Sequential Frames

A Brief Animation History

 Some Of Our Earliest Recorded Attempts At
Animation
3,000 B.C. 1490 A.D.
A bronze-age raised bowl is decorated with High renaissance, inventor, painter, sculptor, architect,
jumping goats Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man drawing theorized the
(Shahr-e Sukhteh, Iran). flexibility of human arms and legs, and conveys movement.
 The Silent Era
After the Industrial revolution from the mid 1700s to the mid 1800s across Europe and North America
came devices that displayed moving images.

The first animated projection Screening was created in France by Charles-Émile Reynaud - world’s first
animated cartoon Pauvre Pierrot - 1892 - consisting of 500 individual paintings, projected from his Théâtre
Optique patented by him in 1888.

The Théâtre Optique - housed painted images on a strip which stretched on a revolving wheel, facing a
mirror, and then projected. It also provided a larger scale projection. This marked a huge progression
towards modern cinematography.
Pauvre Pierrot
J. Stuart Blackton

Known to be the inventor of stop motion,

Stuart rose to success after the
production of numerous hand drawn
frames sequenced into a film, such as
Humorous Phases of Funny Faces in
1906.
Disney

In 1928, Steamboat Willie was the first

cartoon complete with a soundtrack on
35mm film. It marked the end of the silent
era and paved the way for videos with
audio. Despite making a previous
appearance, it is considered the premier
of Mickey Mouse.

It was directed by Walt Disney and Ub

Iwerks, animated by Ub Iwerks, Wilfred
Jackson, and Les Clark.
 The Golden Years Of American Animation
During 1930 - 1950 Disney’s Mickey Mouse
and Donald Duck, Warner Brothers, MGM and
Fleischer’s Betty Boop and Popeye would grow
to become hallmarks of the animation world.

Warner Brothers produced some of the

animated characters we have grown to love,
including Bugs Bunny, Tweety and Sylvester,
and Daffy Duck.

In 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

was the first animated movie using hand-drawn
animation.
A List Of Highly Recommended Films (Widely
Acclaimed)

Clash of the Titans (1981) (PG)

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) (PG)
Mary and Max (2009) (PG-13)
ParaNorman (2012) (PG)
Terminology

Movement - focus on where you place objects and how you move them Set - your backyard, local park, public or private space where you
in each frame or how you move the camera to achieve the feeling you choose to film your animation, including where you place your camera
want. and objects.

Harmony - A way of combining similar elements in an artwork to accent
their similarities (achieved through use of repetitions and subtle gradual
changes). I made a short video about some of my daily routines, and
used light as a way of showing the different times of day, corresponding
to what I do at that time of day. If you have a slow paced or calm mood
to your video use music that is soothing and soft. Well thought out
components that relate to each other are harmonious examples.
Frame - these are the pictures you take and use in your animation, 5
frames per second is recommended.
Script - you will narrate, explain to us the meaning of your animation, or
any interesting ideas that relate to, or guide the viewer through your
animation.
Animation - producing a motion picture with still images. Multiple static
photographs shown in sequence to create the illusion of movement.
Stop motion - A video that is made up of still pictures.

Key Frame - the most meaningful frames in your video that typically
focus on the main idea(s).

Storyboarding - a rough sketch of the key frames explaining the plot

and sequence of your video.
Tutorial Video
Basic How-To to get you started:

- Place your camera/device on a tripod, apparatus, or somewhere stable you can take a picture
without moving the camera.
- Take a picture of your object(s).
- Move the object(s) very slightly, thinking about harmony and gradual movement.
- Take another picture (with your camera in the same spot).
- Move the object very slightly, again, always keeping in mind terminology.
- Repeat, until your object(s) have reached your desired location.

Try to use objects that are in constant, but gradual motion throughout the day, such as liquid containers.

Consider playing with light, brightening or dimming lights to arrive at the feeling you want. You might close
or open the blinds gradually to show the time of day.

You do not have to use the app, if you know how to do stop motion, but the app will help you brainstorm
and get a handle on the basics of stop motion. It will also make the animation for you once you have
captured all of your frames, and make it easier to transfer the animation to another device for editing.
References

https://history-of-animation.webflow.io/

Dominique Auzel, Émile Reynaud et l'image s'anima (Paris: Du May, 1992)

Laurent Mannoni, Le grand art de la lumière et de l'ombre (1994).

Pauvre Pierrot. Charles-Émile Reynaud. Tamara Pappé, 1892.

Humorous Phases of Funny Faces. J. Stuart Blackton. Vitagraph Studios, 1906.

Steamboat Willie. Walt Disney, Ub Iwerks. Walt Disney, Ub Iwerks, Wilfred Jackson. Walt Disney Company, 1928.

Publication excerpt from The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA Highlights. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, revised 2004, originally
published 1999, p. 137.

http://www.wdwlive.com/photos/disney-mgm-studios/animation-courtyard/the-magic-ofdisney-animation/magic-of-disney-animation-snow-
white-1-9.jpg

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. David Hand, Wilfred Jackson, Larry Morey, Perce Pearce, Ben Sharpsteen, William Cottrell. Walt
Disney Pictures, 1937.

Stern, Alisa, Valdes, Armand. What Is Stop Motion Animation and How Does It Work? | Mashable Explains. Youtube. Mashable, 18
September 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVjMFU11hVA

Beck, Jerry and Friedwald, Will. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry
Holt and Company, 1989.