Animation techniques

Unit 10 – BTEC Media Studio

CGI & Computer Animation

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.

Toystory

Up

Inception

CGI is my favourite animation because it looks the best but I don’t like watching bad CGI films, where everything you see looks fake.

Shrek is a great film for lots of people because of its mix of old and new tales from sleeping beauty to Puss in boots

AvatarDirector: James Cameron

Released: 17 December 2009

The best animation of its time!Great story Costs lots to make but the profit was lots, lots more!This was properly the best film of 2009. This Block buster was such a big success that it was turned into a computer game for kids.

Big Television programmes such as Game of Thrones with big budgets can afford to use the best CGI in their productions.

CGI

Game of Thrones is aesthetically pleasing for the audience. Some CGI is compulsory to the narrative to keep it true to the novels. Dragons are needed for the story but they can’t be hired from a zoo for a day.

CGI

CGI is the most contemporary animation technique; it is the most realistic looking technique with people striving to get animations that look more realistic.

Clay Animation• Clay animation is

one of many forms of stop motion animation but you use clay.

Morph

Wallace & Gromit

Shaun the sheep

• I appreciate the amount of time and effort that goes into clay animation because they can only film a few seconds every day

Directors: Steve Box and Nick Park

Release Date:14 October 2005

Great film took years to complete but a really good movie for all ages. This contains humour for all ages and a great story line.

Flip AnimationA flip book or flick book is a book with a series of pictures that vary gradually from one page to the next, so that when the pages are turned rapidly, the pictures appear to animate by simulating motion or some other change.It’s only used for short narratives because the books

• I don’t like this as much because it doesn’t always look good. Not many people use the technique anymore, except for primary school teachers.

Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck are classics created by Walt Disney.

Kinetoscope• a device for viewing through a magnifying lens a

sequence of pictures on an endless band of film moved continuously over a light source and a rapidly rotating shutter that creates an illusion of motion.

• When I was younger I remember watching these Kinetoscope, I found them very interesting but now I find them boring and old. There isn’t many uses for them now.

Cel AnimationA traditional form of animation used in the

production of cartoons or animated movies where each frame of the scene is drawn by hand.

The Simpsons

The Flintstones

A full-length feature film produced using cel animation would often require a million or more drawings to complete.I like these comedy cel animation because you can show horrible fights and stunt with out all the graphics.This was mostly used from the 1950’s to present day, its how all the tradition cartoons have been made.

Wacky racersTom & Jerry

Praxinoscope• The outer layer has a series of pictures. The inner

layer is comprises of mirrors. When spun, it creates movement.

• Both the zoetrope and phenakistiscope provided the break in the images by the black space between adjacent slits in the disc or drum. However, this design was adapted by Emile Reynaud in Paris in 1877 to form the praxinoscope. It used a drum, just as the zoetrope had, with the images drawn on a band placed around the inside of the cylinder.

Zoetrope• First created in 1834, made by William Horner• This has little slots on the side that you look

through to see the animation.• The zoetrope worked on the same principles as the

phenakistiscope, but the pictures were drawn on a strip which could be set around the bottom third of a metal drum, with the slits now cut in the upper section of the drum. The drum was mounted on a spindle so that it could be spun, and viewers looking through the slits would see the cartoon strip form a moving image. The faster the drum is spun, the smoother the image that is produced.

Contempery Music animation

• These are music videos using Contempery animations:

• Gorrilaz• JCB Song sung by Nizlopi. It’s a JCB truck going

down the road with weird things appearing in the slides.( This was made with Flash. )

• Deadmau5 uses animation for all his music videos.

Gorrilaz

Animation Contemporary Uses

…

Advertising

Coke cola Santa advert. This advert appeals to everyone because it’s friendly looking. Its almost traditional because people expect it to come out about December 1st every year.

Vodafone Bee’s is just an average family but as bee’s.

Adverts are usually 30 seconds long with short narratives.

AdvertisingCompare the market used the advertising campaign Compare the Meerket. It started with a Meerkat in a dressing gown who told tales of his family and the creation of the made up site Compare the Meerkat. It has now turned into something bigger than just a advertising campaign, its now got its own website and it has its own merchandise.

Television ProgramsPeppa Pig is aesthetically pleasing for little kids because it looks all bright with multi-colours. It has some humour adults might find amusing because lots of parents watch this with their children.

Bob the Builder is aesthetically pleasing for little boys because Bob is an important man and I like a role model. Bob is generally a happy builder on the show and is shaping little kids minds to become builders of the future.

Television Programs

Family Guy is an animated comedy series about an American family. Its narratives of different story's each week. Its audience appeal is its humour for people in their 20’s and 30’s mostly. Its very well animated so it is aesthetically pleasing to its audience.

Computer gamesCall of Duty is aesthetically pleasing for all people who like FPS because people it has a sense of adventure and thrill. It has some of the most realistic CGI in the gaming industry.

Red Dead Redemption is aesthetically pleasing for everyone who likes adventure and western fun cowboys.

Mobile phones

This phone is aesthetically pleasing because it’s attractive to look at and it has free chat on it.

You can watch film and TV on it and music videos. You can play computer games on the phones and video images on phones.

Blackberry

Internet• Google is a user friendly site, which is really plain

and easy to use. The homepage is not as busy as sites such as msn.com.

Applications• There are a range of different ways to make a

animation like Clay animation, photographic stills and stop frame.

Clay animations

Stop Frame

Photographic stills

Influential Animation Studios

Walt Disney-have made lots of great films like Bambi, Peter Pan, Mary Poppins and Jungle book.

Hanna Barbera have created one of my childhood favourites, Scooby Doo. They also made lots of

other cartoons like: Tom & Jerry, The Flintsones, Yogi bear and The Powerpuff girls.