Unit 34 2D Animation: Initial Assignment

Media Production - Initial Assignment

Joseph Plateau - 1831

Joseph Plateau was the first person who was able to show the illusion of a moving image. He created the phenakistoscope ("spindle viewer"). To create the phenakistoscope, Plateau mounted two disks on the same axis, the first disk had multiple slots around the edges and the second disk had drawings around it of a motion. This means that when you look through the slots in a mirror while spinning the phenakistoscope the pictures appear to be moving. Joseph Plateau with considered influential because his work was used and developed to this day.

William Horner - 1834

William Horner was a British mathematician who in 1834 invented the daedaleum, also known as the zoetrope. The zoetrope is a devise used to create an illusion of action. The zoetrope is much like the phenakistoscope, however it has been developed so the animation is easier to see because of the larger slits. William Horner is considered influential because his work was used to inspire animation today. Both Pixar and Studio Ghibli have used zoetropes in their animation.

Eadward Muybridge - 1872

Eadward Muybridge was an English photographer. He developed stop motion which involves taking multiple photographs on an image that slightly changes each time. After all the photos are taken when you look at the sequence in quick succession the image appears to be moving. Eadward Muybridge was considered influential because his work was the first in the motion picture industry.

Thomas Edison - 1889

Thomas Edison was an American who invented the light bulb and in 1890 started developing the motion picture camera. In 1904 Edison created the first silent film, and went on to attempt to add audio to the silent moving images. Thomas Edison was considered one of the most influential figures of the millennium. This is because people believe that Edison was the most responsible for creating the modern world we live in today.

Emile Reynaud - 1892

Emily Reynaud was a French inventor who in 1892 created the first animated cartoon which consisted of 500 individually painted images. Emile Reynaud created the Praxinoscope which was the successor to the zoescope. The Praxinoscope uses a strip of pictures on the inside of a spinning cylinder. The Praxinoscope differs from the zoetrope by having an inner circle of mirrors rather than slits to look through. This is an improvement because it stops the image from looking distorted. Emile Reynaud’s animation techniques are considered influential because he helped move animation forward and started using depth of field.

Lumière brothers - 1895

The Lumière brothers are generally considered the inventors of cinema. The brothers invented the cinematograph which was used to allow multiple people to view a film at once. To create their films, the Lumière brothers used a single camera to both take the photos and projecting them at 16 frames per second. The Lumière brothers work influenced all other film makers and helped create the films we watch today.

George Pal - 1942
George pal was born in 1908 in Hungary and was an animator and a film producer. He became an American citizen after leaving Europe to become an animator. George Pal is remembered most for producing several science fiction and fantasy films.

Thaumatrope

The Thaumatrope was a disk with a picture on each side that has two pieces of string attached to it. When you spin the string quickly the disk flips round and the two pictures appear to blend into one. The Thaumatrope was used as a toy in the 19^th century.

The Thaumatrope works because of persistence of vision. This is where an image you see will persist in your eyes retina for one twenty-fifth of a second; therefor meaning you are able to see the two images together as one.

To create my Thaumatrope, I first cut out a circular piece of cardboard and stuck two pieces of plain white paper on to it. I drew a picture of the sun on one side and a face on the other. After this I put holes through each side of the cardboard and then attached the elastic bands to either side.