FLASH and animation

Comics are nice, but they are troublesome to make. To make things "move", we must constantly replace them with pictures of different contents. Let's call it a "frame". Mainstream animation usually uses 12 frames per second, which is too expensive and lacks mechanical rigidity and fluency. In Japanese TV dramas that emphasize modeling and light action, sometimes 8 frames per second are used, and there will be obvious pause when encountering shots with large action range. Therefore, when making cartoons, the more frames are changed every second, the more delicate and realistic the action will be. When watching cartoons or watching videos and DVDs, the speed of signal transmission is not a problem. However, with the advent of the Internet era, websites need to be animated, and hundreds of megabytes of animated files are frequently changed, which makes the download speed of non-broadband users only sigh!

1998, MICROMIDIA Company timely launched the animation software FLASH to change the network structure. Its main advantage is that the files published by FLASH editing animation software are very small, but vector images, which can be infinitely enlarged without changing the image quality, and are very suitable for inserting into web pages to make dynamic effects. Up to now, the number of web animations produced by FLASH on the Internet is second only to GIF animation, but GIF has its limitations, and it can only display 256 colors at most. Some animations that require beautiful pictures or use gradient gif are poor. The advantage of FLASH is that it can be output as an AVI file and played on TV or DVD. Can FLASH completely replace the traditional hand-drawn animation? Before answering this question, let's break down the production process of the two animations in detail.

First, let's look at traditional animation. When there is demand in the market (generally, most of them are TV dramas, cartoons or movies, and a few are commercial advertisements, public service cartoons or scientific and educational demonstrations), the producers will get a script with words. He must first find someone to turn the script of words into the script of pictures. Then the work of this person (or company) includes not only drawing the script of the picture, but also designing the shape, background and props of the characters and setting the seconds of a single shot. Next, the producer will find a production company (note that it is not one person, this is not something that an individual can do) to show the early stage of animation production.

After receiving the script and other materials, the animation company starts with the lens as the unit:

Design sketch (draw detailed scenes and figures with pencil)

→ Draw the scene (draw the pencil scene of the design draft as watercolor or other color drafts as the background)

→ Original painting (draw a series of action key frames according to the pencil of the design draft)

→ Supervision (standardized modeling, arrangement of detail lines)

→ Animation (filling transition frames between key frames)

At this point, the preliminary stage of animation production is basically completed. Black and white effects can already be seen in the "pencil line shooting" that simulates the final film effect. At this time, some modifications and adjustments will be made to correct the omissions in the production and the places that do not meet the customer's intentions. Of course, large and small modifications and adjustments are accompanied by the whole process of animation production. Followed by the last work, of course, it is later. The animation is scanned into the computer, colored, edited, synthesized, dubbed and transcribed by software, which becomes a BETA video tape for TV stations to insert and play.

For a standard 22-minute cartoon, it takes about two months for a company with dozens of people to arrive at 100, so it is difficult for individuals to complete a traditional cartoon independently. Even if there are, they also make some short films, such as advertisements and short films of science and education animation demonstration.

Let's take a look at FLASH animation. At present, FLASH is mainly divided into commercial use and personal creation. The first part mainly includes product advertisements, website LOGO, some product descriptions and FLSAH animation demonstrations used in courseware, and the second part mainly includes short stories and MTV made by online flashers according to their own interests. A FLASH producer is almost always done by himself from receiving the task or creating by himself to the final release, which almost includes the process of traditional animation: script → role, props, design → lens design draft → original painting → animation → coloring → synthesis → dubbing. Some work may be omitted or not completed as a process merger, but the actual operation has included all the above work. Maybe some friends have this concept: traditional animation is hand-drawn, and FLASH is computer calculation. In fact, FLASH's animation calculation function is not so powerful, and it can only realize the transitional changes of the size, direction and color of some geometric bodies. Because the computer does not have artificial intelligence, it is still unable to calculate the slightly difficult faces of walking, running and turning, not to mention the subtle changes of the facial expressions and body language. Therefore, the characteristics of FLASH are simple and fast production, small file size, suitable for online use, and network interaction function. But some difficult movements can't be done by calculus alone. Even if it is possible, it is replaced frame by frame, and the production cost is almost the same as that of traditional animation. At present, the production of FLASH is mostly done by individuals. Many producers do not have the ability and experience of "the soul of animation-the original painting", and can only stay at the effect level such as the transformation of a single picture and the drift of words.

In contrast to traditional animation, because of the fine division of labor, each part is completed by the most professional personnel, not limited by production technology, so animation can show the performance charm beyond the imagination of the audience, simulate (or surpass) the performance of real people to the greatest extent, and bring irreplaceable unique entertainment to the audience. However, animation has high cost and huge files, and is suitable for making DVDs, videos, or paying to play in cinemas.

As can be seen from the above, the two kinds of animation have different characteristics and production and use environment. No one can replace each other in a short time. It is meaningless to discuss which animation is better to use. Today, there are fewer and fewer restrictions across various media, and the spread of animation needs more convenient and quick forms, but it requires higher quality. We can see that the combination of traditional animation and FLASH is an excellent way to solve this problem, and it is also an inevitable trend to conform to this trend. In the early stage of traditional animation, the editors make the irreplaceable part of animation, and the rest is made by FLASH synthesis and calculus, so that the advantages of the two can be fully combined, and animation products that meet the media characteristics of the new era will be made, which will open up a new way for the spread of multimedia animation.

FLASH is simpler. If it develops in China, it is difficult to animate ... Ma 'am.