Aardman Animations Pitch
- 1. Aardman Animations Pitch Thomas Horbury
- 2. Introduction I am Thomas Horbury and I work in Aardman Animations as a Stop Motion Animator. This pitch aims to tell you about the history of animation from the first pioneers, all the way up to present day. This pitch will also talk about Aardman Animations themselves too, telling you a bit about the work that happens there as well as giving examples and how it is all made.
- 3. How many techniques of animation are there? Although the main techniques of animation that people remember are CGI and Stop Motion, these are not the only two techniques used in animation. Even though these two techniques are the two most common techniques used, there are actually 5 techniques/methods of animation that people can use. On the next 5 slides will be each technique, along with a brief explanation of what it involves.
- 4. 2D Hand Drawn As suggested in the name, 2D Hand Drawn animation is animation that has been drawn by hand. This is done by the animator drawing each frame and then putting them all together to make the animation flow smoothly. This can be ruined however by one frame being out of place or if the drawing on the frame is different to the one before/after it.
- 5. 2D Vector-Based Animation 2D Vector-Based Animation is similar to 2D Hand Drawn Animation, however it is all done on the computer. This shares similarities to 2D Hand Drawn Animation since it is made by using separate frames that are then put together in a sequence in order to make a production. This is one of the most common methods of animation that is used across all types of media.
- 6. 3D Computer Animation 3D Computer Animation is exactly as it says. It is animation that is 3D which is completely made on a computer. This is one of, if not the most, commonly used technique used in film and tv production since it is so easily accessible and also can be made into anything. There are many examples of this being used such as in popular tv shows and films such as Clone Wars (TV show), Finding Nemo (film), Toy Story (film), Monsters Inc (film), Ice Age (film) & Shrek (film).
- 7. Motion Graphics Motion Graphics is used to create the illusion of motion or movement in an object, for example in logos on websites. This is a very common thing to see on websites since they are simple, effective and interesting.
- 8. Stop Motion Stop Motion is animation that is made up of many individual images that have been put together to form a production. This can be done either by hand or on a computer, however each frame has to move slowly so that when it is played back the objects look as though they’re moving. These are two examples of basic stop motion that I have made alongside some co-workers: Weather Cycle - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17PxUb7wSX8 BTEC Morph Animation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G724lwDc6X4
- 9. Timeline Of Animation Pioneers There have been a lot of pioneers in animation, starting all the way back in 1832. These next few slides are going to go through each pioneer, what they made and when they made it.
- 10. Order Of Appearance: - Joseph Plateau - William Horner - Eadweard Muybridge and Thomas Edison - Charles Emile Reynaud - Lumiere Brothers - Willis O’Brien - Ray Harryhausen - Jan Svankmajer - The Brothers Quay - Tim Burton - Aardman Animations
- 11. Joseph Plateau Joseph Plateau invented the phenakistoscope in 1832. The phenakistoscope works since the human eye can only process 10-12 separate images per second, retaining an image for up to fifteenth of a second. If a subsequent image replaces it in this period of time it will create the illusion of continuity. This means that whilst it is being spun around, the images that the eye is looking at seem to be moving although they aren’t moving whatsoever. A few examples of these are the ones of the right.
- 12. William Horner William Horner invented the zoetrope in 1834. The zoetrope works in the same way as the phenakistoscope since it uses the illusion of continuity to create moving pictures. However, this was made within a circle type object which meant that people had to get close to it in order to see it. This meant that only a few people could see it at a time.
- 13. Edward Muybridge & Thomas Edison Edward Muybridge & Thomas Edison created the kinetoscope in 1861. The kinetoscope was a large box that allowed a single person to look in to stand view a motion picture. It was not a projector and could only be viewed by one person at a time. It worked by creating an illusion of movement by conveying a strip perforated film with sequential images on it, much like a flip book. Development started in 1889.
- 14. Charles Emile Reynaud Charles Emile Reynaud invented the first projected animated cartoon films and created the praxinoscope in 1877. It used a lantern to project the moving images on to a small screen allowing a larger audience to view it. It was however limited to 12 image. In 1888 he created a larger version of the praxinoscope called the Theatre Optique. His film film was called Pauvre Pierrot and was premiered in Paris 1892. It consisted of 500 individually pained images.
- 15. Lumière Brothers The Lumière Brothers wanted to overcome the issues of the peephole kinetoscope. They developed and invented a device called the ‘cinematograph’. Their first film was ‘sortie de l’usine Lumiere de lyon’. The cinematograph was much smaller than Edison’s and used a lot less film. It used 16fps compared to the kinetoscopes 48fps. The cinematograph was invented in 1892. 16fps then became the standard film rate for the next 25 years.
- 16. Willis O’Brien Willis O’Brien was a stop motion film maker who is best known for his visual effects (used entirely out of clay) in films such as King Kong (1933), Mighty Joe Young (1949), and The Lost World (1960). These movies were and still are famed for being some of the first films to use claymation in them (claymation = a method of film animation using adjustable clay figures and stop-motion photography).
- 17. Ray Harryhausen Ray Harryhausen worked alongside Willis O’Brien on Mighty Joe Young, however he did other films such as Clash of the Titans (1981) and Jason and the Argonauts (1963). While working on the movie The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) Harryhausen came up with a new technique which he later named Dynamation. This consisted of the camera filming 2 separate images and then putting them together to create the final product in the editing phase.
- 18. Jan Svankmajer Jan Svankmajer is an animator who is known for his claymation. His animations are created using stop motion, which creates a surreal ‘nightmarish’ tone. He uses exaggerated sounds and uses strange effects in eating scenes (food is one of his favoured subjects). Two of his most famous pieces of work are Meat Love and Darkness (top photo); as well as Light, Darkness (bottom photo).
- 19. The Brothers Quay The Brothers Quay are twin brothers (Stephen and Timothy) who have led a unique brand of experimentation in stop-motion puppet animation for over 30 years. In their time working as stop-motion animators, they have produced more than 45 moving image works which were inspired by various animators, artists and writers from Central Europe. Street of Crocodiles (1968) is one of their most famous works, and it also shows their favoured gothic tone which inspired other animators and movie directors such as Tim Burton.
- 20. Tim Burton Tim Burton is a director who has made films using stop- motion and also made films not using stop-motion. He makes his movies with a gothic tone which is similar to The Quay Brothers, since they were one of his biggest influences. Some of the gothic movies that he has made are: The Nightmare Before Christmas; Corpse Bride; Sweeny Todd & Sleepy Hollow. Tim Burton made a gothic style movie called Frankenweiner which was about a child who brought his dog back to life in the same way as Frankenstein did to his monster. This film was aimed towards kids, and was made by Disney however after this film’s release he was fired due to it not fitting the gentle, light hearted tone that they preferred.
- 21. How/Who influenced who? (ORIGINAL PIONEERS) The original pioneers (William Horner, Emily Reynaud, Edward Muybridge & Thomas Edison as well as The Lumière Brothers) were all heavily influenced by each other with it all starting with Joseph Plateau. William Horner - William Horner used the principles of the Phenakistoscope, which was created in 1832, to created the Zoetrope in the 19th century. Emile Reynaud - Emile Reynaud then used the principles of the Zoetrope to create the first projected animated cartoon films, by creating the Praxinoscope in 1877. Edward Muybridge & Thomas Edison - Edward Muybridge and Thomas Edison then made the Kinetoscope which as shown earlier, could only be seen by one person at a time which meant that people had to wait in line to see it. The Lumière Brothers - The Lumière Brothers didn’t like the Kinetoscope, and wanted to change it to allow more people to watch it at one time. This is when they created the Cinematograph which used less film than Edward and Thomas’s, and was smaller. It also used 16fps compared to the 48fps that the kinetoscope used, which later became the standard film rate.
- 22. How/Who influenced who? (STOP MOTION ANIMATORS) In 1925, animation because to take a new approach to filmmaking, using new techniques and materials to create more realistic and futuristic approaches. This is where Willis O’Brien, Ray Harryhausen and Jan Svankmajer come in. Willis O’Brien - Willis O’Brien was a stop motion animator best known for his films King Kong (1933), Mighty Joe Young (1949), and The Lost World (1960). He made all of these movies from claymation, mainly focusing on animals such as can be seen in these three movies. O’Brien gained lots of his fame after King Kong was shown, which meant that he came up with the idea for Mighty Joe Young, which Ray Harryhausen helped to animate. Ray Harryhausen - Due to him working on Mighty Joe Young with O’Brien, he gained lots of experience with stop motion animation which he used in his movies, Clash of the Titans (1981), Jason and the Argonauts (1963) and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) In these movies, Ray Harryhausen used a similar technique to create his models for the creatures by making them out of clay just as seen in O’Brien’s movies. Jan Svankmajer - Svankmajer tends to make his films in a dark tone, that can be seen in two of his most famous pieces of work, Meat Love and Darkness & Light, Darkness. Both of these are dark in tone, with Meat Love being about 2 pieces of meat that fall in love, and get cooked; and Light, Darkness being about a human being formed. Svankmajer uses exaggerated sounds for everything in his films, whether it be from a light knock on a door or oil sizzling in a pan.
- 23. References