Portal:Animation

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Introduction

The bouncing ball animation above consists of these six frames repeated indefinitely.

Animation is a filmmaking technique by which still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets (cels) to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animation has been recognized as an artistic medium, specifically within the entertainment industry. Many animations are computer animations made with computer-generated imagery (CGI). Stop motion animation, in particular claymation, has continued to exist alongside these other forms.

Animation is contrasted with live-action film, although the two do not exist in isolation. Many moviemakers have produced films that are a hybrid of the two. As CGI increasingly approximates photographic imagery, filmmakers can easily composite 3D animations into their film rather than using practical effects for showy visual effects (VFX). (Full article...)

Outline of animation

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The French Democracy is a short 2005 French political film made by Alex Chan (pictured) using computer animation from Lionhead Studios' 2005 business simulation game The Movies. The plot centers on three Moroccan men who turn to rioting after facing different forms of discrimination. Chan, a French native of Chinese descent, created the film to convey his view that racism caused the riots of the 2005 civil unrest in France. Although Chan was restricted by shortcomings and technical limitations in The Movies, he finished the film after four days of production. The film was uploaded to The Movies Online, Lionhead's website for user-created videos, on 22 November 2005 and was soon covered by American and French press. Although real-time-rendered, three-dimensional computer animation (machinima) had been used in earlier political films, The French Democracy attained an unprecedented level of mainstream attention for political machinima. While acknowledging the film's flaws, such as the grammatically poor English subtitles, commentators praised its clear political message and compared it to films such as La Haine and Do the Right Thing. The French Democracy inspired other politically conscious machinima works and fueled discussion about the art form's potential for political expression. Some raised concerns that video game companies would use their copyrights to control the content of derivative machinima films.

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Characters in the animated series From Il'ich to Kuzmich — Characters in the animated series *From Il'ich to Kuzmich*

Clay animation

Credit: Max Sviridov

Clay animation is one of many forms of stop motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually Plasticine clay.

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... that the Pakistani film Shehr e Tabassum was the first animated cyberpunk film to be made by an Urdu development team?
... that Encanto's Isabela Madrigal was animated to be aware that she is "always on stage"?
... that "Arnold's Christmas", now considered one of the most memorable episodes from the animated series Hey Arnold!, was almost rejected by network executives because it depicted the Vietnam War?
... that the 1937 Fleischer Studios strike in New York City was the first major labor strike in the animation industry?
... that the creators of the cartoon Jade Armor filmed live-action martial arts stunts to visualize the show's animated action sequences?
... that at age 12, Shaylee Mansfield became the first deaf actor to be credited alongside the voice actors for a signed performance in an animated production?

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I suppose "canon" means what Gene Roddenberry decided it was. Remember, we were making it up as we went along on the original series (and on the animated one, too). We had a research company to keep us on the straight and narrow as to science, projected science based on known science, science fiction references (we didn’t want to step on anyone’s exclusive ideas in movies, other TV shows, or printed work). They also helped prevent contradictions and common reference errors. So the so-called canon evolved in its own way and its own time. For whatever reason, Gene Roddenberry apparently didn’t take the animated series seriously (no pun intended), although we worked very hard to do original STAR TREK stories and concepts at all times in the animated series.

— D. C. Fontana, writer-producer

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Dan Povenmire (b. 1963) is an American television director, writer, producer, storyboard artist, and actor associated with several animated television series, best known as the co-creator of the Disney animated series Phineas and Ferb in which he also voices the show's villain, Heinz Doofenshmirtz. Povenmire grew up in Mobile, Alabama, where he was a talented art student who spent summers outdoors and making movies. Povenmire attended the University of South Alabama before deciding to pursue a film career and transferring to the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. Povenmire has been a long-time contributor to the animation business, working on several different animated television series such as The Simpsons, Rocko's Modern Life and SpongeBob SquarePants. He was a longtime director on the prime time series Family Guy, where he was nominated for an Annie Award in 2005. He left the series to create Phineas and Ferb with Jeff "Swampy" Marsh.

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The Annie Award for Best Animated Video Game is awarded annually by ASIFA-Hollywood, a non-profit organization that honors contributions to animation, to the best animated video game of the year. It is one of the Annie Awards, which are given to the best contributions to animation, including producers, directors, and voice actors. The Annie Award for Best Animated Video Game was created in 2005, and has been awarded yearly since. To be eligible for the award, the game must have been released in the year before the next Annie Awards ceremony, and the developers of the game must send a five-minute DVD that shows the gameplay and graphics of the game to a committee appointed by the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood. As of 2011, the Annie Award for Best Animated Video Game has been awarded to five video games. The video game development company THQ has had six of its games nominated for the Annie Award for Best Animated Video Game, and one of them, Ratatouille, has won the award.

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More did you know...

...that Winsor McCay's animated film Gertie the Dinosaur (poster pictured) was originally created for a vaudeville act where McCay would seem to interact with the cartoon dinosaur?
...that Têtes à Claques was originally intended to be stop motion animation, but instead superimposed faces on the figurines to save time?
...that Lil' Pimp was the first feature-length film to be created entirely with Macromedia Flash animation?

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Anniversaries for May 20

Films released

1939 - Naughty but Mice (United States)
1944 - Russian Rhapsody (United States)
1950 - His Bitter Half (United States)
1955 - Beaus Will Be Beaus (United States)
1961 - The Abominable Snow Rabbit (United States)
1994 - The Return of Jafar (Walt Disney Pictures, direct-to-video, United States)

Television series and specials

2004 - Mr. Bean, a British animated television series based on the comedy television programme Mr. Bean finishes airing on ITV
2005 - What's New, Scooby-Doo?, an American animated television series finishes airing on The WB
2010 - King of the Hill, an American animated sitcom television series created by Mike Judge finishes airing on Fox