Animation

Animation

Animation is a technique in which each frame of a film is produced individually. It can be generated as a computer graphic or by photographing a drawn image. When the frames are strung together and the resulting film is viewed at a speed of 16 or more frames per second, there is an illusion of a continuous movement. File formats like GIF, QuickTime, Shockwave and Flash allow animation to be viewed on a computer. Although most animation studios are now using digital technologies in their productions, there is a type of animation that depends on film. Cameraless animation, made famous by filmmakers like Norman McLaren, Len Lye and Stan Brakhage, is painted and drawn directly onto pieces of film and then run through a projector.

This is Norman McLaren drawing on a film.

The first feature length computer animated film is Toy Story (1995) which was produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Disney. After the success of Toy Story, Disney returned to traditional animation and made three more popular films: The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1996, Hercules in 1997 and Mulan in 1998.

In 1999, Disney released Tarzan, which employed the use of CGI rendering technique called Deep Canvas. Today, technology has become much more advanced and we have 3D animation. This is done with programmes such as Maya, LightWave and 3D Studio Max. The one major difference in 2D and 3D animation is that for 3D animation, each shot is rendered just like a motion picture shot on film with live actors. These shots are then edited together. This is very different from 2D animation where each frame is carefully planned out and no extra frames are created.

Check this out:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9wpMoh5r58

Kinetoscope

The Beginning Of Film with Kinetoscope:

The earliest surviving motion picture is the two second experimental film, Roundhay Garden Scene, filmed by Louis Le Prince on October 1888 in Leeds, Yorkshire. This is noted by Guinness Book of Records. William Kennedy Laurie Dickson, Chief Engineer with the Edison Laboratories is credited with the invention of a celluloid strip containing a sequence of images. This formed the basis of photographing and projecting moving images. Celluloid blocks were thinly sliced and then removed with heated pressure plates. After this, they were coated with a photosensitive gelatine emulsion. This technique led to the invention of the Kinetograph and then the Kinetoscope.

In 1893 at the Chicago World’s Fair, Edison introduced them to the public. The Kinetoscope was a cabinet in which a continuous loop of Dickson’s celluloid film (powered by an electric motor) was lit by an incandescent lamp and seen through a magnifying lens.

Kinetoscope parlours were supplied with fifty-foot film snippets photographed by Dickson, in Edison’s Black Maria studio.

 These sequences recorded mundane events as well as entertainment acts like acrobats, music hall performers and boxing demonstrations. Kinetoscope parlours soon spread successfully to Europe. A film could be under a minute long and would usually present a single scene of everyday life, a public event, sports or slapstick.

References:

·         Appelbaum, Stanley (1980). The Chicago World's Fair of 1893: A Photographic Record. New York: Dover. 

·          Baldwin, Neil (2001 [1995]). Edison: Inventing the Century. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 

·         Dickson W.K.L. (1907). "Edison's Kinematograph Experiments," in A History of Early Film, vol. 1 (2000), ed. Stephen Herbert. London and New York: Routledge.

·         Edison, Thomas A. (1891a). "Kinetographic Camera" in Mannoni et al., Light and Movement, n.p.

·         Edison, Thomas A. (1891b). "Apparatus for Exhibiting Photographs of Moving Objects" in Mannoni et al., Light and Movement, n.p.

This is how the Kinetoscope parlours looked like.

TV Viewing

Digital media - TV

We refer digital media to applications of microelectronics, computers and telecommunications that either offer new services (e.g. mobile phones) or enhancement of older ones (high definition TV). But more than technological innovations, we are concerned with how individuals or organizations change their patterns for communication by using digital media. My most favourite form of digital media is the TV. I was doing some research on it and I found that vastly used communication systems like TV and computers are actually fragmenting the “mass” audience into narrower user groups. Zillmann and Bryant(1985)^1. examined relationships between reasons for television  viewing and specific program choices. They found that distressed individuals were most likely to watch soothing television programs lacking any wide emotional content. Television viewing has two specific styles. They are ritualized and instrumental. Rubin^2. distinguished between them and he positioned ritualized viewing as habitual and frequent television use in search of companionship or a way to pass time, whereas instrumental viewing is highly selective and purposeful. But I think this cannot be applied in all areas of television viewing. For eg. Let’s consider news. The men in my family are really into watching news and keeping themselves updated (and sometimes because they have nothing else to do). They keep shuffling the news channels every couple of hours. This comes under both ritualized and instrumental. Ritualized because it is habitual and frequent and instrumental because it is purposeful. Agree?

References:

1.  Zillmann, D., & Bryant, J. (1985). Affect, mood, and emotion as determinants of selective exposure. In D. Zillmann & J. Bryant (Eds.), Selective exposure to communication (pp. 157–190). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

2. Rubin, Alan M. (1984). Ritualized and instrumental television viewing, Journal of Communication, Vol 34(3), 1984, 67-77.

History of Communications

Communications:

The study of human communications has a long and distinguished history. We can say that since humankind first acquired the ability to communicate through verbal and nonverbal symbols, people have ‘studied’ communication. In order to understand how communication is studied today, it is important to appreciate how we got to where we are now. The oldest essay ever discovered, written about 3000 B.C., consists on advice on how to speak effectively. This chapter was inscribed on a fragment addressed to Kagemni^1., the eldest son of the Pharaoh Huni. Surprisingly, the oldest book called as the 'Papyrus Prisse' is a treatise on effective communication. 

Papyrus Prisse I & II : The Instructions to Kagemni

These works are important because they prove that the study of human communication is older than any other area of current academic interest. But its actual contribution to current communication theory was minimal. The study of human communication today can be divided into two major classifications- rhetorical and relational. The rhetorical communication approach focuses primarily on the study of influence. The function of rhetorical communication is to get others to do what you want or need them to do and/or think the way you want them to- to persuade them. The relational approach examines communication from a transactional perspective. That is, two or more people coordinate their communication to reach a shared perspective satisfactory to all. These two represent the dominant orientations of western (rhetorical) and eastern (relational) cultures. The western orientation would sacrifice relationships to accomplish influence and the eastern orientation would do just the opposite. Rather, they represent differences in emphasis. But both are interested in accomplishing objectives and maintaining good relationships through communication.

References:

1. D, Steve. & McMahan, D.(2014). Communication in Everyday Life: A Survey of Communication,SAGE Publications.

Project Proposal

NOVEMBER 10, 2014.

                                                            DIGITAL MEDIA FOUNDATIONS

                                            PROPOSAL FOR THE GROUP PROJECT (2014 - 2015).

1.       Concept – It’s a Stop motion video.  The main subject is- safety for women. I was inspired by Vogue group’s campaign on safety for girls on road. My target audience is everyone excluding very small kids. It’s for everyone around the world irrespective of gender, race or country. I want to highlight that if everyone takes responsibility and start caring about it, safety for women won’t be an impossible thing.

2.    Project Requirements – The estimated resources required to complete the project include: equipment like computers and cameras. I’ll add graphics and audio so I’ll need software like After Effects, Premiere Pro and Photoshop as well. I’ll need actors and an appropriate location to shoot.

3. Project Timeline – It will take approximately eight weeks to complete the project.                                                     

Week 1: Explaining the concept to the actors and handing over the script.

Week 2: Finalizing a location.

Week 3: Shooting.

Week 4: Shooting.

Week 5: Editing.

Week 6: Editing.

Week 7: Editing.

      Week 8: Complete.

4.    Product Description – As mentioned earlier, it highlights how simply caring and taking responsibility can make a big difference when it comes to safety for women. I am hoping it to be a thought provoking video. It’ll show how a simple gesture can save or change someone’s life. The internet is going to be a big tool when it comes to promoting the project. The best way of making it reach is posting it on YouTube and sharing it on social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.).

5.       Storyboard –  The story will have four main scenes:

Scene 1: A girl is walking on the street alone. Two guys see her and start walking towards her. She gets scared.

Scene 2: A man watches this so he pretends that he knows the girl and calls her in the house. She is in a vulnerable position so she chooses to go in. She is as scared as she was before.

Scene 3: The man comforts her.

Scene 4: He makes sure that she reaches home safely.

Immersion and Simulation

Immersion and simulation

This refers to the lecture we had on Immersion and Simulation. Immersion is also called as virtual reality. This means that you are not a part of the ‘real’ world. One gets immersed into something that may not exist in reality. The best example could be gaming. There can be many reasons as to why people like to be a part of it. One of the reasons could be that it gives a false sense of achievement. This could be self-destructive. And not to forget, it is also highly addictive.

There is a saying that the average man who does not know what to do with his life, wants another one which will last forever. TRUE. Internet is a great contributor to immersion. According to Ernest W. Adams, there are three types of immersions:

Tactical immersion

Tactical immersion is experienced when performing tactile operations that involve skill. Players feel "in the zone" while perfecting actions that result in success.

Strategic immersion

Strategic immersion is associated with mental challenge. Chess players experience strategic immersion when choosing a correct solution among a broad array of possibilities.

Narrative immersion

Narrative immersion occurs when players become invested in a story, and is similar to what is experienced while reading a book or watching a movie.

Today we have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and many other forms of social media where one can portray oneself as someone else. Who really has five hundreds friends in real life? But in the virtual world you do. There is a thin line between reality and virtual reality. And it is scaring how quickly it can fade away.  Getting more likes, friends or followers has become a competition not only on the internet but also in real life. This comes in the category of simulation as well. Simulation is used to create alternate solutions to reality. Consider the astronaut training. Outer space conditions are created on earth using various aspects of physics for the astronauts. This is one just one form of simulation. Immersion and simulation both are used in many areas like computers, engineering, mechanics, finance etc. , healthcare and also in entertainment like films, theme parks etc.

One of the most important people to contribute in this field is Maurice Benayoun. This is some of his work.

                                                             Le Diable est-il courbe? (Is the devil curved?), 1995

Cosmopolis (2005), Maurice Benayoun's Giant Virtual Reality Interactive Installation

                                              World Skin (1997), Maurice Benayoun's Virtual Reality Interactive Installation