Animation and sound
Early Innovation into film and animation can refer back tooptical toys, shadow shows, 'magic lanterns’ and visual tricks which have existed for thousands of years.
Many inventors, scientists and manufacturers have observed the visual phenomenon that a series of individual still pictures set into motion created the illusion of movement. This illusion of motion was first described by British physician Peter Mark Roget in 1824, and was a first step in the development of the cinema.
A number of technologies, simple optical toys and mechanical inventions related to motion and vision were developed in the early to late 19th century that were precursors to the birth of the motion picture industry:
As before we had the magic lantern (a device with a lens that projected images from transparencies onto a screen, with a simple light source (such as a candle)
Thaumatrope - A toy that was popular in Victorian times. A disk or card with a picture on each side is attached to two pieces of string. When the strings are twirled quickly between the fingers the two pictures appear to combine into a single image due to persistence of vision. Thaumatropes were one of a number of simple, mechanical optical toys that used persistence of vision. They are recognised as important antecedents of cinematography and in particular ofanimation.
Fantascope - A device that simulated motion. A series or sequence of separate pictures depicting stages of an activity, such as juggling or dancing, was arranged around the perimeter or edges of a slotted disk. When the disk was placed before a mirror and spun or rotated, a spectator looking through the slots 'perceived' a moving picture.
Zoetrope – A hollow, rotating drum/cylinder with a crank, with a strip of sequential photographs, drawings, paintings or illustrations on the interior surface and regularly spaced narrow slits through which a spectator observed the 'moving' drawings.
Kinematoscope - discovered by Philadelphian Coleman Sellers, an improved rotating paddle machine to view (by hand-cranking) a series of stereoscopic still pictures on glass plates that were sequentially mounted in a cabinet
Phasmotrope – discovered and demonstrated by Henry Renno Heyl in Philadelphia that showed a rapid succession of still or posed photographs of dancers, giving the illusion of motion
Praxinoscope - Invented by French inventor Charles Emile Reynaud - it was a 'projector' device with a mirrored drum that created the illusion of movement with picture strips, a refined version of the Zoetrope with mirrors at the centre of the drum instead of slots; public demonstrations of the Praxinoscope were made by the early 1890s with screenings of 15 minute 'movies' at his Parisian Theatre Optique.
Some early names that pioneered animation and still remain looked back at even today as some of films early origins are;
Pioneering Britisher Eadweard Muybridge an early photographer and inventor, was famous for his photographic loco-motion studies (of animals and humans) at the end of the 19th century (such as 1882's published "The Horse in Motion"). Muybridge experimented with instantaneously recording the movements of a galloping horse, first at a Sacramento (California) race track. he successfully conducted a 'chronophotography' experiment in Palo Alto (California) for his wealthy San Francisco benefactor, Leland Stanford, using a multiple series of cameras to record a horse's gallops - this conclusively proved that all four of the horse's feet were off the ground at the same time. Muybridge's stop-action series of photographs helped lead to his own 1879 invention of the Zoopraxiscope, a primitive motion-picture projector machine that also recreated the illusion of movement (or animation) by projecting images - rapidly displayed in succession - onto a screen from photos printed on a rotating glass disc.
Another famous name in film history starting with his first invention the light bulb, Thomas Edison also became a worldwide famous icon for the film and technology industry when he was working with his young British assistant William Kennedy Laurie Dickson.
Although Edison is often credited with the development of early motion picture cameras and projectors, it was Dickson, in November 1890, who devised a crude, motor-powered camera that could photograph motion pictures - called a Kinetograph. This was one of the major reasons for the emergence of motion pictures in the 1890s. Edison Studios was formally known as the Edison Manufacturing Company (1894-1911), with innovations due largely to the work of Edison's assistant Dickson in the mid-1890s.
The motor-driven camera was designed to capture movement with a synchronized shutter and sprocket system (Dickson's unique invention) that could move the film through the camera by an electric motor. The Kinetograph used film which was 35mm wide and had sprocket holes to advance the film. The sprocket system would momentarily pause the film roll before the camera's shutter to create a photographic frame (a still or photographic image). The formal introduction of the Kinetograph in October of 1892 set the standard for theatrical motion picture cameras still used today. However, moveable hand-cranked cameras soon became more popular, because the motor-driven cameras were heavy and bulky.
Dickson filmed his first experimental Kinetoscope trial film,Monkeyshines No. 1, the only surviving film from the cylinder kinetoscope, and apparently the first motion picture ever produced on photographic film in the United States.
Aside from technological achievements, another Frenchman who was a member of the Lumiere's viewing audience, Georges Melies, expanded development of film cinema with his own imaginative fantasy films. When the Lumiere brothers wouldn't sell him aCinematographe, he developed his own camera and then set up Europe's first film studio in 1897. He created about 500 films over the next 15 years and screened his own productions in his theatre. In late 1911, he contracted with French film company Pathe to finance and distribute his films, and then went out of business by 1913.
An illusionist and stage magician, and a wizard at special effects, Melies exploited the new medium with a pioneering, 14-minute science fiction work, Le Voyage Dans la Lune - A Trip to the Moon (1902). It was his most popular and best-known work, with about 30 scenes calledtableaux. He incorporated surrealistic special effects, including the memorable image of a rocketship landing and gouging out the eye of the 'man in the moon.' Melies also introduced the idea of narrative storylines, plots, character development, illusion, and fantasy into film, including trick photography (early special effects), hand-tinting, dissolves, wipes, 'magical' super-impositions and double exposures, the use of mirrors, trick sets, stop motion, slow-motion and fade-outs/fade-ins. Although his use of the camera was innovative, the camera remained stationary and recorded the staged production from one position only.
The Dickson Experimental Sound Film is a film made by William Kennedy-Laurie Dickson (1860-1935) It is the first known film with live-recorded sound and appears to be the first example of a motion picture made for the Kinetophone, the proto-sound-film system developed by Dickson and Thomas A. Edison
Don Juan (1926) was the first major motion picture to employ a synchronized sound system of any type throughout. Its soundtrack contained a musical score and sound effects, but no recorded dialogue-in other words, it had been staged and shot as a silent film. The first feature-length talkie was The Jazz Singer (1927).
Al Jolson's The Jazz Singer (1927) was the first Hollywood film to incorporate both sound and dialogue. While the film is mostly silent (replete with dialogue cards), there are half-a-dozen musical numbers and a handful of spoken lines thrown in.
More recent studies in animation origins show the progression of Disney in this period where Mickey mouse was introduced in his first animated short ‘steamboat Willie’ with synchronized sound. Disney used Pat Powers' Cinephone system, created by Powers using Lee De Forest'sPhonofilm system. It is noted in the history books as the first animated short feature film with a completely post-produced soundtrack of music, dialogue, and sound effects, although other cartoons with synchronized soundtracks had been exhibited before.
Furthermore, looking back at more recent modern time animation in the 21st century now that has inspired animation may be iconic and eccentric styles from directors and producers such as Tim Burton (American film director, film producer, writer and artist). He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies.
Original for his style and approach to life with his passion for the delightfully weird, strange and misunderstood concepts to the oddities in people within their appearance and form. His creative guidance has allowed audiences to adapt and be introduced to a new form of storytelling gaining a different perspective and with the powerful concept and emotion of Tim Burton’s stories they allow us to gain understanding and relate. His most popular and iconic creation of film lies with Tim burtons the nightmare before Christmas which has gained cinematic achievement and financial success with its overall look and dark appeal. For this film he used stop motion constructing 227 puppets to represent the characters in the movie, with Jack Skellington having around four hundred heads, allowing the expression of every possible emotion. Sally's mouth movements "were animated through the replacement method. During the animation process, only Sally's face 'mask' was removed in order to preserve the order of her long, red hair. Sally had ten types of faces, each made with a series of eleven expressions (e.g. eyes open and closed, and various facial poses) and synchronised mouth movements.
Another original and phenomenal worldwide form of animation is Disney the pioneer of animation which has been strong since it began getter better with each year producing next level quality. Disney has evolved way beyond its potential soaring through the years with inspirational animation from its classic official starting era with their highest financial making character and company symbol Mickey mouse and its 2D origins using cell animation. Disney has become a vibrant successful brand making many films past their cartoon stages. prominent among them were Snow White (which was the first feature length animated film), Cinderella and Bambi. The company also made successful live-action films like Treasure Island and Mary Poppins. Gradually the Disney company diversified into other areas like resorts and parks and television shows.
After Walt Disney's death in 1966, the company faced a downturn due to a lack of effective leadership. But things improved after Michael Eisner took over as chairman in 1984. At the beginning of the 21st century, the Disney company was the second largest media group in the world, behind only AOL Time Warner.
Disney features soon became bombastic animated musicals, using music as well as high-quality animation to attract audiences. This coincided with the introduction of computer-aided animation techniques, the first of which was CAPS in the late 1980s. Even today animators in Disney and most companies alike used figure drawing as an important concept and a great way of working out their characters. In these kind of animations a good understanding of the character in a three dimensional space is important to achieve a convincing motion in time. In current times in the 21st century nowadays characters are now vastly based on simple shapes and forms and exaggerated to show that humorous appeal to audiences young and old. However everything is done through CGI since toy story was created.
Today the film industry is revolutionising groundbreaking success in their animation and live-action films aiming for new heights with more realism every time. Their more recent hit was avatar whereas James Cameron has developed a breakthrough in breakthrough in cinematic technology taking the industry and audiences to new heights with what can be produced. Cameron used RealD 3D, Dolby 3D, XpanD 3D, and IMAX 3D formats for 3D viewing in cinemas.
Cameron described the film as a hybrid with a full live-action shoot in combination with computer-generated characters and live environments. "Ideally at the end of the day the audience has no idea which they're looking at," Cameron said. The director indicated that he had already worked four months on non principal scenes for the film. The live action was shot with a modified version of the proprietary digital 3-D Fusion Camera System, developed by Cameron and Vince Pace. 3-D filming for Avatar would be done at 24 frames per second despite Cameron's strong opinion that a 3-D film requires higher frame rate to make strobing less noticeable. According to Cameron, the film is composed of 60% computer-generated elements and 40% live action, as well as traditional miniatures.
During filming, Cameron made use of his virtual camera system, a new way of directing motion-capture filmmaking. The system is showing the actors' virtual counterparts in their digital surroundings in real time, allowing the director to adjust and direct scenes just as if shooting live action.
Influence
Since my in-depth research into the origins and outcomes of different techniques into animation past and present, it has made me think about my own work and how I can apply what I have learned into my own techniques. I have learned that with any animation every artist must come to terms with planning, post development and process and the way that it is carried out. I realise that within storytelling, a vital importance must be shown with characters, representing their emotion and expression and cultural differences depending on their background, how they react to a situation based on the personality and attitude. How that person moves and how their characteristics and personality relate to their movements. I realise that whatever style and theme the scene in the story may be, the artist must also think about the mood and lighting, perhaps props and shape in order to represent that atmosphere present. Every scene depending on what the camera is focusing on (reference to my animation) must be able to present that object to the audiences without being too obvious with something like a glow or dialogue, perhaps less clutter of furniture and have the camera focused on the object looking at it directly heading towards in a motion path without losing that illusion of the scene. I have learned that even music can create a sense of emotion and depth in storytelling, the audience can relate to or instantly know what the story is based on in terms of genre, maybe culturally for example an oriental style piece of composure that tells the listener it may be a story relating to warriors, mythical journeys, philosophy etc. And gains their attention drawing them in further. A great piece of composed music can make the difference between a story based on dialogue alone and one with passion, direction and emotion. Looking at the style of animation and the concept of the story me and Simone wanted to go for we talked about past films that identify scenes that could help us with our animation and key moments in those films that provided the right atmosphere to guide us in our post production. For my scene, its all about environment, lighting and the pursue of an object with just a camera using music to drive the scene and immediately identify its genre and key plot aka what the scene is about which is a book in my case. So I researched Films such as the fantasia, Never Ending Story, Shrek, Harry Potter, The Book Of Eli and the sorcerer’s apprentice, so I can understand what to look for in terms of direction and storytelling and how to set the mood within the scene also understanding which camera angle can give the right effect.
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