Magazine

Mechanics of Animation
Persistence of Vision
With persistence of vision, it is the theory where an after image is thought to stay around for around one
twenty-fifth of a second on the eye retina. An Afterimage is a term that refers to a very faded fraction of
1/25
th of
what happened before the next moment. The Iconic memory has been known to cause this
occurrence; the iconic memory is, in a brief, the visual sensory memory register which maintains what the eye
perceives, such as forms. The persistence of vision can be altered by motion; this is what causes the
after image in the first place.
Stop Frame
Simply: stop frame animation is the manual step-by-step movement of an object which is shot within one
frame to the next to present motion on a roll of shots. A smooth stop frame animation is at minimal
24.999 FPS (Frames per Second) and the maximum smoothness for the eye to see is up to 60 FPS.
With stop motion animation, the production team would most commonly use models made out of
clay with a skeletal wiring inside, however we will get into that in Movement of Models. Looking
within the history of stop frame, the first SMA (stop motion animation) can be credited to Albert E and his
team for The Humpty Dumpty Circus (1987).
Frame Rates
Going deeper into the situation of frame rates, they are what make use perceive the illusion of motion: a lower
frame rate of 24 FPS can make the video playback seem stuttered and the audience will notice that and come
out of the trance very quickly if that happened in a professional film.
Movement of Models
The movement of models is basically how the model will give the illusion of steady and consistent movement
through a roll of images. Going deeper into the subject, professionals would use an advanced skeletal body
(armature) within the model itself to make is easier to produce movement thoroughly and accurately.
However, lesser professionals would just use simple wiring: the same wires you can find in a draw in
your home.
Pioneers of Animation
George Pal
Born in Austria-Hungary on 1908. He is one of the pioneers of animation and has been in direction of over 59
films, which include:
Jaspers Booby traps
7 Faces of Dr.Lao
Ship of the Ether
Captain Kidding
Sinbad
War of the Worlds
In the 1930s, George Pal created the hit show Puppetoons which was shown first hand to the people of
Europe, however the US version aired in the 1940s. The characters were little hand-crafted wooden dolls
which were stable and stiff enough for stop-motion animation. The TV show began when he created an ad for
cigarettes in 1932, which was them dancing. After this, show sky-rocketed due to its never-before-seen
animation.


Lumiere Brothers
Auguste, born in 1862; died in 1954. Louis, born in 1864; died in 1948. The bothers lived in France until 1870,
at this point they moved Lyon and attended La Martiniere. It wasnt until 1892, when their father retired, that
they began to create moving pictures. These brothers created the cinematograph, it was
supposed to be better than Thomas Edisons Kinetograph; their new device was supposed to be used for an
audience to watch instead of just an individual at a time, the device in a whole was able to show a moving
image for a whole audience. The brothers declined the distribution of their camera because the cinema
is an invention without any future. At this point, they focused their attention to colour photography.
Developers of Animation
Willis O Brien
Born in 1962, he was an American motion picture, stop motion; special effects pioneer. He is most known for:
The Lost World (1925)
King Kong (1933)
Mighty Joe Young (1949)
His main occupation was a stop motion model animator (smma). After he made The Dinosaur and the
missing link: A prehistoric Tragedy, he was offered a job by Thomas Edison, because of how impressed he was,
to produce an animated series of short films based on the prehistoric theme, with the Edison Company. These
films include:
R.F.D 10,000 BC (1917)
Prehistoric Poultry (1917)
The Puzzling Billboard (1917)
Nippys Nightmare (1917)
When Mighty Joe Young was released, Ray Harryhauson animated the majority of the film while OBrien came
up with the designs. This gave OBrien an Oscar award for best visual effects as well as King Kong.
Ray Harryhauson
Born in 1920, he is most known for his work with George Pal and OBrien. In Early life, he began learning
all he could about OBrien; with this knowledge of his works, he made Evolution, but since it was so short he
could only show it as a demo reel; this reel got him the job to work with George Pal and creating Puppetoons.
Ray has even inspired Tim Burton to create films based on his work; his most popular film made,
based on stop motion animation, Clash of the Titans (1981): the film was an adaptation of the myth of Perseus
and had the best visual effects of that time, especially the movement and flow of the skeletons within the film.
Contemporary Work in Animation
Timothy Walter Burton
Born in 1958, he is an American film director, producer, artist, writer, poet and stop motion artist. He
has directed such films like:
(2009 Award) 9
(2010 Award) Alice in Wonderland
(1990 Award) Beetlejuice
He has also directed such films like: Corpses Bride, Batman Returns, Ed Wood and much more
His most known movie Corpses Bride was a big hit because of movie direction, storyline; and the use of stop
motion animation. The box office for this film hit over $110, 000,000. This film was nominated at the 78
th

academy award show for animation: but lost to the competitively wondrous Wallace and Gromit: the curse of
the were-rabbit, this is back in 2005.
Burton has directed 16 films and produced 12 as of 2012. His latest film, Big Eyes, a biographical drama film
about Walter Keane and his wife Margaret will be released on Christmas Day 2014 in the United States.
Aardman Animations
Back in 1972, with only two people: Peter Lord and David Sproxton, they made the name Aardman animations
and after graduating they went on to make the very popular Morph for Take Heart in 1977. Morph was
produced for the BBC; it appeared in one minute shorts intermittent throughout the show. The
campaign for the production of Morph was set at 75,000 for the funding of 12 one minute episodes; by day 9
they had 1,700 backers.
Aardman has one so many awards for their work such as:
(2009) Special award in RAFTA
(1986) Sledgehammer
(1993) Wallace and Gromit: The wrong trousers
(2005)Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the were rabbit
One of their most known series Wallace and Gromit Has taken so many awards over the years that it is now
a household and a name which brings these animators to mind. Their other genius works have also been able
to be well known: like the still standing Shaun the Sheep which ran first in 2007; and is now going to make
their own movie based on the lovable character.