Article for magazine, Callum Wingrove

There are many techniques that are used in professional animations, one of these techniques is
persistence of vision. Persistence of vision is the term used when something moves so fast that your
eyes see the object several times, like a sparkler for example. This can be used in animation and in
objects like the Phenakistoscope which spins on a centre. Persistence of vision was the main
technique used in early animation when the technology wasnt so advanced.
Another technique of animation is stop-frame. Stop frame is when a series of photos are placed
together frame by frame and played to create the illusion of moving image. Stop frame was used a
lot in early film, first used in 1987 by Albert E Smith and J. Stuart Blackton in the film: The Humpty
Dumpty Circus Stop motion is known to be one of the hardest ways to animate, with some
productions taking over 100 photos a second to make the animation look smooth. The most popular
animations in modern times that are made with stop-frame include: Wallace & Gromit, Chicken
Run, Fantastic Mr Fox, The Nightmare before Christmas etc.

Frame rate, (also known as FPS for Frames per second) is the term used for the amount of frames
that may be used in a second. For example Wallace and Gromit was roughly 24 photos per second,
so the frame rate for that film is 24 FPS. When looking at a lighted display, the human eye begins to
notice a brief interruption of darkness if it is 16 milliseconds or longer. Like when a film is projected
onto a screen, the human eye sees the film as being perfect and smooth without any interruptions.

Models in Animation are extremely important, its the models that are being moved about and re-
shaped inside the frame for the production. The models need to look good and relevant, but they
also need to be realistic, as it wont be easy to move and re shape a model that is unnecessarily over
the top and complicated. Joseph Plateau is one of animations most important pioneers. Born in
1801, the Belgian physicist is responsible for inventing the Phenakistoscope, a device used to create
the very first moving image, using Persistence of vision. The device is a circular object that has
painted images on it, each image slightly different to the last. Once spun, the Phenakistoscope
creates the illusion of moving image. Plateau was also known for his work on soap bubbles and for
mathematics. He was fascinated with the retina and he once stared at the sun for 25 seconds
without looking away. He later lost his eyesight in his old age and he blames the experiment for it.
Plateau died in 1883 aged 81.

Eadward Muybridge 1830-1904, was an English Photographer best known for his work on early
moving image and photography. Muybridge became world famous for his large photos of Yosemite
Valley. Muybridge then got into an argument over if horses have all four legs come off the ground at
one time when they run. To win the argument Muybridge set up a series of cameras attached to a
trip wire that took photos of the horse as it ran by. Muybridge then took the photos and strung them
together to make the illusion that the horse was running.

Willis O Brien was an American stop-motion animator born in 1886. He was best known for his work
on The Lost World, King Kong, and Mighty Joe Young. OBrien started out making models and
experimenting with stop-motion. One of his short films was noticed and he eventually started work
on The Lost World. Willis was known for paving a way of having the impossible made possible in film
through the effects of animation, and is regarded as having created some of the best images in film.
OBrien died in 1962 aged 76.

Jan Svankmajer is a Czech film maker who specialises in animation, best known for his short and
feature films that have influenced the likes of The Brothers Quay and Terry Gilliam. Born in 1934, Jan
is known for combining live action and animation together, inspiring many others to do the same,
The Brothers Quay also have a lot of live action mixed into
Their animations. Aardman animations are an English animation company best known for their
feature films Wallace & gromit, Chicken Run, Flushed Away etc. founded in 1972, Aardman are
known to use clay models for their animation and gained a reputation after producing Wallace and
Gromit and the highly popular Morph Series. Aardman was created by Peter Lord and David
Sproxton, with Nick Park also a key person in Aardman.

Mikey Please is an English animator known for his work on music videos and for his short films. In
2011 Mikey Please won a BAFTA for his short film The Eagle man Stag which is one of his many
productions that feature his signature white and grey foam material
Animation can appear in many different forms and genres, from music videos like the iconic
Sledgehammer video, to channel Idents, Adverts, films, TV programmes, Cinema etc.

Animation and stop-frame is really effectively used in more than just Film and TV, it is good for
adverts as animation allows you to see things move and objects do what isnt normally possible, so it
creates a lasting effect on the audience. Animation is also frequently used for TV Channel idents, for
example the BBC Ident has hippos swimming together in a circle, and E4 has a man in a boat fishing
into the sand.
Animation is also effectively used in music videos, having an interesting animation can help the song
get more listens and views.