Evolvement of Animation - Essay Example

?How Has Animation Changed? From ic Disney to Modern Pixar. Animation is a much older art form than many people expect, with motion being present in some form even before the invention of film (O’Pray, 1998). Since the invention of film, however, the evolution of animation has led to a huge multi-billion dollar industry, with some of the biggest grossing movies of all time have been animated. Walt Disney dominated the field of animation throughout the 1930s and 1940s, with many of the films from his company still enjoying huge popularity today. Modern computer animation techniques and a development in technology have allowed companies such as Pixar to take traditional and non-traditional storylines and make them appealing to individuals both young and old. The purpose of this paper is to explore how animation has evolved and changed since the golden age of Disney in the 1930s through to the Pixar films of modern day. To do this, the research will focus particularly on a classic Disney movie (Fantasia) and one of the most popular films released by Pixar (Toy Story). In doing this, some similarities will be uncovered between the two, despite the differences in technology and the vastly different eras in which they were generated and produced. Disney’s Fantasia Fantasia is one of the most influential Disney films, and was released in 1940 (Neuwirth, 2003). The film itself is highly complex for such an early example of animated film, with over 500 characters being present within the story and over 1000 members of staff working on different elements of the production (Neuwirth, 2003). Although related to previous Disney animations (Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies), Fantasia is well recognized for having some of the most brightly colored and intensely lit stills from any other animated movie or short from the period (Lasseter, 1995), perhaps a testament to the developing technology of the time. Color itself is recognized as being one of the most important elements of Fantasia’s success, and Disney requested that each scene be color-coded in a specific way to allow smooth transition between shots. Additionally, artists involved in the picture were encouraged to make 3D models of their characters to understand the movement for a more ‘realistic’ feel, despite the abstract nature of the film (Cavalier, 2011). An important point to note with respect to Fantasia and the early Disney films is that each and every shot in the film was drawn, colored and lit individually; an extremely painstaking process. It is from this starting point that the evolution of animation technology can be considered. Pixar’s Toy Story Like Fantasia, Toy Story is extremely significant in the history of animation. Released in 1995, Toy Story was the first full-length animation to be completely done using computer animation techniques. It also has the credit of being the first film released by Pixar, a hugely successful modern film studio. Toy Story relies on CGI-animation techniques created with PhotoRealistic RenderMan, a Pixar-specific image-rendering application based on the industry standard (Cavalier, 2011). One of the biggest challenges for animating the movie was that the producers wanted the animation to look as realistic as possible, which means a huge attention to detail. In this way, the animation techniques for both Toy Story and Fantasia involve a similar commitment. However, it is worth noting that only 27 animators worked on the production of Toy Story, although over 400 real 3D models were created to allow the animators to study movement and gain a picture of how the characters in the film should move and behave to create the aforementioned realism (Lasseter, 1995). Additionally, there were challenges involved in creating realistic shadows and lighting, although these could be done to a higher standard than in typical ‘cartoon-style’ animations. Technology & Composition There are 55 years between the release of Disney’s Fantasia and Pixar’s Toy Story, which evidently means that there are a lot of differences in the technology used and the way that each film has been composed. Although this evaluation does not give a full overview of how animation has changed over the years, it does highlight some of the more interesting changes in the capability that animators now have to create different styles of animation. Many animators can (and do) rely on some of the old techniques found in Fantasia, such as hand-drawn stills, and thus perhaps the change in animation technology over the years can be seen as an additive set of changes rather than a replacement. The most striking difference between the two feature films is how they were composed. Fantasia had a team of over 1000 people working on it, with each still being carefully drawn and crafted individually before being put together to create motion (Cavalier, 2011). This is an extremely painstaking procedure, as any difference between stills that is too large will make the final animation appear jerky and unresolved (Cavalier, 2011). Color too, is extremely important, as each still has to be colored in by hand in such a way that the animation appears in the appropriate way to the audience (Lasseter, 1995). Although color is evidently still important in CGI-animations such as Toy Story, animators can rely on a color palette saved to the computer and thus will not have to rely on accurate re-mixing of paint colors, such as with the gouache used in Fantasia (Taylor, 1940). The tools and technology used to create the films are also obviously different. The advent of computers allowed the development of programs that create the distinctive look of CGI animation, and the evolution of this technology allowed the movies to become progressively more realistic in look (Cavalier, 2011). Prior to this, animation had to be done in traditional ways, such as with the drawn and painted stills of Fantasia, or stop motion techniques (Cavalier, 2011). The use of computers also creates a completely distinctive look to CGI animation, which is obvious to anyone viewing Fantasia and Toy Story side-by-side. Although efforts are obvious in Fantasia to give the characters anthropomorphic forms of movement, the characters in Toy Story are evidently more sophisticated and life-like because they can be viewed in 3D; a key difference to viewing audiences (Cavalier, 2011). A Visual Story Although there are obvious differences between Toy Story and Fantasia, there are also a lot of similarities between them which can be found in numerous examples of animated story. Evidently, one of the things that link all animation is a focus on the visual story behind the characters. As animated films rely on such an intricate way of creating motion (as compared with merely filming real life events, there are many hours of dedicated study of movement to create the desired effect []), it is evident that a huge amount of emphasis is placed on the visuals. The similarity between Toy Story and Fantasia is not the actual rendering of the animated images, but in the way that each team spent many dedicated hours in preparing the images and ensuring that the animations and projected movement appeared realistic to some degree (Taylor, 1940). One huge benefit of animation is that it allows objects and animals that would not be easily used within film to become main characters within the plotline (O’Pray, 1998). This is because animation allows the artist to explore unlimited possibilities that are not possible in reality. Focus on Characters Another common feature which can be found in Toy Story and Fantasia is a strong focus on the characters of the story. This comes from the emphasis on ensuring that the characters are moving in a realistic way to make them seem appealing from an animation and artistry direction (O’Pray, 1998), but also in ensuring that the characters are the central aspect of the movie (Cavalier, 2011). Additionally, both films rely heavily on anthropomorphism, in that each film contains characters which are not human (animals and household objects in Fantasia and toys in Toy Story) moving in very human-like and relatable ways. Again, this technique allows the audience to interact with certain objects and animals in such a way that would not be possible in ‘traditional’ film-making, as animals and toys do not generally move and interact with each other as they do in these two examples of animation. Despite the differences in the way that these characters were animated, it is obvious that the animation teams have put in a huge amount of effort into creating something that represents elements of the characters and their non-human nature. Conclusions Evidently, there are a huge number of changes that have affected animation over the 55 years that separate Toy Story and Fantasia. These changes have been in public attitudes, technology and funding for animated movie releases. Evidently, the main difference between the two films is that Fantasia is traditional hand-drawn animation (a technique still in use today) and Toy Story is a CGI-rendered 3D animation. This reflects the growing use of computers in animation and film-making, and has allowed film-makers greater freedom. Despite these differences, there are elements that the two animated films share. The first is that they both focus on the visual story and have some beautiful animated artwork, despite their difference in styles. The second is that both films focus strongly on the characters, and that animation allows them both to have anthropomorphic characters that would not be possible in traditional filmmaking. References Cavalier, S., 2011. World History of Animation. Aurum Press, Limited. Lasseter, J., 1995. Toy Story. History of Animation. Neuwirth, A., 2003. Makin’toons: inside the most popular animated TV shows and movies. Allworth Press. O’Pray, M., 1998. The animated film. World Cinema: Critical Approaches 50–55. Taylor, D., 1940. Walt Disney’s Fantasia. Simon and Schuster. Read More

 

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