History of Animation

Throughout history, animation has gone through many different styles, methods of production and end results, achieving different effects and using the technology of the time to create unique films that are often very different from each other. The use of different techniques in different films are as a result of both technology constraints as well as visual styles. though animation has been around in the form of flip books and such, these were never used in films and the first major usage was in hand-drawn images.

The first form of animation was the basic flip book, which uses the same concepts as later techniques (such as the cell-based method, which is a more advanced and technical form of the basic flip book concept) but is a more primitive approach to animation and moving image. it uses a form of optical illusion to give the impression of an object moving on the page and being animated, but in reality it is different 'cells' that have been drawn on different pages, and are being moved through with the speed needed to trick the eye into not seeing the individual frames, and instead only viewing the animated image.

Initially, animation in film was hand drawn frame by frame and then the frames were played back to back in order to appear as though they were a moving image. This resulted in a very lengthily production cycle  as the entire scene had to be redrawn every single frame, and if one mistake was made the frame would have to be redrawn all over again. However, this did allow for standard films to have animation in them, as the regular footage could be drawn on with the added bonus of not having to draw the background on every frame, reducing the production cycle dramatically.

The next large step in the production of animation was stop motion, which involved taking a fraction of a second's worth of film (essentially an image) of the scene, then moving the character/objects/subject the slightest bit, then taking anther fraction of a seconds worth, and so on until the entire film has been created by capturing micro-movements. This is a quicker method of animation, but can be higher in production cost, as sets have to be built and characters/objects have to be created. It can take a day to create roughly 3 seconds of footage on average, making full length films take a large amount longer to produce, but mistakes are easier to fix and therefore it overall takes a smaller amount of time.

The phase after stop motion used a similar concept, combined with the hand-drawn methodology of earlier incarnations, to create a 2D moving image on the computer using images animated using computer programs (such as flash). These 2D animations use vector movements (using the screen as a form of grid with coordinates to give the animated image a location as to where it should go) in order to move themselves, but often this cannot create any kind of pseudo-3D image without a lot of work. This resulted in this being a popular animation technique amongst hobbyists and amateurs but was rarely used in proper film.

The next big stage in animation, one that carries through to this day, is the use of 3D computer generated animation, using 3D models in order to represent characters and objects and moving them through the use of 3D vectors and waypoints. The 3D models are often placed on what is called a 'rig', which is essentially a skeleton that all parts of the model that are designed to move connect to (eyes, limbs, all bones are connected to the rig, even the different eyebrows and parts of the face are linked to the rig in different ways allowing them all to move separately). This rig is then moved using the different 'bones' that the rig consists of to create the 3D movement.

The 3D animated short film that I intend to make will be using this latest in 3D animation, using a 3D engine for the simulation of various real-world effects, such as physics, camera blur, lens flares, lighting shafts, and any of the other camera effects that happen either naturally or intentionally in normal filming. It is also very helpful for the simulation of physics, should it be required in any way for the animation. These effects can help me better simulate a real world and compare with other 3D short film animations. These programs are becoming a commonplace amongst 3D animators and amateur filmmakers due to their good simulation of effects and high quality rendering.

The interface of the program that I will be using, commonly applied for professional 3D animated films

Programs similar to this are becoming a valuable tool for those with a smaller budget for film making, as the provide a professional finish and easy to use interface for any film maker. the engine chosen here is preferable to me above others due to its animation interface allowing forms of the many different animation types throughout history; it works through key frames/key frame positioning, acting similar to how stop motion works, but instead simulating it within a 3D environment. However, whereas each action must be made out of smaller micromanaged movements in stop motion, 3D animation uses key frames, which are set points for the computer to animate in-between, allowing smooth transitions between positions to be achieved. I will use these key frames to achieve a smooth and semi-realistic animation.

Another advantage over previous historical methods is that the 3D creative process allows for environments and sets limited by nothing but the imagination. For the majority of my sets, they will take place in a vibrant jungle, starting off at dawn and ending at dawn the next day (the final scene of the film will take place at sunset, but the last few shots of the film will be at dawn), and different camera effects will be simulated to make this look more appealing. more modern effects, such as lens flares, god-rays and complex shading (to give a real shadow effect), combined with edge-detection to smooth things out with extra shading.

Programs like these are a very important in the process of 3D animation and are a huge help in reducing the amount of workload that an animator has to do, as the methods of smoothing in between different key frames are easy to change, from sudden movements and jerks to smooth says and x-y-z-coordinate curving, which gives the effect of two key frame positions blending together. This blending is often used for the movement of organic entities, such as people, trees and flowers. Having a 'flat' movement between two keyframes means that the movement will look jerky and stiff, better suited for mechanical entities such as robots, cranes and other industrial-themed objects. motion-based entities, for instance a car, would use a combination of the two to make it seem as though it were realistically driving along.

3D animation programs such as this allow for another method of animation that the others didn't;  particle systems. While individual weather effects and various other special effects (explosions, beams, snow etc.) would have to be either drawn on or hand edited until it was absolutely perfect manually, particle systems allow effects such as this to be made within minutes, and are one of the biggest revolutions in effects within a 3D space. They can be used for almost anything, such as winds, snow, rain, water splashes, and can even be used to create effects on the ground, such as snow settling in the exact place a snowflake fell, giving it a more realistic effect. Particle systems can also have a generated number of world-related physics, such as wind, gravity and force. This can be helpful when creating a snowstorm, for example, as the snow would be fluttering around in the wind, while also being pulled down by gravity.