1. CGMB113/ CITB 123: MULTIMEDIA TECHNOLOGY
CHAPTER EIGHT
MULTIMEDIA BUILDING BLOCKS IV
ANIMATION
SARASWATHY SHAMINI
Adapted from Notes Prepared by:
Noor Fardela Zainal Abidin
© UNITEN 2004/2005

2. Objectives At the end of this chapter, students should be able to:2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Objectives
At the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
identify the terms and concept related to animation
describe how animation can be used in multimedia systems
understand some of the common animation techniques

3. Introduction to Animation
To animate can be thought of as, “to bring to life”
Animation = An illusion of movement created by sequentially playing still image frames with different movements at the general rate of fps (frames per second)
Animation = rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement.

4. A little bit of history
The earliest form of animation is a 5,200 year old earthen bowl found in Iran in Shahr-i Sokhta which has five images painted along the sides.
When the bowl is spun, it shows a goat leaping up to a tree to take a pear.
Early examples of attempts to capture the phenomenon of motion drawing can be found in paleolithic cave paintings, where animals are depicted with multiple legs in superimposed positions, clearly attempting to convey the perception of motion

5. How Animation Works
Animation is achieved by adding motion to still image/object.
May also be defined as the creation of moving pictures one frame at a time.
Few types of animation
Layout transition
Process/ information transition
Object movement
This animation moves at 10 frames per second.
This animation moves at 2 frames per second. At this rate, the individual frames should be discernible

6. Introduction to Animation
Animation is possible because of
a biological phenomenon known as persistence of vision
An object seen by human eye remains chemically mapped on the eye’s retina for a brief time after viewing
a psychological phenomenon called phi
Human’s mind need to conceptually complete the perceived action i.e. translating the action

7. How Animation Works
Combination of these two (persistence of vision + phi) make it possible for a series of images that are changed very slightly and very rapidly, one after another, to seemingly blend together into a visual illusion of movement.
E.g. a few cells or frames of rotating logo, when continuously and rapidly changed, the arrow of the compass is perceived to be spinning.
Still images are flashed in sequence to provide the illusion of animation

8. How Animation Works
Still images are flashed in sequence to provide the illusion of animation

9. How Animation Works
The speed of the image changes is called the frame rate.
Film is typically delivered at 24 frames per second (fps)
In reality, the projector light flashes twice per frame, thus increasing the flicker rate to 48 times per second to remove any flicker effect.
The more interruptions per second, the more continuous the beam of light appears, the smoother the animation.

10. Traditional Animation Types and Techniques
Cel animation - The animation artist draws or paints on sheets of celluloid film. The cels are layered over the background, then photographed frame by frame.
Stop-motion animation. Stop-motion animation is a film technique that involves shooting one frame of film at a time. A stationary camera is pointed at the object or scene. Each frame of motion picture film is exposed individually. Between exposures, the object or scene is manipulated or changed.
Rotoscoping - is the technique of re- drawing live-action images on paper in order to capture natural motion in one's illustrations.
"The Lost World", 1925, animation by Willis O'Brien, one of the early masters of stop-motion.

11. Animation Technique: Cel Animation
Made famous by Disney
A series of progressively different graphics are used for each frame of film
Elements in a scene that might move, for example Kluang man, are drawn on sheets of transparent material called ‘cel’, and laid over a background which is drawn separately (kampung scenery for example)
In producing a sequence, only the moving elements on the cel need to be redrawn for each frame, the fixed part of the scene need only be made once.

12. Animation Technique: Cel Animation
Animation is drawn between keyframes.
Key frames identify the start and end of some action
The process of filling in the action is called tweening.
Tweening is a process which requires calculating the number of frames between keyframes and the path the action takes, and then actually sketching on to a cel the series of progressively different outlines.

13. Animation Techniques - Cel Animation
This image shows how two transparent cells, each with a different character drawn on them, and an opaque background are photographed together to form the composite image.

14. Animation Technique: Stop Motion
Miniatures three-dimensional sets are used (stage, objects)
Objects are moved carefully between shots.
Objects may include articulate figures, whose limbs can be repositioned, or solid figures whose parts are replaced, or substitute between shots, to produce an effect of gesture, walking, and so on.
Plasticine may be used for objects, to be manipulated between shots to produce both natural movement, and otherwise impossible changes and transformations.

15. Stop-motion animation

16. Computer Animation – Digital cel & sprite animation
Employ the same logic and procedural concept of cel animation.
Objects are drawn using 3D modeling software
Objects and background are drawn on different layers, which can be put on top of one another.
Layers allow you to create separate parts of a still image, for example, a person and the background of a scene they are walking through – so that each can be altered or moved independently.

17. Computer Animation – Digital cel & sprite animation
Sprite animation – animation on moving object (sprite).
A set of images, called faces is associated with each sprite.
Example, a walking man, can be created by advancing the position of the sprite (the man) and cycling through the faces (walking motion), the man can be made to walk.

18. Computer Animation – Key Frame Animation
Keyframes :
Are drawn to provide the pose a detailed characteristic of characters at important points in the animation.
Example, specify the start and end of a walk, the top and bottom of the fall.
3D modeling and animation software will do the tweening process
It fill in the gaps between the keyframes and create a smooth animation.
You just set the value of frames per second (fps) for your animation.

19. Animation Techniques – Claymation And Computer Animation
Example of a claymation
Example of a computer animation

20. Basic Concepts of Tweening

21. Computer Animation – Hybrid Animation
Mixing cel and 3D computer animation.
May as well include life footage.

22. Animation Techniques - Kinematics
The study of motion of jointed structure (such as people)
Realistic animation of such movement can be complex.
Latest technology use motion capture for complex movement animation.
Inverse kinematics is the process of linking objects, and defining their relationship and limits.

23. Animation Techniques - Morphing
The process of transitioning from one image to another
When morphing, few key elements (such as a nose from both images) are set to share the same location (one the final image).

24. Animation File Formats
Windows Media files : .avi, .asf or .wmv
Apple QuickTime files: .qt or .mov
Motion video files : .mpeg or .mpg
Flash files : .swf
Shockwaves files : .dcr
Animated GIF : .gif

25. Creating Animation Use digital camera to capture each drawn frame.
Scan the drawn image/frame.
Video camera (connected through video capture card) is connected directly to computer to capture each frame of animation on disk – let it be on paper, cel, constructed on 3D set or by any other techniques discussed.
Software tool can help create object

26. References
Vaughan Tay, Multimedia: Making It work. 7th Edition. McGraw Hill
S. McGloughlin, “Multimedia: Concept and Practice”, Prentice Hall, 2001