Assignment One

Techniques
Persistence of Vision Persistence of vision is a optical illusion, where the image you are seeing
or a particular set of images then turn into one image that appears to being moving. It tricks the
human mind to believing that it is really moving when in actual fact it's just because how the
image was made. The most common persistence of vision image nowadays is a black and white
spiral, this is the most popular because it's one of the first persistence of vision images they
used and people were blown away by it, when you look it the spiral appears to be moving
around in circles when in actual fact it's just a black and white circle, but as I mentioned before
it tricks your mind into believing that it's actually moving because of all the little discreet
images that are in the main image that blend in with it. Persistence of vision was used in movies
in the cinema back in 1900s to 1940ish, this is because no one had seen these kind of films
before and then better films started to come out where people were amazed and then
persistence of vision died out in cinemas after that, but they are still used today as I briefly
mentioned earlier.

Stop-Frame Animation Stop-frame animation is a form of animation but unlike most

animations nowadays where it is all CGI it's normally drawn, or made out of some object, for
example, plasticine. How stop-frame animation works is that they get something that they want
to move and then either draw it or get a model and then get it in a starting position then take a
picture and then once again either draw it in a different position or move the model in a
different position, for example, walking you have to move each foot and move it as slow as you
want your short film, movie or show to be; depending on what frames per second(frame rate)
you want to use you should either move it quick but not to quick or move it slowly. Stop-frame
animation was one of the first forms of film making it's first appearance on the big screen in
1898 for a film called 'The Humpty Dumpty Circus'. People were astounded by this as it was the
first time anyone had every made them and people thought the creators (Albert E.Smith and J.
Stuart Blackton) were magicians because all of the things were moving on their own. Stop-
frame animation is still used today by companies such as Aardman Animations and director Tim
Burton.
Frame Rates Frame rates are how many images is shown in a particular time, frame rates is
usually referred to as frames per second or FPS for short. This term isn't just used for animation
it's also used normal films and shows, video games, cameras and other motion capture systems.
Most animations used 24 frames per second when they are made because you can fit a lot
images in there so the pace of the film or the show isn't too slow for people to watch. Most
people can't notice the frames per second unless you work in film or anything to do with frames
because it isn't easy to spot because they smooth the films out so you can't tell that there is 24
images in one second. Most normal films are filmed in 30 frames per second because it makes
the film a lot better quality and a lot smoother to watch.

Development
Pioneers of Animation
Joseph Plateau Joseph Plateau was born on the 18th of October 1801 in Belgium and he died
on 15th of September 1883 at the age of 81. Joseph Plateau was a Physicist which is someone
who studies medicine. He was one of the very first people to create the illusion of moving
images without touching them or moving them. He created a device called a 'Phenakitoscope'
which worked by counter rotating disks with images that he had drawn images on each disk and
by moving it and they then got replaced by another one which made it look like the image
moved. People knew Joseph was going to grow up to be someone very special as he already
knew how to read at the age of 6. At such a young school when he was in primary school he
already was fascinated with physics, all the experiments he had seen he was in awe at how it
worked and he promised himself that he would figure out it worked. When he was fourteen his
mother and father both died, and when he discovered this he nearly died himself as the trauma
was too much to handle and he became gravely ill, but he recovered and promised himself that
he would make them proud. When he was young, in his early 20's he was fascinated by what to
his eyes everytime he looked at something bright, this resulted in him staring at the sun for 25
seconds which badly damaged his eyes and later in life he became blind.

William Horner William Horner was born on 9th of June in 1786 in England and he died on
22nd of September 1837 at the age of 51. William Horner was a mathematician, he was also a
schoolmaster and the headmaster. He was one of the very first people to create the illusion of
moving images without touching them. He created a device called a 'Zoetrope' in 1834 but it
was called 'Daedaleum' then and it works by holding the little device and looking through little
holes and spinning it round and it makes it look like the images that have been drawn on are
moving. He was born in Bristol and when he became of age he went to study at a very
prestigious school called 'Kingswood School', and there when he reached the age of 16 he was
very bright so they made him assistant master there and in just in a couple of years he rose to
headmaster and then in 1809 he left the school to start his own school in a place called Bath,
which he stayed the headmaster of until he died in 1837 and then his son became headmaster.

Emile Reynaud Emile Reynaud was born on 8th of December 1844 in France and he died on 9th
of January 1918 at the age of 73. Emile Reynaud was a Science teacher and also was an
inventor. Emile was the very first person to project a animated cartoon on to a wall in a cinema
or anywhere for that matter. He created a device called a 'Praxinoscope' in 1877 and it works
by have images on strips placed around the inner device of a spinning wheel and then the
images move to look like they are moving. After the success of the Praxinoscope, in December
1888 he then created the 'Thtre Optique' which is a cinema/theatre where films will be
shown, and the first animated film was shown in Paris and it was called Pauvre Pierrot, and
everyone was in awe by what they were seeing as it has never been seen before. In his last
years his life was very bad as he was getting no money as people came in and took his invention
and made it better and he couldn't live well anymore and later died in hospital.

Eadweard Muybridge Eadweard Muybridge was born on April 9th 1830 in England and he died
on May 8th 1904 at the age of 74. Eadweard Muybridge was a photographer who took a lot of
photos which helped mend motion-picture animation in to what it is today. His original was
Edward Muggeridge but he changed it to Eadweard Muybridge because he believed it was the
original Anglo-Saxon form of his name. He created the device called a 'Zoopraxiscope' in 1879
and this is a device which displays pictures on a rotating glass disk and in spins round and it
gives the impression of movement of the image. When he turned 20 he went to travel America,
because of his love for books he opened up a book shop in New York. In 1861 he went back to
England and his love for books and photography made him want to become a professional
photographer. In 1867 he went back to America but not to New York, this time he went to San
Francisco, and his pictures that he had taken from back home made him famous all over the
world. People used to love his motion animations of his Zoopraxiscope and they were
fascinated by it seeing something they've never seen before. Then in 1874 he killed somebody
that his wife was sleeping with but he didn't go to prison as they said it was justifiable
homicide.

Thomas Edison Thomas Edison was born on the 11th of February 1847 in America and he died
on the 18th of October 1931 at the age of 84. Thomas Edison was a businessman but he wasn't
just and ordinary businessman as he was also an inventor. He created many things and was
known all over the world. He created things such as a Kinetoscope, Electric lights, Power
Utilities and, Sound Recording. When he was young he didn't go to school he was home
schooled by his mother, which consisted of reading a lot of books. When he was very young
Thomas developed a bad ear condition which later made his hearing really bad and he couldn't
hear that well because of it, but this still never stopped him. When he was around the ages of
14-17 he became a telegraph operator which meant he worked with trains. He was given this
job after he saved a little boy's life from being hit by a train.

Lumiere Brothers The Lumiere brothers were named Auguste and Louis, Auguste (the older of
the two) was born on the 19th of October 1862 and he died on the 10th of April 1954 at the age
of 91. Louis (the youngest of the brothers) was born on the 5 th of October 1864 and he died on
the 6th of June 1948 at the age of 83. The Lumiere brothers were the first filmmakers in history,
they invented the Cinematograph which unlike Thomas Edison's invention, the Kinetoscope
allowed more than one person to watch. They invented the Cinematograph in 1890 and their
first film premiered in 1895, and it was called Sortie de l'usine Lumiere de Lyon. Their fathers
business was doing really bad it wasn't making enough money, both of the brothers worked
here trying to help their father but it didn't help, when their father retired they didn't have a lot
of money but they believe in their invention and so did their father and they started to make
films in 1892.

George Pal George Pal was born on the 1st of February 1908 in Hungary and died on the 2nd of
May 1980 in America at the age of 72. George Pal was an animator and a film producer and the
films he made always had a particular set genre as that was his favorite and create the best
story that way, the genre was science-fiction otherwise known as sci-fi. He made lots of films
that since a lot of films have been remade nowadays, for example these are some films he ahs
made, The Time Machine, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, When Worlds Collide, Tom Thumb and his most
famous film The War of the Worlds. Without George Pal sci-fi wouldn't be what it is today it's
thanks to him that people have these wild imaginations because of the things George brought
to like on the screen. In 1939 aged 32 he moved to the United States where he then started to
work for a company called Paramount Pictures which is a huge animation company and still are
a huge company to this day.

Developers of Animation
Willis O'Brien Willis O'Brien was born on the 2nd of March 1886 in America and he died on the
8th of November 1962 aged 72. Willis O'Brien was a stop motion model animator and he
specialized in special effects. He was known all over the world and if you are into film nowadays
you will of course know Willis O'Brien because he had such an influence on the world with his
films and still does today. He has created some great films but the most well known films are
The Lost World which was made in 1925, Mighty Joe Young which was made in 1949 and of
course, King Kong in 1933, and for all these films he won the academy award for best visual
effects. When he was just 11 he left his own home to work on a farm and when he turned 13 he
was doing multiple jobs around the farm. When he was at this age he became very fond of
dinosaurs and he wanted to learn about the different types of dinosaurs, when he got home
from the ranch he used to make little models which were dinosaurs and when he became older
he then started to do the exact same thing but only this time make it into a stop motion film.
His last film he ever made before he died was King Kong VS Godzilla which is a giant gorilla
fighting a mutant lizard.
Ray Harryhausen Ray Harryhausen was born on the 29th of June 1920 in America and he died
on the 7th of May 2013 in England aged 92. Ray Harryhausen was a stop motion model animator
who specialized in making films in a particular genre and that particular genre was Science-
Fiction also know as Sci-Fi. Ray was known all over the world because of his action style of
fighting movies and has influenced a lot of filmmakers that have become very successful to this
day, the big ones include, George Lucas who made Star Wars, Steven Spielberg who made
Indiana Jones, Peter Jackson who made The Lord of the Rings, and Tim Burton who made Planet
of the Apes. He has created some great films over the years which have influenced people
around the world, for example, Mighty Joe Young which he was making alongside Willis
O'Brien his mentor -, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (which won a lot of awards), Jason and the
Argonauts, and finally Clash of the Titans.

Jan Svankmajer Jan Svankmajer was born on the 4th of September 1934 in Czech Republic,
but unlike everyone else I have mentioned, he is not dead, he is 81 years old. Jan Svankmajer is
a film director who has directed many films over the years, but he has a very strange style he is
known for using a very unique style of stop motion animation because he makes his films look
real, scary and somehow funny. He has influenced many directors over the years but the two
most notable directors are Terry Gilliam who directed Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and the
Brothers Quay who directed The Phantom Museum. He has made a great deal of films and
short films but later in life he opted for feature-length films which is a film that is over a hour
long, some of these films include Alice which was made in 1988, Conspirators of Pleasure which
was made in 1996, Lunacy which was made in 2005 and, he also has a film coming out in 2018
called Insects.
Contemporary Work
The Brothers Quay The Brothers Quay is made up of two brothers (obviously) and their
names are Stephen Quay and Timothy Quay. They are identical twins who were both born on
the 17th June 1947 in America, they are still alive and they are 69 years old and instead of being
in America they now reside in England where their company is based. There occupation is that
they are film directors and animators. They have animated and directed a lot of films over the
years the most notable films they have made are Street of Crocodiles which was made in 1986,
Quay which was made in 2015, Institute Benjamenta which was made in 1995, The Piano Tuner
of Earthquakes which was made in 2005, and many others. The Quay Brothers moved around
the world to study at different art colleges but both didn't study the same thing, Timothy
studied illustration whereas Stephen studied film. When they were moving around the world
they returned to England (where they previously had studied at the royal college of art) where
to met Keith Griffiths who went to their college as well, who then they teamed up with and he
help produce all their films, then in 1980 they all made a company called Koninck Studios.

Tim Burton Tim Burton is a world renowned director because of his strange style of making
the films as they are in some weird creepy cartoon but apart from being strange they also are
light hearted, his message behind these creepy looking is don't judge a book by it's cover just
because something looks scary it doesn't mean it actually is. Time Burton was born on the 25 th
of August 1958 in America, he is still alive and he is 57 years old. Tim Burton has created many
great films over the years which a lot of people have look up to growing up and he has inspired
many young people and older people around the world; some of his work includes The
Nightmare Before Christmas which was made in 1993, Edward Scissorhands which was made in
1990, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street which was made in 2007, Batman
Returns which was made in 1992, Planet of the Apes which was made in 2001, and many
others. Early into Tim Burton's career he used to work for Disney as a animator and a
storyboard designer, yet since he had such a different style of drawing everything he used to
draw never made it into the final film so he had to adapt his drawing style.

Aardman Animations - Aardman animations are a company with a great and long history.
Aardman animations was created in 1972 by two people called Peter Lord and David Sproxton.
It was first created on a very low budget, but today has become a very wealthy company. They
first started making animations for the BBC for children who are deaf. Their show they made for
these deaf children was called Greeblies and this was made in the year 1975. This show was
the inspiration behind one of Aardman animations biggest characters in Morph. Aardman's
reputation began to grow rapidly after they did some great work in animation and then got
asked to do some animation on Channel 4. Since this task was so big they needed to start hiring
animators; they hired three new animators and the animators were: Barry Purves, Nick Park,
and Richard Goleszowski. After the addition of these three animators, Aardman animations sky
rocketing, especially when Nick Park made Creature Comforts which was the first ever
Aardman animation to win an Oscar. Nick Park also played a huge part in making Wallace and
Gromit, he also played a big part in making these Wallace and Gromit films: A Grand Day Out
which was made in 1989, The Wrong Trousers which was made in 1993, and A Close Shave
which was made in 1995. The last two Wallace and Gromit movies I mentioned The Wrong
Trousers and A Close Shave won academy awards, which once again is one of the many
Aardman animations to win this prestigious award.

Genres and Forms

TV Animation is used all over TV nowadays but not just for kids, it's also for adults. With
shows like South Park, Family Guy and The Simpsons these shows prove that animations aren't
just for kids, with their witty and dark humor which kids wouldn't understand. The animation
industry in TV is huge and is growing because there is something very unique about a adult
show that is animated, people just find it funnier, for example, South Park uses very unique
characters in their 4 main cast, who are called Stan, Kenny, Cartman, and Kyle these characters
are set in a town called South Park in America and so they are in school and they are 9 th graders
which means they are around 9-10 years old which people find funnier because these kids are
doing really stupid stuff and saying witty things and swearing but they still act like kids in the
way they go about things, this is why people watch the show, and this is why people watch
most animation adult TV shows.

Channel Idents Animation is used in everything we use, especially for channel idents.
Animation is used for channel idents when a channel comes on, for example, channel 4, when
that comes on before each TV show or film is played the channel 4 logo comes on and does
some for of animation whether that be spinning or lining up with multiple different buildings to
make a number 4, when you see it you know what it is. Basically all channels use this because it
makes the channel logo a little bit more appealing instead of just being sat there doing nothing
and being plain. They also use it during films and TV shows, if you look in one of the corners of
the screen there will be the logo and every now and then the logo will become animated at
move around, nothing drastic just in a little circle like the logo spins.

Cinema Animation is used in movies all the time that's because animated movies have
become so popular over the years with Disney and DreamWorks and even though they are
aimed at kids, everyone loves a animated film whether that be Lion King or Shrek, it doesn't
matter the target audience because everybody loves them. Animations in movies are fairly
simple (not that animations aren't difficult to do because they are) to do compared to other
things because you only have to focus on one camera angle every time so when animating a
movie when you are storyboarding you only draw which way the camera is facing whether that
be from over the shoulder or just a shot of the characters face, this makes it easier for them to
do.
Advertising Using animation for advertising is a really clever well to get the job done,
although it may take a little longer than a normal advert would take the rewards are definitely
worth it and here's why. It grabs the watchers attention, it draws them in so they can't look
away and plus they will remember the advert and the company and what the company are
selling or what the company is. It keeps the watchers engaged, this means that will want to find
what this product or company is about and will continue to watch. The animated advert with
communicate quickly, this means that in a short period of time you will find out what the
company is about or what the product is about and you know how to contact them or access
them. Lastly, you gain an understanding of the whole company or product and what it is you
are trying to do or sell, this means people will remember this and go and find out more online
or ring up.

Music Videos Animation is rarely used in music video but when it is, it certainly catches
people attention as it barely every happens. The most famous band that use animation in all of
their music videos is a band called the Gorillaz who are a band made up of people who are
animated which the occasional actual human face thrown in there. This is very unique as a lot
of people don't know what they look like because this keeps their identities secret as they don't
want people to know them or they just want to keep up the suspense and start a lot of rumors
about what they look like so they get more attention.
Computer Games Creating a video game is unbelievably tough as they require a lot of hard
work, time and dedication just like most things but a lot more effort. Just like using animation in
cinema they need to focus on camera angles, but unlike cinema they can't just focus on one,
they need to focus on a lot more because games are interactive and the camera will pan round
when you are play a game, a 3d game that is, and this makes it a lot tricker. Because the games
are interactive and the player controls the character the animator who is making the game
needs to think what would the player do and do all the possible outcomes otherwise the game
wouldnt sell very well.

Mobile Phones There is a lot of animation in mobile phones, whether that be when you
receive a text message or a phone call, these are all animations. Animations are key in making a
mobile phone because everyone needs a phone that is animated otherwise people wouldn't
know what to do with the phone, even the very first phones had animations, yes maybe they
werent the best but they still had them, they are nothing like they are today of course because
technology has come so far now. Every single thing that is on your mobile phone is an
animation nowadays whether that just be turning on your phone, that is still an animation, or
sending a text message, that is still an animation, even taking a picture that is still an animation,
without these animation mobile phones would be boring.

Websites Just like mobile phones websites have tons of animations on them, whether it be
just closing down the website or clicking on a new page on the website, this is still an
animation. These animations are very key in making a website because it gives you visual
interest, if something looks nice and swoops down from the screen somewhere your gonna
enjoy the website a lot more than just a plain white background that doesn't do anything.
Animations on websites also acts as a response whether that be scrolling over a image to tell
you what that image is and where the image is taken you can find out with ease. Also animation
on a website acts as a notification whether this be a little help box that pops in the corner or a
little help chat, these are still notifications.