History of animation



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HISTORY OF ANIMATION
In the early 1800’s, the phenomenon known as persistence of vision gave mankind the first glimpse into the modern world of animation. Persistence of Vision refers to the way our eyes retain images for a split second longer than they actually appear, making a series of quick flashes appear as one continuous picture. Using a flipbook, you can see the persistence of vision effect in action. If you have a different sequential drawing on each page of the flipbook and you flip through the pages rapidly, the drawings appear to move.
TRADITIONAL VERSUS COMPUTER ANIMATION


  • Traditional Animation Process

a. Storyboards are created.

b. The preliminary soundtrack is recorded.

c. Keyframes are drawn by lead animators.

d. Pencil testing is performed to match keyframes to the soundtrack.

e. In-between frames are drawn to fill-in between the keyframes.

f. Drawings are traced onto plastic cells and painted.

g. Cells are photographed onto film.


  • Computer Assisted Animation

a. Follows the same steps as traditional animation but the computer performs some of the work.

b. Images or frames can be scanned into the computer or created by artists using graphics tablets.

c. Pencil testing can be performed on the computer.

d. Tweening can be performed by the computer.




  • Computer Generated Animation

a. All the animation and images are created on the computer.

b. Special software is used to create these animations.

c. Can use motion capture
Types of Animation
Frame-by-Frame Animation:
Frame-by-Frame Animation is described as the rapid display of a sequence of still images (2D or 3D) or models in order to create the optical illusion of movement. Frame-by-Frame Animation can also be called flip-book animation because it is similar to the way old-fashioned animation works. Frame-by-Frame Animation can: Simulate action in games; Demonstrate procedures; and Call attention to images. GIF supports frame-by-frame animation.
Morphing:
Morphing involves transforming one object into another. To create a morph, the user inserts the beginning image first. Then, the user inserts the ending image. Finally, the computer tweens the frames between the two images.
Path Based Animation:
Path-Based Animation is also called vector animation. To create a path-based animation, the user inserts an object and draws a path (or vector). Then, the computer tweens, or creates the frames, to move the object along the path. Vector or raster graphics can be used when creating a path-based animation; however, file sizes can be reduced if vector graphics are used.
Programming or Scripting-Based Animation:
Scripting-Based Animation requires knowledge of programming or scripting languages, such as JavaScript.

Rollovers are an example of scripting-based animation. Rollovers occur when the mouse is moved over an image, causing the image to change. Rollovers are used for menus on webpages, CDs and DVDs.


Stop Motion Animation:
Stop Motion Animation involves manipulating real-world objects and photographing them one frame at a time. An example of stop motion animation is Clay Animation.
Uses of Animation


  • Advertising – used to catch attention, such as banners on websites.




  • Entertainment – films, games, virtual reality




  • Selling – showcasing products, services or instructions




  • Teaching – illustrating concepts or processes




  • Training – simulations, presentations, etc.




a. Is it appropriate for the target audience?

b. Does it help deliver the message?

c. Is it overused?

d. Does it load quickly?


COMPONENTS OF THE ANIMATION PROGRAM
Stage: The part of the animation program window where the animation’s content is composed and manipulated.
Timeline: The part of the animation program window that organizes and controls an animation’s content over time using layers and frames.
Library: The part of the animation program that stores frequently used graphics, movie clips, and buttons.
Frames: Frames hold the content that the movie displays or plays at that point in time. The number of frames determines the length of the animation.
Regular Frame: A single still image in a video or animation.
Key Frame: An intermediate frame in an animation sequence that blends so one frame appears to change into the next.
FRAME BY FRAME FEATURES OF THE ANIMATION PROGRAM
Frames Per Second (FPS): The number of frames that appear in a second.
Playhead: Vertical red marker in the timeline that shows which frame is the current frame.
Scrubbing: Dragging the playhead across the timeline.

KEY FRAME FEATURES OF THE ANIMATION PROGRAM
Tweening: An animation process that uses key frames between two images to determine positions of objects.
Shapes Tweening: An animation process that creates an effect similar to morphing by making one shape appear to change into another shape over time
Motion Tweening: A motion tween is created for an object in key frames when the animation program calculates the proper position for the object in each frame between the key frames.
Path Animation: The animation program calculates the object’s proper position along the route for each frame. A motion path can include curves, loops, and angles.
Layers: The timeline is organized by dividing the timeline into different layers.
Background Layer: Layer that carries over into each frame of a movie
Animation Layer: Layers that may be for a specific frame.
Motion Guide Layer: Layers that allow paths to be drawn, along which tweened groups, instances, or text blocks can be animated.
Adding Sounds into Computer Animations
Sounds can be recorded or captured from a variety of sources. For example, record your voice using a microphone that is connected to the computer’s sound card. Or, connect a device such as a CD player, MP3 player, or tape player to the sound card Line-in jack to record CD audio or other pre-recorded material.
Similar to adding graphic objects into animations, sound objects are usually imported into the animation file. Most animation programs require or recommend that each sound object be inserted on its own layer.
When importing sound files into the animation program, it is important to remember that the higher the quality; the larger the sound file. Larger files take longer to download and require more storage space. To make the files smaller, record waves at a lower quality setting.
To make the files smaller, record waves at a lower quality setting. Or, use recording or conversion software that uses compression and results in a more compact audio file format such as MP3.
In theory, the compression process removes frequencies and masked elements that humans cannot hear, so to most listeners, MP3 files sound as good as wave files.
MP3 AND WAVE SOUND FILES
Most animation and video programs enable sound files to be imported in at least two formats: MP3 and WAV. MP3 is the standard format for music files sent over the Internet that compresses music or other types of audio files. Wave is the standard format for sound files on Windows computers. Also, wave files can have the highest sound quality.
When creating or choosing the sounds to include in the animation, keep the intended purpose of the animation in mind. If the animation is for a Web site, keep the overall file size small for faster downloads by using more compact MP3 files and looping a shorter sound segment. On the other hand, if the animation is part of a presentation delivered in an auditorium equipped with a high-quality audio system, use the highest quality sound file possible.
Adding and Animating Text into Computer Animations
Text performs the same function in an animation as it does in a graphic: it gives information on the subject of the animation or directions to the viewer. An animation program provides the added option of animating the text in some way to make it even more effective.
To add a text object to an animation, use the same basic process as when adding any object. Create a layer to hold the text, choose the text tool from the toolbox, specify text settings, and then click and key the text. Choose formatting options such as font, font size, and font style for the text object. You can also change text color and alignment. Use the Alpha color effect to make text appear to fade in or fade out.
METHOdS FOR PUBLISHING ANIMATED VIDEOS
Once the animated videos have been analyzed and optimized to perform best in the intended medium, the next step is to publish the videos. Four methods to publish or distribute computer animations include:


  • As part of a Web page

  • In a standard graphic format

  • As an executable file, this bundles both the animation and the program to play in a single file

  • As a QuickTime movie

All four formats can be delivered over the Internet or on a CD-ROM.


When a graphic or an executable is distributed over the Internet, the entire file must be downloaded before the animation can play. For animations distributed as part of a Web page or a QuickTime movie, you don’t have to wait for the entire file to download before you start playing it.
FORMATS FOR PUBLISHING ANIMATED VIDEOS
Graphics Interchange Format (GIF):
GIF is a format for storing images without loss of quality that allows both static and animated image sequences, but is limited to 256 colors.
Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPG):
JPG is an image compression method that trades off between compression and image quality.

JPG also supports millions of colors and can be compressed; however, it does not support transparency.


Portable Network Graphic (PNG):
PNG is often used for graphics on the Web. It can support up to 32-bit color as well as effects such as transparency. PNG is an alternative to the GIF format that also does not lose image quality, but isn’t restricted to 256 colors.
Plug-In Player:
A plug-in is a hardware or software application that adds a specific feature to a computer.
QuickTime:
QuickTime is a cross-platform multimedia format that works on both Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh systems. QuickTime format is also referred to as MOV. It is one of the two most common formats along with Audio Video Interactive (AVI).
Standalone Player:
A standalone player is a separate program that can play computer animations.

Factors that Influence Publishing Computer Animations
Factors that influence the delivery or distribution of computer animations include the user’s bandwidth and the streaming capabilities.
Bandwidth:
Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be transmitted over a network in a given amount of time. The bandwidth, or connection speed, varies depending on a computer’s network connection or modem. It is important to anticipate medium users will view the animation and the network connections they may have.
Streaming Capabilities:
Streaming is a technique for producing and transmitting audio and video files so they can start playing as soon as a PC begins receiving them, rather than waiting for the complete file to download first. The streaming rate refers to the rate in frames per second (FPS) at which videos can be downloaded to a computer. The playback rate refers to the rate in frames per second at which movies play.


POTENTIAL PROBLEMS WHEN PUBLISHING AN ANIMATION VIDEO
It is very important to analyze the video before publishing. The goal of analysis is to identify potential problems while downloading and playing a movie. If the entire movie will be downloaded before it is played, analysis can help determine what parts of the movie are taking the most time to download. If the movie will be delivered through a streaming connection, analysis should help reduce or control the pauses during download and playback.
If problems occur when publishing the video, optimize the file to improve the performance of the movie. The purpose of optimizing is to reduce the file size of videos, make it download faster, and run it more smoothly during playback.

COPYRIGHT LAW & MULTIMEDIA
Copyright laws protect the right of intellectual property and access to possible monetary rewards for owners, which should encourage creativity. Fair use situations apply to use in news reporting, parody, research, and education. Public domain material does not have a copyright for the possible following reasons: no copyright issued, copyright expired, or it was not renewed.

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