
photographs. His zooproxiscope that he invented was a
device for projecting motion pictures, which predated
the perforated film strip that is used in
cinematography.
Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison, born in 1847 and then died in 1931, invented
the kinetiscope which was an early motion picture device. He
was an American inventor and business man. He invented
and developed a lot of devices that influenced life around the
world. These included things like the phonograph, motion
picture camera and the light bulb. Edison was one of the first
inventors to put the principles of mass production to the
process of invention. The kinetiscope was designed for
people to view films one person at a time through a peephole
window at the top of it. It wasnt a movie projector, but it
introduced the approach that would be the standard for all cinematic
projection.
Lumiere Brothers
August Lumiere, born 1862 and died 1954, and Louis Jean,
born 1864 and died 1948, were the first filmmakers in history.
They created the cinematograph, which contrasted to the
kinetiscope and allowed simultaneous viewing by multiple
parties. The cinematograph is a motion picture film camera
which is also a film projector and a printer. The brothers
invented this in the 1890s.
This device was first thought of by Leon Bouly, however he
didnt have enough money to finish creating it. He sold the
rights for the invention and the name of it to the Lumiere
brothers, who then finished creating the invention and
released their first film in that same year. The projected the film at LEden,
which is the first and oldest cinema in the world.
I researched these different people so that I could find out what they are
famous for and how they became famous for it. This is useful for me as it
gives me some information into the background of different animation
techniques and who created them. It may also give me some help for
when it comes to creating my animation, as it might give me some ideas
on how to create it to make it look as good as I can get it. Or it could also
help me decide on what technique to use to get the best results for it.

Developers
Walt Disney
Walt Disney was an American entrepreneur, animator, voice actor and film
producer. He was a pioneer of the American animation industry and he
introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film
producer, Walt Disney holds the record for most Academy Awards earned
by an individual. He won 22 Oscars from 59 nominations. He was
presented with two Golden Globe Special Achievement Awards and an
Emmy Award, among other multiple honors. He took art classes as a boy
and got a job as a commercial illustrator when he was 18 years old. He
moved to California in the 1920s and started the Disney Brothers Studio
with his brother, Roy Disney. With Ub Iwerks, Walt
developed the character Mickey Mouse in 1928, which
was his first highly popular success. He also provided the
voice for his creation in the early years of it.
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera was an American animation studio that
dominated American television animation for three
decades in the mid-20th century. It was founded in 1957
by former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animation directors,
William Hanna and Joseph Barbera (creators of Tom and Jerry), and live-
action director George Sidney in partnership with Screen Gems, television
arm of Columbia Pictures. Hanna-Barbera is well known for creating a wide
variety of popular animated characters and hit shows for over 30 years,
including Yogi Bear, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Wacky Races, Scooby-
Doo and The Smurfs. Hanna and Barbera won seven Academy Awards,
eight Emmy
Awards, a
Golden Globe
Award and a star
on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame. They were also both inducted into the Television
Academy Hall of Fame in 1993.

Warner Brothers
The company's name originated from the four founding
Warner brothers: Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner.
They migrated as children with their parents to Canada
from Krasnosielc, which was located in part of Poland.
The three elder brothers began in the movie theater
business, having acquired a movie projector with which
they showed films in the mining towns of Pennsylvania
and Ohio. Sam and Albert Warner invested $150 to
present Life of an American Fireman and The Great
Train Robbery. They opened their first theater, the
Cascade, in New Castle, Pennsylvania, in 1903.
Norman McLaren
Norman McLaren was a Scottish/Canadian animator, director and producer
known for his work for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). He was a
pioneer in a number of areas of animation and filmmaking, which included
hand-drawn animation, drawn-on-film animation, visual music, abstract
film, pixilation and graphical sound. His awards included an Oscar for the
Best Documentary in 1952 for Neighbours, a
Silver Bear for best short documentary at the
1956 Berlin International Film Festival Rythmetic
and a 1969 BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film
for Pas de deux. McLaren was born in Stirling,
Scotland and studied set design at the Glasgow
School of Art. His early experiments with film and
animation included scratching and painting the
film stock itself, as he did not have access to a camera.
Len Lye
Len Lye was a New Zealand-born artist known
primarily for his experimental films and kinetic
sculpture. His films are held in archives including the:
New Zealand Film Archive, British Film Institute,
Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and the
Pacific Film Archive at University of California,
Berkeley. As a student, Len Lye became convinced
that motion could be part of the language of art,
leading him to early experiments with kinetic
sculpture, as well as a desire to make film. In the
early 1920s, Len Lye travelled widely in the South Pacific. He spent long
periods in Australia and Samoa, where he was expelled by the New
Zealand colonial administration for living within an indigenous community.
Following his first animated film Tusalava, Len Lye began to make films in
association with the British General Post Office, for the GPO Film Unit. He
reinvented the technique of drawing directly on film, producing his
animation for the 1935 film A Colour Box, which was an advertisement
for "cheaper parcel post", without using a camera for anything except the
title cards at the beginning of the film.
I researched all of these different developers to find out what they became
famous for and how they became famous. This is so that I had some basic
background information on them, which is always useful when I am doing
an animation project. It also made me understand what different
techniques of animation each of them use in their productions. I also
found out how the formed and how they started off their career, which
may give me some useful ideas for when I am creating my animation, as it
will show me how to make it a successful animation.

Contemporary Work
Monty Python
Monty Python were a British surreal comedy group who created their
sketch comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus, which first aired on
the BBC in 1969. 45 episodes were made over four
series. The Python phenomenon developed from the
television series into something larger in scope and
impact, which included things like touring stage shows,
films, numerous albums, several books, and a stage
musical. Broadcasted by the BBC between 1969 and
1974, Flying Circus was conceived, written, and
performed by its members, Graham Chapman, John
Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. Loosely
structured as a sketch show, it pushed the boundaries of what was
acceptable in style and content.
Yellow Submarine
Yellow Submarine is a 1968 British animated musical fantasy
comedy film inspired by the music of the Beatles, directed by
animation producer George Dunning, and produced by United
Artists and King Features Syndicate. The film received a
widely positive reception from critics and audiences. It was
also credited with bringing more interest in animation as a
serious art form. The Beatles were not enthusiastic about
participating in a new motion picture, having been
dissatisfied with their second feature film, Help!, which was
directed by Richard Lester. They saw an animated film as a
favourable way to complete their commitment to United
Artists for a third film, however. Because of the band
members' small roles and the fact it was animated, United Artists still
considered them to owe another film; Let It Be would be the third film to
complete their contract with the studio.
A Scanner Darkly
A Scanner Darkly is a 2006 American animated science-fiction thriller film
directed by Richard Linklater, which is based on the novel of the same
name by Philip K. Dick. The film tells the story of identity and deception in
a near-future dystopia constantly under intrusive high-tech police
surveillance in the midst of a drug addiction epidemic. The film was shot
digitally and then animated using rotoscope, which is an animation
technique in which animators trace over the original footage frame by
frame, for use in live-action and animated films, giving the finished result
a distinctive animated look. It was distributed by Warner Independent
Pictures. Originally, Richard Linklater toyed with adapting the Philip K.
Dick novel Ubik but stopped early on because he was unable to obtain the
rights. He began thinking about A Scanner Darkly, another dark novel
while talking to producer Tommy Pallotta during the making of
Waking Life.
Persepolis
Persepolis is a 2007 French animated biographical film, which
is based on Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel. The film was
written and directed by Satrapi with Vincent Paronnaud. The
story shows a young girl as she comes of age against the
backdrop of the Iranian Revolution. The title is a reference to
the historic city of Persepolis. Directed by Christian
Desmares, the film was produced by a total of twenty
animators. Initially opposed to producing an animated movie
due to the high level of difficulty, producers Marc-Antoine
Robert and Xavier Regault gave Marjane Satrapi alternative
options of film production to avoid animation. However,
despite the difficulty, the producers followed through with Satrapi's wishes
and focused on interpreting her life story as depicted in her novel.
In conclusion, I researched these different pieces of work as they all used
different techniques of animation. This information and research was
useful to me as it showed me how these techniques were used to create
successful pieces of work. This will help me for when it comes to choosing
what technique of animation I will use and for when I am actually creating
my animation. It will give me ideas and show me how to successfully
create it and to make it look professional, rather than rushing it and
making it look poorly made.

Genres and Forms

Advertising
Different types of animation is used throughout
adverts. Although most adverts are people and
real objects being filmed, stop motion, CG
animations and Claymation are used in different
adverts. These types of adverts that animation is
used in is usually for an animated TV programme.
This is so that they can advertise the actual
programme instead of recording something in real
life that doesnt relate to an animated programme
in any way.
Childrens TV
Animation is one of the most used forms of programs on childrens TV.
This is mainly because a program that is animated rather than filmed in
real life more easily entertains children. This is because animated
programs can be as abstract as the creator wants them to be, so it gives a
larger range of what the content of it is, which is
unlike real life recorded programs. Non-life like
programs have more of a chance to entertain
children, which is why animation is used more
often and is why most programs that are shown to
children are this abstract and unrealistic,
compared to programs that are aimed towards
teenagers and adults.
Music Videos
A lot of music videos use different forms of
animations. There are music videos that use stop
motion to create a unique effect in them. Others
use Claymation, like the music video for
Sledgehammer which was created by Aardman.
Other music videos also use CG animations. The
easiest way to tell if a music video is animated is
usually in lyric videos. This is because it is
practically impossible to create a lyric video in real
life because it has to keep in time with the actual
lyrics of the song that it is for. This means that most lyric videos are
created using an animation programme just with simple text coming on
the screen and going off at the right times.
Computer Games
Computer games use animation more than
anything else. This is because any game is
created by animation, no matter what type of
animation it is. The majority of games use
computer generated animation, as this is the
easiest and best quality animation that a
company can use to create a game. There isnt
really any games that use stop motion or
Claymation, as they are harder to create a game with and dont work as
well. Also, the market for games are usually more interested in realistic
games, rather than animated games made with Plasticine or cartoon
games. Even if a game is created from filming real life things, there will
still need to be some animation involved as certain actions wont be able
to be acted out in real life, without the help of animation.
Mobile Phones
Mobile phones use a lot of animation. They dont really use stop motion,
but they do use other forms. An example of where they use animation is
when they are turned on. Most phones have their logo come on the screen
and it is usually animated to do something. Another example of a way that
mobile phones use animation is through the games that they have
on them. All of the games that can be played on mobile phones
are animated as this is the only way they can be created. Smart
phones can also access websites and watch videos that are
animated, so this is another way that animation can be seen on
them.
Websites
A lot of websites use animation in them. The most
popular way a website uses animation is in their web
banners or adverts that they may have. This is
because it catches peoples eyes and it gives the
website a better and more professional look to it.
However, another popular way that websites use
animation is in games that they might have on them,
or programmes if they are websites for a TV channel.
In conclusion, I researched these different genres and
forms of animation so that I knew how they were used for each platform.
This is because it will help me when it comes to creating my animation, as
I will know how to create it to be aimed towards the right target audience
and for the right platform. The research on the different platforms is useful
as it shows me how each platform uses a technique of animation
successfully, depending on what that platform is. This will help me choose
a technique of animation for what platform my animation is going to be
shown on, so that I can create it well and successfully.