The Complete History and Development of Animation

The History and Development of Animation Part 1

Animation is well known and loved by people all over the world.

Persistence of vision"Persistence of Vision" refers to the phenomenon where the retina retains an image for a brief split-second after the image was actually seen, and lends itself to animation by fostering the illusion of motion when we view images in closely-timed sequence to one another. We don't notice the fractional skips between images because that persistence fills in the momentary gap to make the motion seem seamless.




Thaumatrope:

This item dates back to the Victorian times, and was very popular. It is simply a card disk with a picture on each side attached to two pieces of string so you can twirl it back and forth. Due to the Persistence of vision by twirling it combines the to images into one, for example a fish on one side and a fish bowl on the other would make the fish appear in the bowl when spun.

Phenakistoscope:

This devise was created by Joseph Plateau who was fascinated by physics and experimenting. Plateau looked into mathematical science and created the first devise which gave the illusion of a moving image. The devise was a disk with a series of images around it which slightly change around the disk, this disk it attached to a handle which allows it to spin. when spun and the viewer focuses on one section it gives the illusion that the image is moving. for example a man biking.

 

 

Zoetrope:

William Horner created the Zoetrope in 1833, it works by placing a strip of card with a series of pictures which alter slightly, similar to the phenakistoscope but instead of going around a disk its on a straight piece of card. this strip of card is bent in a circle and places inside. Unlike the phenakistoscope you don't have to sit in front of the mirror to watch the animation. The zoetrope was also named the 'wheel of life' or the 'wheel of the devil', perhaps why it was used in 'The woman in black'. The zoetrope was actually made in China but William Horner took credit for it.

These are a couple I made.

 

Praxinoscope:
This device was invented by Charles-Emile Reynaud in France 1877. This was similar to the zoetrope because you don't need to look through the slits, there is a mirror in the middle, which reflects the images on the outside of it. This allows more than 7 people to see the animations at one time. Also, because of the mirrors, you could project it onto walls and such, they used this technique in movie theatres.

 

 

Kinetiscope:
The Kinetoscope is a device which shows motion pictures. The devise itself can only allow one person to view the motion pictures at a time. This was the first device to get widely developed and distributed. This Device was created by Edison, however is was work and ideas of photographic pioneer Edward Muybridge which inspired him. Edison and Mubridge met at Edison's Laboratory in West Orange to discuss the possibility of creating such device, but Muybridge was not interested in forming a partnership. Edison and his company decided to pursue the development of the device until it was finally finished and released. This Device worked by someone looking through a peep hole, through the peep hole the person can see one image. inside the devise are many cogs which feed the film, this allows the animation to be longer and tell a story. as the person looks through the cogs feed the film around which gives the illusion of a moving image.

The History and Development of Animation Part 2

• Willis O'Brien

Willis O'Brien was born in Oakland, California. He left home at the little age of only eleven years of age in 1897. Later on he went on to create his first movie in 1915 'The Dinosour And The Missing Link: A Prehisroric Tragedy' this film had a budget of $5000. He made the highlight of his career with the RKO hit, 'King Kong'. This film mixed live action footage with stop motion creatures which created a new type of film which the viewers loved.

• Ray Harryhausen

Raymond Frederick Harryhausen was born on the 29th of June in 1920 in Los Angeles. As a child his favourite haunts were museums, marionette shows, the ocean, local parks and movie houses. He had a passion for dinosaurs and other fantasy things. His parents were very supportive, they supported anything he set his eyes on and encouraged him to pursue his career even though it may differ greatly from the usual. Ray Harryhausen went on to do great things in his life specialising in stop-motion animation. The main projects in which he animated on are Mighty Joe Young (1949) which he done with his mentor Willis H. O'Brien, this won a Academy Award for special effects. The next film was The 7th Voyage of Sinbad in (1958) this was his first colour film, after this came Jason and the Argonauts (1963) which involved the famous sword fight between Jason and 7 skeletons which was brilliantly animated using stop motion. Ray made one more film before he retired which was Clash of the Titans in (1981). Ray Harryhausen decided to live in England in 1960 and died there in 2013.

 

• George Pal

George Pal was born in 1908 on the 1st of February and passed away on May 2nd 1980. Pal was a hungarian however he become an American citizen when he immigrated there. Pal was well known for  being a producer of science fiction and fantasy films in the early 1950s and 1960s, films such as 'The War on the Worlds' (1953) and 'The Time Machine' (1960). 
 

• Phil Tippett

Phil Tippet born 1958 in Berkeley, California. When Phil was around 7 years of age he was fascinated by Ray Harryhausen's film The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad and from that point on he had his eyes set on getting into the film industry. Phil worked had and done further education to receive his bachelor's degree in art. Phil managed to get a job at Cascade Pictures in Los Angeles where he worked with animation. A few years down the line Phil got hired to create some stop motion footage for the first Star Wars film, when the film was released people saw his talent which enabled other big companies to hire him for there movies.
 

• The Quay Brothers

Stephen and Timothy quay who are identical twins were born on June 17th 1947. The Quay Brothers specialised in making animated films. They made their first short films in England, however due to an unexpected event their only prints got damaged to an extent were they could not repair them. Some years later they formed a trio with Keith Griffths who produced their films. The trio made a company called Koninck Studios which still exists in south London. They are mostly known for their animation film called "Street of Crocodiles".

 

 

• Tim Burton and Henry Selick

Tim Burton was born in 1958 on the 25th of August, He was an American and was a film producer, writer, poet, artist and animator. Burton is well known for his dark, Gothic and quirky take on horror and fantasy films such as the famous film 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'. Before Burton made it to were he became he started out making shot films as a teenager in his backyard on Evergreen Street using crude stop motion animation techniques. In Burtons life so far he has directed a total of 16 films and produced 12 up top 2012 and is still continuing to direct and produce more.

Henry Selick was born in New Jersey on the 30th November in 1952. As a child Selick loved to draw and from the ages 3-12 thats all he really done. Selick had a fascination of animation from a young age, this was triggered when he saw the animated creatures from the film 'The 7th Voyage of Sinbad'. Due to this Selick went on to advance his education, he studied science and art and went on to study animation at CalArts. While he studied at CalArts he made 2 short student films which got nominated for Student Academy Awards. From this point in Selicks life he become more advanced and noticed and went on to direct Burtons production 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'. Three years later Selick worked with Burton again to make the film 'James and the Giant Peach'. Fourteen years later Selick Join with Pixar and The Walt Disney Company were he was given a long-term contract to produce stop-motion films and this is were he is still today.

 

• Otmar Gutmann

Otmar Gutmann was born on the 24th of April 1937 and passed away in 1993 October 13th. Gutmann was remembered for his well known creation of Pingu, however he was also a German television producer, animator and a director. After his death the Pygos group broke down and the company was sold to HiT were Pingu was relaunched and carried on for 52 episodes were it finally ran its course and was shut down without any warning.  

 

• Aardman (Nick Park)

Nick Park was born in Lancashire 1958 on the 6th of December. When growing up Park was very keen at drawing cartoons, at the age of only 13 Park was making films with the help of his mother. As well as making films and drawing, Park was also an amature inventor like his father. When Park was older he went on to study at the National Film and Television School. Park was famously known for his part in making 'Wallace and Gromit' and making his first film in 2000 'Chicken Run'.

 

• Adam Shaheen (Cuppa Coffee)

Shaheen was born in London, England 1964 on the 13th of October. Shaheen is an Animator, Television Producer and screenwriter. As well as being good at what he does he is the president at cuppa coffee studios which is a successful recording and sound mixing facility in Toronto. Shaheen is credited in shows and movies sich as JoJo's Circus, Celebrity Deathmatch, Starveillance and many more. 

The History and Development of Animation Part 3

TV programme

This is claymation as you can tell from the name 'Clay Kids' its a very soft and friendly animation aimed at the younger generation.



Film

 

Chicken run is a claymation film, its a great family film with a target audience of all ages. Claymation is unique and stands out from other animated projects, for example they dont smooth out the clay after they mold meaning their fingerprints are left behind.






Advert

This advert made with stop animation is very colourful and creative, It draws attention and entertains people, this is great for an advert as the main thing they need to do is advertise their product which is what they do simply with lots of different objects and bright colours, this attracts attentions and shows of their product.



Music Video

This music video is made with stopmotion animation, bringing these lego starwars charecters to life is amazing and entertains the audience, the target audience is towards the younger generation, however this animation can be enjoyed by all ages.




Channel Ident

This is a channel ident for E4, this stop motion animation is creative and interesting, this is shown before and after a TV program on E4. It entertains the audience on the brief break between the show and the adverts.




What is stop animation made for?

Our own amusement in films and cartoons etc,  and its a great way of company's to advertise their products, its an eye catching and experimental way of doing it and by doing this they will hit a bigger audience as its more appealing to watch as it differs from the norm.




What does the future hold for stop motion animation?

There is not a great future for animation as the future is going 3D and it will keep advancing, however I don't think animation will ever disappear because it has its unique feel and there will always be a satisfied audience for it but just not as big.