Assignment 1 -(Techniques)

Task 1 - Techniques

There has been many different animation techniques before computer animation which is the main source of animation that is used now. For example you have had animations that have been hand drawn or animations made out of clay figures but it all originally started with animations that were basically made from optical illusions which give the impression of movement for example the Kinetoscope or the Praxinoscope.

Persistence of Vision 

Persistence of vision is the theory where the brain stores images for around 1/25 of a second, this can therefore be used to create a moving image. This is done by the chemical image being left in your brain as it takes some time to decay which means it gives your brain some time to interpret what we are actually seeing. If the series of images comes in quick enough there is a slight overlap of the images which creates the visual image of motion. If the images don’t come in quick enough and don’t slightly overlap, we will see a jerking quality.

This theory was later debunked in the early 1900s as two new theory’s emerged (The Phi Phenomenon and The Beta Movement).

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecgfCJVyYGM

The Phi Phenomenon 

The Phi Phenomenon creates an illusion of motion between 2 images that are progressively different unlike the Persistence of Vision which only creates the illusion on a stationary object. If you get small changes between two images the brain will fill the time interval (if it is not to long) with movement. If the frequency exceeds a threshold Phi Phenomenon will be overtaken by Persistence of Vision and we will see both images at the same time instead of a moving image.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zbzt7Cb2e4

Beta Movement

This theory is very similar to The Phi Phenomenon theory but it is a slowed down version. A great example of Beta Movement is the game snake.

https://playsnake.org/ 

Frame Rates

All moving images are composed of a series of still images that are known as frames. The frame rate of something is calculated by the number of frames per second that a viewer sees when watching a film or television. The frame rate must be high enough so that Persistence of Vision and Phi Phenomenon can actually take effect so that the illusion of movement is produced and running smoothly. Televisions are at a rate of 30 frames per second whereas films are displayed at 24 frames per second this rate is rapid enough so that the illusion of movement is produced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDBW53cgWjs 

Stop Motion

Stop motion is a big animation technique that has been used for many years and is still used to this day, it manipulates each individual image. It has been used to make many big films for example Wallace and Gromit which is still enjoyed to this day despite not being modern. Stop motion is essentially a technique that is used to bring static images to life. These images are given movement by having the inanimate object have very minimalistic movements between pictures so when the pictures are played it looks like the inanimate object is actually moving in a fluid motion.

Pros	-          More control -          Can animate inanimate objects -          Create interesting effects -          Can create more surreal storylines
Cons	-          Difficult to get correct speed -          Time consuming -          Fluid motion -          Difficult to visualise -          Need to create separate audio tracks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQkC0Qs3aD0