Thursday, 22 May 2014

1950s to 1970s animation

ANIMATION 1950's TO 1970's



Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros, animated cartoon series. The series features some of the most well known and popular characters in history, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and Tweety Bird. Many of the characters have made cameo appearances in television shows, films and advertisements. Also all the characters had the same man doing all of the voice overs. and he was called Mel Blanc. 











Hannah- Barbera productions was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation for nearly three decades in the mid-to-late 20th centuary. The company was orgnially formed in 1957 by former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animation directors William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and live-action director George Sidney in partnership with Columbia Pictures' Screen Gems television division.










The magic roundabout was originally a french children's television program that was created in 1963 by Serge Danot. The BBC produced a version of the series using the original stop motion animation footage with new English-language scripts, written and performed by Eric Thompson, that had no relation to the original story lines. This version, broadcast from 18 October 1965 to 25 January 1977, was a great success and attained cult status, being watched by adults for its dry humour as much as by the children for whom it was intended.

early animation devices and modern

The earliest examples of "animation" come from Palaeolithic cave paintings and pottery/wall decorations from as far back as 5,200 years ago.

Around the Victorian Era, games such as the zoetrope, Thaunamatrope and flip book became popular. These were simple devices that, when moved in their individual way, would produce a basic animation.

Eadweard Muybridge was an English photographer was an English photographer important for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion and in motion-picture projection.

William Horner was another animation pioneer, who created the zoetrope. He created the zoetrope in the year 1834.

ZOETROPE
A zoetrope is a device that produces an illusion of action from a rapid succession. It was basically a improvement on the phenkitascope. It lead to the praxinoscope being made and also lead to animation being viewed simpler.

In 1889 Emile Reynaud patents the praxioscope. This is a device that used mirrors to project a sequence of images onto a screen. The infinite tape length changed the medium of animation from a curiosity into entertainment.

In 1906 J. Stuart Blackton makes the first animated film which he called "Humorous phases of funny faces." His method was to draw comical faces on a blackboard and film them. This allowed the facial expressions to change before the viewers eye's.
In the 1914 Earl Hurd applies for a patent for the process of cel animation. This is the technique of drawing the animated portion of an animation on a clear celluliod sheet and later photographing it with its matching background.

1923 Walt and Roy Disney create Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio.
In 1964 Ken Knowlton working at Bell Laboratories started developing computer techniques for producing animated movies. 


1976 The feature film Futureworld, sequel to the 1973 Westworld, is the first film to feature CGI by making use of a computer - generated hand and face created by then University of Utah graduate students Edwin Catmull and Fred Parke. Catmull wold eventually end up as one of the three founders of Pixar and is the current president of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar.

1986 The computer graphics division of George Lucas's company Lucasfilm, Ltd is purchased by Steve Jobs for $10 million and established along with Catmull and ex-Disney animator John Lasseter as Pixar Animation Films, a company that is famous for their CGI feature films and shorts to this day. 
Disney/ Pixars first film TOY STORY becomes the first feature length film to be made entirely of CGI in 1995.



Thursday, 15 May 2014

finished elmo animation

This is my finished elmo animation project. I used premier pro to edit the animation i copied my animation into premier pro and added a youtube song which was the elmo song. I cut the song so it lasted as long as the animation did and then put my titles on and the beginning and end. Overall i am happy with the animation but i would of liked it to be a little longer.

This is a screen shot of me working in premier pro to edit the animation and export it.

Thursday, 8 May 2014

how animation is made

MODEL BASED ANIMATION

Model animation is a form of stop motion animation designed to merge with live action footage to create the illusion of a real-world fantasy sequence. Model animation was pioneered by Willis O'Brien it was first used in THE LOST WORLD in 1925. He has done work such as King Kong and The Black Scorpion.


CUT OUT ANIMATION

Cut out animation is one of the oldest and simplest animation techniques and has many forms and variations, Essentially, cut-out animation involves using flat characters, props and backgrounds made out of different materials such as paper, card, stiff fabric or even photographs. Animators divide characters into smaller segments, piece together the individual cut-out shapes and move them in small steps, taking a picture - with a film camera capable of taking single pictures at each step, to create the illusion of movement.

PIXILATION ANIMATION

Pixilation is a form of stop motion animation, in which you animate live actors instead of clay figures. All you have to do is move the actors or the objects little by little in front of a camera, shooting one frame at a time, then play the images in sequence on film or computer screen. You take pictures instead of drawing them. This animation technique goes all the way back to the beginning of animation history. Pioneer animator NORMAN MCLAREN made a short film "neighbours" while working for the national film board of Canada - probably the finest greenhouse for experimental animations ever.

CELS ANIMATION


Classical animation also known as cel animation or hand - drawn animation is the traditional form of animation which usually consists of 24 frames per second, each frame is usually drawn by hand or an animator can draw main frames and another person can draw the "in-betweens", it usually looks flat not 3D. For example these are cel animation films many disney films such as "sleeping beauty" 1959 and "beauty and the beast" 1991 and other non disney films such as "an american tail" 1988 and Hanna-Barbera cartoons - Scooby doo, the Flinstones and Tom and Jerry.

TIME LAPSE


Time lapse animation is where a process which would appear subtle to the human eye is captured over a period of time and played faster per frames/s to achieve a sudden motion of activity. Some common subjects of time lapse animation include:
Rotting fruit
The movements of clouds
Plants growing
People moving around the city.







padlet account and evaluation

http://padlet.com/lauuhartley25/t8zuxz0myknd


From Marcus's comment on padlet i would defiantly next time make the lighting better and make sure i film the animation in a different place.
From Matthew's comment i would next time make sure that the background was not moving about but for this elmo animation i did mean to move the background about but it is something i will consider for next time.
From Gavin's comment i did want to add more to the animation and add more scenes to make it longer but i didn't have enough time to do that so that's something to think about also for next time.
From James's comment i need to change the lights and background so i know i need to film it in a different place next time.
Ethan gave me a really good comment so i appreciate that and all the other comments because i now know what i need to do next time.

Thursday, 13 March 2014

elmo animation planning

I have printed out a background for elmo to be animated on to. I will then use the camera on the mac to take a series of images of elmo to make him look as if he is moving. This kind of animation is called a cut out and could take up to around an hour. So next lesson i will be doing the elmo animation. I have cut his legs and arms out so i can adjust the movement of him!http://itec-composer.eun.org/composer/download/file/applications/Padlet.png
I have used this elmo off google for the cut out.
And i will also be using a background that will be similar to the one below. I am planning for the background to move as well as the animation.
To start of i took a series of shots with the camera's that were plugged into the computer's and i formed the series of images to show elmo moving and the background moving also. I used I stop motion to take the series of images to produce the animation. The animation when being in I stop motion took a while because i had to make sure elmo moved the way i wanted him to and later i would add music so i needed to make sure elmo dancing would be in the same time as the music was playing. 
This is not my animation but this is how i used ISTOPMOTION to create my animation, i put the background on a table and put elmo on to the background i had cut his legs and arms off so i could move them differently, every time i moved the legs and arms i would take a picture so then when pressing play the elmo would move as well as the background, once i had finished taking the images i exported it and saved it into my file. 






I then put the animation into Imovie this is when i added a soundtrack and titles, i used the music from the actual elmo cartoon. 

Thursday, 6 February 2014

animation 1900-1930

Animation within 1900 to the 1930's really took off with animators such a George Melies, Willis O'brien and Lotte Reiniger, these were also the main founding fathers of animation who really made animating take off!!

George Melies made a famous animation known as "a trip to the moon" in 1902 and the film is recorded at 16 frames per second. The film is based on two novels which are, from the earth to the moon and the first man on the moon.

Willis O'Brien was a stop motion animation pioneer who has been responsible for some of the images within cinema history, he has worked on films such as King Kong 1933 , The Lost World (1925) and Mighty Joe Young (1949)

Lotte Reiniger was an animator who released the first animated feature, The adventures of Prince Achmed in 1926 and is the oldest surviving feature film along side two others. Lotte created silhouette animation which is used within the adventures of prince achmed which is done by using cardboard and thin sheets of lead under a camera.

persistence of vision

Persistence of vision is a commonly-accepted although somewhat controversial theory which states that the human eye always retains images for a fraction of a second (around 0.04 second). This means that everything we see is a subtle blend of what is happening now and what happened a fraction of a second  ago. In film and video, this phenomena is often claimed to account for ability to perceive a sequence of frames as a continuous moving picture.




Persistence of vision. Your eyes have memory! The human eye forms an image on the retina - the light sensitive part - and transfers information about the image to the brain. Just like film in a camera, this process involves reactions. The light falling on the retina stimulates nerves. It takes time for the stimulation to clear. Normally we dont look at one thing for a long period, so further stimulation to clear. Normally we dont look at one thing for a long period, so further stimulation happens, over - riding the last image about 20 times a second. If we stare at things, however, things are different - especially when we stare at the dark and light areas ( as in the example below) Dark regions have little (or no) light coming from them so no stimulation occurs. The eye grows used to the image it sees , and the nerves go on relaying the same information over and over.

In the initially strange, example below the brain is confused by what it sees, and tries to add detail to it. Only when you close you eyes (zero stimulation) does the fading image of Jesus of Nazareth "appear". Unexpected is the fact that his hair is dark - whereas in the image, its bright! This is the result of over-stimulation. Some people imagine they see a colour image- in this case the result of their brain - over actively filling in missing detail.
 

Thursday, 14 November 2013

I made his monster in stop motion starting with blue clay balls then added pink spots facial expression and horns, now it is able to stand up ready to move in an animation.

Thursday, 17 October 2013

Animation 1930 - 1950

Popeye made it's first public appearance on January 17th 1929, in Elzie Segar's then nine-year-old comic strip, THIMBLE THEATRE which originally revolved around Olive Oyl's family. Then in 1933 Popeye made the jump to the silver screen in a Betty Boop cartoon entitled POPEYE THE SAILOR from the Fleischer studios.
I YAM WHAT I YAM was the first cartoon in the series of POPEYE cartoons produced by the Fleischer Studios between 1933 and 1942.
Popeye has been a comic-book hero since the early 1930's, both in America and across the globe.
In the 1941 POPEYE joined the U.S Navy, with the mighty Navy the first of several war related shorts and the first time he would appear in an all-white uniform.
POPEYE has been a very successful animation and on 8th December 2009 POPEYE was featured in the Google logo to honour the anniversary of the birth of his creator. Elzie Segar





This is a short cartoon called bugs bunny barber. Bugs bunny is one of the most recognised cartoon characters. He is the leader of looney tunes, and the mascot of Warner Bros. Bugs bunny is constantly munching on carrots as his catch phase is 'Whats up Doc'? Bugs was the first cartoon character to appear on a postage stamp. The bugs bunny creators were Chunk Jones, Tex Avery, Robert Mckimson and Bob Clampett. Since 1939 Bugs Bunny has starred in more than 175 films. He first appeared in a cartoon 'a wild hare'. He appears in 'who framed Rodger rabbit' skydiving with Micky Mouse.



Tom and Jerry Animation called 'in the Hollywood bowl. Tom is conducting a symphony at the HollyWood Bowl when Jerry comes out to 'help' him. It was released in USA 16th September 1950.





A Fleischer animation called 'Betty Boop' which this particular animation is a halloween special. Its the scariest time of the year, and betty boop hosts a party with aid from a scarecrow; but an univited gorilla threatens havoc. It was released 3rd November 1933 and is in black and white.
Scooby Doo is all about a group of friends and their dog travelling around in a van solving strange and hilarious mysteries. Velma, Daphne, Scooby, Fred and Shaggy are the group of friends. Each mystery is new and unusual and involves the group stopping someone from wreaking certain havoc on the world. It was first released in 1969, and is an American Cartoon.
Scooby Doo was created by Ken Spears and Joe Ruby.

Thursday, 10 October 2013

art clokey
gumby models


tv cartoons 50's looney tunes
A Fleischer animation called 'Betty Boop' which this particular animation is a halloween special. Its the scariest time of the year, and Betty Boop hosts a party with aid from a scarecrow; but an uninvited gorilla threatens havoc. It was released 3rd November 1933 and is in black and white.

Snow White was the first and by far most memorable full length animated movie from Disney Studio's, it has made history! It was first released December 1937 and has become a screen classic. The film made about $2,000,000 estimated.

Thursday, 3 October 2013

An animation by Walt Disney a very clever man, this animation is about Mickey mouse from drawings and Walt Disney's idea's this great animation was created which would be used as a cartoon.

A little history about Walt Disney is that he was born 5th December 1901 in Chicago Illinois, his father was Elias Disney and mother was Flora Call Disney. Walt had very early interests in art, he would often sell drawings to neighbours to make extra money. He pursued his art career, by studying art and photography by going to McKinley High School in Chicago. Walt began to love, and appreciate nature and wildlife, and family and community, which were a large part of agrarian living. Through his father could be quite stern, and ofter there was little money, Walt was encouraged by his mother, and older brother, Roy to pursue his talents. During the fall of 1918, Disney attempted to enlist for military service. Rejected because he was under age, only sixteen years old at the time. Instead Walt joined the Red Cross and was sent overseas to France, where he spent a year driving an ambulance and chauffeuring Red Cross officials  His ambulance was covered from stem to stem, not with stock camouflage, but with Disney cartoons. Once Walt returned from France he began to pursue a career in commercial art. He started a small company called laugh - O - Grams, which eventually fell bankrupt. With his suitcase and twenty dollars Walt headed to Hollywood to start anew. After making a success of his 'Alice Comedies"Walt became a recognized Hollywood figure. On July 13, 1925 Walt married one of his first employees Lillian Bounds in Lewiston, Idaho later on they would be blessed with two daughters Diane and Sharon. In 1932 the production entitled flowers and trees (the first colour cartoon) won Walt the first of his Studios Academy Awards In 1937 he released The Old Mill the first short subject to utilize the multi plane camera technique. On December 21 1937 Snow white and the seven dwarfs the first full length animated musical feature, premiered at the Carthay Theater in Los Angeles. The film produced at the unheard cost of $1,499,000 during the depths of the Depression, the film is still considered one of the great feats and imperishable monuments of the motion picture industry. During the next five years, Walt Disney Studios completed other full-length animated classics such as pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi. Walt Disneys dream of a clean, and organized amusement park came true, as Disneyland Park opened in 1955. Walt also became a television pioneer Disney began television production in 1954 and was among the first to present full colour programming with his wonderful world of colour in 1961. Walt Disney is a legend; a folk hero of the 20th century  His worldwide popularity was based upon the ideals which his name represents imagination , optimism, creation, and self made success in the American tradition. He brought us closer to the future, while telling us of the past it is certain that there will never e such as great a man as Walt Disney.
A 14 minute animation by Lotte Reiniger called Cinderella, Cinderella is a very popular animation as many films have been made since the animation was produced it was a very clever animation as it was paper images being cut out into different shapes to make the story complete.

A little history about Lotte Reiniger is that she was born 2nd July 1899 in Berlin Germany.
She died 19th June 1981in Dettenhausen, Baden-wurttemberg Germany.
She was a pioneer in silhouette cartoons who's work was based on the traditions of the oriental shadow theatre. She later went on to do some colour animation.
This clip is around 5 minutes long and is Winsor Mccay's work, it features a dinosaur considering no one knew what dinosaurs actually looked like then he went from scratch on peoples drawings of what a dinosaur looked like so it was a very popular animation and very clever.

A little history about Winsor Mccay he was born 26th September 1871, in Spring Lake, Michigan USA.
He died 26th July 1934 in Brooklyn, New York USA.
He was America's first cartoon animator.
He started of as a newspaper cartoonist, achieving great for his 'little Nemo' animation and many more.


A 3 minute clip called 'the haunted castle' by Georges Melies who was French and one of the first animators to actually produce animation work, this clip shows a haunted ghost moving about in the castle that turns into a man it envolves a lot of special effects also using smoke ect.

A little history of Georges was that he was born 8th December 1861 in Paris, France.
He died on 21th January 1938 in Paris, France.
He was a professional magician by training first saw the 'moving pictures' in 1895.
A year later he was filming and projecting his own creations. He discovered to use stop motion photography to trick visual effects.
He was the first to use fade in, fade out and the first to creative narrative films.
He made over 500 films.
Had a classic eighteenth century theatre and played out all his films there.
His death was sadly to poverty as France was in war.