Animation

Animation is a word that has practically stormed the film industry these days. A series of drawings are linked together and usually photographed by a camera. The drawings have been slightly changed between individualized frames so when they are played back in rapid succession for 24 frames per second and there appears to be seamless movement within the drawings.

Many of the animations were based on primitive gags and violence, which is still true of cartoons today. One character would beat another mercilessly, only to have his victim instantly recover and return the favor. Perhaps the hero would swing his sword and reduce the villian to baloney slices, only to have him reappear as if magically Animators were given quotas on the number of drawings they had to produce a day. Cartoons now had to manufacture in quantity and cheaply.

The increasing impact of technology, the face of animation has been revolutionized. mankind's quest from the beginning of time to capture the sense of motion in art. This gave rise to ancient paintings which could be found in caves. One has heard of such drawings associated with several civilizations of the past. Which was a disc with a string attached to both sides. One side of the disc had the drawing of a bird and the other side an empty cage. When the disc was twirled using the strings, the bird appeared as if it was inside the cage. Such early inventions were forerunners to the present day animation.

From the beginning, animation has been an important part of film history. Quickly flashing a series of still pictures past the viewer. Because the human eye briefly retains an impression of an image after it has disappeared, the brain will read a rapid series of images as an unbroken movement. Animated films work on the same principle. Each frame of an animated film is a separate still picture, individually exposed. Drawings or props are moved slightly between exposures, creating an illusion of movement when the film is projected.