How Technology has Influenced Animation - Essay Example

Introduction Technology has a great influence on almost all the technologies. The improvement in the technology has given way for development in every aspect of information technology and other fields too. Due to this drastic improvement, fields like animation have experienced enormous growth in the recent years. Animation, one of the fastest growing fields in computer, has opened the gates for many people. The technological aspects in animation have increased when compared to the past. Each of its development has indicated that technology has played a major role in the growth of animation. Gone are the days where animation was treated as a part of any curriculum or used in a single frame in a movie. Today, animation plays a major role and full length animation movies have become a rage. The reason for such a drastic change is the co-ordination and influence the technology created on animation. Animation Animation generally depends on the tools and techniques that are used to develop computer related images. Computer graphics has become a part of today’s film making and other aspects. CGI eases the process of animation, as it is one of the oldest techniques that have been followed in the animation industry for decades. The intervention of other techniques did not affect the improvement of computer graphics in any way. In general terms, animation is described as the display of images in a serial manner and this display is carried out at a rapid pace. The improvement in the field of animation was experienced only after the development in technology. Technology took over the simple method of animation and proved to be a success in terms of ease and clear display of pictures. The growth and improvement in technology has certainly helped in the growth of animation. The main change in the animation field is the representation of images that was done using a two-dimensional format. After the introduction of technology, the image representation was modified to a three-dimensional method. (Kerlow, 2004). This is considered as one of the major improvements in the field of animation, as it widened the horizons for the animation. Animation Format The technology provided a platform where in the transformation of pictures and images were made easier. Due to this reason, the demand for animation increased, thereby increasing the opportunities in the field of animation. The image formats have also increased when compared to the past. Image formats like JPG, GIF, bitmap and other formats provided more options for an animator to display the picture. (Wells, 2009). As the image formats were more, the image resolution also improved and people had the option to select the resolution of the image. Technological Influence Technology has influenced animation in almost every aspect and computer is one of the major inventions that paved the way for other applications. The advancement in the hardware components and the availability of different software, led to the improvement in this field. In the recent years, the processing time of a computer has decreased and hence an image can be processed in a jiffy. Apart from this, another improvement is the graphical processing unit that helps in the processing of animation. With this feature, one can be sure of processing an image at a much faster rate. This minimizes the total processing time and this in turn increases the efficiency of animation. Apart from this, another major development is the introduction of internet. With the intervention of internet, the scope of animation has still more widened. The main advantage is the minimal time within which an image is transferred through the internet. (Parent, 2002). This has greatly influenced animation, as internet is the major source of information transfer and sharing. The images are processed and transferred within a short period of time and this gives way for more processing. The idea of innovation also increased, as internet helped them to create images with more creativity. In the recent times, there has been a standard increase in the software required to animate a picture. Though all these software provide a hassle free experience, it is the technology’s that lends a helping hand in making the process a much easy affair. The technology changed the entire user interface and flow of image processing. These enhancements help the user to integrate the process of animation and switch between different processes. (Animation Mentor, 2010). This enables the user to streamline the processes and make use of the software to animate the required pictures. The technology has influenced the animation in different ways and some of them are listed below. Animation Features When compared to the past, the animation features has increased. The software like Motion Builder, Maya and other applications provide simple consoles that enable the user to develop animated movies within a short period of time. Controls The technical controls enable the user to control the movement off image in each frame, thereby giving way to more innovative processing. The controls can be established for each frame to control the speed of the frames. This is certainly a technical advancement which has improved the way animation was carried out till then. Editing Editing is one of the most important factors in the field of animation and the recent technologies have improved the way in which editing is being done. (Dunn, 2002). This technical feature allows the user to edit the image, colors, display options and other similar features. Standard tools Animation tools provide the user with numerous options from which the user can select the one that suits his requirement. These tools are equipped with certain constraints and limits. Using these expressions one can create animation without much complication. Cel technique This is one of the most prominent improvements in the field of animation. This technique reduced the necessity of recreating the frames each time a picture is animated. This feature enabled people to develop numerous images in a jiffy. The background frames were also captured as a single picture and this intensified the process of animation. (Kerlow, 2004). Another advantage of this technique is to create realistic movements, when compared to other commercial animation software. These features allow the user to create a full length animated movie without many problems with respect to image resolution and display. Layering Technology has influenced animation in more than one way. One among them is the concept of layering. Picture and image layering helps the user to create several layers of the same picture and this enables them to create patterns on each of these layers. Using these layers, one can create different actions to depict the movement of a particular image. This is done to show the movement and variation in each image. Filtering Technology has many features each of which proved to be an advantageous one while working with animation. Animation is not as simple as it is known to be. Each aspect of animation needs a special technique so that the intended operation can be performed without much trouble. This filtering option allows one to remove the unwanted parts of the image and to reduce the color contrast options. The filter options depend on the animation software and due to this reason; the variation in the image representation is also felt among the users. Transformation Image transformation is also a special feature which is used in animation. Image transformation helps the user to transform the image from one type to another. During this transformation process, the quality of the image is often lost. This problem is also resolved by incorporating the latest techniques that ensure that the image quality remains the same even after image transformation. Animation industry has gone through changes that have been beneficial to the user as well as the animation industry. The latest technology has helped animation to be more realistic and even the 3D format helps the animators to have a direct interaction with the audience. 3D films are a rage in these days and this is due to the improvement and development in the technology. Without technology, animation would not have experienced any sort of development or growth. (Kerlow, 2004). Animated movies have created a wave among the audience and this has been possible only with the influence of technology. With this drastic improvement, technology has helped even the gaming industry where animation plays a vital role. Realistic images, picture clarity, quality of image, transformation are some of the features that are developed with the use of technology. Technology has certainly created a great impact on animation which is evident from the continuous growth of the animation industry. Conclusion Technology has influenced animation in every possible way and this has proved to be a success. Technology’s influence can be felt at each new aspect that drives the animation industry. The influence has certainly created a positive impact thereby giving way to more opportunities to explore the field of animation. Due to the improvement in the technology, animation has been made simpler than how it was before. In the recent times, there has been a standard growth that has provided many people with opportunities to create and innovate, irrespective of the current modifications. Hence technology has created an impact which has helped the animation industry to scale greater heights. References Kerlow, I., 2004. The art of 3D computer Animation and Effects. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Wells, P., 2009. Understanding Animation. U.K: Taylor & Francis. Parent, R., 2002. Computer Animation: Algorithms and Techniques. U.S.A: Elsevier Science. Animation Mentor., 2010. Special Report: Professional Animators. [Online]. Available at: http://www.animationmentor.com/media/pdfs/products/AnimationMentor-IndustryReport.pdf [Accessed 13 May 2011]. Dunn, M., 2002. An Examination of the Effects of Computer Animation. [Online]. Available at: http://www.fjc.gov/public/pdf.nsf/lookup/CTtech04.pdf/$file/CTtech04.pdf [Accessed 13 May 2011]. Read More