Development in Animation

Development in Animation

William Horner

William Horner was a british mathematician who invented the animation device called the zoetrope, originally named the Daedaleum, in 1834. based on the idea of the original Zoetrope, 'The pipe which makes fantasies appear', Horner created a device on a spindle that when spun, the user would look through the slits and see an illusion of the images moving. 

Émile Reynaud

Charles-Émile Reynaud was a french science teacher who is responsible for the invention of the first ever projected animation. this invention was called the Praxinoscope in 1877. It wasn't until 28th October 1892 where he had the first ever public projected animation. The Praxinoscope was similar to the Zoetrope but instead of having slits to look through, it had a selection of mirrors in the center to reflect the image and then projecting it on a wall. 

Edward Muybridge

This man was a photographic pioneer who had the invention of the Zoopraxiscope. This was the a small glass disc that contained images on which was then projected onto a wall. The disc would then rotate and in rapid succession the image projected would appear as if it was moving. 

Lumiére Brothers

Auguste and Louis Lumiére are known to be the earliest filmmakers with their production of the cinematograph. Making their first film in 1894 using this the movie was debuted in the L'Eden, the worlds first and oldest cinema. The cinematograph served two prepossess, the first being able to film, and second being able to project the filmed footage. 

Willis H. O'Brien 

Responsible for the visual effects in films such as the classic monster films, 'King Kong' from 1933 and 'The Lost World' in 1925. using a style of stop-motion animation incorporated into the movie, O'Brien changed the possibilities of what someone could do with film. 

Ray Harryhausen 

Harryhausen is another visual effects who has developed O'Briens technique even further. He had done this by using a stop-motion style known as 'Dynamation'. Being part of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Harryhausen has worked on many sets creating models for the likes of 'Jason and the Argonauts' and 'The 7th Voyage of Sinbad'. 

Henry Selick 

Henry Selick brought a new dark style of animation using stop-motion claymation. This started with the film 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' where working with Tim Burton he achieved an animation style which would be dark and bleak by the movement of the characters and the imagery. Showing he was not a "one hit wonder" Selick continued this animation in his latest film 'Coraline' and has been used by other filmmakers seen in the film 'Paranorman'. 

Aardman

Sticking with claymation, the animation studio company Aardman have been producing comedic British shorts on our TV's for years. With their hit show, Wallace and Gromit, Aardman have grown and had become one of the biggest and well known animation studios in the UK. By this having an affect on the company Aardman have produced full length feature movie, and has had many cinema releases including the first stop-motion using hair for a whole character. 

Animation Timline

Animation Timeline

The Magic Lantern - 17th Century 

The magic lantern was an early form of projector that is made from a con-caved mirror inside. When light passes through this it reaches the aperture and thus projecting an enlarged image onto a surface like a wall. The image that is produced is from a reflected image seen by the mirror made from the light. 

Thaumatrope - 1824

The thaumatrope was an invention which was mainly used as a toy in Victoria England. With an image on one side of a circle cut out and another on the opposite the images would be separated by a piece of string. The string would then be spun by a person and when fast enough the two images would look like one. An example of this is if there was an image of an empty cage and then a bird on the other side when spun fast enough the thaumatrope would then give the illusion of the bird inside the cage. 

Phenakistoscope - 1841
Planned in 1839 and invented in 1841 by a man named Plateau, the phenakistoscope is made from a spinning disc connected vertically to a handle. Around the edges of this disc would be a selection of images that are similar showing each shot of the animation. Next to these images would be a slit where the user would look through whilst the disc is spinning and see the illusion of the animation in the reflection of a mirror on the other side.

Zoetrope - 1833
The original zoetrope was invented by a Chinese inventor called Ting Haun in 180 AD. This was the earliest style of zoetrope found and was originally called Chao Hua Chich Kuan, which translates into 'The pipe that makes fantasies appear'. This was hung over a lamp to which rising air would cause the vanes to move at the top, and along with translucent paper when spun at the right speed, pictures painted on the panels would appear to move. The modern zoetrope however was invented in 1833 by a British mathematician William G. Horner. This was much like the phenakistoscope but the images were drawn on a strip of card that would sit on a third of the way in a metal drum. the slit's being above the images on the top half of the metal drum the was placed on top of a spindle and spun. when looked through the user could see the images and with a faster spin of the spindle the smoother the animation was.


Flip Book - 1868 
A flip book, originally called the kineograph meaning moving picture, was designed by John B Linnett consisted of many pages all having a similar image on. This book was then quickly flipped through and the images would cause an illusion of the images moving. This is because of the brain seeing multiple images instantly one after another causing the images to merge and make you think that it is once sequence from start to finish.

Praxinoscope - 1877
This was an devise that was the successor to the zoetrope. With a French inventor the praxinoscope was better than the zoetrope by replacing the slit's with an inner mirror. When the praxinoscope is spun fast enough the images are reflected in the mirror and is shown to the user as an animation. By doing this it made the image brighter and less distorted than previous.


Kinetoscope - 1888
This was an important part in film as it was an early motion picture exhibition device. This was done by not projecting the image but by the user looking through a peep hole and seeing a large amounts of images in a sequence to make a film. The kinetoscope would then be further developed by Thomas Edison in 1895 by adding the kinetophone to record and replay sound. This then became the basis for all film projectors.

Cinematograph - 1892
This, invented by Léon Bouly but licensed by the Lumiére brothers, this was a device the not only filmed but also projected the captured image onto a wall. This was later considered to some as the birth of cinema and a device that "replaced" pre-cinema.


Fantasmagoria - 1908 
The french animation, Fantasmagoria, by Emile Cohl was created by drawing each frame off the film on an individual piece of paper and then filming each frame onto a negative frame. This gave the impression that the film had a blackboard look to it. The film was made up of 700 drawings, to which each of them was double-exposed leading to a running time of just under two minutes. 

Felix the Cat - 1925
Felix the cat is an animated character made during the silent film era. With his black body, white eyes, and giant grin, fused with the surrealist situations that the cartoon places himself in, Felix the Cat was made out to become one of the most recognizable characters in animation history. Felix was the first character from animation to attain a level of popularity sufficient to draw movie audiences in, which later came to a low where Disney had the arrival of sound in their animated shorts. 

Steamboat Willie - 1928
Steamboat Willie was an animated short starring Mickey Mouse produced by Walt Disney. It was the first animation to have synchronized sound and although was the third film made with the character Mickey Mouse, it is classed as his debut as it was the first animation involving him to be put into some form of production. 

Momotaro's God-Blessed Sea Warriors - 1945
Directed by Mitsuyo Seo, Momotaro: Umi no Shinpei was the first ever animation from japan. Originally a propaganda film created by the Japanese Navel Ministry for the second world war, the film was lost for many years up until 1983 where a negative copy was found in Shochiku's Ofuna Warehouse. The film was re-released in 1984 and lead onto the birth of a new technique of animation called anime, with hit films like Spirited Away and Summer Wars. 

The Beatles Yellow Submarine - 1968 
The Beatles Yellow Submarine is an important part of animation as an animation originally had the intent of being aimed at an older audience. With animations being produced over time the target audience had become more specified to a younger audience and mainly for children. With the film Yellow Submarine used to capture the creativity and fantasy of the music and story of the Beatles Yellow Submarine and Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club, this brought back a film that an older audience could enjoy too. this would be the start of many adult animations like South Park, Family Guy, and Haunted World of El Superbeasto. 

Pixar - 1979
In 1979 the animator John Lasseter formed a company that specialized with a new type of animation. This was known as 3D animation which was the start of a new style in which this company was then funded by the Apple Inc. company on 1986. This started to put films in production and by 1995 Pixar had finally made their first film, Toy Story. The company led onto twelve other film and counting with other companies like Dreamworks following the same animated style. 

Charity Research

Dogs Trust Logo:

Dog’s trust: Around 18 homing centers over 16,000 dogs are homed. Founded in 1891, Dogs Trust (formerly the National Canine Defence League) is the largest dog welfare charity in the UK. Their objective is to bring about the day when all dogs can enjoy a happy life, free from the threat of unnecessary destruction. The dogs trust have two projects, the hope project and the freedom project.

CEO: Clarissa Baldwin

First international re-homing center in November 2009 in Dublin. 

Founded by Lady Gertrude Stock 

Slogans: "A Dog is for Life, not just for Christmas" "A Dog is for Life" "Dogs Trust Never Put a Healthy Dog Down" 

Re-Homing Centers:

Ballymena
Bridgend
Canterbury
Darlington
Evesham
Glasgow
Ilfracombe
Kenilworth
Leeds
Harefield
Merseyside
Newbury
Roden
Salisbury, this is also where the Dogs Trust sanctuary is located
Shoreham
Snetterton
West Calder
Loughborough

Year	Dogs Cared For	Dogs Rehomed	Dogs Reunited With Owners	Dogs Passed Away /Put To Sleep
2009	15,886	13,909	178	226
2008	16,238	14,169	190	260
2007	16,177	14,022	185	334
2006	15,162	12,993	192	215
2005	13,506	11,563	168	273

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Disney

How Disney has influenced animation for many years after they started.

Disney was one of the first major animation companies founded by Walt and Roy Disney. By starting out with a simple black and white animation with no sound to 3D animation with synchronized voices and music, Disney has changed the whole course of animation in the film industry. Starting out as Laugh-O-Gram productions, Disney has evolved and come a large way in the business view as they started off as a company only creating to now be a company that owns other multiple companies like Miramax, Marvel, Touchstone and many more. This is just one example of how large Disney has become and how it has impacted on the world of media.

The first noted animation with sound, which was also the debut of loveable children’s character Mickey Mouse, was the short film in 1928 “Steamboat Willie”. This had a massive impact on the animation industry as it was something new that nobody had seen before and gave more of a story to the animated films made after. This however made Sullivan and Messmer’s “Felix the Cat” look out dated causing them to move, unwillingly, into sound production.

The first animation with colour was a series, “Silly Symphony”, made up of shorts that debuted with the short called “Flowers and Trees”. This opened up a new revolution in animated films by using Technicolor as it was around this time where more and more people would go to the cinema to specifically watch the short animation at the start of the feature film being played.  After the invention of colour in animation, black and white films like Laurel and Hardy, Michael Powell’s “Peeping Tom” were re-released with added colour into the films using the same technique.

Disney is also responsible or creating the first ever animated full-length feature film that was the 1937 film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. This was the start of a completely new type of film that had then opened up a new world of film and cinema.

Disney has influenced many different companies in the animation industry, from Pixar Studio’s to Studio Ghibli. As Disney was one of the first animation companies they had created techniques, which had been used in many animations years after. An example of this is the same cel technique of the characters for hand drawn animation against a background that they had used in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. 31 years later the film “The Beatles Yellow Submarine” used the same style and technique to capture the imagination and fantasy of the music and story of the Yellow Submarine and Sgt. Peppers lonely Hearts Club.

Another company that was running at the same time as Disney was the well known company Warner Brothers. The creator of the hit animated show Looney Tunes, Warner Brothers had been influenced and followed the same pattern as Disney for example creating characters that are iconic and well known like Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Bugs Bunny and many more. 

However the famous characters of the Looney Tunes group have stayed in the 2D animation whereas Disney have now moved on to their first 3D animated film, after the great success from Disney’s company Pixar, in 2005 with the film “Chicken Little”. With high hopes for “Chicken Little” from knowing the success that animation studio DreamWorks had gained with 3D animated films like “Shrek” and “Shark Tale” their dreams were fallen when the film did not make such an impact as thought. It was only in 2010 when Disney tried again with the film “Tangled” which had a larger hit on the film box office.

By being partner companies with a smaller company, films have started to merge together. An example of this is Studio Ghibli’s character Totoro from the 1988 film “My Neighbor Totoro” was featured in the Disney Pixar film “Toy Story 3”. This shows how animation companies are starting to work together and using each other’s animation technique. 

Aardman

Aardman Studios. 

Aardman studio’s is a company that creates animation films using 

the well-known technique of stop-motion. Using this technique 

Aardman has produced the fun memorable animated characters, 

Wallace and Gromit, and the hilarious public voiced Creature 

Comforts. The man responsible for these movie and TV hits is 

animator/director Nick Parker. In 1985 Nick Parker joined Aardman 

studios where he worked on the animation of the show Pee-Wee’s 

Playhouse. 

Aardman studios use claymation, which is stop motion animation that is made out of 

clay. To which there are many different job roles that are involved. A few of the jobs 

that are involved are Director and Producer, Art Directors, Animators, Editors, Model 

Makers, Sculptors, Painters and many more. 

Job Roles 

Director: The director is in charge and looks over every 

department within the process of making the film. 

However, with some films like ‘Wallace and Gromit in 

the Curse of the Were-Rabbit’ there are two directors 

who are Nick Park and Steve Box. Both directors would 

have put their minds together to come up with ideas and 

work as partners to produce the finished product. For 

example, they would talk about shot’s that they want 

within the film and then they would work on that shot 

together and expand their ideas to achieve the shot, as they both would want. 

Producer: A Producer is the person who would put money into the film and 

sometimes help by inputting their ideas into the film. For example, the producer on 

the Aardman TV series, Julie Lockhart, would have helped put money towards what 

she felt needed the money. If she had thought that the show needed more 

advertisement she would talk to the filmmakers and come to an agreement with them 

to put money and her own ideas to get the advertising in production. 

Art Director: The art director of Aardman would be the person in charge of things 

like the set design and the model makers. Looking over, keeping a watch and 

organizing groups like the painters, model makers, sculptures, set designers and more 

the art director has a large reasonability as they need to get the production of arts 

ready on time for filming.

Animator: An animator is a person who shoots each frame of the animated film. The animator for Wallace and Gromit the curse of the were-rabbit, Will Becher will have to film and take shots of every frame of the film so when they are put together and played through it is as if it's one continuos shot.

Editor: An editor of a film is in charge of putting all the of the footage together to produce a final film. The editors, in Aardmans case David McCormick, will look at each frame and of and place them together in the correct order to make up the final cut of the movie. 

Disney

Disney Has Influenced Many Different Companies in the Animation Industry