So, what do you think? A product of Ashton Kutcher and his producer buddy, launched during TechCrunch50 in a room full of nerds. (Full disclosure: I'm a nerd)
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
100 years ago today
Can't believe this almost slipped by my radar, but 100 years ago today the field of filmed animation was born. Émile Cohl, working class son of a rubber salesman and seamstress, wound up creating "Fantasmagorie"-- the very first filmed animation feature in history.
Done in chalk on a blackboard, the film is obviously primitive, but like cave drawings, it set the mold for later innovation by guys like Disney, Avery and Lasseter.
To read more about Cohl (a name he actually adopted, it wasn't his given name), there's a Wikipedia article and this succinct but moving biography.
To view the film and additional commentary, check out this post at Current.com.
Now imagine going from chalk to photorealistic CG animation in just 100 years-- and think about the next 100!
Done in chalk on a blackboard, the film is obviously primitive, but like cave drawings, it set the mold for later innovation by guys like Disney, Avery and Lasseter.
To read more about Cohl (a name he actually adopted, it wasn't his given name), there's a Wikipedia article and this succinct but moving biography.
To view the film and additional commentary, check out this post at Current.com.
Now imagine going from chalk to photorealistic CG animation in just 100 years-- and think about the next 100!
Stop motion on the iPhone?
Once Apple opened up the iPhone (and iPod Touch, which has no camera, mic, speakers, GPS or cell radio) to 3rd-party applications, the flood of new apps has been dizzying.
For example, there are two hand-drawn animation apps: FlipBook and Flickbook. MacRumors has a brief note on those, and TUAW has a hands-on review of FlipBook.
More interesting to me is Watch It Change (which I think is a terrible name, but whatever)-- a stop-motion animation app. Using the iPhone's decent (but not spectacular) camera, WIC allows you to easily snap and assemble a sequence of footage. Naturally, you're gonna want to mount the iPhone in some secure way. The makers of the app realize this, and provide a clever stand for sale on their website. TUAW has a video of the app in action.
With more cameras like the N95 getting video and application capabilities, it'll be interesting to see if any of this catches on for animation. As we know, "The Corpse Bride" was shot using still cameras, so I don't see why not, save for the fact they are tough to mount reliably.
For example, there are two hand-drawn animation apps: FlipBook and Flickbook. MacRumors has a brief note on those, and TUAW has a hands-on review of FlipBook.
More interesting to me is Watch It Change (which I think is a terrible name, but whatever)-- a stop-motion animation app. Using the iPhone's decent (but not spectacular) camera, WIC allows you to easily snap and assemble a sequence of footage. Naturally, you're gonna want to mount the iPhone in some secure way. The makers of the app realize this, and provide a clever stand for sale on their website. TUAW has a video of the app in action.
With more cameras like the N95 getting video and application capabilities, it'll be interesting to see if any of this catches on for animation. As we know, "The Corpse Bride" was shot using still cameras, so I don't see why not, save for the fact they are tough to mount reliably.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
I miss Brad Dharma
Any animation fans who were around in the 90's will remember the semi-popular "Liquid Television" that aired late at night on MTV. As you may also know, the biggest thing to come out of that was the serialized "Aeon Flux." However, I always felt the tongue-in-cheek "Brad Dharma: Psychedelic Detective" had great potential. Cool lead character, neat mythology, and witty puns and references... The animation wasn't the greatest, but the mix of photos (like Ralph Bakshi would do in some of the LOTR movies) and cultural references were sublime.
I've tried to track down the creators but ran into several dead ends (I know who did it, but can't locate him). Boy I'd love to resurrect this!
I've tried to track down the creators but ran into several dead ends (I know who did it, but can't locate him). Boy I'd love to resurrect this!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
Wall-E may be the best animated film ever
We took the entire family (2 kids + 2 adults) to see Wall•E a week or more ago. The hyperbole heaped upon the movie isn't just hyperbole. So what makes it great?
1. The homage to the silent film era. Much of the film has little dialogue, forcing comical sequences that are all physical comedy. Not only is this a treat to watch, it must have been a lot of fun for the animators.
2. The clever jab at our consumerist culture. Without spoiling the real surprise, there's no question those piles of garbage left on Earth are signs we did something stupid over and over again!
3. There's a real love story. As with all Pixar films, the movie has heart and clever jokes. A powerful story told with care and skill.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Saturday, March 10, 2007
The 28 Principles of Animation
Since I'll be teaching 2 animation classes for the next 12 weeks, this blog will take a look at the methods and tools for making animation, instead of the usual gut reaction posting.
So to start, here's a link to the 28 Principles of Animation. I found this via the Wikipedia entry on Animation.
Normally I distill the principles down to 11. In fact, I use John Lasseter's 1987 presentation to SIGGRAPH that distilled the principles to a tight 11, perfectly applicable to computer animation. You see, computer animation is normally stiff. Mathematically precise, yes. But the precision breeds the stiffness. Look at the original "Mind's Eye" video-- most of the animations are rudimentary, like exercises on a computer. Fluid, natural animation is much easier by hand. To combat the stiffness inherent in computer-generated animation, John presented these principles, which traditional animators knew for years, to the computer nerds... The result? Well, you've probably seen "Toy Story."
Of course, we trace the lineage of modern animation techniques to the masterful artists hired by Walt Disney way back in the day. The techniques Lasseter presented were based on the techniques from Disney's 1930's studio, and the 28 linked above are also from Disney's folks (see Tigger?).
But no matter what method you use to create animation, if you want better results, study these principles.
So to start, here's a link to the 28 Principles of Animation. I found this via the Wikipedia entry on Animation.
Normally I distill the principles down to 11. In fact, I use John Lasseter's 1987 presentation to SIGGRAPH that distilled the principles to a tight 11, perfectly applicable to computer animation. You see, computer animation is normally stiff. Mathematically precise, yes. But the precision breeds the stiffness. Look at the original "Mind's Eye" video-- most of the animations are rudimentary, like exercises on a computer. Fluid, natural animation is much easier by hand. To combat the stiffness inherent in computer-generated animation, John presented these principles, which traditional animators knew for years, to the computer nerds... The result? Well, you've probably seen "Toy Story."
Of course, we trace the lineage of modern animation techniques to the masterful artists hired by Walt Disney way back in the day. The techniques Lasseter presented were based on the techniques from Disney's 1930's studio, and the 28 linked above are also from Disney's folks (see Tigger?).
But no matter what method you use to create animation, if you want better results, study these principles.
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