Sunday, January 26, 2020

Good And Bad Qualities Of Animation

Good And Bad Qualities Of Animation Aesthetic refers to beauty or to the study of the principles of beauty, especially in art. By studying and comparing the aesthetic qualities of the early and current animated films, we can learn the good and bad qualities of animation in the two different eras. We will also compare the similarities and differences using examples of techniques, treatments and technology used in different animated films from cel animation to computer generated imagery animation. Form and shape design of the character for animation The animated films in the past and the present both follow one rule, which is to keep the design of the characters simple and easy for animation. Thomas, B. (1991) states that, during the twenties, there most studios were persistently using the Circle Formula and the Rubber-hose Method as it was the quickest way to draw a character for their productions. Animators need not worry about the angles when animating as the drawing were mostly circles and lines. The arms and legs moved like rubber hoses as there were no elbows, knees and wrists on the character. Therefore using the Circle Formula and the Rubber-hose methods allowed animators to draw each frame faster and they saved a lot of time and money for the studios. By mid-thirties, aesthetic of the character evolved. Freddy Moore added the squash and stretch technique and changed Mickey s body to a pear like shape to enhance the emotion of the character. (Thomas, B. 1991) It has changes how the aesthetic of the film look from that pe riod onward. Bennett, D. (2009) discusses that appealing design enable the audience to identify with and grow to like the character. When designing a character, it is best to think of a personality for it. Having a distinct shape and silhouette allows the audience to recognize the characters immediately. This rule can be further illustrated by comparing Figure 1 and Figure 2, where the shapes for both examples are kept simple, despite the former being an older production than the latter. But if were to compare the different, the Circle formula and Rubber-hose tends to lose interest for the audience as the character were built with the same template. It is also hard for them to differentiate the characters compared to Figure 2, which uses different simple shapes and form to show the different. Through the years from early twenties till now, we have better knowledge of animating as more animators are trained in anatomy drawing for animation in their colleges or university. Furthermore, new drawing methods, for example the Disney style , the Manga style where Japanese exaggerated the eyes (Fig 3) to show emotions distinctly, are devised to overcome the limited animation methods back in the twenties. Despite all these, animators still keep their characters simple to minimize the complexity of animating them. Training for better animators Quoting Walt Disney (1956 cited Thomas, B. 1991), To do the things I wanted to do, I need better artists. A cartoonist is not the same as an artist. A cartoonist knows the shortcuts and tricks how to do things in a hurry. His work might have been comic, but it was convincing. Back in the 1920s to 1930s, animations were done by mostly by cartoonist who did drawing for local newspaper comics strips. Thomas, F. and Johnston, O. (1981) state in 1923, animated figures move as little as possible. It is as simple as lifting up and down the legs means walking and twice the speed means running. In order to improve the cartoonists skill to prepare them for his studio, Walt Disney sent his staff to school back in 1931 to learn life drawing and the study of animals movement. Colour psychology and action analysis were also taught to the class (Thomas, B. 1991). In the documentary The Pixar Story (2007), Disney founded CalArts in 1961. During that period, students were trained by Disney s nine ol d men the Disney s style character animation. The style has become an influence of present day animation. A lot of studios follow the Disney way of animating. Presently, most artists have already attended colleges and universities in order to learn the art of animation. Colour theories and acting classes are conducted to enable them to understand and study how things move and behave in real environment. This leads to more realistic and better looking animation as compared to the past. The beauty of sound in animation Figure 4: In Felix the Cat: Felix dopes it out, dialogues between characters were delivered in bubbles or text box. Figure 5: Felix the Cat uses question mark to express his emotion and dotted lines to indicate the direction he is looking at. In the infancy of the animation industry, animated films suffered with the absence of sound. Quoting Thomas, B. (1991), during the silent film era, dialogue was expressed either in balloon above the character or a full screen titles. Felix the Cat: Felix Dopes It Out (1925) the animated film clearly shows the example stated by Thomas, B. This distracts the flow of the animation. Characters use a bright light bulb over their head if they thought of something great or a question mark if they are puzzled. Felix the cat in figure 5 shows a good example of weak personality. By having these qualities in animation makes the character weak with no reasoning power. Compared to the current animation, characters are more convincing and feel real when they could feel emotion and learn to reason. Dialogue also helps to establish the characters as well. For example, Warner bros Bugs Bunny demonstrates good characteristic in delivering the voice across to the audience and the proper uses of sound e ffects for comedy. In Chariots of Fur (1994), a lot of funny sound effects were used to enhance the comedy, like example the part where Coyote falls from high ground. Sound has definitely changes the aesthetic feel of the animated films now. Creating realistic character animation Basic figures were always anthropomorphic animals or caricatured human characters during the 1920 to 1930. Human characters for animation were presented in very basic and simple shapes. As stated by Thomas, B., (1991) human character animation was not convincing in the past. The human characters were moving in a jerky and unrealistic motion. During the early stages of animation, animators would create stylized animals for their cartoon as the audience prefer it more than unrealistic human characters. Animated human form characters were never seen before until Walt Disney attempted to in his first feature animation, Snow White, in 1937. Walt Disney (cited Thomas, B. 1991) observed that animating animals was easy as the audience wasn t familiar with how the animals move, so as long as they could give an appearance of the animal motion, the audience would be convinced. But animating humans was a different concept. Everyone knows how human moves and it was difficult to produce a convincing animation if we were unable to get the motion correct. To solve this, Disney hired a live actor to re-enact the parts of the animated characters. Then the animators could study and analyze the film and use it as a reference for their drawings. (Thomas, B. 1991) This method has proven useful and it is why modern animators now are taking video references and using them as a guide for their animation production. Similarly, live action references were used in Beauty and the Beast (1991), where the performance actress was dressed in Belle s costume for the act. Grids were drawn in the room to guide animators regarding the distance of the movement or action. The footage was then printed out frame by frame to give an idea of movement for the animators to study, not copy. (Thomas, B. 1991) Walt Disney (Cited Thomas 1991) stated that it is impossible for animators to visualize everything without studying and analyzing references. He further illustrated using an act of rising from a chair as an example. In the past, the character will simply rise in an upright position and walk away. He emphasised that studying live action films allows animators to see how a human body gets up from a chair by leaning forward and using his arms to push into standing position. Using live action as a guide helps the animation but he did warn animators not to fully copy the reference as it may produce unnatural animation. In recent times, as animated features are moving towards realism, live video references and researches have become absolutely necessary for artists to refer to. Frank Thomas (Cited Thomas 1991) quotes that No matter how good they are, actors can seldom give you what you want. Animation since Snow White (1937) till now, like example Toy Story (1995), Spirited Away (2001) and Final Fantasy 7 Advent Children (2005), uses video reference to create realistic look and feel to their films. Bad influence of animation in the past and now Animations were simple and were often based on violence and bad influence. For example in Steamboat Willie (1928), Mickey mouse abuses animals by using them as a musical instrument. Mickey mouse smokes and drinks beer in The Gallopin Gaucho (1928). Now animated films follow a strict movie rating which filters out violence and bad influence to prevent young children from exposing them. Beowulf (2007) is rated PG-13 due to the intense sequences of violence and some sexual material and nudity. Steamboat Willie (1928), The Gallopin Gaucho (1928) Colour and staging Before colour was introduced back in 1932 for Disney s Flower and Trees (1932), the characters were often outlined in black against light background to make it stand out. Thomas, B. (1991) stated that Disney faced problems with the characters blended into the background when they first used colour in their film. They solved the issue by giving the characters lively colours while graying out the backgrounds. Riley, A. (cited Thomas, B. 1991), a Disney Colour-stylist, pointed out that gray is in everything we see. Using overtones of gray on backgrounds will make the scene look natural and allows the character to be readable. In Beauty and the Beast (1991), different colours on the characters clothing represent different mood in the film. In the present animated films, they still follow the way of staging and use of colours to bring the characters out against the background. Figure 12. shows one of the background used in The Princess and the Frog (2009). Shadows were used to guide your eyes to the lit area where the performance of the animation is played at. The Princess and the Frog (2009) But for some 3D animation productions, blur are added to the background to give the illusion of depth when the characters are placed in front of the camera. This method is another way to separate the character from the scene. Director Unkrich (2010) loves to use the field of depth to guide the audiences eyes to the direction he wants them to focus on in his movie, Toy Story 3 (2010) as discussed in the 133 issues 3D world magazine (2010, Pg38). Fusion of technology with arts Technology has helped a lot in animation since the early stages of Walt Disney s production. Thomas, B. points out that (1991) Walt Disney always pushed his studio to be the best company that create realistic animated films in the industry. In order to compete with live action producers, he needed to make sure that his camera used to capture the animation cels was able to dolly in and out of a scene. Therefore the multiplane camera was created to be used in his first feature animated film, Snow White, 1937. As part of the preparation for Snow White feature film, Disney set up an animation effect department to research and experiment with colour gels, camera diffusion and different types of filming technique. The Old Mill (1937), a Silly Symphony, was a testing ground for their effect animators to try on new animated techniques. Effects like lightning, rain, ripples in water, clouds, sun ray, firefly glow were tested and eventually applied to their first animated feature film. (Thomas , B. 1991) In the modern anime movie, Akira (1988), director Katsuhiro Otomo used a camera technique to show depth of the scene by moving and overlapping different background cels on top of each other at different speeds. This gave the audience an illusion of depth on a moving vehicle. In his film, he also requested some parts of the scene to have holographic effect but it is impossible to do that using a movie camera. So what director of photography Katsuji Misawa (1988) did was what he called a counterfeit holograph. He photographed the character with transmitted light which passed through the photograph, creating a doubled image of the character. The use of multiplane during the 1940s and the techniques and methods used in Akira (1988), share common similarity on creating and produce animated films using technology with arts. The main purpose of this is to give realistic aesthetic to the audience. Akira (1988) Walt Disney s Beauty and the Beast (1991), has great influence in the industry by its blending of traditional animation and computer generated image. Disney s CPS software is used to combine the traditional animated characters onto computer-generated background. The CAPS software is able to simulate the old Disney s multiplane camera effect by moving the layers of images towards and away from the camera like the ballroom dancing scene in the film. (Thomas, B. 1991) It was another breakthrough in the use of new technology since The old Mill (1937) and Snow White (1937). As animation starts to mature, new technology were developed and started to fuse together with art to form a new medium, computer generated imagery, which gave birth to Toy Story (1995). Beauty and the Beast (1991) But some studios in Japan still prefer the traditional way of animating. In Studio Ghibli, a lot of Director Miyazaki s works still done using water colours and Cel. It is true that parts of the animation use digital paintings to speed up the work since Princess Mononoke (1997) and it have been a standard for his studio s pipeline. But before the production of Ponyo (2008), Miyazaki (2009 cite by Jones, D., 2009) shut down computer graphic section and focuses fully on traditional animation. Ponyo (2008) is a good example of using traditional hand-drawn animation for the whole film without technology. Though technology helps to improve the aesthetic qualities to the animated film now, some studio still prefer the olden look and feel of traditional medium. Research and development contribution to the aesthetic qualities of animation Research and development are important since the past till now. A lot of money is poured in to make animated films as realistic as possible. Disney invested seventy thousands in 1937 for multiplane camera to make the camera works like live action camera.(Thomas, B. 1991) Same as today, more research and development departments are invested to create photorealistic look and feel to the films, for example, Final Fantasy: Spirit Within (2001) and Final Fantasy 7 Advent Children (2005). The influence of technologies used in animated films has further aspirated the creation of great animated films like Toy Story (1995), first 3d computer generated image feature film, Tekkon kinkreet (2006), for using 2D matte painting baked on 3D background environment. Tekkon kinkreet (2006) In Butler and Joschko s (2009) paper points out that 3D technology has slowly replace the traditional 2D method of animating, but animators still carry the animation fundamental, such as squash and stretch, timing, anticipation, follow-through and weight, used in traditional 2D animation to computer generated imagery 3D animation. More and more animators begin to create a more realistic human motion and photorealistic aesthetics appeal thanks to the potential that 3D technology can provide. Like John Lasseter (1998) insists that computer, same as pencil or clay, is just another medium used to create animated films. Aesthetic in Story point of view Story telling in the early cartoons did not have any plots. Most of the animated films were made up of a series of unfunny gags. Huemer, D. (1957 cited Thomas, B. 1991) recalled that only three animators worked on a Mutt and Jeff animated cartoon. One of the animators will suggest a theme and the rest of the animators will animate to it for few weeks. Once they finished the shots, they will look at each other animation and tried to hook up them with whatever shot they ended with. This resulted in story not flowing well in the whole film and some of them make no sense at all. Same gags were often reused to save cost and time thinking of new ideas which made the audiences bored of seeing the same things on the screen. Story telling now compared to the past has a great different. Now in the present, stories are properly planned and storyboards are created to make sure the whole story flow. Changes made to the story are rectified during the storyboard stage and animation will only start after everything is ironed out during the pre-production stage. Studios in the western, like example Pixar, Dreamworks animation and Blue Sky studio, all follows this industry pipeline. But in Japan, Studio Ghibli has their way of producing story. In the interview report by Mes, T. (2002) stated that director Miyazaki started his Spirited Away (2001) production while the storyboards are still developing. Storyboards were drawn by him only and he will discuss with his team regarding the script of the film. Unlike the western approach, Miyazaki s way tends to be risky as he himself also not sure where the story will lead to. But Miyazaki said in the making of Spirited Away documentary (2001) that this is his workflow and he will stick to it. Conclusion Animation has been around for more than a hundred years, from simple flat 2D cartoons to 3D computer generated animated films. The aesthetics in animation has matured and revolutionized the way of creating animated films. Audiences expectation gets higher each year and when people s perception of cartoons grows, so does the quality of the animated film. Budget also plays a big part in determine the aesthetics qualities of the animated films. With higher budget allows the production house to produce a higher quality film and allows new methods and technologies to be researched and developed. This will contribute greatly to the growth of the animation industry. Till now most elements and techniques that were used in the past are still hold on to dearly by many studios and animators.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

2.02 Ap Government Essay

2.01 Freedom, Equality, and Order 1.Select either Shays’ Rebellion or ADA, 1990. Discuss how your chosen event/legislation is either an example of Freedom vs. Order or Freedom vs. Equality. Shay’s Rebellion is an example of Freedom vs. Order. Shay’s Rebellion was the result of the new, post-revolutionary government based on equal liberty beginning to fail. The farmers represented â€Å"Freedom†, while the merchants represented â€Å"Order.† The farmers were getting slammed by heavy land taxes and felt their newfound â€Å"rights† that the revolutionary war had given them were being infringed upon by the debtors’ court. The merchants believed that everything was going well, and wanted to continue with the new government that was leading them to a more cosmopolitan rather than agrarian lifestyle, which is what they were striving for. The farmers wanted more economic freedom, while the merchants wanted governmental order. 2.What freedoms are most important to you? Freedom of press and freedom of speech are the most important freedoms to me. Freedom of press creates accountability between the government and citizens and an informed citizenry. It also promotes the free unhindered exchange of ideas allowed by freedom of speech.. 3.What freedoms are you willing to give up in an effort to maintain order? I am not willing to give up any of my freedoms. The freedoms I have are important to me. We have order in our society today. Trying to remove these freedoms would most likely result in civil unrest. After September 11 there was great discussion of furthering order to keep our nation safe. For example, many individuals argued for the right of the government to be able to increase its wiretapping powers in order to avert terrorist acts. Do you think the government should do more to keep citizens safe? Why or why not? What things would you be willing (or unwilling) to give up in order to maintain safety? I think the measures that government has taken since September 11 are sufficient enough to keep us safe. Additional measures do not need to be taken. I definitely would not be willing to give up right to bear arms.

Friday, January 10, 2020

Where to Find Compare Contrast New York times Essay Topics

Where to Find Compare Contrast New York times Essay Topics What Is So Fascinating About Compare Contrast New York times Essay Topics? Time management is important in academic writing, even if you believe you have chosen an extremely simple topic and will cope with it in a few of hours. You are going to have opportunity to make amendments, ask questions and stick to the entire process because of a quick feedback with the writer. If you've made a suitable choice with selected topic, the whole work procedure would be clear, simple, and convenient. The process is extremely simple, you can get in contact with us at any moment, day or night, because of a 24 seven customer support service we have. Choosing Good Compare Contrast New York times Essay Topics Although you're just beginning to compose essays, you shouldn't struggle attempting to develop something to discuss. Choose something you're passionate about. Perhaps you thought it will be simple to select a topic all on your ow n, but the truth is that you're able to end up sitting with a blank paper for a number of hours. Just because you're given total freedom what you're going to write, does not signify that you ought to write casually without giving any proof. The Upside to Compare Contrast New York times Essay Topics Your primary body paragraphs ought to be approximately equal in length. Bear in mind that every paragraph should end with a conclusion that's a brief sentence showing the major idea of the section. In the introduction paragraph, mention your thesis statement plus a concise explanation of the most important topic you will explore. It is crucial to choose a minumum of one example and produce a paragraph with the counter-argument also. The Fundamentals of Compare Contrast New York times Essay Topics Revealed Choosing the right topics might take a while in case you don't have a list of sample topics before you. Such topics are extremely interesting to write about and can be a wonde rful alternative for people, who need to express themselves. What makes them difficult, nevertheless, is finding the ideal topic, and figuring out the ideal format. The topics you'll find here require a special approach as you attempt to think of useful and accurate content. Attempt to pinpoint three or more commonalities among each of the cultures you're analyzing, but also concentrate on the ways they're different from one another. If you discover that you're trying hard to think of compare and contrast essay suggestions for your paper, then it is fairly understandable, lots of people do. If it's necessary to compose an essay, the very first thing you ought to do is to decide on a very good topic. You can interest books, movies or articles which are discussing the exact same topic you're likely to approach in your essay. The critical reason many writers fail is they don't go further. You may discuss a feeling of taste and the book of your favourite author. Students write superior papers when they have some decent examples in front of those. If you would like to see more topics, make sure you look at My Homework Done. Topics cover a wide selection of current events, along with history, ethics and sociology. You'll discover contrasting characteristics along with similar characteristics in each individual set. Comparison, since the name implies, discusses the similar elements between both subjects. Contrast, on the flip side, discusses differences. As a college student, you should give yourself the opportunity to experience all compare and contrast essay idea s. Discuss famous individuals who have an effect on the life of humanity. Needless to say, writing is among the top learning programs in any critical school institution. Students who excel in writing about such complex topic might have an opportunity to be enrolled into a number of the ideal Art universities to come up with their abilities and talent. The Supreme Approach for Compare Contrast New York times Essay Topics Before you begin, it is essential to choose topics which you really know well. In most instances, the topics you select should be closely related. If you wish to be certain that you have a distinctive topic for your essay, you are able to look through the overall directions of our topics and hunt to find out more on the web. Picking the very best topic necessitates time. You should research your topic to select three claims. Following that, you can't locate a perfect topic. If you're struggling to develop an innovative subject, then you may use one of our suggestions. You also ought to make certain you are passionate about the subject or subjects.

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Kwanzan Cherry Tree Profile and Care Instructions

Kwanzan cherry has double-pink, beautiful flowers and is usually purchased and planted for this reason. The upright-spreading form, reaching 15 to 25 feet tall, is quite attractive in many locations including near a patio or as a specimen away from lawn grass competition. The tree makes beautiful flowers and is planted along with Yoshino cherry in Washington, D.C., and Macon, Georgia for their annual Cherry Blossom Festivals. This cherry provides a strong contrast to lighter-colored cherry blossoms, like Yoshino cherry, by showing a pink flower later in April and May. It becomes a larger part of the cherry show as spring introduces flowering later in the Northeastern United States. Specifics Scientific Name: Prunus serrulata ‘Kwanzan’Pronunciation: PROO-nus sair-yoo-LAY-tuhCommon Name: Kwanzan CherryFamily: RosaceaeUSDA Hardiness Zones: 5B through 9AOrigin: Not native to North AmericaUses: Bonsai; container or above-ground planter; near a deck or patio; trainable as a standard; specimen; residential street tree Cultivars Some cultivars might be locally available including: ‘Amanogawa’(‘Erecta’): Semi-double, light pink, fragrant flowers, narrow columnar habit, about 20 feet tall‘Shirotae’(‘Mt. Fuji’, ‘Kojima’): Flowers double to semi-double, white, ruffled, about 2.5 inches across; ‘Shogetsu’—tree 15 feet tall, broad and flat-topped, flowers double, pale pink, the center may be white, can be two inches across‘Ukon’: Young foliage bronze, flowers pale yellow, semi-double Description Height: 15 to 25 feetSpread: 15 to 25 feetCrown Uniformity: Symmetrical canopy with a regular (or smooth) outline and individuals have more or less identical crown formsCrown Shape: Upright; vase shapeCrown Density: ModerateGrowth Rate: MediumTexture: Medium Trunk and Branches The bark is thin and easily damaged from mechanical impact; the tree grows mostly upright and will not droop; showy trunk; should be grown with a single leader. Pruning Requirement: Needs little pruning to develop a strong structureBreakage: ResistantCurrent Year Twig Color: BrownCurrent Year Twig Thickness: Medium Foliage Leaf Arrangement: AlternateLeaf Type: SimpleLeaf Margin: SerrateLeaf Shape: Lanceolate; ovateLeaf Venation: Banchidodrome; pinnateLeaf Type and Persistence: DeciduousLeaf Blade Length: 4 to 8 inches; 2 to 4 inchesLeaf Color: GreenFall Color: Copper; orange; yellowFall Characteristic: Showy Culture Light Requirement: Tree grows in full sunSoil Tolerances: Clay; loam; sand; acidic; occasionally wet; alkaline; well-drainedDrought Tolerance: ModerateAerosol Salt Tolerance: ModerateSoil Salt Tolerance: Poor In-Depth Neither stress-tolerant or highly drought-tolerant, Kwanzan cherry should be located on a site with loose soil and plenty of moisture. Not for an urban parking lot or exposed street tree planting where borers and other problems normally attack. It has some tolerance to salt  and tolerates clay if well-drained. Kwanzan cherry has good yellow fall color, does not bear fruit, but is somewhat troubled with pests. These pests include aphids which distort new growth, deposits of honeydew, and sooty mold. Bark borers can attack flowering cherries, and scale insects of several types can infest cherries. Spider mites can cause yellowing or stippling of leaves and tent caterpillars make large webbed nests in trees then eat the foliage. Kwanzan cherry prefers full sun, is intolerant of poor drainage, and is easily transplanted. However, the useful life of the species is limited to about 15 to 25 years for Kwanzan when on a good site. But it is an enjoyable tree and worth planting.