Daniels blog: 2010

Claymation Animation

Claymation is the generalized term for clay animation, a form of stop animation using clay. The term claymation was coined by its creator, Will Vinton, owner of an animation studio that worked with clay artists to create clay animation. Claymation involves using objects or characters sculpted from clay or other moldable material, and then taking a series of still pictures that are replayed in rapid succession to create the illusion of movement. Some of the more famous claymation characters in history include Gumby and Pokey, Wallace and Gromit, and comfort creatures.

Pixillation

Pixilation (from pixilated) is a stop motion technique where live actors are used as a frame-by-frame subject in an animated film, by repeatedly posing while one or more frame is taken and changing pose slightly before the next frame or frames. The actor becomes a kind of living stop motion puppet. This technique is often used as a way to blend live actors with animated ones in a film, such as in The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb by the Bolex Brothers, which used the technique to compelling and eerie effect.

Pixillation' was the term coined by animation pioneer Norman McLaren in the 1950s for his technique of photographing human subjects with stop-motion frame by frame animation techniques rather than by live-action recording. He described the process as "applying the principles normally used in the photographing of animated and cartoon movies to the shooting of actors: that is, instead of placing drawings, cartoons or puppets in front of the animation camera, we place real human beings."

Drawn Animation

Traditional animation (also called cel animation or hand-drawn animation) was the process used for most animated films of the 20th century. The individual frames of a traditionally animated film are photographs of drawings, which are first drawn on paper. To create the illusion of movement, each drawing differs slightly from the one before it. The animators' drawings are traced or photocopied onto transparent acetate sheets called cels, which are filled in with paints in assigned colors or tones on the side opposite the line drawings. The completed character cels are photographed one-by-one onto motion picture film against a painted background by a rostrum camera.

FRAME RATE
In motion pictures, television, and in computer video displays, the frame rate is the number of frames or images that are projected or displayed per second.

Object Animation

Object animation refers to puppet animation, pixillation and various derived techniques; take, for example, clay animation, or claymation, for which filmmakers like American Will Vinton, Briton Nick Park and Russian Garri Bardine have become famous.

These techniques all require animators to work with aspects of filmmaking very similar to those that live-action directors have to deal with. In object animation, lighting, camera movement, lens, depth of field and spatial relationships are not virtual, as in cartoons, but real, as in films with live actors.

Cut out Animation

Cut-out animation is a process where by movable parts of the figure are moved to create an illusion of an action.These puppets with movable parts are usually drawn, cut out and pieced together.

Cut out animation is less difficult and time consuming than traditional drawn animation. It is easier to manage and more cost effective for solo animator, requiring only simple materials like plain coloured paper, scissors and masking tape.Of course, cut out animation has limitations. Fluid movements are not easy to achieve with flat puppets. The characteristic of cut out animation is the firmness and rapidness of movement with pauses. It is important to note that cut out animation requires patience and a interesting story idea. Close up shot of face does not work well in cut out animation because it is hard to create dialogue that requires lip-sync which is the animation of the lips and mouth to allow characters to engage in a conversation. As a result, such animation is often a mimed story.

Materials

a) Drawing pencils/ markers

b) Masking tape/ Double-sided tape

c) Glue

d) Blue tack

e) Scissors

f) Plain/ Coloured paper for drawing

Set-up

A table or an elevated platform is required to serve as the work area where the cut-out animation can be created. A digital video camera is mounted on a tripod connected to a computer loaded with the Adobe Premiere software for stop-motion capture on the table.

An ordinary photographic tripod is usually used and the DVC is placed such that it points downwards and would shoot the cut out puppet from above.

Steps to Cut-Out Animation

1.Construct the basic set up accordingly as shown in the set-up section. Switch on the computer and start the programme Adobe Premiere. Select File> Capture> Stop motion.

2. Draw the paper cur outs, in this case, a car, and the background, the road, hill etc. Cut them out and place them together.

3. The moveable parts are attached with either blue tacks or masking tape so that the parts can be removed easily when needed.

4. The car is then placed on a background of the road and the sky. take 12 frames of the car at the bottom of the hill.

5. Move the clouds and the sunrays about during the action sequence.

6. To show the car moving down the hill accelerating, the car is repositioned further apart from its previous position. therefore, lesser frames are required to capture the acceleration down the slope.

7. To show the the effect that the car is climbing up the hill slowly, the car is repositioned close to its previous position. Therefore, more frames are needed to capture the gradual climb up slope.

8. When the entire sequence is captured and replayed, the action sequence will show the car climbing up and down the hill on the road. The animation sequence ends with the train exiting out of the picture.

The Zoetrope

The zoetrope is a mechanical optical device invented in 1834 by William George Horner, a British mathematician. It became a popular Victorian parlor toy until it was replaced by modern film technology. In modern times, zoetropes have been displayed in public transportation stations in Brooklyn, New York; New Jersey; and Washington, D.C.

How the Zoetrope Works

The zoetrope looks like a drum with an open top on a centered axis. A strip of hand-drawn pictures is attached to the bottom of the inside. When the drum is spun on its axis, the viewer looks in through slots on the side, and the pictures seem to move. Looking at the pictures through the slots keeps the images from blurring together. The faster the drum is spun, the smoother the "movie" appears.