Audio Visual Database

The field of Audio-Visual obviously overelaps Film, Animation, and Computers, so there will be duplication of sites in the various Databases below. Hopefully at some point they will be better categorised, but until they are, they just act as pointers for those interested.

AV Books
Audiovisual books
AV Publishers
AV Publications

AV Journals
AV journals
AV magazines
AV ezines
AV Guides
AV Reports
AV Library Catalogues
AV References
AV Headings
AV Notices

AV Editing Tools
AV editing tools

Input and Output devices
Input devices
AV tablets
Light pens
Special keyboards
Optical mouse
AV cameras
Web cameras
Output devices
AV capturing

AV Exhibitions
AV Museums
AV exhibitions
AV Shows

AV Projects
AV Projects
AV workshops
Community Services links
Community TV UK
Environment links
Healthy Eating links
Home Safety links
Police information links
Sport for children links

AV People
AV masters
AV Artists
AV Designers
AV music composers
AV Writers
AV Producers
AV Directors

AV Studies
AV Certificates
AV courses
AV degrees
AV exams
AV qualifications
AV Theory
Free AV lessons
AV scholarships
AV Colleges
AV Colleges UK
AV Colleges USA
Online AV Courses
AV Documentaries
AV tutorials

AV in the Curriculum
AV in Education
AV in the Curriculum
AV definitions
Animatic definition
AV for Children
AV for kids
AV Glossary
Teaching AV
AV Tutorials
Optical Toys
AV for Special Needs
AV Arts Education
AV School Directory
AV Headings
AV tutorials

AV Techniques
2d AV
3D AV
AV Dolls
AV Figures
AV AV
AV Illusion
AV Inbetweens
AV Layouts
AV Photo
AV Photocopy
AV Plugins
AV Practice
AV Projectors
AV Titling
AV toolsets
AV Tricks
Art Illusion
Cel AV
Computer AV
Cutout AV
Drawn AV
Experimental AV
Facial AV
Limited AV
Line testing AV
Model AV
Movie Making AV
Optical effects
Optical printers
Paper AV
Pencil test AV
Performance AV
Pixilation
Plasticine AV
Puppet AV
Raster AV
Rotoscoping
Sand AV
Time Lapse AV
Traditional AV
Vector AV
AV Art

AV Sources
AV Sources
AV library
AV libraries
AV Skins
Free AV gifs
Free-clipart
Animals
Faces
Machines
Weather
Buttons
People
Transport
Gif AVs
AV cycles
Flash AV
AV Alphabets
Flash AV tutorials
Flash AV
Animes
Anims
AV Collections
AV Listings

AV Data Bases
AWN
AV Databases
AV data banks
AV Research
AV Data base links
Audio Visual Data Base
Audio Visual Links
Multi AV database
Multi AV Links
AV Taxonomy
AV Indexes
AV Bibliographies
AV Biographies
AV Statistics
AV Registers

AV Funding
AV Funding
AV Grants
AV Funding
AV Grants

AV Materials
AV materials
AV Supplies

AV Equipment
AV capture cards
AV Equipment
AV Light boxes
AV line testers
AV rostrums
AV suppliers
Editing systems
Home Recording
Rostrum cameras

Sound for AV
Actors in AV
AV Recording
AV Sound mixing
Music for AV
Sound sfx
Sound Special Effects
Sounds for AV
Vocoders
Voice-Over Actors

Animal sounds
Animal sounds downloads
Animal sounds for kids
Animal sounds midi
Animal sounds mp3
Animal sounds online
Animal sounds.wav
Animals

Machine sounds
Machines noises
machine sounds
machine sound effects
animal sounds ringtones

Weather sounds
Weather sounds
weather sound effects
weather sound fx
weather sound files
weather sounds wav

Writing for AV
AV Slideshows
Animatics
AV Glossary
AV Scriptwriting
Comic Strip writing
AV scriptwriting
Flow Charting
Graphic Novels
Photo Strip writing
Pre-visualisation
Pre-visualization
Societies for Writers
Storyboard software
Storyboard templates
Storyboards
AV Scriptwriting
AV Scriptwriting
Visualisation
Visualization
Writing Dialogue
Writing Fantasy
Writing for AV
Writing Graphic Novels
Previs
Writing AV Games
Writing for Children
Writing Advertising

Women’s AV
Women’s AV USA

Children’s AV
AV children’s Games
Children’s AV
Children’s Art
Children’s Programs
Children’s TV
Comic AVs
Games
Kids AV
Students AV

AV Forums
AV Clubs
AV Discussions
AV forums
AV Newsgroups
AV Blogs
AV Podcasting

AV – Pitching Ideas
AV – Pitching ideas
AV Directors
AV Distributors
AV presentations

Web AV
Web AV
Online AV
Web AVs
AV Character Agents
AV AV clips
AV Streaming AV
AV books - Internet
Web AV Software
AV Banners
AV Signs

AV Festivals
AV Festivals
UK
USA
World
AV Societies

AV Competitions
AV competitions
AV Awards

AV Contracts
Selling AV
AV Contracts
AV Agents
Scriptwriting Agents
Character Licensing
AV Acquisitions
AV Unions

Miscelaneous AV
AV Cards
AV Ecards
Favicons
Emoticons
AV Selections
AV Collectibles
AV Acting
AV Oddities
AV Screen Savers
Screen Capture Programs
AV for Sale
AV Auctions
AV Swimming
AV Reviews
Stop Frame
AV templates
AV Science Fiction
AV Fantasy
Flash AV tutorials

Free and cheap AV software
AV Freeware
AV Shareware
AV Demos
Free Web AV

AV Production
AV Features
AV Industry
AV Producers
AV production
AV Production Budgetting
AV Production Companies UK
AV Production Companies USA
AV Production Pipeline
AV Production Processes
AV Series
AV Studios
Independent Productions
Pre-Production
Post Production

AV in Advertising
AV Commercials
AV in Advertising
AV in Religion
Arts Television
Promotional AV

Computer Games
AV Games Designers
Computer Games Books
Computer Games Clubs
Computer Games Inventors
Computer Games makers
Computer Games Societies


AV Networks
Eefoof
AV Networks
Google AV
Internet AV
Movie Networks
Short AV Networks
Underground AV
YouTube

AV Comics
AV comics
Manga
web comics
web comic list
web comic directory

AV History
AV History
AV History USA
AV History UK
AV History France
Optical Toys
AV Archives

Computer AV
AV h-anim
AV Holograms
AV Rendering
AV spline
Computer AV
Computer AV Blogs
Computer AV Clubs
Computer AV Companies
Computer AV Glossary
Computer AV History
Computer AV Laboratories
Computer AV Languages
Computer AV programming
Computer AV programs
Computer AV Research
Computer AV Societies
Computer AV Studies
Computer AV Studios
Computer AV Techniques
Computer AV Tools
Computer Animators
Computer AV
Motion AV
Virtual Reality

Special Effects AV
SFX AV
Special effects AV
Morphing software

Audio-Visual technology
Digital Audio-Visual

AV Work
AV Ability
AV Careers
AV Instructor
AV Jobs
AV Positions
AV Talent
AV Work
AV Vacancies
Mandy
AV co-op
AV Careers
Shooting People
Talent Circle

Also check Cartoons*, Audio-Visual*, and Multi AV*

AV Science
AV Architecture
AV Astronomy
AV Astronomy
AV Biology
AV Calculations
AV Charts
AV Chemistry
AV Climate
AV Cryptology
AV Demonstrations
AV Earth
AV Electrical
AV Graphs
AV Math
AV Meteorology
AV Ornithology
AV Passwords
AV Physics
AV Planet
AV Predictions
AV Sport
AV Stars
AV Tables
AV Temperature
AV Topology
AV Universe
Architecture AV
Biology AV
Engineering AV
Legal AV
Medical AV
NASA
Science AV
Technical AV

AV Abroad
AV Argentina
AV Asia
AV Belgium
AV Canada
AV China
AV Denmark
AV Egypt
AV Finland
AV France
AV Germany
AV India
AV Iran
AV Israel
AV Italy
AV Japan
AV Middle East
AV North Korea
AV Norway
AV Pakistan
AV Russia
AV Scotland
AV South America
AV South Korea
AV Sweden
AV Thailand
AV Wales
AV West Indies

Graphics Data base

Another day, another data base. This is peripheral to Animation, but now overlapping to the extent that most animators are using Graphics software in some form or other.


Graphics Books
Graphics
Graphics books
Graphics Publishers
Graphics Manuals
Graphics Publications

Graphics Journals
Graphics journals
Graphics magazines
Graphics ezines
Graphics Guides
Graphics Reports
Graphics Library Catalogues
Graphics References
Graphics Headings
Graphics Notices

Graphics Editing Tools
Graphics editing tools

Input and Output devices
Input devices
Graphics tablets
Light pens
Special keyboards
Optical mouse
Graphics cameras
Web cameras
Output devices
Graphics capturing

Graphics Exhibitions
Graphics Museums
Graphics exhibitions
Graphics Shows

Graphics Projects
Graphics Projects
Graphics workshops


Graphics People
Graphics masters
Graphics Artists
Graphics Designers
Graphics music composers
Graphics Writers
Graphics Producers
Graphics Directors

Graphics Studies
Graphics Certificates
Graphics courses
Graphics degrees
Graphics exams
Graphics qualifications
Graphics Theory
Free Graphics lessons
Graphics scholarships
Graphics Colleges
Graphics Colleges UK
Graphics Colleges USA
Online Graphics Courses
Graphics Documentaries

Art Psychology
Art Psychology
Drawing tests
Graphics tutorials

Graphics in the Curriculum
Graphics in Education
Graphics in the Curriculum
Graphics definitions
Animatic definition
Graphics for Children
Graphics for kids
Graphics Glossary
Teaching Graphics
Graphics Tutorials
Optical Toys
Graphics for Special Needs
Graphics Arts Education
Graphics School Directory
Graphics Headings
Graphics tutorials

Graphics Techniques
2d Graphics
3D Graphics
Graphics Dolls
Graphics Figures
Graphics Graphics
Graphics Illusion
Graphics Inbetweens
Graphics Layouts
Graphics Photo
Graphics Plugins
Graphics Practice
Graphics Projectors
Graphics Titling
Graphics toolsets
Graphics Tricks
Art Illusion
Cel Graphics
Cel Graphics
Clay Graphics
Computer Graphics
Cutout Graphics
Drawn Graphics
Experimental Graphics
Facial Graphics
Graphics Graphics
Glass Graphics
Limited Graphics
Line testing Graphics
Model Graphics
Movie Making Graphics
Optical effects
Optical printers
Paper Graphics
Pencil test Graphics
Performance Graphics
Raster Graphics
Rotoscoping
Time Lapse Graphics
Traditional Graphics
Vector Graphics
Graphics Graphics
Graphics Art

Graphics Libraries
Graphics Sources
Graphics library
Graphics libraries
Graphics Skins
Free Graphics gifs
Free-clipart
Animals
Faces
Machines
Weather
Buttons
People
Transport
Gif Graphicss
Graphics cycles
Flash Graphics
Graphics Alphabets
Flash Graphics tutorials
Flash graphics
Graphics Collections
Graphics Listings

Graphics Data Bases
Graphics Databases
Graphics data banks
Graphics Research
Graphics Data base links
Graphics Taxonomy
Graphics Indexes
Graphics Bibliographies
Graphics Biographies
Graphics Statistics
Graphics Registers

Graphics Funding
Graphics Funding
Graphics Grants
Graphics Funding
Graphics Grants

Graphics Materials
Graphics materials
Graphics Supplies

Graphics Equipment
Graphics capture cards
Graphics Equipment
Graphics Light boxes
Graphics line testers
Graphics rostrums
Graphics suppliers
Editing systems
Home Recording
Rostrum cameras

Sound for Graphics
raphics Recording
Graphics Sound mixing
Music for Graphics
Sound sfx
Sound Special Effects
Sounds for Graphics

Animal sounds
Animal sounds downloads
Animal sounds for kids
Animal sounds midi
Animal sounds mp3
Animal sounds online
Animal sounds.wav
Animals

Machine sounds
Machines noises
machine sounds
machine sound effects
animal sounds ringtones

Weather sounds
Weather sounds
weather sound effects
weather sound fx
weather sound files
weather sounds wav

Writing for Graphics
Graphics Slideshows
Animatics
Graphics Glossary
Graphics Scriptwriting
Comic Strip writing
Graphics scriptwriting
Flow Charting
Graphic Novels
Photo Strip writing
Pre-visualisation
Pre-visualization
Societies for Writers
Storyboard software
Storyboard templates
Storyboards
Graphics Scriptwriting
Graphics Scriptwriting
Visualisation
Visualization
Fantasy Graphics
Writing for Graphics
Writing Graphic Novels
Previs
Writing Graphics Games
Writing for Children
Writing Advertising

Women’s Graphics
Women’s Graphics USA

Children’s Graphics
Graphics children’s Games
Children’s Graphics
Children’s Art
Comic graphicss
Games
Kids Graphics
Kids Art
Kids Art Projects
Kids Arts and Crafts
Graphic Puzzles

Students Graphics
Students Graphics

Graphics Forums
Graphics Clubs
Graphics Discussions
Graphics forums
Graphics Newsgroups
Graphics Blogs
Graphics Podcasting

Graphics – Pitching Ideas
Graphics – Pitching ideas
Graphics Directors
Graphics Distributors
Graphics presentations

Web Graphics
Web Graphics
Online Graphics
Web Graphicss
Graphics Character Agents
Graphics graphics clips
Graphics Streaming graphics
Graphics books - Internet
WebGraphics Software
Graphics Banners
Graphics Signs

Graphics Festivals
Graphics Festivals
UK
USA
World
Graphics Societies


Graphics Competitions
Graphics competitions
Graphics Awards

Graphics Contracts
Selling Graphics
Graphics Contracts
Graphics Agents
Graphics Agents
Character Licensing
Graphics Acquisitions
Graphics Unions

Miscelaneous Graphics
Graphics Cards
Graphics Ecards
Favicons
Emoticons
Graphics Selections
Graphics Collectibles
Graphics Acting
Graphics Oddities
Graphics Screen Savers
Screen Capture Programs
Graphics for Sale
Graphics Auctions
Graphics Swimming
Graphics Reviews
Stop Frame
Graphics templates
Graphics Science Fiction
Graphics Fantasy
Flash Graphics tutorials

Free and cheap Graphics software
Graphics Freeware
Graphics Shareware
Graphics Demos
Free Web Graphics

Graphics Production
Graphics Features
Graphics Industry
Graphics Producers
Graphics production
Graphics Production Budgetting
Graphics Production Companies UK
Graphics Production Companies USA
Graphics Production Pipeline
Graphics Production Processes
Graphics Series
Graphics Studios
Graphics Productions

Graphics in Advertising
Graphics Commercials
Graphics in Advertising
Graphics in Religion
Graphic Arts Television
Promotional Graphics

Computer Games
Graphics Games Designers
Computer Games Books
Computer Games Clubs
Computer Games Inventors
Computer Games makers
Computer Games Societies
Graphics Numerology
Graphics Astrology
Graphics Juggling
Graphics Snooker
Graphics Guitar
Graphics Football

Graphics Networks
Graphics Networks
Google Graphics
Internet Graphics
Short Graphics Networks
Underground Graphics
YouTube

Graphics Comics
Graphics comics
Manga
web comics
web comic list
web comic directory

Graphics History
Graphics History
Graphics History USA
Graphics History UK
Graphics History France
Optical Toys
Graphics Archives

Computer Graphics
Graphics Holograms
Graphics Rendering
Graphics spline
Behavioural Graphics
Computer Graphics
Computer Graphics Blogs
Computer Graphics Clubs
Computer Graphics Companies
Computer Graphics Glossary
Computer Graphics History
Computer Graphics Laboratories
Computer Graphics Languages
Computer Graphics programming
Computer Graphics programs
Computer Graphics Research
Computer Graphics Societies
Computer Graphics Studies
Computer Graphics Studios
Computer Graphics Techniques
Computer Graphics Tools
Computer Graphics
Computer Graphics
Motion Graphics
Virtual Reality

Special Effects Graphics
SFX Graphics
Special effects Graphics
Morphing software
Technical Graphics

Graphics Work
Graphics Ability
Graphics Careers
Graphics Instructor
Graphics Jobs
Graphics Positions
Graphics Talent
Graphics Work
Graphics Vacancies
Mandy
Graphics co-op
Graphics Careers
Shooting People
Talent Circle

Also check Cartoons*, and MultiMedia*

Graphics Science
Graphics Architecture
Graphics Astronomy
Graphics Astronomy
Graphics Biology
Graphics Calculations
Graphics Charts
Graphics Chemistry
Graphics Climate
Graphics Cryptology
Graphics Demonstrations
Graphics Earth
Graphics Electrical
Graphics Graphs
Graphics Math
Graphics Meteorology
Graphics Ornithology
Graphics Passwords
Graphics Physics
Graphics Planet
Graphics Predictions
Graphics Sport
Graphics Stars
Graphics Tables
Graphics Temperature
Graphics Topology
Graphics Universe
Architecture Graphics
Biology Graphics
Engineering Graphics
Legal Graphics
Medical Graphics
NASA
Science Graphics
Technical

Graphics Abroad
Graphics Argentina
Graphics Asia
Graphics Belgium
Graphics Canada
Graphics China
Graphics Denmark
Graphics Egypt
Graphics Finland
Graphics France
Graphics Germany
Graphics India
Graphics Iran
Graphics Israel
Graphics Italy
Graphics Japan
Graphics Middle East
Graphics North Korea
Graphics Norway
Graphics Pakistan
Graphics Russia
Graphics Scotland
Graphics South America
Graphics South Korea
Graphics Sweden
Graphics Thailand
Graphics Wales
Graphics West Indies

Good Intentions

"The Road to Hell is paved with Good Intentions", so they say. I would have thought 'Good Inventions' might be more appropriate. But intentions - good or bad- precede our actions, if in fact we act on them.

I have a diary full of intentions that rarely get fulfilled, and also a shed of equipment that I intend to fix, and drawers of papers I intend to sort out. Somewhere between the Intent and the Action there is a gap.
Scientists have now been able find that gap in the brain - and what is more - make an animation of it.

You can see it at http://www.physorg.com/news90164161.html but whether that changes your life waits to be seen.

Is Computer Animation about to take over the world? Well, of course it is, but when? It awaits the time when computers are fast enough, cheap enough, and simple enough for them to replace writing with images. Not much hope of that for a while, but the first commercial Quantum computer has just been launched
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/08/1355255 and that may be a small step for mankind but a giant step for computer animated characters.

Better news is that Disney is bringing back 2D hand-drawn animation; Hooray! Back to the future, or should I say Forward to History.
http://us.indiantelevision.com/end/y2k7/feb/9febge2.htm
It heralds in a new era where children will be able to copy the cartoon characters to learn drawing, waste time during school lessons, and produce a better class of grafitti.
Who can name a single 3D character (apart from Wallace and Gromit) that is as memorable as the early Disney and Warner Bros characters.

Of course, 2D hand drawn animation never went away. In fact it has proliferated in the form of animation workshops in schools, community centers, and increasingly on the Internet. You can find some examples at http://news.awn.com/index.php?ltype=top&newsitem_no=19027

Stan

Robots and People

Those of us in the Animation industry have always known that robots understand humans, just as much as animals and objects can think and talk. It seems that Scientists - sceptics that they are - have just gotten around to knowing it as well, and are now building robots that do understand us. Have a look at http://money.canoe.ca/News/Sectors/Technology/2006/11/25/2488865-ap.html, and don't forget to pass it on to any robots you know.

Although there are some people who feel that people don't understand people, and that is why the world is in such a state, perhaps robots can explain to the rest of us why we do what we do.

Of course, we (people) are a bit afraid that robots will one day take over the world. It seems that animated creatures are on the way to doing just that, as this year has seen an explosion of animated movies, probably the biggest release of any year. But why?
It could be that computers have reached a point where they can produce an animated movie that is comparable in cost and time to a live-action movie. This is the spin-off from libraries that allow characters created for one movie to be recycled for others. It could be that audiences are tired of the big action-packed kill-em-all movies. On the other hand it could be just market forces. A hit animated movie has great merchandising potential, which is rare for a live-action film.

Animated shorts are not missing out either. Waste you time looking at some animated jokes.

Stan

Animated Tattoos

There's a Marx Bros movie with Harpo opening his shirt to show an animated tattoo on his chest. I have a vague idea it was a dog coming out of its kennel.

the other day - for no reason at all - I recalled the scene, and wondered if tattoos could in fact be animated. I know that certain fish and reptiles can change the colour of their skin, so in theory, they might be able to do it, though they would have no reason to.

Of course, all I needed to do was look up 'Animated Tattoos' and find that not only has it been done, but the idea has been around for quite a while; I never cease to be amazed.

Not only can the tattoo be animated, it can be changed by reprogramming. The potential for these seems endless. Apart from identification, one might hire ones body out to advertisers like celebrity tennis players do with their clothes.
The next stage is to add a soundtrack. Anyone betting it can't be done?

At last it's happened!!! - once again. 3D has hit the TV screen.
Of course, anyone who follows these things will give a big sigh and list previous times it has happened; and I can't say that I've actually seen the latest system working, but you can find out all about it at:
http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2006/11/18/forget-hdtv-the-future-is-3dtv/

Galloping technology has reached a point where nothing seems impossible, and technhologists are now the Wizards and Prophets of the TechnoGods, so it was not such a surprise when I came across the article http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2006/11/atheists_the_ne.html suggesting that Bill Gates might be considered as President.

I, for one would vote for him, if they could prove that electronic voting machines were foolproof.
It is not on the basis of his political acumen, but because I have a pretty good idea of his interests, and they are much closer to mine than any other president I know. But then I voted for Mrs Thatcher when she first came to power, and she had been a Chemist.

So I may end up settling for one of the latest Japanese Androids that look human enough to fool most people from a few feet away; have a vocabulary of around 40,000 words, and do as they are told (at least for the time being).

Stan

Animated Science

Around about 1926 Einstein worked on an animated movie about Relativity. True he was only a script consultant but who knows what he might have achieved if he'd stuck with it.

The thought came to mind as in an idle moment I checked out an Animated Periodic Table, and going through the various Elements, noted that Einsteinium was one of the elements. Getting an Element named after you is second only to getting an ice-cream named after you - as was the case with Dame Nelly Melba.

I believe that you can pay to get an Asteroid named after you, which seems a good way to get funding for research.
Of course, large companies commonly sponsor TV series and the like, but would they ever start sponsoring animated movies like 'The Periodic Table'; something which any science student will tell you has been crying out to be animated since day one.

I believe the time has come to start teaching animation as part of Science courses. There must be a zillion subjects out there perfect for sponsorship if animators knew they were there and scientists knew how to visualise. I think a dating agency for the two would be the perfect starting point to get things going.

Stan

Fairy Tales

Hot on the heels of yesterdays Blog about writing for animation, todays news at http://www.slashfilm.com/article.php/20061117top10animated reinforces my views.
This is a review of Warner Bros 'Happy Feet', which I haven't seen, but you can get a taste of at http://www2.warnerbros.com/happyfeet/.

I was always a great Warner Bros fan. Their cartoons were obviously aimed at adults; how many kids really get the point of Bugs Bunny gags? Writing for adults and designing for children is a classic formula in animated movies.

There was a time when Fairy Tales were written as moral tales to warn the young and the unholy of the evils of the world, and the punishment awaiting the wrongdoers. With the passing of time, the messages got lost - or did they?

The theme of so many Animated features is the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, which translates into 'The Good' (and beautiful), 'The Bad and Ugly'; we know that bad people are ugly because so many classic animated movies have told us so. True the Queen in Snow White was beautiful, but actually ugly inside, on the other hand in 'Beauty and the Beast', the Beast is beautiful inside.

But there are exceptions. Baloo the Bear in Jungle Book is lovely, if not beautiful. We have beauty competitions, but we don't have 'Lovely' competitions. The problem is we can't measure niceness.

What we can measure to a limited extent is how interesting a person is, and more importantly how close they are to ourselves. I note that Social Networking sites are increasingly using animation to attract attention and say "Hey, look at me, I may not be beautiful but I'm fun".

It may be a very subtle thing that animation is used in this personal way, but I'm sure it's the toe in the door. You can already buy avatars to sell your goods and services, I guess you'll be able to buy them to sell yourself - if it hasn't already been done.

Stan

Tail Wags Dog Makes News

The downside of being a scriptwriter is that you mentally rewrite movies as you are watching them. Unlike a novel, a film script - as presented by the writer - is unlikely to survive in a recognisable form once it is handed over to the Producer.

This is because just about everyone working on a movie thinks the writing part is basically inspired day dreaming rather than a craft, and will add their two-cents worth if they get the chance. I once worked with a Producer who took a script credit just for changing the title!!!

Of course, there are movies that do not require much of a script. 'James Bond' is one that comes to mind. Everyone knows the story before they see it; it really a matter for the Special Effects dept to come up with the goods.

And as Animated movies have drifted away from simple storylines, there is more accent on SFX now, so it was with some interest I noted the article http://www.jeffpidgeon.com/2006/11/animation-glut-stories-is-there-glut.html which suggests the tide has turned, and that audiences have seen it all when it comes to 'All action No story' content.

But on the other hand another article at http://www.animationmagazine.net/article.php?article_id=6151 deal with Warner Bros merging its Special Effects dept with the main film units. The logic is that if SFX plays such a big part in action movies they are 'The Star', so there is a thin line between producing effects for a Production Company, and being the Production Company. The tail is wagging the dog, and it likely to continue.

Where will it end? The merging of Animation and Live-Action has passed the point where the audience is entertained simply by SFX. No doubt Production Companies looking for the next trend in blockbusters will - as a last resort - turn to looking for good stories. I can't wait.

Stan

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

If you work in an Animation Studio, there is a reasonable chance that you will eventually be transcribed to an animated character. Producer/Director Bob Godfrey would take it even further and name characters after you as well as imitating your voice when he did the voice-overs. It's more of an in-house joke than a quick way to becoming a Star, but that might all be changed.

For many years there have been children's book publishers who will insert your childs name in fairy tales, and run off a special copy for you. At least one took it further and would put your childs head on the illustrations in the book, but now Smart software can actually put a childs face on a character in an animated movie, and (I understand) do it inter-actively. You can read all about it at http://www.dexigner.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=5777

And talking of stars - this time the real thing - a common animation job is making stars twinkle. It is now done by computer, but used to be done by having a piece of black paper covered in pinholes as a background, and another piece also covered in pinholes moving across it; quite a lengthy job for such a minor effect.

There are some people who do not like twinkly stars (cries of shame). They are astronomers who are using lasers, optics, and some single-frame techniques to stopping them twinkle so they don't have to 'wonder what they are' any more.

You can find out why at http://www.esquire.com/features/articles/2006/061105_mfe_December_06_Laser_Beams.html

In the same article there is mention of a scientist who has discovered a whole new field of movies; taking pictures of your breath. It seems that our breath is an indicator of our health - which sound pretty reasonable to me - but taking pictures of it??? Yes, by using a laser to pick out the chemical content of your exhalations.

It may be the next step up from a Breathalyser test for drunken driving; how soon before the breathalyser shows up as a movie saying 'You're drunk, your ill, and your fined'. That would put a twinkle in the eyes of the Traffic cops.

Stan

Is There a Doctor in the House?

I have a friend whose parents run a pharmacy. She tells me that they advise her not to take pills, creams, tablets etc. What good advice! as we all have medicine cabinets full of such stuff tried a few times and found either not to work, or we get better before it has any effect.

That is not to say that trying to cure oneself is a bad thing, but just that we often don't know what is wrong with us in the first place, and the pharmacist will helpfully sell us anything. My guess is that the drugs industry grows rich on what we throw away.

You will be happy to know that our doctors often don't know much more than we do; but that is about to change as they are now turning to Google to get their diagnosis sorted out, as you can see at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=415641&in_page_id=1774

I have been using Google for years to do this, and proud to say I have survived lots of illnesses I would not have known I had if it hadn't been for the information on the various websites dealing with medical self-help.

What has this got to do with 'Animation'?, well, many of those sites use animation to show how the body works. You can find quite a few good examples at: Diagnosis and with a good site at http://www.animatedhealth.com/?gclid=CPG3ocrFw4gCFRRZMAod4BsWDA

I have feeling that if this catches on Medical School will be little more than a computer and some holographic cadavers. It may well cut down on Medical costs and improve treatments, but what will happen to all those Hospital based TV Soaps?

Stan

Future Shock

How would you like to see what the future holds for you? Well you can - in a sort of way that is. A program with the springtime name of APRIL lets you see what you might look like at some distant time; the Christmas of your life.

Forensic animation has been used for a while to help visualise missing people and see what they might look like after some years. It's also used to see what dead people might have looked like alive. A gruesome subject but one that will play an increasingly useful role in changing our behaviour if the health authorities have their way.

The above program can indicate what you will look like in a few years if you choose a decadent life style. I recently saw examples of it on TV when certain celebrities who punish their bodies in various ways from drug taking to excessive fitness regimes were shown as they are now, and how they will be in twenty years time. I can image a sneering image of ones aged self staring back from the screen and saying "Look what you've done to me you idiot".

The program would have obvious uses in the Movie world to show how actors might age in a role. It might also have a slightly more sinister use if we secretly checked out how our partners might look in the future.
I know that similar programs have been used to morph the faces of parents to show what their unborn child might look like, but have never seen whether this actually works.

Of course this does put an emphasis on beauty, and we intuitively feel that two beautiful parents will produce a beautiful child, but apparantly not, though 'beautiful' parents do tend to have 36% more chance of having a girl child. I'm not sure what it all means, but animators looking for new directions in the industry might check out beauty salons or mortuaries for vacancies.

Stan

Interesting

How do you measure how interesting something is? Well one way is feedback. If someone has a Blog that gets 10K hits a day then you might guess it is more interesting than one that gets 5K hits daily. But that is a measure of quantity rather than quality, so is a statistic rather than a 'value'.

I mention this because Flickr has just taken out a patent on 'Interestingness' for searching images. I don't know how it is done, but the idea itself is interesting. If my computer recognises that I spend much time looking up trends in Animation it might guess (in its own computer way) that I find 'Animation' interesting and be able to assess my taste in this field. I would guess the system might have more applications in computer dating though.

I sometimes add little animations to my posts to friends; typically small Gifs of something relevant to the message. It ocurrs to me that these might be used as 'Digital signatures' or 'Watermarks' to assure my friends that they come from me.

Such animations might also be used as a Password. I'm guessing it would be easy to do, and make it more difficult for hackers to get to your passwords. My thoughts on this were prompted by an article about 'captchas' which describes how images instead of words are now being used to try and fool hackers.

Of course, it is well known that most of us use passwords relating to something that is of interest to us. Using a picture or animation of something that is of interest to us would certainly raise the bar for hackers. Perhaps Flickr knows something that we don't.

Stan

Now You See It, Now You Don't

Back in the 1950s some experiments were done on using movies as anaesthetics with some success, but as far as I know this method was never used in hospitals.

While working at the Canadian Film Board in the early 1960s I met Norman McClaren, the experimental film maker, and asked if he thought films could be used in this way. I got a record on self-hypnosis, and he had some experimental films with concentric circles gradually shrinking. We put them together and showed the result. It made many people seasick!!!

I never pursued that line again, but later worked in advertising when Subliminal Advertising was tested. It was so successful that it was banned, or supposedly so, but one doesn't know if it actually was, but 'Placement Advertising' is perfectly legal, so in effect the method is still being used.

I have used it in animation as a Special Effect. If you want to create a disturbing image you can colour it with two very close colours and let them flicker. It is not visibly noticeable but mentally upsetting.

These ideas came to mind recently when reading about Spam mail. It seems one way to fool Spam filters is to have the background colour actually several very close colours.
You can write white text on a very slightly off-white background and mentally take it in without actually seeing it; a hi-tec invisible ink. And text can easily be implanted into an image. This is a common encryption method.

Forgetting Conspiracy Theories of us all being brainwashed, could such methods be used as anaesthetics? Could it be a way to control crowds with flashing lights? Could it be used in education? Whatever, there is no doubt that Animation has come a long way from funny cartoons.

Stan

Input Output

When I started in Computer Animation in the mid 1960s, Input devices were limited to a teletext type keyboard, a lightpen (if you had a screen, and most didn't) and a Puck; a sort of pre-history mouse. Your output was punched cards, and later punched tape. On one ocassion around 1970 I was on a TV programme about computers; I held up a piece of punched tape and said "One day film will look like this".

Things have moved on, and Input devices come in many forms; a very interesting one that looks to change the world can be seen at
http://ted.com/tedtalks/tedtalksplayer.cfm?key=j_han&flashEnabled=1
The "interface-free," touch-driven computer screen, which can be manipulated intuitively with the fingertips, and responds to varying levels of pressure.

Output devices are no slowcoaches either. The largest digital photo has recently been shown, coming in at around 35x32 feet and 8.5 gigapixels. True it's not a moving picture, but a week or two might change that. You can see it at http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/29/2239224

Using the brain as an input device has always been the realm of Science fiction, but getting increasing attention in recent years. Biofeedback was quite popular in the 1960s, but lacked the technology to do anything serious.

One aspect of recording brain patterns I find interesting is not as a computer input device but as a lie-detector. As a writer 'telling lies' is something inherent in many stories; Crime and Love obviously, polititicians, car salesmen, lawyers, and Estate agents might consider the ability to lie as an asset. Doctors may have to do it to be kind, A TV programme on 'Honesty' said that Society would break down if everyone was honest!

Another interesting article came out today about a competition I'd never heard of called the Hutter Prize http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/29/2127201
It is about compressing data, and presumes that compressing data in files is similar to how the brain works.

There are some people who believe that the brain is a bit like a cupboard, and that you can only put so much into it. Others (and I am one) believe that the brain can hold an unlimited amount of information. The reason animation works so well as a teaching aid is that it eliminates all but the essential material of the subject it is presenting.

The fact that people with phenomenal memories say they recall numbers as pictures indicates that we might have been using our brains in the wrong way for a few thousand years.
Need I say that teaching animation as a core subject in the curriculum will change all that?


Stan

Virtual Fantasy

Today I came across a news item at http://infolab.northwestern.edu/project.asp?id=40 . It is about news casting with computer generated characters.

Aparantly news items gathered by search engines are transcribed from written text to spoken text - as against simply reading the written text; Clever!!!

Even as I was reading the article it ocurred to me that it would be nice to scan in a novel and have it instantly turned into a movie.
But that is an obvious application. It would be pretty useful to have technical data spoken to you on how to operate your washing machine, or what your mortgage contract is actually saying.

Only last week I read of a handheld computer used by troops in Iraq that can do instant translations, so put them together and you could talk to anyone around the world using a nice looking version of yourself. It seems to me something that could put the Generals out of work.

I have always felt that animation can save the world, and it is certainly making inroads into crime. A recent article stated that video tapes of criminals caught on CCTV are now having their walks analysed by computers. We all have a walk cycle as unique as our fingerprints so it seems a good idea.

What else can be done? As CCTV cameras don't have sound they can't capture voiceprints, but that can't be too difficult to do.

A couple of years ago we ran a workshop called 'Kids Crack Crime' getting young teenagers to suggest ways of catching criminals, and making a short cartoon of it. The project went well, the group we worked with won the Guy Ritchie Award.

I look forward to 'Crime Watch' being shown with Computer generated presenters, with the crimes being re-enacted by avatars. We might soon be calling Reality 'Virtual Fantasy'.

Stan

I Remember It Well

In the distant past, Animation studios were commonly housed in major Film studios, and did such jobs as titles, credits, transitions, and the odd Special Effects; animation was not about entertainment for them. Though there were studios making entertainment cartoons, they were few and mainly in the USA, but they did have a market.

Before the war a normal cinema programme was the B film, a cartoon, and the Main film. Better cinemas had a cinema organ that played during the interval, and young ladies would sell ice creams and chocolates. During the show they would walk up and down the isle squirting perfume.
At the end of the show the National athem was played, and everyone had to stand up, though many would rush out just before. It was always a memorable experience. Oh yes, and you were also banned from eating fish and chips. If you were seen taking them in they had to be left at the Box Office and picked up on the way out - cold and tastless by then.

The cartoons were mainly Disney or Warner Bros, but in my town there was a small cinema that only showed short films; cartoons and live-action comedy like 'The Three Stooges'. The show lasted an hour, and cost 3 pence for children. I was nine, and my mother would put me in there when she went shopping. On one occasion I forgot to come out, and the usher had to walk up and down the aisle shouting my name.

Apart from the that, my other weekly cinema outing was to the children's Saturday morning show that many cinemas had. They had serials like Buck Rogers, Zorro, The Lone Ranger, and one called 'The Clutching Hand' which frightened me so much I would duck down behind the seat until the nasty bit was over.

During the war going to the cinema was a bit of a hazard. If the sirens went you had to get out; often just as the film had started. You never got a refund, and with very limited transport at the time, going back to see the film was rarely an option.

The main entertainment was the radio; and during the war the top show was ITMA with Tommy Handley (top image) who preceded the Goons, Monty Python, and much of what goes as 'British humour' today. He was easily the most famous person in Britain during the war.
His scriptwriter - Ted Kavanagh - was also a celebrity, and made me aware that 'scriptwriting' was actually a profession.

At the time I was about thirteen and hoped to be a cartoonist, but the small cinema and ITMA had set the seed for my later life.

Stan

Animated Series

I heard a story that a lady at a party asked some guy what he did for a living. He said he wrote the scripts for the Bugs Bunny series. She said "Bugs Bunny doesn't need a scriptwriter, he's funny enough himself".
I met Chuck Jones at a party and asked him if this story was true. He hadn't heard of it but said it was quite possible, and related a similar case.

I mention this because over the years I have been sent a number of ideas for Animated TV series by students and animators who feel that TV Studios are on the lookout for new material; they rarely are. There is a feeling that once you have a character as a design, it has a life of its own, and the scriptwriter simply has to record it!!!
My advice to those attempting to do ideas for animated TV series is to look at how many of the past series started as this will show how the characters and storyline have been developed.

The Pink Panther started as a film title, and The Care Bears started as toys. Thomas the Tank engine was born as a book character, and Popeye as a comic. The Muppet Cartoon started as live-action puppets, while the Super Mario Brothers came into being as a computer game. Some familiarity with all of these markets is necessary if you want to write for animation.

There are several others sources for animated series but the common element in the above examples is that these characters were established before being made into a series. It is not hard to pitch an idea when you start from this basis.

Another advantage is to have your own studio and be able to use spare time to produce a pilot for an idea. If the pilot is accepted then it is usually not too difficult to get production money.
A third situation is to be the producer of someone elses series, and come up with your own idea which can be based on your knowledge of the market, as well as having the facilities to test out your idea. Needless to say, few people are in such favourable positions of being able to set up a series.

But there are a couple of ways that offer hope; the first is to become a contributor to someone elses series; and secondly to get your work published in some other medium such as a book/comic etc. It is not enough to understand about animation, you also need to understand 'Markets' because that is what pitching is about. Unfortunately this is a subject rarely included in Animation Courses.

Stan

Unusual Displays

In the early 1960s I was on holiday in Ibiza; at that time totally off the tourist track and having lots of artists doing their thing. One of them - who was not in the film world - said to me that he had a brilliant idea. As underground trains had a series of windows that were like film frames, you might be able to have pictures along the tunnel so that they appeared to be moving as you passed them.

I explained that you needed a 'gate ' so you only saw the image for a fraction of a second, and that the train would need to have a steady speed from start to finish, apart from the fact that lighting varied along the track, etc. But the idea was not lost on the Advertising people who saw the unused walls of the underground as potential space.

A few years later I noted that Sony had come up with a system showing moving pictures in the tunnel, but I never saw anything indicating it had been used or how it was done, so last night when by chance I switched on 'The Gadget Show' and saw that such a system was now working in the USA I was particularly interested.

Apparently it requires images to be flashed on the walls rather than fixed on the walls, and the flashes synchronised with the train speed. In effect, the train was acting as some form of projector.

The idea of projecting onto unusual screens is common enough; the same Gadget show had ladies parading around with screens built into their clothes. I have seen films projected onto waterfalls, blocks of ice, through mist, onto people, and two movies projected onto a single screen; and I seem to remember that someone tried projecting onto clouds, and the idea of using all your walls and ceilings as screens is just around the corner. One day you will wake up to the sounds of the dawn chorus, and see the sky above and the forest around you, while laying in the comfort of your bed.

The screen I'm waiting for does exist, but is not cheap; It's the 'Head-up-display' used by pilots, where the screen is their visor which is rather like Virtual reality helmets . I would like to be able to put on a pair of glasses and see movies in a way comparable to using an Ipod. I'm prepared to bet that something like that will be around in a year or two.

Stan

Cartoon Characters

Popular cartoon characters are not just funny drawings, they encapsulate the attributes of certain types of people; in fact, you can guess a great deal about someone by knowing their favourite cartoon. So it was with some interest I checked out my own character at http://www.naucon.net/misc/tests/cartoon_char.htm a site 'Which Cartoon Character Are You? which claims to find your cartoon alta ego when you have answered a questionaire. I was surprised to find I was matched with Pepe le Pew - a rather lovable skunk. Well!!!

Having worked as an Animation scriptwriter for many years, I am always on the lookout for postures, gestures, and attitudes that can be used visually to sum up a character. In fact I get animators to act out the storyboard before animating it.

But there is another way of looking at characters. Sherlock Holmes almost certainly suffered from Aspergers Syndrome ; which typically comes out as a clever organised person who finds it difficult to make social contacts. Hercule Poirot was probably this way inclined as well.

My own Henry's Cat - who's favourite food is jellybean sandwiches - has an eating disorder. Miss Muffet suffered from fear of spiders, while Peter Pan feared growing up, and James Bond's charm is actually a cover up for his fear of commitment (quite common in men I'm told). If you are looking for some odd characteristics for your characters you might take a glance at Phobias. It is amazing what some people are afraid of.

It is also worth looking at Weird habits. I know a man who sticks his finger into his belly button when thinking; his jerseys have holes where he does this. Actors are always on the lookout for such habits. James Cagney used the trick of continually pulling up his trousers, for one gangster role. The coin-flipping gangster originated from a real gangster before becoming a cliche in the ganster movies. Humphry Bogart pulled his ear whenever he was thinking - in one role; and Harpo Marx based his odd outfit on a tramp he often saw.

One of the things I used to do was look at the questionnaires you find in magazines. Typically these might be 'Are you healthy', or 'Check your IQ', etc. Also the various internet questionnaires that ask a many questions to sort out your life-style. These questions give a good idea of the sort of compatible characteristic a someone might have, it is this compatibility that gives a character credibility.

Stan

Back to the Drawing Board

A couple of months ago I went to the Royal College of Art End of Year exhibition with some animation friends. We noted that there was much more traditional illustration and animation than in the previous years that had exploited new technology.

I wondered if 'Technology' has now been assimilated enough to the point where it is now taken for granted, and we could now get back to sweat and talent. I hope so because such work has more soul to it.

I was interested to note that this approach can still (and hopefully will continue) to be viable. The animated feature movie just released 'Romeo & Juliet - Sealed with a Kiss' is a full length feature animated by one man - Phil Nibblelink - made in 4 1/2 years using Flash animation. You can look it up at http://www.romeoandjulietfilm.com/

There is a growing call for movie makers to make their own movies, particularly for presenting Social problems. One site at http://www.google.com/educators/globalwarming.html is looking for ideas to solve global warming. If you are interested, a good place to start is Global Warming.

Stan

Animation Data Banks

When I started in Animation around 1958 life was simple in the Animation World. Animation fell into just a few categories of drawn, cutout, and model/puppet -which covered just about anything in 3D. There were some experimental techniques, but generally speaking you could see how any technique worked just by looking at it. Apart from the techniques, anyone from cameraman to editor could go to any studio in the world and all the equipment would be more or less the same.

Not so today; in fact two animators doing exactly the same type of work might well be using entirely different computer programs to do it, and the time taken to learn such programs would often mean they are stuck with their choice of program. As many programs come and go, it is worth spending time finding out what is likely to be around for the future.

As I am constantly looking for trends in animation I spend much time checking out links to the various animation categories. It can be quite frustrating at times, so I was pleased to come across the site at http://www.visualcomplexity.com/ which shows how Computer Animation can help out with visual search engines. The top image is an example of a visual data bank.

As far as I know, none have been applied to the 'World of Animation', but the potential is there, and if anyone gets around to doing it, much time and effort will be saved.

There are - of course - some good specialised Animation data banks. One of the best is:

http://www.awn.com/ and a subsection at http://schools.awn.com/

The big problem is that search engines have difficulty in searching for specific images. If you want a particular Bugs Bunny movie you can check out Chuck Jones, but the vast majority of animated movies don't get listed in a way that is easy to categorise. Until they do the best that can be offered is Animation Database and Animation Databanks

Stan

Instant Animation

In a few days I'll be 76. Someone asked me if I lived my life over again what would I do that I hadn't done. The answer was easy; I would save the world.

Of course Superman - who is roughly my age - wanted to do the same thing, but his approach is to take out all the bad guys, whereas my approach would be to teach everyone animation which, as a universal language, would help the bad guys and good guys get along better.

Teaching everyone to animate is not an easy task, but it will become easier with a program a friend directed me to yesterday at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df8wAla57PI

This is one of a new breed of programs like K-sketch which enables users to animate without having to learn animation. You can also use libraries of free animations such as: http://gifanimations.com/ and http://www.animationlibrary.com/

The idea of using art to unite the world is not entirely new either. UNESCO runs a number of programmes at Digiarts.

Some other sites can be found at Kids Art and Freebies

Stan

Optical Toys

The easiest introduction to movie making for children is to use Optical toys. I normally start with rollers and flip books then move on to Zoetropes and Thaumatropes. The main thing with children is keeping them busy with projects they can do quickly and get results.

If you are not familiar with Optical Toys then good starting places are:
http://courses.ncssm.edu/GALLERY/collections/toys/opticaltoys.htm
and
http://www.precinemahistory.net/900.htm

A recent discovery of some mechanical parts from an unknown Ancient Greek machine has suggested they had some form of mechanical calculator. I have often wondered if they also started animation.

I have never seen any reference to it but Greek vases with figures on them in stages of a walk cycle animate perfectly; and movies have been made of this.
Bearing in mind that these vases are made on a potters wheel, it would not take much imagination to have a 'gate' operated by the wheel so that you saw the figure animate as with a Zoetrope.

One of the problems I had in running workshops in schools is that the Head Teachers would often wonder where 'Animation' fitted in. Some think of it as Art; some as Computer training, and some used it as 'end of week' leisure activity.
It is this 'identity problem' that is perhaps the biggest barrier to getting animation into schools as a core subject; Optical toys are a foot in the door.

Look at Optical Toys

Stan

Pixilation

The first example of an animated film which still exists was an advert for matches; made around 1893. It used the pixilation technique of shooting real objects single-frame in 3D space as against drawings.
Until the advent of animation-cel (around 1915 I think), Pixilation was the main form of animation and primarily for Special Effects as in the 'Keystone Cops' films.

Wikipedia describes it as:
Pixilation (from pixilated) is a stop motion technique where live actors are used as a frame-by-frame subject in an animated film, by repeatedly posing while one or more frame is taken and changing pose slightly before the next frame or frames. The actor becomes a kind of living stop motion puppet. This technique is often used as a way to blend live actors with animated ones in a film.

It is the simplest form of animation, and can easily be done using a digital camera with a single-frame button. But can also be done with an analogue movie camera just by clicking it on and off.
With children, the most common idea is to let them make a funny face for each shot.

This type of animation requires no editing and offers instant playback, but can easily be extending to give 'magical' effects such as people and objects appearing and disappearing, or moving around at a frantic pace.

This technique can be automated as 'Stop Frame' shooting, where the camera takes a shot at fixed intervals. Commonly seen in CCTV cameras, and scientific films where you see a flower growing in a few seconds though it actually took hours or days.

It is an ideal starting point for animation in schools, as once set up it requires no further attention.
A good site for learning basic techniques, including Pixilation is http://www.anim8ed.org.uk/resources_tech_pixil.asp

This site also gives instructions on setting up school projects using a variety of techniques.

More information on: Pixilation

Stan

Movement Notation

The name of Eadweard Muybridge is known to just about every animator; his books analysing motion in humans and animals have been the bible of the animation industry even today though they were published over a hundred years ago.

Dancers also use various forms of movement notation, and Choreologists work with Choreographers to record dance routines using such systems as the Labanotation and the Benesh method among others.

In 1958 Noah Eshkol and Abraham Wachman published a notation for describing movement based on a geometric concept, and was one of the systems used by NASA to see how astronauts would move in zero gravity.

When I started in animation I wondered if the two concepts of pictures and notation could be put together. On joining the Computer Arts Society ( www.computer-arts-society.org) in the early 1960s I met John Lansdowne, an architect who had an interest in ballet, and had created program that combined the ideas of pictures and notation.

His system had a set of numbered figures in various positions. By typing in the number sequence with the number of frames for each image you could create a dance sequence.
In those days you had to print out the images, but the concept was proved even though I am unaware of it ever being used seriously by dancers.

Things have moved on, and Motion Graphics allow movements to be recorded in real time. An example is at http://www.biomotionlab.ca/ which lets you to play around with some simple walk cycles.

If you want something better you might look at Poser 6 (http://www.poserworld.com/Home.aspx) which has libraries of figures ready to animate.

Muybridge would have been proud of his heritage.

Check out: Movement Notation

Stan

Doodling

All animators are doodlers. Typically they start at school and draw pictures in their notebooks when they should be listening to their teachers. People bored at meetings doodle, and graffiti is a form of doodling. It is one of our natural instincts that has never really been utilised for education.

There is a clear cut distinction between doodling and drawing, with doodling it is organic; a shape grows without real purpose. Quite often it is a letter or shape that exists, and it vaguely reminds you of something so you add a bit here and there, and then it takes on a form of its own.

I once wrote a book called 'How Do You Doodle' based on using letters, numbers, and simple shapes as starting points for children to create pictures. The numbers 0 - 9 can all be easily used as noses (www.makemovies.co.uk) As writing developed from pictures, it does not take much imagination to reverse the trend.

An interesting site is at http://www.zefrank.com/gallery/dtoy_gal/index.html which has some animated shapes you can doodle with. Although these are limited, they make a good introduction to animation for children.

Another fun site is at http://www.morphases.com/editor/ This doesn't require any drawing skill, but allows you to change the facial features around in many ways.
Although it calls itself Morphases, it isn't actually morphing in the way animation changes a picture from one shape to another. An introduction to the principles of animation can be found on http://cartoonster.com/ It is one of many sites that show basic techniques.

There are very many 'Morphing' programs used for Special Effects (SFX), but the idea was first popularised in Felix the Cat going back to the earliest days of animation. And of course the Aardman Animation creation 'Morph', the little clayman who could change himself into anything, and initiated the highly successful 'Creature Comforts' and all that followed.

Other Doodling sites: Doodle


Stan

Lip Sync

About thirty years ago when I was involved with computer animation at the Imperial College, one of the projects we looked at was creating automated lipsync.
In principle it was fairly easy; a set of lip shapes were matched to a set of phonemes in a look-up table, and you typed in the syllables and gave them a number of frames.

In those days there was no instant playback so if you got the timing wrong it took some time to check. But it wasn't practical for other reasons such as needing different shapes for different faces, also size, gender, age, and accent affect the shape of the lips.

I am not an animator but a scriptwriter, and my interest was the idea that one day I would be able to type in a script and both see and hear it played back. I thought it might always be a pipe dream, but I have recently seen some examples that come close to doing just that. One of the programs is http://www.reallusion.com/go/crazytalk/default.htm which allows you to record your voice and have it spoken by an animated character.

I recently looked up "lipsync for animation" and got a hit rate of over 300,000, so developments have moved on.
I haven't tested them but here's a couple examples here that you may like to look at to see the current state of the art.

www.thirdwishsoftware.com/magpie.html
www.lostmarble.com/papagayo/index.shtml

Also some other sites: Lip Sync


Stan

Drawing

Usually the first problem I find with teaching children to draw is getting them to hold a pencil correctly.
As a child before the war we had to spend hours doing copper-plate script to write neatly. It was boring, but you could read most children's writing. Not so today with biro's and word processors.

I always say "Hold your pen like a dart", but though that is typical for animation, Fine-artists use different methods. One method I came across is at http://thegluckmethod.com/html/freelesson/index.html which is worth looking at.

You don't need to be able to draw to animate though. Take a look at:
www-ui.is.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~takeo/java/smoothteddy/index.html (just type in 'smooth teddy' to get listings) to see the trend in simple animation. This appears not to be a commercial program yet, but it will be fun for kids when it is.

Another similar 'instant' animation program beingdeveloped is http://www.k-sketch.org/
This could really take off in schools when it's available.

This trend will bring back the Light-pen as an input device. They were common in the 1960s but went out of fashion when the mouse and drawing tablet became available.

Another recent development yet to hit the shops is a screen that is so thin and flexible it can be rolled up. This would be suitable for a cheap light-box/monitor when it's available.

Then there is Googles own drawing program at http://sketchup.google.com/product_suf.html
It does 3D geometric shapes but easy to use.

It will be interesting to see if a killer-application comes these instant animation programs as there is no doubt that there is a great need for a graphical language that overcomes the barriers of the spoken and written ones.

Look at: Drawing Techniques

Stan

Getting Started in Animation

The purpose of this Blog is to look at some of the many Animation sites around and see what's new; what's interesting, and where they fit into the great scheme of things animation-wise.

My interest is mainly to get animation into schools and the community as I used to run children's workshops, and in particular, classes for Special Needs children, so had to find ways that children with no experience of animation; no particular skills, and not much time to practice, could produce work they found fun and creative.

Many of the children had physical and mental handicaps, so techniques had to be devised suitable to their capabilities. Much of this work can be found on my site www.MakeMovies.co.uk so this Blog is an appendage to that.
That site does list links to other animation sites, but this is the place to look at what's going on, and the trends.

For idle moments look at: Animation

Stan

Introduction

The purpose of this blog - once it gets started - is to look at the various animation sites and blogs that are suited to teaching animation in schools.
If you put 'animation' as your keyword, you'll get millions of hits, and you will spend more time searching than doing anything, so I hope that I, and those with an interest, can do the sorting.

Stan