Some problems about animation

Many people may be unfamiliar with the word "animation", which is what we used to call it.

What's the difference between comics? Why use this word alone?

Let's look at the definition of "animation" first. The simplest way to say animation is to play a continuous action sequence in a short time.

Picture, the visual residue caused by the visual illusion of the role action in the picture, is actually the same as that in the movie, except that

Movies are represented by the continuous actions of real people, while ordinary cartoons must be hand-painted or manually adjusted to achieve the same action.

Effect. Generally speaking, the average number of animation frames per second is 24. In other words, a movie of 10 second must draw 240 frames.

Or 240 times, in order to make the picture smooth and beautiful, many cartoons often draw more than 24 action scenes per second, such as famous directors.

Miyazaki Hayao's works over the years.

But even a few still pictures at will can't be called animation. Because it is created one by one, the film should be

The main point of this art is that the actions between different cases are coherent, showing unique aesthetic feeling and thoughts.

Yes Richard taylor mentioned at the beginning of the Encyclopedia of Animation Skills: "Animation is generally defined as, by

Combine a continuous static image to create the illusion of action. ... animation doesn't just make the picture move. The essence of animation

The essence is to draw movements. He also quoted Norman, the animation master who founded the National Animation Bureau of Canada. McClaren

Orman McLaren): "How to move is more important than what to move. ... what animators do in every frame of the movie is no better than that.

It plays an important role between cases. 」

In fact, the translation of "animation" is not better than "cartoon", because the media of "animation" is not limited to

"Hand-drawn pictures" or "computer drawing" is enough. There are many kinds of paper-cuts, dolls, clay sculptures, and even matches and needle curtains.

Creative types of posture. In the first chapter of Exploration of Animation Film, Li Daoming, who has been engaged in animation art research and teaching for many years, talked about this point.

As for the difficulty of its definition, he invariably quoted McClaren's words as a conclusion: "Animation is not the art of' sports painting'.

Art is the art of "painting movement". 」

Let's talk about the word "anime" again. It is a literal translation from the English word "cartoon". The original text can refer to a cell or a link in a newspaper.

Comic books, later expanded into movies with continuous action pictures. However, because the animation material is far from

There are only hand-drawn movies, so "animation" or "animated movies" have gradually replaced "comics" as this category.

The floorboard of film art.

For the record, this article was reprinted from history of animation in the World written by Lei.

1. The origin of animation

Traditional art came into being with the birth of human civilization, while film and animation were invented by human beings, and the invention of animation was several years earlier than that of film.

The development of industrial civilization and people's research on human visual perception are the prerequisites for the birth of movies and animations. /kloc-the progress of photography and mechanical design in the 0/9th century provided a material basis for the invention of animation. 1824, British physiologist Peter Mark Roger published a paper "On the visual persistence of moving objects", which discovered the visual persistence phenomenon of human eyes. This discovery provided a psychological basis for the invention of animation and movies.

1825, British John? Answer? John A. Paris invented the magic disc SOMA Top. 1832, the Belgian scientist Joseph Prato invented the slide projector. The original embryonic form of these animations is developing in the direction of better motion illusion.

1877, emile reynaud, a Frenchman, improved the device invented by his predecessors and made a drum-shaped movable mirror from several mirrors. Renault constantly improved the movable mirror and created his Théatre optique in 1888. 189265438+1October 1 1, Renault signed a contract with Grevin Museum, a famous wax museum in Paris, to show the world's earliest cartoons here. The screening program consists of some pictures, and each picture is shown for about 10 to 15 minutes. In making these films, Renault used the main techniques of modern cartoons: the separation of moving images and scenery, comic strips drawn on transparent paper, trick photography, circular motion and so on. Therefore, Renault is widely regarded as the founder of animation.

At the same time, American and French inventors devoted themselves to the study of moving image devices using film. After more than ten years and the efforts of inventors all over the world, Lumiere brothers finally invented the movable film machine closest to modern movies. In the practice of early films, filmmakers discovered the principle of stopping and shooting again. In the first decade of the 20th century, several basic production techniques of modern animation were invented, such as James. Stuart. Early animated film makers around the world, represented by james stuart Braxton, began to make animated films shot with film, and modern animated films began to flourish.

2. The Golden Age of Animation

In the early days of the invention of animation, it was generally regarded as a kind of juggling, and it was only displayed as an entertainment program in places like amusement parks. However, artists and businessmen gradually realize the artistic possibilities and business opportunities contained in animation. As a part of the emerging film industry, animation has gradually developed. 19 14, Al? Earl hurd invented the technology of making layered animation on transparent celluloid, which reduced the workload of animation and made it possible to make longer cartoons. In the early days, the animation studio gradually formed a relatively fixed production process, which has been used in the commercial animation field of1early 1980 s.

In the United States, the animation industry has gradually formed a scale, Winsor? Winsor McCay, John? John Bray, Marx? Max Fleischer and others have played a great role in the establishment of American animation industry. Meanwhile, the emir of Europe? Emile Cohl and other early animators devoted themselves to more personalized exploration and created a large number of artistic animations with the help of impressionism and expressionism in the art and film circles. In the early 1920s, with the emergence of art theaters, clubs, exhibitions and books other than mainstream commercial films, the so-called "art animation" pattern gradually formed.

In World War I, the United States was far from the battlefield and the film industry was developed. After the war, it replaced France as the largest film producer in the world. The advantages of American animation in scale and level lasted at least until the end of World War II.

1923 Walter, who is only 22 years old? Walter Disney came to Hollywood and set up his own animation studio. Although young Disney has no formal art education, he is flexible and full of vitality, artistic creativity and business mind. In the late 1920s, Disney gradually established its reputation and position in the animation industry. 1928, Disney produced Steamboat Willie one year after the birth of the first talking film Jazz Singer in Hollywood. This short film made Mickey Mouse the most famous animated character and made Disney's animation empire. From the late 1920s to the early 1950s, Disney produced a large number of high-quality animated short films and feature films, and later Hollywood studios such as Warner and MGM also set up animation production departments. This period is called the "golden age" in the history of animation.

In 1930s, animation studios such as Disney and Warner constantly improved their animation production technology and introduced color photography into the animation field. In the early 1930s, during the Great Depression in the United States, the animation industry flourished, and a large number of artists were attracted by low wages to join animation production. From 65438 to 0937, Disney produced the first animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in the United States, which reached a new peak in the level of animation production and had a great influence in the world.

In the early 1920s, American cartoons were introduced to China, and China animation pioneers Wan Laiming, Wan Guchan and Wan Brothers began to make their own cartoons. 1926,10,000 brothers produced China's first animated film "Make a scene". 194 1 Inspired by Snow White, Wan Brothers produced China's first animated feature film Princess Iron Fan. China's animation started early and has a high level, which is rare in the world. It is a well-deserved pioneer in Asia. The pioneer of Japanese animation was influenced by China's early animation. Osamu Tezuka, an early Japanese animator, admitted that he decided to devote himself to animation after seeing Princess Iron Fan.

Around 1940, Disney produced several animated feature films, such as Dumbo, Pinocchio and Fantasia, which became the highest level of animation production in this era. At the same time, MGM and Warner also produced a large number of excellent animated short films. Similar to the star system in Hollywood in the era of big studios, a large number of animated stars were born in the late 1920s and early 1940s. Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy Dog from Disney Company, bugs bunny and daffy duck from Warner Company, and Tom and Jerry from MGM Company are still active in the film industry, conquering generations of audiences. The marketing model of American animation with star animation characters as the core has also begun to take shape.

After the United States entered the war in the early 1940s, Disney and other animation companies were funded by the government and devoted to the production of war propaganda films. During the war, some animators were enlisted in the army, and some animators from large studios started their own businesses or joined smaller animation studios. In the early 1950s, with the verdict of the iconic Paramount Act, the "production-distribution-projection" vertical system of the traditional Hollywood studio system was regarded as a monopoly and gradually disintegrated. In the international market, the rise of European films and the movement of countries consciously resisting the invasion of American film culture have also impacted the American film industry. The animation industry in the United States has gradually declined, and Disney has also shifted its core business to film distribution and entertainment. With the popularity of television in the late 1950s, the animation industry, which relied on the box office of movies, entered an unprecedented low point in its transformation, with large-scale productions almost disappearing and animators unemployed. After the war, animation companies also tried to attract talents, but because animation companies generally refused to pay movie royalties and dividends to animation producers, a large number of animation producers turned to television and advertising production. Before the early 1990s, the American animation industry was in a relatively tight state. During this period, the innovation of animation creation was transferred to other countries and regions.

3. The prosperity of artistic animation

In the early 1950s, the invention of television changed the western way of life. Television animation and advertising animation have become an important part of the animation industry, which also urges a large number of animators in the studio to make independent productions. At the same time, a group of excellent animators devoted themselves to independent animation creation and animation education, and a new generation of animators began to understand animation in a different way from their predecessors. The rise of new realistic films in Italy after the war, the new wave of French films and the rise of modernist films in various countries also promoted the prosperity of artistic animation after the 1950s.

1945, several young animators set up an animation production company, and they called their company, United Productions of America, a satire on the animation production of big studios. They are committed to making lower-cost animation and created a method of making "limited animation". Subsequently, the independent production of American animation became a common practice, and animation artists who hated Disney style conventions produced more personalized cartoons at a very low cost.

1939 Canada established a government-funded institution, the National Film Board (NFB), to encourage film creation. From 65438 to 0942, norman mclaren joined the Canadian National Film Bureau and became the leader of the animation department. From 65438 to 0952, norman mclaren made an animated short film "Canadian Neighbors". The Canadian Animation Film Bureau (NFB) has gradually attracted a number of artistic animation creators from all over the world. In 1970s, NFB made brilliant achievements. From 1960s to 1980s, dozens of outstanding animators such as Jerrod Botton, caroline leaf, ishu patel and Frederic Back worked in NFB for a long time. Created or improved paper-cut animation (paper-cut animation), real animation (pixel animation), sand painting animation, glass painting animation (glass painting animation), clay sculpture animation, puppet animation, needle screen animation and other animation forms, and created a large number of imaginative animation short films. NFB animation department has played an important role in the development of world animation, and it is still an important institution to encourage artistic animation creation.

At the same time, the animation industry in European countries has been gradually established, and Britain, France and other countries have produced a number of high-quality cartoons. With the establishment of a number of international animation festivals, such as Angxi Animation Festival, the international exchange of animation art is gradually unfolding in the western world. Early animation masters such as norman mclaren and Alexander Alexe? Eff), Oskar Fisching and others not only created transnational art animation, but also had a great influence in the world, beyond the scope of national animation.

In the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries, the animation industry has been funded by the state because socialist countries have always attached importance to the film and animation industry. Of course, some works are inevitably branded with ideology. 1936, the Soviet art film joint studio was established in Moscow and produced a large number of excellent cartoons. In the socialist countries of this period, except the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and China all made great achievements in animation. The school of Segleb in Yugoslavia and the puppet animation in Czechoslovakia have won high reputation in the world.

Before 1949, China animation was most influenced by Disney Company. After 1950s, China animation was influenced by the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries, and this generation of China animators also actively explored how to establish the national style of China animation, and made great achievements. Shanghai Animation Film Studio, founded in 1957, has had a far-reaching influence in the world with its unique national animation style.

The predecessor of Shanghai Animation Film Studio is the Cartoon Department of Northeast Film Studio. 1950 moved to Shanghai and became the art group of Shanghai Film Studio, which brought together a group of outstanding animators such as Te Wei, Wan Xiong, Qian Jiajun, Yu Zheguang and Zhang Chaoqun. When Shanghai Animation Film Studio 1957 was founded, it has grown to the scale of more than 200 people. From the early 1950s to the Cultural Revolution, China's animation industry developed rapidly and a large number of excellent animation works appeared.

At the end of 1950s, China animators tried to create animation with national style, and expressed the reality of China society in the form of China. 1956 "General Pride" directed by Tewei and 1958 "Crossing the Monkey Mountain" directed by Wang Shuchen created excellent animation works in this period. The role design of "Proud General" draws lessons from Peking Opera's facial makeup, while the background design draws lessons from the meticulous and colorful techniques of Chinese painting, and fully absorbs the decoration of traditional art, which also creates the tradition that China animation is influenced by national operas. "Crossing the Monkey Mountain" is based on the stories and images in traditional woodblock New Year pictures, and has achieved good results. In addition, Qian Jiajun's 60-minute "A Brocade" from 65438 to 0958 minutes shows that Shanghai Meiying Factory has the ability to produce high-quality animated feature films.

In the early 1960s, animation products in China appeared one after another and entered a glorious period. Among them, animated feature film "Make a scene in Heaven", ink cartoon "Little Tadpole Looking for Mom" and "Moody" are classic works in the world animation history.

Directed by Wan Laiming and Cheng Tang, Noisy Heaven (1964) continues the style initiated by Ao Jiang, draws lessons from the images and movements of traditional operas, and adopts opera-style music and dialogue. Zhang Guangyu, a cartoonist and decorative painter, designed the characters who made a scene in heaven. Zhang Guangyu absorbed the elements of traditional prints and drama masks and created the Monkey King, which is still the most popular animation image in the history of China animation. The role design and the background design of decorative painter Zhang (the first) have reached a high degree of artistic unity. The unified traditional decorative style and superb technical level make this masterpiece an insurmountable peak in the history of China animation. In the past 40 years, no China animation has reached the artistic level of "causing havoc". "Noisy Heaven" not only reflects the first-class production level of China animation in the world at that time, but also shows the animators all over the world the possibility of creating national style animation. In the late 1970s, "Make a scene in Heaven" was released in European countries through film festivals and other channels, which caused great repercussions.

Another major breakthrough made by China animation in this period was the creation of ink-wash animation, a unique animation form, which made outstanding contributions to world animation. Te Wei and Qian Jiajun have made great artistic achievements in 196 1 "Little Tadpole Looking for Mom" and 1963 "Moody". "Little Tadpole Looking for Mom" is based on Qi Baishi's freehand flower-and-bird paintings, which accurately reproduces Qi Baishi's painting style. Moody is adapted from the picture of Li Keran herding cattle, and the film style is exquisite and lyrical. These two early ink animation not only broke through the difficulty of making ink animation technically, but also realized the unity of content and form in art. In the early 1960s, Qian's "Miss Prairie Hero", "No Mind, No Joy", cartoonist Hua's "Script" and "Golden Dream" and other cartoons also made great achievements.

From the end of 1960s to the end of 1970s, with the development of political movements such as "Four Clean-ups" and "Cultural Revolution", the brief glorious period of China animation came to an abrupt end. A number of excellent cartoons were called "poisonous weeds" and were criticized. In the past ten years, several China animation books have been at a standstill. At the same time, the animation industry in the United States gradually resumed its scale, and Japan also established and developed a huge animation industry after the 1960s. After opening to the outside world in the early 1980s, China animation not only faced the impact of American and Japanese animation, but also faced its own problems.

From 1977 to 1983, Shanghai Meiying Factory inherited the excellent tradition of 1960s and created animated feature films such as What Makes the Sea Noisy and Wonders of Heaven, and short films such as Nine-color Deer, Snow Children and Three Monks. In the China animation of this period, the 70-minute passage directly caught up with the level of "Making a scene in Heaven". This animated film, designed by artist Zhang Ding and directed by Wang Shuchen, Yan Dingxian and Jingda Xu, continued to explore the road of national style and became the masterpiece of China animation in this period.

At the same time, China's animation creation is no longer the monopoly of Shanghai Film Studio, and many film studios across the country have set up animation departments. The creation of animated short films has also entered a peak period. Short films such as Snow Child, Nine-color Deer, Deer Bell, Sniper and Clam Fight, and later Mountain View have all made great artistic achievements. Among them, The Three Monks, directed by Jingda Xu, not only continues to carry forward the national animation style, but also explores the animation itself, becoming another masterpiece of China animation.

Although China animation has been restored and developed, it will soon face another low point. In the early 1980s, American and Japanese TV animation began to enter China. Their highly entertaining popular culture orientation is not available in China animation which was funded by the government for many years under the planned economy system. The animation industry in the United States and Japan has formed a huge high-quality animation production process and has rich experience in international distribution. Since the distribution in China and other regions has been profitable, they promote TV animation in China at a very low cost (even free). China animation has been out of touch with the market for a long time and cannot adapt to efficient commercial animation production. This influx of foreign animation has seized a lot of market share. At the same time, due to the low salary level of the animation industry in China, the animation industries in the United States and Japan also process animation in China, and the younger generation of animators flow to animation processing. The older generation of animators are old, while the new generation of animators have been engaged in animation processing for a long time and lack originality. On the other hand, although China animation made achievements in the early 1960s and 1980s, it did not even establish a basic market mechanism. In the late 1980s, the animation industry was generally eager for quick success, seeking quantity rather than quality. These factors led to the overall decline of China animation.

In the 1990s, China animation continued to grow steadily and its output increased, but its quality still could not compete with that of foreign animation. Internationally, the animation industry is experiencing a digital revolution. Digital technology enables the animation industry to produce higher quality animation at lower cost. New digital technology has also been applied to independent production, and personalized animation creation is more common.

Facing the depression of animation industry in China, the government began to pay attention to and support the animation industry. The entry of private capital, the establishment of animation channels and the rise of animation education have brought new hope for the development of animation in China. At the beginning of the new century, the animation industry all over the world is in an unprecedented period of rapid development. While continuing to face the challenges of foreign animation, China animation is also brewing new leaps.

4. Digital technology brings animation revival.

While the traditional animation has experienced ups and downs, a new animation revolution is quietly brewing. 1950, computer experts at MIT made the first computer animation. In 1970s, a large number of scientists and artists began to devote themselves to the field of computer graphics. In the late 1970s, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), led by James Brin, produced an early 3D animated short film Voyage 2. Practitioners of traditional animation are also involved in this field. 1974, the Canadian Animation Film Bureau (NFB) produced the cartoon Hunger directed by Peter Foldes, which applied the latest computer technology.

In the early 1980s, computer animation technology entered the practical stage. 1982 The movie Chuang produced by Disney Company has more than 20 minutes of digital animation. At the same time, American Industrial Light Magic began to apply digital animation technology in the field of computer special effects. 1984, they made a full-digital composite lens for the first time in raiders of the lost ark and the Magic Hall. In the movie Abyss 65438 to 0989, the first computer-generated three-dimensional animated character appeared. In terms of digital animation, Japan is also an early country. 1984, Osaka University in Japan produced a digital animated short film "Biosensor". The process of traditional animation has also been completely changed because of digital technology, which has improved efficiency and quality. From 65438 to 0989, Disney's animated feature film The Little Mermaid became their last animation made by traditional craft.

In 1980s, a large number of digital animation production companies were established. Pacific Data Image (PDI) established by 1980, Pixar established by 1985, and Blue Sky Studio established by 1987 have all become large studios for making movie animations.

In 1990s, digital technology was popularized in animation studios in Europe, America and Japan. Digital image technology has become a catalyst for the revival of the film and animation industry. Since rescuers went down the well at 1990, Disney has used digital technology to reduce costs and create more beautiful pictures, such as Beauty and the Beast (199 1), Aladdin (1993) and other animated films. The Lion King (1994) has become the most popular animated feature film in Disney history.

Three-dimensional animation has become the new mainstream of animation industry. From 65438 to 0995, Pixar Studio produced the first three-dimensional animated feature film Toy Story, which opened a precedent for three-dimensional animation. More than ten years, the life of a bug, Antz, Ice Age, Shrek 1, 2 (Shrek1&; 2) Finding Nemo, Superman Story and Robot have all achieved unprecedented commercial success.

The wave of digital animation has also spread beyond the United States. Digital technology is also widely used in Japanese animation. In recent years, digital animation technology has been used in cartoons, such as Princess Ghost, Spirited Away, Conquering Mobile Team 2 and Steam Boy. South Korea, France and other countries have also taken this wave to develop the animation industry and become new animation producers.

The unprecedented activity of animation industry makes animation one of the cores of new media. A new batch of digital animators in China joined the animation industry, and the number of animation practitioners and students majoring in animation increased rapidly. China's animation is facing all kinds of institutional disadvantages and new development opportunities.