Daniel Webster

How has the convergence of animation and film developed and what are its implications for the future of film making?

In this report I will be discussing the different forms of technology that have been used to create all sorts of projects in the media industry. Starting from animation that goes back to the 1800s to the animation we used today in films like Toy Story and Wallace and Grommit. How these early forms have moulded the society we live in today, and if I believe it will continue to change. Not just animation, but Gaming overall, which has changed drastically over the past twenty years. I will use my researched materials to put my point across about these different forms while trying to back them up with as much evidence.

What is Animation and how has it changed?

The main five aspects of animation in Entertainment are Films as followed, Cartoons, Television series and Web based animations. The main thing animation is used for is Entertainment; for example in films, the animation takes a lot of hard work and it’s not as easy as a web based animation like Lamas with hats which is a short animation that is on you tube. The first completely computer generated animated movie was Toy Story (1995). CGI short films have been produced as independent animation since 1976, though the popularity of computer animation shot up a lot during the modern date of U.S. animation. The main five aspects of animation in Entertainment are Films, Cartoons, Television series and Web based animations. In terms of education, animation makes learning more fun for the students and more interactive especially for children. The information or Propaganda for animations is used extensively during the Second World War to support the government’s cause.

The way animation works is by tricking the eye / brain into thinking it is seeing moving images but it is just loads of still images played at a very fast speed, The speed that most animators use is 25 FPS (Frames Per Second). The very basics of animation are the same on all media. The first step is to show an image. All following steps include minor changes to the previous image. When shown one after the other relatively quickly, the image can appear to be animated. The persistence of vision causes us to retain momentarily the last image we have seen. If there are enough images that are seen rapidly (154 fps apx), it gives the impression of movement but it is just an illusion it’s playing tricks on your mind. For example, Mickey Mouse appears to be moving because a picture is drawn of each tiny movement he "makes" in the scene.

Animation is the process of making objects change over times according to scripted actions that are usually created on programs such as Adobe Flash, also animation is the very fast display of a sequence of images of 2D or 3D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the fact of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in

Daniel Webster

several ways. The most common method of presenting animation is as a motion picture and there are many other methods. The other main method is stop motion animation is used to describe animation created by physically copying the real world objects and photographing them one frame of film at a time to create the illusion of movement. There are loads of different types of stop-motion animation. There are also many more different styles of animation. Here are some examples I have found;

Thaumatrope

John Ayerton invented the Thaumatrope (Ayerton, 1946), it consists of a disc with two images either side, when span rapidly gives the impression of a single composite images. The image on the right is an example of a Thaumatrope and this is the mot popular one, on one side of the disc there is a picture of a bird and on the other side of the disc there is a picture of a cage. There is a piece of string that goes through each side of the disc and when you spin both pieces of strings it creates the illusion that the bird is inside the cage.

Zoetrope

The Zoetrope was developed in 1834; there are images sequences that are contained within a revolving drum. When viewed through slits cut in the side the still images appear to move. t consists of a cylinder with slits cut vertically in the sides. Beneath the slits on the inner surface of the cylinder is a band, which has either individual frames from a video/film or images from a set of sequenced drawings or photographs. A Zoetrope was used in the filming of a music video for "My Last Serenade" by Killswitch Engage. It features a woman looking through the slits on a Zoetrope while it moves, and, as she looks closer, the camera moves through the slits into the Zoetrope where the band is playing the song.

Figure 1. Thaumatrope. 1

Figure 2. Zeotrope

Daniel Webster

Mutoscope

The Mutoscope was invented by Herman Casler it is a Coin operated flipbook. Turning a handle operates it and it’s viewed through a lens on the side, this was very popular during the Victorian times in Britain especially at seaside resorts. The Mutoscope worked on the same principle as the "flip book." The individual image frames were conventional black-and-white, silver-based photographic prints on tough, flexible opaque cards. Rather than being bound into a booklet, the cards were attached to a circular core. The patron could control the presentation speed only to a limited degree. The crank could be turned in both directions, but this did not reverse the playing of the reel.

Modern Forms

(Stop Frame)

The modern form of animation is stop frame there are many styles of stop frame animations; frames are recorded manually, objects and characters are changed or moved from frame to frame to create the impression of movement. The Wallace and Gromit (fig4) films are shot using the stop motion animation technique. After detailed storyboarding, set and plasticine model construction, the film is shot one frame at a time, moving the models of the characters slightly between to give the impression of movement in the final film, the stop motion animation in Wallace and Gromit may duplicate frames if there is little motion.

CGI / 3-Dimesional

Figure 3. Mutoscope

Figure 4. Wallace and Grommit

Daniel Webster

Characters are computer generated and have more realistic dimensions than traditional forms. Examples include: Toy Story (fig 5) , Bugs Life, Cars etc. Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media. The visual scenes may be either dynamic or static 3D computer graphics software is used to make computer-generated imagery for movies, etc. Recent availability of CGI software and increased computer speeds. To create the illusion of movement, an image is displayed on the computer screen and repeatedly replaced by a new image that is similar to the previous image, but advanced slightly in the time domain (usually at a rate of 24 or 30 frames/second).

Flash / Web based

There are many example that exist on the Internet on flash / web based that are in form of flash based cartoons that are computer generated.

Key Animation Terms.

Key frames are frames that define specific key points within a sequence. FPS (Frames Per Second) is the number of still images per single second of video. Tweening is the process of creating all the frames between key frames. Parallax scrolling is the objects that are placed further away in a scene appear to move slower than those at the front. This gives impression of Depth.

How has CGI changed?

Computer Generated Images (CGI) have changed significantly since the 1990s which has resulted in films like Avatar, Transformers and the Hobbit Franchise. However CGI was in its prime during that time; releasing blockbusters such as The Lost World (1997), Jumanji (1995) and the much loved Jurassic Park (1993). “The Aesthetic project governing the production of CGI effects for science-fiction films is frequently represented as being geared towards simulation” (Pearson, 1999). It’s important to consider that special effects have been around a lot longer than CGI; in the 1980s books and films were released about making special effects. “In La Valley’s own

Figure 6. Charlie and the Unicorn. flash

Figure 7. Animation. Flash

Daniel Webster

essay begins to point out that it offers and lure and power that was previously only available to the creators.” (ibid).

Jumanji is an excellent example of the early stages of CGI, the story behind the film is based on the Singapore orientated game; in the film it intrigues the players through the sound of loud jungle drums. It’s set in two different worlds, the jungle world and reality. On the person’s turn they will roll the dice and the pieces will move magically on the board and the player will be transported from the two different worlds. The game was originally made to let the user have a “magical tour of Singapore by simple manipulations of physical cubes”(Zhou, 2004). Jumanji uses CGI in a varied amount of scenes; the most common would be when the animals escape and roam to streets (see fig 9). They would used CGI to put characters in situations that they wouldn’t get into in the “real world” as you can see from the picture on the right. It shows one of the main characters played by actor Robin Williams being sucked in by the floor (see fig 8), this is a result of the game. Each time they roll the dice it triggers an event, which varies from spiders attacking them to liquid floors but in order to stop these events they have to finish the game, which can be very challenging.

James Cameron’s Avatar (2009) was a big hit when it came to the big screen with a mix of highly advanced CGI and 3D Technology. The most significant part that caught the audiences’ eye was the spiritual connection of the characters in the film, these were known as the indigenous people of Pandora; the Na’vi. This was linked with the “real world”. Very similar to Jumanji in the sense that you have the world you know as real life and the virtually created world but what different in Avatar is that the people travelling over to the separate reality can take up a new form know as Na’vi. I believe that’s why it caught so many people’s attention because it shows one person becoming two different personas and linking with the others as if it was their own reality. Below you can see two pictures(fig 10,11,12) which show the before and after stages of CGI

Figure 8. Jumanji. Floor Scene Figure 9. Jumanji. Animals

Daniel Webster

in avatar. The majority of the scenes in this motion picture are filmed this way and its quite fascinating if you think about it, now with the technology we can create any background or world and put an ordinary person into it. It’s not just in the two films I have talked about it happens in all parts of the media industry including music videos and TV shows. There are scenes in Avatar where are transported into the “Na’vi” Reality which is also filmed in front of a green screen but has a different design process which you can see more clearly below, this image shows three actors where technological suits that record their movements and then can be edited to change the way they look on the screen.

What is CGI and how is it changing?

Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) is a very complex process which I have only scratched the surface because in this generation there are no limitations on what we can create using CGI. In most action blockbuster that are released to the world these days have a huge proportion of

editing in them and the majority of that is made from CGI. In the film avengers there are a few scenes that would not be possible just using a camera, for example “the hulk” flies into a spaceship and drags it down to the ground. This scene is almost 100% CGI, the only aspect that is real is the hulks face which is based upon the actor that is portraying him. All the buildings, characters from different realities are made using

Figure 10. Avatar.CGI Plane Edited scene Figure 11. Avatar CGI before editing

Figure 12. CGI filming. Avatar

Daniel Webster

CGI. Which fascinates me greatly because it shows that we can create anything we desire and I am very intrigued to see what the future holds for film making.

The style of Animation is constantly changing as you can tell, it first started off with a simple drawing on a two sided card and now we can create any object/person we need. The new film from the Fast and furious franchise “ Furious 7” uses many forms of animation including CGI to create scenes that couldn’t be replicated by the actors themselves. Paul walker who is one of the main cast members died mid-production of the latest film and to honor his memory they finished the film with a CGI created version of himself which is created on the basis of the images that were taking of him before he passed. All CGI characters are made this way, if they are to look exactly like the actors they’re portraying. The CGI designers will take many different shots of the actor or actress to perfectly replicate them in a 3D way. Its not just used in films but in games as well, you can see in the newest Call Of Duty game there is a character that’s set to be based off the actor Kevin Spacey; I believe they will continue to add actors into games as the Game industry is the biggest grossing and it will continue to expand for the many years to come. What fascinates me the most is that we can use images to create an environment or person that are there, it makes me think what are the limits with CGI and how far can we go with this technology.

In conclusion from my researched that there are many uses of animations and films in the industry from past and future and some of them are even still used today. It fascinates me how in a fourteen-year time span we went from one of the early and primitive stages of CGI seen in Jumanji to the advanced mechanics used in the very popular CGI dominated film known as Avatar. What will happen in the next fourteen years, no one knows; there could be a new form of technology that helps us create projects that are fiction based but in a simply way. The future of media isn’t just about the development of CGI but I believe media as whole will take over and sometime in the future we will be able to create a piece of technology that will allow us to visit and create our own virtual world but that is just speculation.

Bibliography

Research References:

Pierson, M. (1999). CGI effects in Hollywood science-fiction cinema 1989-95: the wonder years. Screen, 40(2), pp.158-176.

ZHOU, Z., CHEOK, A. D., CHAN, T., AND LI, Y. 2004. Jumanji Singapore: An interactive

Daniel Webster

3D board game turning hollywood fantasy into reality. In Proceedings of the 2004 ACM SIGCHI International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology, ACM, New York, 362–363.

Avatar, Dark Green Religion, and the Technological Construction of NatureCultural Studies Review volume 18 number 2 September 2012 http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/csrj/index pp. 74–88 Chris Klassen 2012http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/csrj/article/viewFile/2757/2947

Research Images reference:

Figure 1: http://www.boiledbeans.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/fcf9fb5d6b4f5cbce6b219ded502d101.png

Figure 2: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/8b/38/52/8b3852a2f8d0dd336def53420b5ba779.jpg

Figure 3: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Mutoscope_1896.jpg

Daniel Webster

Figure 4: https://littlestepsblogdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/wallace-and-gromit_0.jpg

Figure 5: http://hebus.org/files/Anime_Animated/Toy Story HD wallpaper 1920x1080 (2).jpg

Figure 6: http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/charlieunicorn.jpg

Figure 7: http://cfile25.uf.tistory.com/image/15549F4450068F8D2711D9

Figure 8: http://s626.photobucket.com/user/jcdaredevil/media/jumanji.jpg.html

Figure 9: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F4ISAAWw0o4/UPsmGQFrk2I/AAAAAAAACfs/s13g-ZgeWeU/s400/Jumanji2.jpeg

Figure 10: http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=mmrg34&s=6 - .VUH0eK1VhBd

Figure 11: http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2gxquye&s=6 - .VUHz161VhBc

Figure 12: http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=e6ynh5&s=6 - .VUH0Bq1VhBd