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.
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