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The Beginnings Of The Animation We Love

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

To comprehend the art of animated film you must go back to 1940′s Golden Age. “Snow White” and “Gulliver’s Travels” showed everyone that animation could be beautiful and successful. These films inspired more creative efforts in animation. Development of the multi plane camera during the production of Pinocchio took the creative possiblities of animation to a whole new level in the film industry. One of the most beautiful films ever made “Pinocchio” is a film for any student of movies or animation to study. The juxtaposition of complexity and simplicity in movement, sound, development and storytelling make “Pinocchio” the apex of animation discovery.

It is this cornerstone that has kept animated films on the forefront of technology. Today’s 3D feature capability in films like “Avatar” competes with water-washed drawings on films like “The Triplets of Belleville”. All utilizing modern technology in its own way. From the beginning of film until today animation continues to be the forward thinking avenue. Often thought of as children’s movies, animated films must reach a diverse and intelligent audience to keep parents bringing kids back to the theater. It is this variation of the complex and simple that help move the film industry into amazing creativity.

Meet Today’s Up And Coming Animators

admin — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

One of the most notable up and coming animators working today would have to be Sylvain Chomet. Chomet. His two critically acclaimed works “The Triplets of Belleville and “The Illusionist.”

“Triplets of Belleville” was nominated for two Oscars in the Best Song and Best Animated Feature categories. “Triplets of Belleville” is the story of an old woman who goes on a crazy quest to save her Grandson from the French mafia.

“The Illusionist” would mark Chomet’s second entry in the animated feature category and stars the late Jacques Tati. It’s considered to be a Tati posthumous performance. Jacques Tati was originally going to make the film himself many years ago. “The Illusionist,” in essence, is a personal letter to Tati’s eldest estranged daughter.

Both films feature state of the art animation in addition to telling a great story with little to no dialogue during their entire running time.

Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud would be a peculiar choice due to the fact they adapted a graphic novel called “Persepolis” and basically “animated” the graphic novel. “Persepolis” is Satrapi’s story of a young girl who grows up during the Iran revolution. “Persepolis” was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature.

What’s Going On In The Animation World

admin — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The world of animation has never had as much success as it is currently enjoying. With the advent of the digital movies, companies like Pixar and Dreamworks have managed to create blockbuster hits for the entire family with animation.As animation continues to improve, we will see some major shifts in the animation world.

Currently, many people are asking for a return to the hand drawn era of Walt Disney, which they consider to have more character. Disney is appeasing them with a few films designed and drawn in the traditional style, but for the most part all animation these days is done on computers.

Pixar’s technology continues to make models more and more lifelike. There have been a few convergence films that have real actors interacting with digital drawings. As the drawings become more and more real, this type of film will be made more and more. There could conceivably come a day when animation could appear to be an actual film rather than something animated.

Pixar and Dreamworks continually fight for the top spot in the animation world, with Pixar usually winning the fight. Both are doing admirable jobs at pushing animation forward, and the future of animation looks bright.

Our Top Three Animated Films

admin — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

You can catch some good animated films on direct Tv and your kids probably won’t know the difference but as you know we take the genre seriously here. We’re extending the question: what are your top three animated films of all times? We’ve got ours below
Snow White: It’s one of the very first Disney movies and it shows, but in the best, most charming way. It’s still a joy to watch and the character development is second to none in Disney’s old-school animated films and the princess is more accessible than most.
A Bug’s Life: It was the very first Pixar film and it’s one of the more hilarious, if you ask us adults. We have a special place in our hearts for animated films that have inside jokes for the grown ups and this was one of the first of its kind to blaze the trail.
Cars: It’s pretty recent but there’s yet to be another masterpiece like Cars. Digital animation is at its finest here but don’t waste your time on the second one. You’ll only be disappointed.

A Review Of Classic Cartoon Animation

admin — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Out of the genres of animation, perhaps the one that is truly memorable is Classic Cartoon Animation. Although animation techniques and methods have improved over the years, the classic style will never grow out popularity or style. This classic form of animation is what defined cartoons and the subsequent influence on Japanese anime for years to come as it established the rules of animation. Every animator in this day and age owes a debt of both thanks and gratitude for the influence these classic cartoons put above any form of animation known since then.Check out this link here.
Of course while popular cartoon characters such as Spongebob or Bart Simpson may grace the minds of both fans and animators alike, they fail to match up to greatness of Bugs Bunny or Felix The Cat. The reason being is that classical animated characters never age as they stand the tests of time. The classic cartoons of yesteryear are just as popular and just as amusing as they were ages ago when cartoons were first seen in movie theaters in the days before television. While one would disagree with the aforementioned statement, it is worth noting that the most memorable cartoons are the ones that endure.

A Look At Where Animation Is Going

admin — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Disney knew what they were doing when they started producing animated films. Their movies have a place in everyone’s heart and have entertained children for many generations. The Lion King was a hit with the critics and award shows but Disney knew that the 2D animation format was not going to last much longer. Hand drawn animation was becoming a thing of the past and the studios had to find something new.

Soon after the Lion King, animation turned to computer animation. Toy Story was the first mainstream film to come out that used this form of media. In the decade since Toy Story’s release, computer animation has improved with leaps and bounds. Old School animation that was used for the Lion King and most Disney films was a thing of the past. Children found it be boring and wanted their films to be computer generated. It was as if 2D films were forcing kids to watch black and white television.

So what do animation studios have in store for the future? What is left to be discovered? To the surprise of many, there are people who want to go back to 2D, hand drawn animation. Digital animation is less personal for artists, it is easy to delete and once deleted it is like it never existed. Folders full of hand drawn animation are here forever and part of animation history. Some times what is new is not always better.

An In Depth Look At Current Animation

admin — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In this day and age, most animated features are now largely computer animated. While traditional hand drawn animation is still used, it has been largely supplanted by CGI. The reason being is that in recent years, computers have become more powerful in allowing computer animators to stretch the limits of their creations. In the past, computer animation was expensive and therefore rarely attempted. Thus, in those days traditional animation reigned supreme. Now that computers have become more and more technologically powerful, traditional animation is now taking a back seat while computer animation is gaining momentum.I was looking for more information and found it here.
However, there are some out there would rather see a return to traditional animation. The reasons behind this are that traditional animation was possible without the need of software. All that was needed back then were animation cells, pens, pencils and a devoted animator. Others may want to see a return to traditional animation for the sake of nostalgia as that was the norm in the past. While computer animation may be the mainstream desire of the people, do not underestimate any return to traditional animation. With the success of Disney’s “The Princess and The Frog”, one may see traditional animation making a come back.

An In Depth Look At Old Style Animation

admin — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

“Old Style” animation, which is more widely known as “cel” animation, was the predominant form of animtion prior to computer generated method. The process consisted of many steps, requiring great attention to detail and much of it absorbed a lot of time. The first step is the storyboard, which functions as a script but is composed of pictures and some words. Next, the soundtrack or “scratch track” is recorded. This is done before any animation so that the animators can more closely synchronize an actors voice to their character on film.An “animatic” or story reel is made next, which is a synchronization of the soundtrack to the storyboards. This functions as a means to check for mistakes or problem, and if any are found, they are corrected. Once the animatic has been approved, character designers create models of characters and objects for the animators to work from and to make their animation more consistent. AT the same time, the directors decides when certain facials expressions will be used by the characters. The next step involves the cinematography, where camera angles, camera paths, lighting, and shading of the scene are determined. Once all this is done, the painstaking animating process begins.