Ladislaw Starewicz - Cameraman's Revenge
This is fantastic, really complex and would have been very radical in it's day!
Thursday, 28 October 2010
Early animations on standard picture film
Humorous Phases of Funny Faces - J. Stuart Blackton (1906)
The history of animation
Many of the early inventions designed to animate images were meant as novelties for private amusement of children or small parties. Animation devices which fall into this category include the zoetrope, magic lantern, praxinoscope, thaumatrope, phenakistoscope, and flip book.
Zoetrope (180 AD; 1834)
The zoetrope is a device which creates the image of a moving picture. The earliest elementary zoetrope was created in China around 180 AD by the prolific inventor Ting Huan. Made from translucent paper or mica panels, Huan hung the device over a lamp. The rising air turned vanes at the top from which hung the pictures painted on the panels would appear to move if the device is spun at the right speed.
The modern zoetrope was produced in 1834 by William George Horner. The device is essentially a cylinder with vertical slits around the sides. Around the inside edge of the cylinder there are a series of pictures on the opposite side to the slits. As the cylinder is spun, the user then looks through the slits to view the illusion of motion. The zoetrope is still being used in animation courses to illustrate early concepts of animation.
The magic lantern
The magic lantern is the predecessor of the modern day projector. It consisted of a translucent oil painting and a simple lamp. When put together in a darkened room, the image would appear larger on a flat surface. Athanasius Kircher spoke about this originating from China in the 16th century. Some slides for the lanterns contained parts that could be mechanically actuated to present limited movement on the screen.
Thaumatrope (1824)
A thaumatrope was a simple toy used in the Victorian era. A thaumatrope is a small circular disk or card with two different pictures on each side that was attached to a piece of string or a pair of strings running through the centre. When the string is twirled quickly between the fingers, the two pictures appear to combine into a single image. The thaumatrope demonstrates the Phi phenomenon, the brain's ability to persistently perceive an image. Its invention is variously credited to Charles Babbage, Peter Roget, or John Ayrton Paris, but Paris is known to have used one to illustrate the Phi phenomenon in 1824 to the Royal College of Physicians.Phenakistoscope (1831)
A phenakistoscope disc by Eadweard Muybridge (1893).
The phenakistoscope was an early animation device, the predecessor of the zoetrope. It was invented in 1831 simultaneously by the Belgian Joseph Plateau and the Austrian Simon von Stampfer.
Flip book (1868)
The first flip book was patented in 1868 by a John Barnes Linnet. Flip books were yet another development that brought us closer to modern animation. Like the Zoetrope, the Flip Book creates the illusion of motion. A set of sequential pictures flipped at a high speed creates this effect. The Mutoscope (1894) is basically a flip book in a box with a crank handle to flip the pages.
Praxinoscope (1877)
The praxinoscope, invented by French scientist Charles-Émile Reynaud, was a more sophisticated version of the zoetrope. It used the same basic mechanism of a strip of images placed on the inside of a spinning cylinder, but instead of viewing it through slits, it was viewed in a series of small, stationary mirrors around the inside of the cylinder, so that the animation would stay in place, and provide a clearer image and better quality. Reynaud also developed a larger version of the praxinoscope that could be projected onto a screen, called the Théâtre Optique.
The first animated film was created by Charles-Émile Reynaud, inventor of the praxinoscope, an animation system using loops of 12 pictures. On October 28, 1892 at Musée Grévin in Paris, France he exhibited animations consisting of loops of about 500 frames, using his Théâtre Optique system - similar in principle to a modern film projector. (wikipedia)
Zoetrope (180 AD; 1834)
The zoetrope is a device which creates the image of a moving picture. The earliest elementary zoetrope was created in China around 180 AD by the prolific inventor Ting Huan. Made from translucent paper or mica panels, Huan hung the device over a lamp. The rising air turned vanes at the top from which hung the pictures painted on the panels would appear to move if the device is spun at the right speed.
The modern zoetrope was produced in 1834 by William George Horner. The device is essentially a cylinder with vertical slits around the sides. Around the inside edge of the cylinder there are a series of pictures on the opposite side to the slits. As the cylinder is spun, the user then looks through the slits to view the illusion of motion. The zoetrope is still being used in animation courses to illustrate early concepts of animation.
The magic lantern
The magic lantern is the predecessor of the modern day projector. It consisted of a translucent oil painting and a simple lamp. When put together in a darkened room, the image would appear larger on a flat surface. Athanasius Kircher spoke about this originating from China in the 16th century. Some slides for the lanterns contained parts that could be mechanically actuated to present limited movement on the screen.
Thaumatrope (1824)
A thaumatrope was a simple toy used in the Victorian era. A thaumatrope is a small circular disk or card with two different pictures on each side that was attached to a piece of string or a pair of strings running through the centre. When the string is twirled quickly between the fingers, the two pictures appear to combine into a single image. The thaumatrope demonstrates the Phi phenomenon, the brain's ability to persistently perceive an image. Its invention is variously credited to Charles Babbage, Peter Roget, or John Ayrton Paris, but Paris is known to have used one to illustrate the Phi phenomenon in 1824 to the Royal College of Physicians.Phenakistoscope (1831)
A phenakistoscope disc by Eadweard Muybridge (1893).
The phenakistoscope was an early animation device, the predecessor of the zoetrope. It was invented in 1831 simultaneously by the Belgian Joseph Plateau and the Austrian Simon von Stampfer.
Flip book (1868)
The first flip book was patented in 1868 by a John Barnes Linnet. Flip books were yet another development that brought us closer to modern animation. Like the Zoetrope, the Flip Book creates the illusion of motion. A set of sequential pictures flipped at a high speed creates this effect. The Mutoscope (1894) is basically a flip book in a box with a crank handle to flip the pages.
Praxinoscope (1877)
The praxinoscope, invented by French scientist Charles-Émile Reynaud, was a more sophisticated version of the zoetrope. It used the same basic mechanism of a strip of images placed on the inside of a spinning cylinder, but instead of viewing it through slits, it was viewed in a series of small, stationary mirrors around the inside of the cylinder, so that the animation would stay in place, and provide a clearer image and better quality. Reynaud also developed a larger version of the praxinoscope that could be projected onto a screen, called the Théâtre Optique.
The first animated film was created by Charles-Émile Reynaud, inventor of the praxinoscope, an animation system using loops of 12 pictures. On October 28, 1892 at Musée Grévin in Paris, France he exhibited animations consisting of loops of about 500 frames, using his Théâtre Optique system - similar in principle to a modern film projector. (wikipedia)
Animation
For this Comm Tech module i'm going to focus on animation.
I will do this by researching the history of animation, the different types and techniques, how it works and the future of animation.
I will also look at animations which interest me, make contact with some animators, visit exhibitions and festivals and read some books on animation.
I also need to research the technology, equipment and software i will be likely to use during this project and set about trying to learn how to use these. I will do this by attending relevent workshops, reading books, watching tutorials and by speaking to other people who are skilled in this area to gain tips and advice.
After this i will try out a few different animation techniques and ideas to try and create something simple but effective.
I will do this by researching the history of animation, the different types and techniques, how it works and the future of animation.
I will also look at animations which interest me, make contact with some animators, visit exhibitions and festivals and read some books on animation.
I also need to research the technology, equipment and software i will be likely to use during this project and set about trying to learn how to use these. I will do this by attending relevent workshops, reading books, watching tutorials and by speaking to other people who are skilled in this area to gain tips and advice.
After this i will try out a few different animation techniques and ideas to try and create something simple but effective.
Gonna stick around for this today... should be interesting!
Thursday 28th October
In the
Studio Theatre
At
5- 6pm
Private screening
Leeds International Film Festival Preview Showreel
Plus
Animation Showreel from the collective talents of Animated Yorkshire
In the
Studio Theatre
At
5- 6pm
Private screening
Leeds International Film Festival Preview Showreel
Plus
Animation Showreel from the collective talents of Animated Yorkshire
Film studies Elective
Last day of film studies elective today, really enjoyed it!
we've watched a few films this week - Monday was western genre and we watched George Steven's Shane. I then watched High Noon at home that evening which was good. I was surprised as I didn't think I would enjoy western films but actually i did.
Tuesday was film noir - we watched Murder my sweet (aka farewell my lovely) which is based on a novel by Raymond Chandler.
Wednesday we looked at Alfred Hitchcock as an Auteur and watched his 1954 film Rear Window, I really enjoyed this and it's made me want to look at some more of Hitchcocks films.
Today we looked at documentary film and french new wave, i'm really interested in producing some documentary film myself so today was a good day for me. We watched about half an hour of Agnes Varda's 1962 film Cleo 5 till 7, which was good and i'd like to watch the rest of that, then we watched one of her documentaries about Gleaners in france which was really interesting.
For my final project i'm going to look at Tarrantino as an Auteur and in particular his film Kill Bill.
we've watched a few films this week - Monday was western genre and we watched George Steven's Shane. I then watched High Noon at home that evening which was good. I was surprised as I didn't think I would enjoy western films but actually i did.
Tuesday was film noir - we watched Murder my sweet (aka farewell my lovely) which is based on a novel by Raymond Chandler.
Wednesday we looked at Alfred Hitchcock as an Auteur and watched his 1954 film Rear Window, I really enjoyed this and it's made me want to look at some more of Hitchcocks films.
Today we looked at documentary film and french new wave, i'm really interested in producing some documentary film myself so today was a good day for me. We watched about half an hour of Agnes Varda's 1962 film Cleo 5 till 7, which was good and i'd like to watch the rest of that, then we watched one of her documentaries about Gleaners in france which was really interesting.
For my final project i'm going to look at Tarrantino as an Auteur and in particular his film Kill Bill.
Tuesday, 26 October 2010
So I've moved house now (and what an exhausting marathon that was!) still unpacking and getting organised but getting there slowly but surely.
Unfortunately though theres been a problem with my phone line installation and so my internet is still not going to be on for another couple of weeks!! >.< I'm really worried I'm falling massively behind with my college work too :(
Got my film studies elective this week which is going well, i'm finding it really interesting and it links well with the area in which i want to work.
Unfortunately though theres been a problem with my phone line installation and so my internet is still not going to be on for another couple of weeks!! >.< I'm really worried I'm falling massively behind with my college work too :(
Got my film studies elective this week which is going well, i'm finding it really interesting and it links well with the area in which i want to work.
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