Portal:Animation

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Introduction

The bouncing ball animation above consists of these six frames repeated indefinitely.

Animation is a filmmaking technique by which still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets (cels) to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animation has been recognized as an artistic medium, specifically within the entertainment industry. Many animations are computer animations made with computer-generated imagery (CGI). Stop motion animation, in particular claymation, has continued to exist alongside these other forms.

Animation is contrasted with live-action film, although the two do not exist in isolation. Many moviemakers have produced films that are a hybrid of the two. As CGI increasingly approximates photographic imagery, filmmakers can easily composite 3D animations into their film rather than using practical effects for showy visual effects (VFX). (Full article...)

Outline of animation

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Ralph Bakshi, director of The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is a 1978 American fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi. It combines animation and live action footage which is rotoscoped to give it a look more consistent with the rest of the movie. It is an adaptation of the first half of The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the film follows a group of hobbits, elves, men, dwarves and wizards who form a fellowship. They embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring made by the Dark Lord Sauron, and ensure his destruction. The film features the voices of William Squire, John Hurt, Michael Graham Cox and Anthony Daniels of Star Wars fame. The screenplay was written by Peter S. Beagle, based on an earlier draft by Chris Conkling. Director Ralph Bakshi encountered Tolkien's writing early in his career, and had made several attempts to produce The Lord of the Rings as an animated film before being given funding by producer Saul Zaentz and distributor United Artists. Although the film was a financial success, it received a mixed reaction from critics, and the original distributors refused to fund a sequel to cover the remainder of the story. However, the film sparked new interest in Tolkien's writing, inspiring the production of several further adaptations of the story.

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Merrie Melodies

Credit: Warner Brothers Pictures/Leon Schlesinger Productions

Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969. Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944.

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... that "Arnold's Christmas", now considered one of the most memorable episodes from the animated series Hey Arnold!, was almost rejected by network executives because it depicted the Vietnam War?
... that Raoul Servais invented a new technique for combining animation and live action for his short film Harpya?
... that according to an elaborate 1990s joke, Elmo Aardvark was history's first animated cartoon character?
... that the interactive cartoon Cat Burglar takes about 15 minutes to watch, but features 90 minutes of animation?
... that Bruce Timm created most of the character designs for Batman: The Animated Series?
... that the creators of the cartoon Jade Armor filmed live-action martial arts stunts to visualize the show's animated action sequences?

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Animation in itself is an art form, and that's the point I think always needs clarification. True animation exists without any background, or any color, or any sound, or anything else; it exists in your hand. And you can take it and flip it. [...] What makes animation is the fact that you have a series of drawings that move. You don't even have to have a camera, you see; animation exists without it. If you want to broaden your audience, or make it more colorful or add music, then you put it under a camera one frame at a time, and then you run it at the same speed as you flip it, and then you have animation. If it depends basically upon soundtrack, or basically upon music, or color, graphic design, or anything else to sustain itself, then it is not unique to animation.

— Chuck Jones

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Matthew Richard "Matt" Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American screenwriter, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of South Park along with creative partner and best friend, Trey Parker. Stone and Parker launched their largely collaborative careers in 1992, making a holiday short titled Jesus vs. Frosty. Their first success came from Alferd Packer: The Musical, subsequently distributed as Cannibal! The Musical. From there he made another short title Jesus vs. Santa, leading him and his college friend Trey Parker to create the animated television series South Park, which has been on television for over a decade. He has four Emmy Awards for his role in South Park, winning for both "Outstanding Programming More Than One Hour" and "Outstanding Programming Less Than One Hour".

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The accolades received by Frozen, a 2013 computer-animated film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, the latter of whom also wrote the screenplay, and produced by Peter Del Vecho. (pictured) The film focuses on Anna, a princess, who sets off on a journey to find her estranged sister, Elsa, whose magical powers to control ice and snow have trapped their kingdom in eternal winter. Frozen premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on November 19, 2013, before going on wide release on November 27, in over 3,700 theatres in the United States and Canada. It debuted in second place with over $67 million. The film has grossed a worldwide total of over $1.26 billion on a production budget of $150 million. Frozen has garnered a variety of awards and nominations, many of them in the Best Original Song (for "Let It Go") and Best Animated Feature categories. At the 71st Golden Globe Awards, the film earned two nominations, winning for Best Animated Feature.

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More did you know...

...that "squash and stretch" is considered the most important of the 12 basic principles of animation?
...that the Rugrats episode "A Rugrats Chanukah" was pitched to the series crew by Nickelodeon in 1992?
...that award-winning experimental filmmaker and animator Skip Battaglia is also a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology?