History of Animation.
Unit 33: Stop-Motion Animation
Stop motion animation is a technique using persistence of vision to make an image move. Persistence of vision is a theory first presented in 1820s by Peter Roget in his paper called “The Persistence of Vison with Regards to Moving Objects.” Persistance of vision is the theory that an “afterimage” exists for a 25th of a second on the human’s retina (Time Rime). This is how stop motion animation works by images following one after the next with the images being slightly changed from the one preceding it. Then once seen in a rapid sequential order the viewer sees an image that appears to move.
Pioneering Toys.
The first toy was the thaumatrope which translates from Greek means “wonder turner” was developed by John Ayrton Paris in 1825. It was simply a disc attached to a 2 pieces of string on opposite sides of the circular disc. Then by twisting the string the disc would rotate showing both sides of it in such speed the images would merge to appear to change this is known as persistence of vision. Below is a video showing you how to make your own thaumatrope. (Museum of the History and Science).
Following on from this idea was Belgian physicist Joseph Plateau who invented the phenakistoscope in 1832 with the aid of his sons. Using persistence of motion principle it creates the illusion of motion where images place around the outside of a disc would be altered slightly. Along with another disc the pair rotate in the same direction then viewed with a mirror through the slot on the first disc the images on the second disc would appear to be moving. Plateau’s primary inspiration came from an invention called the “Michael Faraday’s Wheel” created by Micheal Faraday and Peter Mark Roget. It consisted of two discs which spun in opposite directions. Plateau took this a step further developing the phenakistoscope as a toy. The same year the stroboscope was invented independently in Austria by Simon von Stampfer which worked in the exact same way. (Courses).
In 1834 this was taken even further by Willian Horner who invented the Zoetrope. Horner originally called it daedalum and was forgotten for nearly 30 years. In 1867 it was patented by M. Bradley in England and William F. Lincoln in America. Lincoln renamed it the zoeptrope. It simply consisted on a open top drum supported by a central axis and could hold a sequence of hand-drawn pictures on a strip of paper that would be place on the inner bottom of the drum. Slots cut at equal distance were then cut out of the outside of the drum just above where the picture strips have been positioned. To great and illusion of a moving image the drum would be spun, the faster the drum is spun creates a smoother and more progressive image. Due to its circular design multiple viewers could position themselves around the drum to view the moving images through the slots. (Courses).
Charles-Emile Reynaud a science teach, took this further in 1876 with his invention of the praxinoscope. Very similar to the zoetrope but in the centre stationary mirrors are present and the slits in the side are removed. As the outside of the drum rotates the mirrors reflect the changing images for viewers to see. The toy became a huge commercial success and won recognition at the great exhibitions of the period. (Museum of the History and Science).
In 1834 this was taken even further by Willian Horner who invented the Zoetrope. Horner originally called it daedalum and was forgotten for nearly 30 years. In 1867 it was patented by M. Bradley in England and William F. Lincoln in America. Lincoln renamed it the zoeptrope. It simply consisted on a open top drum supported by a central axis and could hold a sequence of hand-drawn pictures on a strip of paper that would be place on the inner bottom of the drum. Slots cut at equal distance were then cut out of the outside of the drum just above where the picture strips have been positioned. To great and illusion of a moving image the drum would be spun, the faster the drum is spun creates a smoother and more progressive image. Due to its circular design multiple viewers could position themselves around the drum to view the moving images through the slots. (Courses).
Charles-Emile Reynaud a science teach, took this further in 1876 with his invention of the praxinoscope. Very similar to the zoetrope but in the centre stationary mirrors are present and the slits in the side are removed. As the outside of the drum rotates the mirrors reflect the changing images for viewers to see. The toy became a huge commercial success and won recognition at the great exhibitions of the period. (Museum of the History and Science).
Flip books are perhaps the best known pioneering toy. It was one of the biggest selling optical toys in the late 19th and earth 20th centuries. Frenchman Pierre-Hubert Desvignes came up with the idea for what he called the folioscopes during the 1860s. However it was an English printer John Barnes Linnett who patented the design in 1868 for the kinograph booklet. Each page represents a frame of a story so once they are thumbed through rapidly the combined frames make the image appear to be moving. Flip books heralded the development of the motion picture. (Museum of the History and Science). Many still have fun with this technique today as shown by the video below.
Another pioneer in early animation was Eadweard Muybridge. Muybridge proved that a horse can fly. Using his invention the zoopraxiscope he projected animated versions of his photographs as short sequences. In these sequences he proved that a horse lifts all four hooves off the ground at a certain point while they run. This was a massive development in cinema history (Tate). The images would be put in sequential order around the outside of a disc. When spun the images would start to appear as if they are moving to the audiences.
At a lecture given by Muybridge about the zoopraxiscope, Thomas Edison would have been inspired to create the kinetoscope, from the Greek words Kineto (“movement”) and scopos (“to view”). In October 1888 Edison made an initial claim on an invention that he claimed would do “for the Eye what the phonograph does for the Ear.” (Lomography). William Dickson who worked for Edison and one of his more talented men was tasked with developing the kinetoscope, Edison reportedly “supervised and involved himself and participated to varying degrees.” This has caused many scholars and historians to credit Dickson for the invention despite Edison taking full credit for the invention. When Easman Company started producing celluloid films, Dickson began purchasing them in bulk. This led to the creation of a device with a horizontal-feed system to expose film strips. The prototype was also a standard camera aside from the peep-hole viewer. On May 20th 1891 Edison debuted his new invention to the public which used 18mm wide film (Lomography).
Taking Edison invention further was the Lumiere brothers Auguste and Louis. Looking at Edison’s kinetoscope they noted the two major problems were the size of it and how only one person could view at a time. In 1895 the brothers combined a camera with a printer and a projector calling it the cinématographe with it being patented by February of that year. Their invention was much smaller, much more lightweight only around 5 kilograms and was hand cranked. Using a film speed of 16 frames per second, which was much slowed compared to Edison’s 48 framed per second, making it require less film and reducing the noise created by Edison’s invention (Early Cinema).
The Birth of Modern Animation.
British born J. Stuart Blackton is cited as being the first to harness the power of photography in 1906 to create the first stop-motion film called “Humorous Phases of Funny Faces.” Using a camera, blackboard and chalk he drew the images, rolled the film for a short time, erased the image and draw another before rolling the camera again (Gilbey, R). This process was simple but crowned him the father of stop-animation.
Taken in a slightly different direction Emile Cohl was the first to use paper cut outs to create the same effect. Instead of redrawing the image he simply had to alter the postion of the papers position slightly. The first paper cut out animation was “En Route” created in 1910. (Clements, E).
A big breakthrough in animation was in 1914 when the world me Gertie the Dinosaur. Winsor McCay created Gertie using thousands of individual drawings with a new drawing on each individual frame of the film (filmreference). Gerties was also the first true character in animation with her own personality and ability to convey emotions.
During the same year Earl Hurd who was employed at John Bay Studios developed the technique known as cel animation. It is transparent to allow it to be laid over other cels or painted backgrounds, then photographed (Patmore 2003). A cel is a transparent sheet of cellulose acetate which is used as a medium for painting animation frames. It is an extremely time consuming process and requires attention to detail and patience to complete the process.
In 1921 Koko the clown was born created by Max Fleischer and his pioneering invention the rotoscope. Max Fleischer was fascinated by animation but was certain he could improve on the jerky movements he saw on screen. The rotoscope allowed him to achieve his goal as it used live action footage that would then be drawn frame by frame giving the end result a smooth and more lifelike motion. Koko proved highly popular and allowed Fleischer to go on to create popular characters such as Betty Boop and Popeye (Fleischer Studios Incorporated).
In 1921 Koko the clown was born created by Max Fleischer and his pioneering invention the rotoscope. Max Fleischer was fascinated by animation but was certain he could improve on the jerky movements he saw on screen. The rotoscope allowed him to achieve his goal as it used live action footage that would then be drawn frame by frame giving the end result a smooth and more lifelike motion. Koko proved highly popular and allowed Fleischer to go on to create popular characters such as Betty Boop and Popeye (Fleischer Studios Incorporated).
Animation Stars are Born.
In 1923 the world met the first true animated movie star in the form of a black cat called Felix. Born during the silent film era the character was conceived by Otto Messmer. Felix was so popular he surpassed live silent movie stars and even world leaders of the same era. With his squat, angular black body, huge wide eyes and grin were instantly recognisable by audiences. His first appearance was in a short silent film called Feline Follies and through publications Felix touched nearly every part of the globe for audiences to meet (Felixthecat).
In 1923 Walt Disney moved from Kansas to Los Angeles set to work as a director opening The Disney Brothers Studio, which is considered the birth of the Disney Company. Disney wanted a more life in his characters so he had his animators study anatomy to aid in a figure coming to life for the audience. In 1927 Walt Disney introduced the world to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit which kept to the silent movie genre with a music track over. Oswald has clear aspects and similarities to Walt Disney’s most famous character Micky Mouse.
Fleischer films exploded in popularity once again as the iconic Betty Boop debuted in Dizzy Dishes. Then in 1932 Fleischer acquired the rights to create an animation out of an already well-known comic strip character, Popeye. Although Fleischer did not create Popeye, he did in fact create many aspects of Popeye that fans associate with the character such as his need to eat spinach to gain superhuman strength and his trademark “I’m Popeye the Sailor Man” (Fleischer Studios Incorporated).
Fleischer’s character were so surreal, edgy, gritty and set in urban settings. He also modeled his characters on human beings apposed to Disney who would use farm animals and settings. This soon became known as “East Coast Style of Animation” while Disney’s were dubbed “West Coast Style” (Fleischer Studios Incorporated).
Disney then advanced the hand-paint transparent cel technique developed by Hurd. The bottom cel would be the background while the other cels would be set and taken a photograph of and then changed for the next shot. This process took week to produce a single sequence but saved time as the background did not need to be repeated on each cel. In 1928 Disney broke the silence and created the first talking animated film in history and audiences met Micky Mouse in “Steamboat Willie” which was a huge success. A feature length film using cel animation can require millions of images. The main advantage to this further developed technique is how the transparent cels can be used on the same background again and again helping to reduce production time as they did not recreate the background for each individual image.
Fleischer’s character were so surreal, edgy, gritty and set in urban settings. He also modeled his characters on human beings apposed to Disney who would use farm animals and settings. This soon became known as “East Coast Style of Animation” while Disney’s were dubbed “West Coast Style” (Fleischer Studios Incorporated).
Disney then advanced the hand-paint transparent cel technique developed by Hurd. The bottom cel would be the background while the other cels would be set and taken a photograph of and then changed for the next shot. This process took week to produce a single sequence but saved time as the background did not need to be repeated on each cel. In 1928 Disney broke the silence and created the first talking animated film in history and audiences met Micky Mouse in “Steamboat Willie” which was a huge success. A feature length film using cel animation can require millions of images. The main advantage to this further developed technique is how the transparent cels can be used on the same background again and again helping to reduce production time as they did not recreate the background for each individual image.
In 1934 Walt Disney gathered his animators to tell them they were going to make their first feature length animated film based off the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. For the time this was considered a radical idea by most as they thought a cartoon would not hold an audience’s attention for more than eight minutes. It severely taxed the resources of the studio and took three years to finish. In December 1937 audiences met Snow White and was the highest grossing film of all time until it was surpasses by Gone with the Wind (Walt Disney Studios).
In 1933 Willis O’Brien would capture audience’s attention once again with the power of stop-motion. Rather than monsters being the CGI works of art they are today, Willis used models to capture his beasts for the big screen through stop-motion. His most notable works are 1933s King Kong where the monster ape takes on more of a character persona rather than a raging monster of destruction. Many critics noted how the Kong expresses emotions which include his affection for Ann Darrow, the anger when he loses her and even down to his childlike curiosity when he examines bodies of his victims. O’Brien’s main purpose was for viewers to regard Kong as a living being and not just a combination of special effects and stop-motion (Film Reference).
In 1933 Willis O’Brien would capture audience’s attention once again with the power of stop-motion. Rather than monsters being the CGI works of art they are today, Willis used models to capture his beasts for the big screen through stop-motion. His most notable works are 1933s King Kong where the monster ape takes on more of a character persona rather than a raging monster of destruction. Many critics noted how the Kong expresses emotions which include his affection for Ann Darrow, the anger when he loses her and even down to his childlike curiosity when he examines bodies of his victims. O’Brien’s main purpose was for viewers to regard Kong as a living being and not just a combination of special effects and stop-motion (Film Reference).
During the 1930's and 1940's a new pioneer in animation techniques arrived, a man called George Pal would become a leading man in stop-motion. By the 1940's he had signed a deal with Paramount to continue developing his new form of stop-motion animating puppets. He developed the Puppetoons series and over 40 short films which included Rhythm in the Ranks (1941), Dr. Seuss’s The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (1943) and Jasper and the Beanstalk (1945). He received seven Academy Award nominations for his films and in 1944 he was presented with a special Oscar for his work on the series. (Encyclopedia Britannica).
In 1940 Joseph Barbara and William Hanna created one of the longest rivalries in American cinema in the guise of a cat and mouse duo named Tom & Jerry. Original conceived with the idea of calling it “Cat gets the Boot” "We knew we needed two characters. We thought we needed conflict, and chase and action. And a cat after a mouse seemed like a good, basic thought" (Barbara).
In 1940 Joseph Barbara and William Hanna created one of the longest rivalries in American cinema in the guise of a cat and mouse duo named Tom & Jerry. Original conceived with the idea of calling it “Cat gets the Boot” "We knew we needed two characters. We thought we needed conflict, and chase and action. And a cat after a mouse seemed like a good, basic thought" (Barbara).
Disney Meets New Rivals.
During the 1930s a rival company Warner Brothers began to surface. Spearheaded by animators like Tex Avery and Chuck Jones their animations had more adult sensibilities. Their characters Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig adopted a darker and more cynical attitude allowing for a greater emphasis on adult references and slapstick comedy. The characters have withstood the test of time and still 70 years later continue to appear in various animations today. In 1935 Porky Pig became a star in “I Haven’t Got a Hat” (hughlevin). The in 1945 the Bugs Bunny cartoons were nominated number one in the short subject film in the motion picture Herald’s poll of exhibitors, a title held by Bugs Bunny for 16 years (Jones, C).
With televisions entering peoples homes a new outlet for viewing animation was born and in 1949 that is exactly what happened. Audiences met their first cartoon series made for TV in “Crusader Rabbit” Made by Alex Anderson, they were paid $250 for every five minutes of footage. More like an illustrated radio show it was the first example of limited animation (McLaughlin, D).
With televisions entering peoples homes a new outlet for viewing animation was born and in 1949 that is exactly what happened. Audiences met their first cartoon series made for TV in “Crusader Rabbit” Made by Alex Anderson, they were paid $250 for every five minutes of footage. More like an illustrated radio show it was the first example of limited animation (McLaughlin, D).
This new outlet for cartoons saw an explosion in the animation industry with more and more characters and shows being created. On Septmeber 30th, 1960 animation broke into the prime time block with a prehistoric family called The Flintstones. It used a mixture of satire and slapstick to help make the Flintstones one of the most famous animated families in animation (Brayton, R).
New Techniques, New Tricks and Global Changes in Animation
Much like how the early pioneering toys saw the creation of animations, computers were used for the first time in 1950 to create what is believed the first every computer animated animation. Simply called “Bouncing Ball” it featured simply a ball bouncing (McLaughlin, D). While this would fail to impress audiences today, it was the first step toward such blockbuster hits as Toy Story.
A man named Ray Harryhausen who worked for both O’Brien and Pal took the idea of implementing stop-motion with live action to a new level. He would be made famous for his work on live-action films which had actors directly interact with stop-motion characters. In the 7th Voyage of Sinbad he undertook some of stop-motions most difficult scenes in history to produce (The Official Ray Harrhausen Website). With would be the start of a string of movies using the same techniques including his later film Clash of the Titans.
A man named Ray Harryhausen who worked for both O’Brien and Pal took the idea of implementing stop-motion with live action to a new level. He would be made famous for his work on live-action films which had actors directly interact with stop-motion characters. In the 7th Voyage of Sinbad he undertook some of stop-motions most difficult scenes in history to produce (The Official Ray Harrhausen Website). With would be the start of a string of movies using the same techniques including his later film Clash of the Titans.
In 1972 a new company called Aardman Animations was formed. Founded by Peter Lord and David Sproxton a new form of animation was set to appear to the mass audiences, Claymation. Starting with a children’s program “Take Hart” they animated the character Morph to come to live for the views (Aardman). Morph would feature in small sketches designed to make the views laugh primarily. The process would take a lot of patience as each frame had to be set and then shot before arranging the characters and sets for the next shot. While Morph remained short, Aardman Animation would go on to produce much longer features such as Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep and Creature Comforts.
During the 1970’s animation saw a new development in Japan through anime. While Japan had always stuck to the same technique as western countries up until now, in the 1970’s it started to develop its own style and format. By the 1980’s anime was its own genre and saw a boom in production and popularity, which is also considered the Golden Age of anime (Go Japan Go).
During the 1970’s animation saw a new development in Japan through anime. While Japan had always stuck to the same technique as western countries up until now, in the 1970’s it started to develop its own style and format. By the 1980’s anime was its own genre and saw a boom in production and popularity, which is also considered the Golden Age of anime (Go Japan Go).
During the 1980’s a new wave of animated shows started hitting TV which were primarily driven by merchandise. Shows such as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Care Bears, The Transformers, Strawberry Shortcake, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony, Thundercats and Jem appeared to rule television during the 80s. The evidence of their success can still be seen today as they are used for pop culture and still have a fan following. Another trend to surface during the 80s was animated shows based off of already existing live-action franchises. The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang (IN SPACE!), Rambo: The Force of Freedom, Dragon’s Lair, The Real Ghostbusters and Alf were all live action franchises given a 2D animated style during this era.
This new string of shows caused Disney to resurface and with a new agenda, to his TV with new original shows. With the production of The Wuzzles and Adventures of the Gummi Bears, Disney struck back, however the production costs were much higher than that of their competitors. However it proved successful leading to Disney Afternoon which featured highly successful shows such as Ducktales and Goof Troop amongst their line-up (TV Tropes).
In 1988 a new film would emerge to bring audiences something new to the world on animation. A feature movie that had pretty much every animated star ever to be created in one movie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit. It was a big break through as for the first time audiences would see Micky Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Betty Boop and many more characters on the big screen at the same time. As if that wasn’t enough it was also the first big feature to have not just animated stars but also live action stars. Still highly popular to this day, no other feature has managed to pull as wide a pool of characters together as was seen in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (TV Tropes).
Tim Burton is a pioneer is using stop-motion in a darker and grittier style than any other. His 1993 movie A Nightmare Before Christmas introduced the world to a stop-motion feature to have a the ghouls and monsters of Halloween Town try to take over Christmas. Even though Burton did not direct the feature his own style and his characters are always easily recognisable as they tend to feature heads larger than the proportion to the body size (The Tim Burton Collection). His sets tend to use a lot of dark tones which only adds to the pale complexion of the majority of his characters using light sources as a strong contrast when used. This same style would later been seen in his works The Corpse Bride and Frankenweenie.
In 1997 we also met our first animated TV show to be entirely based off of a computer game. Japan introduced the world to Pokemon, the first animated show to go global which originated from an RPG. The franchise has continued to evolve as new generations of games come out every few years add to the world of Pokemon including history and mythology. With these new games continually coming out the anime series has now been running for over 17 years marking one of the longest enduring anime franchises of all time.
In 1988 a new film would emerge to bring audiences something new to the world on animation. A feature movie that had pretty much every animated star ever to be created in one movie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit. It was a big break through as for the first time audiences would see Micky Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Betty Boop and many more characters on the big screen at the same time. As if that wasn’t enough it was also the first big feature to have not just animated stars but also live action stars. Still highly popular to this day, no other feature has managed to pull as wide a pool of characters together as was seen in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (TV Tropes).
Tim Burton is a pioneer is using stop-motion in a darker and grittier style than any other. His 1993 movie A Nightmare Before Christmas introduced the world to a stop-motion feature to have a the ghouls and monsters of Halloween Town try to take over Christmas. Even though Burton did not direct the feature his own style and his characters are always easily recognisable as they tend to feature heads larger than the proportion to the body size (The Tim Burton Collection). His sets tend to use a lot of dark tones which only adds to the pale complexion of the majority of his characters using light sources as a strong contrast when used. This same style would later been seen in his works The Corpse Bride and Frankenweenie.
In 1997 we also met our first animated TV show to be entirely based off of a computer game. Japan introduced the world to Pokemon, the first animated show to go global which originated from an RPG. The franchise has continued to evolve as new generations of games come out every few years add to the world of Pokemon including history and mythology. With these new games continually coming out the anime series has now been running for over 17 years marking one of the longest enduring anime franchises of all time.
Animations Aims at Adults.
By the end of the 1980's audiences met perhaps the most famous of TV cartoon series to date, The Simpson which was aimed for to shock audiences in its early days. It is not only the longest running American Sitcom but it is also the longest running animated show in TVs history still producing new episodes 25 years since it first began. It has even been so popular it broke into the big screens with a feature film, has also crossed-over with popular animated show Family Guy, has a massive line of merchandise, released a song and been turn into a theme park ride.
With the success of The Simpsons two animators Matt Stone and Trey Parker took the idea of an animated show designed to shock one step further. Using stop motion and paper cut-outs they created two of the internet’s first viral videos in the form of two short animated sequences. Aiming to break every rule in the book and holding no limits on their content, they took shocking audiences to a new level and are still criticized to this day for some of their content choices. Due to the huge popularity of the series the original paper cut-out technique was dropped in favor of using computer software to achieve the same effect. Much like The Simpsons, South Park has also held its success for so long due to its marketing. Like the Simpsons they too have also released a film and songs from the franchise.
Another series to emerge during the late 1990's was Family Guy. Creator Seth Macfarlane created two short animations featuring a simple minded old man called Larry and an intellectual talking dog called Steve. The shorts aired on the Cartoon Network and were seen by Fox executives which commissioned Macfarlane to develop his own based on them. Through the course of development they pair eventually turned into Family Guy. The first episode of Family Guy aired directly after the 1999 Super Bowl XXXIII and then aired as a regular series in April of the same year. However it did not have the smooth journey that The Simpsons and South Park had as in 2002 it was cancelled. With a strong fan base the studio eventually brought the show back on air 3 years later in 2005 (De Leon, K).
1990s and the Creation of Animated Universes.
During the 1990s both Marvel Comics and DC Comics created a new way for their animated shows to function. Both companies had dipped their toes into the animated world of entertainment before, but this time they tried recreating how the comic book franchise works in animated form in 1992 but both companies did it differently.
DC created the animated Batman: The Animated Series, which saw Batman fighting crime in Gothem City and eventually being joined by other members of the Batman Family including Robin and Batgirl. Once the story had concluded in 1995, DC launched their next animated series, Superman: The Animated Series. Much like the Batman series it proceeded, this series introduced many characters from the Superman comics including his cousin Supergirl. It was in this series DC made their plans clear, as Batman and co appeared in the Superman series following their own series. This led to a new series for the cast of Batman in Batman: The New Adventures which would also feature character cross-overs from Superman: The Animated Series.
With both sets of characters crossing-over into each other’s shows DC then decided to combine the two separate shows to make one, The New Batman/Superman Adventures. With both series now combined, DC started to implement the next part of their plan. At the conclusion of The New Batman/Superman Adventures the characters of Batman and Superman started the next DC animated show, Justice League. Justice League the animated series saw Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Hawkgirl join Batman and Superman to create the first diverse Super Team in the DC animated series. After two series of Justice League which increased the number of DC characters to get the animated treatment, the show developed into Justice League Unlimited. This was the final show of the DC Animated Universe but saw a new format in the show due to the sheer number of characters. Instead of a small focus group of heroes that were followed like previous shows, this show had a rotating team where an episode could feature pretty much any mix of characters on an episodes team only for a new lineup to be used in the following episode. After a 15 year run of series DC’s Animated Universe featured dozens of characters that had never been seen outside of the comics (Crow, D). It even made DC comic book history as the character Harley Quinn was created in this franchise and proved so popular she was added to DC’s comic book listing of characters (Riesman, A).
DC created the animated Batman: The Animated Series, which saw Batman fighting crime in Gothem City and eventually being joined by other members of the Batman Family including Robin and Batgirl. Once the story had concluded in 1995, DC launched their next animated series, Superman: The Animated Series. Much like the Batman series it proceeded, this series introduced many characters from the Superman comics including his cousin Supergirl. It was in this series DC made their plans clear, as Batman and co appeared in the Superman series following their own series. This led to a new series for the cast of Batman in Batman: The New Adventures which would also feature character cross-overs from Superman: The Animated Series.
With both sets of characters crossing-over into each other’s shows DC then decided to combine the two separate shows to make one, The New Batman/Superman Adventures. With both series now combined, DC started to implement the next part of their plan. At the conclusion of The New Batman/Superman Adventures the characters of Batman and Superman started the next DC animated show, Justice League. Justice League the animated series saw Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Hawkgirl join Batman and Superman to create the first diverse Super Team in the DC animated series. After two series of Justice League which increased the number of DC characters to get the animated treatment, the show developed into Justice League Unlimited. This was the final show of the DC Animated Universe but saw a new format in the show due to the sheer number of characters. Instead of a small focus group of heroes that were followed like previous shows, this show had a rotating team where an episode could feature pretty much any mix of characters on an episodes team only for a new lineup to be used in the following episode. After a 15 year run of series DC’s Animated Universe featured dozens of characters that had never been seen outside of the comics (Crow, D). It even made DC comic book history as the character Harley Quinn was created in this franchise and proved so popular she was added to DC’s comic book listing of characters (Riesman, A).
Where DC used an evolving format for their animated universe, Marvel decided to create contained series but had characters cross-over into each other’s series again and again. Starting just a month after DC’s Batman: The Animated Series, Marvel launched X-Men: The Animated Series. Unlike DC, Marvel focused more on adapting popular comic book storylines into an animated format. Most notably was the X-Men series adaption to the Phoenix Saga and Dark Phoenix Saga. Following the X-Men series they created in 1994 animated series dedicated to Spider-Man, Ironman and the Fantastic Four. This was when character cross-overs began to happen.
The X-Men crossed over into the Spider-Man series first time in a 2 part special called “Mutant Agenda” & “Mutants’ Revenge” to help Spider-Man to discover if he was a “Mutant” like them. This marked the first time the characters crossed from one series to another in the Marvel Animated Universe. The Ironman and Fantastic Four series focused primarily on introducing new characters to audiences such as The Hulk, Doctor Strange and Silver Surfer while still adapting popular comic book storylines. The Hulk and Silver Surfer also gained their own animated series in 1996 following their appearances in Ironman and Fantastic Four. This further increased the number of characters Marvel would introduce to audiences as they prepared for their largest cross-over to date in animation format. The Spider-Man series adapted a storyline called “Secret Wars” from the comic which required Spider-Man to create a team of heroes to fight against a team of villains on a planet created for them to wage a war between good and evil. Spider-Man would pull the Fantastic Four, Storm from the X-Men and Ironman from their series along with Captain America and Black Cat to help him fight the war (Marvel). The Marvel Animated Universe did not run as long as the DC counterpart, but it is still praised by fans and many of the shows from Marvel and DC’s Animated Universes still appear in top 10 lists of shows on Marvel and DC animated franchises.
The X-Men crossed over into the Spider-Man series first time in a 2 part special called “Mutant Agenda” & “Mutants’ Revenge” to help Spider-Man to discover if he was a “Mutant” like them. This marked the first time the characters crossed from one series to another in the Marvel Animated Universe. The Ironman and Fantastic Four series focused primarily on introducing new characters to audiences such as The Hulk, Doctor Strange and Silver Surfer while still adapting popular comic book storylines. The Hulk and Silver Surfer also gained their own animated series in 1996 following their appearances in Ironman and Fantastic Four. This further increased the number of characters Marvel would introduce to audiences as they prepared for their largest cross-over to date in animation format. The Spider-Man series adapted a storyline called “Secret Wars” from the comic which required Spider-Man to create a team of heroes to fight against a team of villains on a planet created for them to wage a war between good and evil. Spider-Man would pull the Fantastic Four, Storm from the X-Men and Ironman from their series along with Captain America and Black Cat to help him fight the war (Marvel). The Marvel Animated Universe did not run as long as the DC counterpart, but it is still praised by fans and many of the shows from Marvel and DC’s Animated Universes still appear in top 10 lists of shows on Marvel and DC animated franchises.
From Pictures to Pixels
CAPS - Computer Animation Production System, was what animation was all about. Disney had abandoned the early cel animation due to the advantages that CAPS gave them. CAPS gave animators the ability to achieve techniques used in live-action film for a more dynamic moving image. This included pans, tilts and zooms which was first done with a closing scene from Disney’s The Little Mermaid. However in 1990 Disney’s The Rescuers was the first feature to be entirely done in CAPS (People Behind The Pixels). By the time Beauty and the Beast was released Disney had mastered the technique and the “Ballroom Dance” is a scene that uses practically every advantage behind CAPS.
The 1990s also saw the technique of CG animation taking on a life of its own. Even though CG had been around for a time it had never been used before in Pixar’s their 1995 feature Toy Story. In 1992 a 30 second short was produced using the characters of Woody and Buzz Lightyear as an early stage of development. From there with a team of 27 animators the first feature length CG film was completed but Bill Reeves who acted as Toy Story’s supervising technical director has said “To this day, it’s the hardest, most exhausting, and still most fun I’ve ever done at Pixar. We were essentially kick-starting an industry in terms of CG films.” (Empireonline). The production had problems as many of the crew were in experienced and they had issues with budget constraints but with the production teams perseverance they helped to create a new genre in animation.
However Toy Story was not the first franchise to be entirely done in CG. Mainframe Entertainment created the TV series Reboot which ran for several years and spawned several movies. Set in a world of computer data and computer games, it showed audiences just how many tricks CG could achieve in these early days (IMDB). This series set up for a chain of TV shows done with nothing by CG produced by Mainframe Entertainment. Even the franchise Transformers approached them converted to CG for their 1996 series Beast Wars Transformers and its proceeding series Beast Machines. Mainframe were responsible for many lines of merchandise selling well due to their projects including Shadow Raiders, Action Man and Barbie.
With CG taking off both on the big screen and the small screen by 2004 Disney abandoned the CAPS format as they believed everyone wanted 3D CG animation instead (History of CG). This would lead other companies which include Paramount, Lionsgate, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros. and Dreamworks to all start looking to create their own CG animated film. It has also seen the rise of new companies that include Arc Productions, Digital Frontier, The Weinstein Company and Illumination Entertainment which have all made large budget CG films. By 2013 it could be argued that Disney were right, as Disney’s Frozen became the highest grossing animated feature of all time making over 400 million dollars (IMDB).
CG Changes Live-Action Films Forever
With CG growing in what it could offer audiences the 1990's also saw it being implemented with live-action films over stop-motion and people in suits. Computer animation had be used before in Star Wars, Tron and the opening sequences of 1978's Superman. But it wasn’t until 1991's Terminator 2 and 1993's Jurassic Park when CGI started to be used more in live-action films. While Terminator 2 did not fool audiences, it was the first instance where audiences wondered how they achieved certain effects. Jurassic Park took it further. With every dinosaur being painstakingly drawn by hand and then reproduced on a computer. Steven Spielberg wanted audiences to feel like the dinosaurs had been brought back to life. In the entire film there is only 14 minutes of dinosaur visual effects and only 4 of those which were made with a computer. But the lasting effects are clear and nearly every large Hollywood production now has a CGI credit to them (Acuna).
The art of CG animation has been used in countless live-action media now thanks to a marker-based optical motion capture system. Typically using an array of video cameras that are connected to a computer, specialized software picks up information to help create digital images in order to track motion. Optical mocap requires special markers that are designed to be easily identified by image processing software. These markers are either highly reflective balls or small bright lights that stand out from the background, making the easier for computer vision algorithms to identify. The massive drawbacks are the set up time and the fact a special suit is required to work. Precise application of the markers is essential so the software can estimate the position of the subject being filmed. If the markers slips or are misplaced it then produces and inaccurate image on the computer (Organic Motion).
A new modern markerless motion capture software has been created. Using much more sophisticated algorithms are required, especially when real-time motion is being tracked. The cutting edge technology is an active field of research at leading universities throughout the world. It is also the only commercially available profession markerless motion capture system on the market today. The major benefits to this system is the reduction on setup time as no special suit is required, a subjects simply need to step into the area being captured (Organic Motion).
With this technology many films have utilized its abilities but none more so than James Cameron’s 2009 Avatar.
The art of CG animation has been used in countless live-action media now thanks to a marker-based optical motion capture system. Typically using an array of video cameras that are connected to a computer, specialized software picks up information to help create digital images in order to track motion. Optical mocap requires special markers that are designed to be easily identified by image processing software. These markers are either highly reflective balls or small bright lights that stand out from the background, making the easier for computer vision algorithms to identify. The massive drawbacks are the set up time and the fact a special suit is required to work. Precise application of the markers is essential so the software can estimate the position of the subject being filmed. If the markers slips or are misplaced it then produces and inaccurate image on the computer (Organic Motion).
A new modern markerless motion capture software has been created. Using much more sophisticated algorithms are required, especially when real-time motion is being tracked. The cutting edge technology is an active field of research at leading universities throughout the world. It is also the only commercially available profession markerless motion capture system on the market today. The major benefits to this system is the reduction on setup time as no special suit is required, a subjects simply need to step into the area being captured (Organic Motion).
With this technology many films have utilized its abilities but none more so than James Cameron’s 2009 Avatar.
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