Animations of the Movie Lilo & Stitch (2002)
Lilo & Stitch Directed by Chris Sanders is 85 minutes Walt Disney’s feature animation movie costing a whopping $80 million and earned $273,144,151. It is one of the few Disney Animated Canon films to be an original story.
Few scenes were deleted for audience acceptability or not to glorify violence from the scenes. Tsunami warning to visitors is one and the attack by the villain which were removed. This deletion did affect the natural flow of animation considerably. The intri=oduction of comedic structure to the violent situation did not fit well.
The main character Stitch flying a Boeing 747 jet through Honolulu to save Lilo was also revised following September 11, 2001. Instead of 747, a spaceship was brought in. The CGI model of the 747 with that of Jumba’s ship, with only a few shots in the sequence, is fully re-animated.
This first ever animated feature had ever taken place on any of the Hawaiian Islands before but intended to be a small-budget movie to Disney standards. Sanders, the director, says” Animation has been set so much in ancient, medieval Europe — so many fairy tales find their roots there.”
Essentially Lilo & Stitch is an American animated science fiction/family drama film. In a deviation from several decades’ worth of Disney features, Sanders used watercolour painted backgrounds.The traditional gouache technique was kept in abeyance. Even though watercolor techniques were used earlier, the gouache gained popularity over the years because of the simplicity.
The watercolors background created an illusion of brighter look. The drawing style of Sanders was slightly different from, eschewing the traditional Disney house style. The depth of the screenshots, as well as the lighting, is magnificent in the animation movie. The film ends with various footage and pictures of Stitch and his new family’s life together is very classy.
The introduction of Hawaiian characters and slang are done in high style.
Reference URL: disney.wikia.com/wiki/Lilo_&_Stitch
Animations of the Movie Moana 2016
The Polynesian Princess Moana is going to break the monotony of ‘Frog and Frozen’ stereotypes. More racial barriers are broken with diversifying the Disney princess realm. The sea voyaging adventurist with the help of her family in tow with real mythology, including a demi-god, Maui. With all ingredients in place, the 3 D studio and the creative animation wizards, Moana is no doubt going to be the best animation film of this year.
A sort of sequel to the animation movies like ‘The Little Mermaid’ and ‘Aladdin, Disney seems to have injected more ideas and animation software to make Moana even better. The princess is colourful to the core, with befitting costumes.
The rightful heir as the princess, Moana the daughter of a Pacific Islands chieftain faces obstacles. Even Her boyfriend, the Polynesian demigod Maui tells her, “If you wear a dress and have an animal sidekick, you’re a princess.”
The identity crisis and transformation of the princess give the animation team enough food for animation. The old hand-drawn animation technique is not entirely forgotten but is used conspicuously. Set mostly on the open sea, which can be as dull a place as the driest desert, “Moana” never lingers long enough for the energy to stagnate. The genius of the animators is clearly evident here.
Against her father’s advice to stay on land, the princess is all out to explore the mystery of the sea. The make believes caricature and blue eaters are merged dramatically. All the myriad ways and silhouetting skills are done realistically. Compared to the “Beauty and the Beast’ the physique of the princess is made proportional. The depth of the screenshots is almost with scale precision.
Moana’s expressions seem more consistent with Disney’s classic 2D character form. All the subtleties of performance are possible in hand-drawn animation. Meanwhile, liberated by the possibilities of Computer Graphics, the virtual camera is free to swoop and surround the characters in dynamic ways. There is the challenge of animating water itself.
Reference URL: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/moana-review-944411
Animations of the Movie “Wreck -It Ralph 2012”
Wreck-It Ralph’ might be the right prince to reawaken Disney as an animated-feature studio to reckon with.
‘Snow White’ and ‘Toy Story’ were good; but did the sequel 2012 Walt Disney’s ‘Wreck -It Ralph ‘live up to the legacy’? Bit skeptical, it did; even though the producer was vociferous ‘We were determined to save the legacy of Walt Disney’s amazing studio,”
The story is bit old. The 1995 Toy Story brings back the kid’s bedroom. Humour, flashy arsenals and fantasy all ruled there majestically. Almost like a sequel Wreck-It Ralph power-ups explores four unique worlds, three of which are based on different game styles. Ralf does his wrecking on the primitive 8-bit game. The game center central station where the characters interact and travel via power cords was done beautifully.
Disney suffered a bit due to the slackness in their clinging to the 2-D hand-drawn cartoons when competitor Pixar went ahead with 3-D. But Disney buying Pixar changed the supremacy.
By infusing the warm fluidity of hand-drawn animation on top of the fresh glossiness of computer-generated images Wreck-It Ralph did a revival. Wreck-It Ralph has been the beneficiary of all that positive energy and creative brain trust made up filmmakers responsible for generating ideas that can be turned into scripts.
Wreck-It Ralph employed new techniques making each game environment as faithful to an actual replica as possible. Artists struggled to simulate the staccato movements of the blocky characters and re-create backdrops that looked like pieced-together Legos.
On the outset, Wreck-It Ralph changed the concept of the pencil to the character and 2 D to altogether 3-D experience, and the box office was thrilled. The framework is excellent. The lighting to support the animal characters is very well synchronized. The depth of the frame is superb.
The frame shift and speed of the frame, the voice synchronization all set to produce the traditional mouse house back to fame.
Reference URL: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2012/10/31/wreckitralph-disney…
www.thewrap.com/how-wreck-it-ralph-wrecked-all-rules-animation-75906
Animations of the Movie Coraline (2009)
Henry Selick did a good job of seven years in creating the animation of film Coraline. That was the first for the Laika stop-motion animation studio and one of the first stop-motion movies to be shot in 3D. The interchangeable mouths with 200,000 facial expressions are employed in this movie with some characters of black-and-white 3D printers, a first.
In Laika studio, 183,000 square-feet of space were used as a studio for the shooting with 150 different studio sets. Caroline leaving the parents and adopting new Mom and Dad who are determined to spoil her is taken with great mesmerizing effect. But the hidden witch within the new Mom is the crucial point. Selick’s used stars are dolls, yet they’re as unique, lively, and soulful as real people. In fact the 28 puppets in different sizes were made for the character of Coraline alone.
The stop-motion technique used, based on sculptured figures rather than drawn images, is already a kind of three-dimensional animation. The glasses you put on are thus not a gimmick but an aid to seeing what’s already there. The snow used in the movie is made out of baking soda and superglue. The sweaters for the puppets were individually stitched by the crew so as to make it lively.
There are many scary scenes and images in “Coraline.” As long as it doesn’t go too far toward violence or mortal dread, a film that elicits a tingle of unease or a tremor of spookiness can be a tonic to sensibilities dulled by wholesome, anodyne, school-approved entertainments.
The loneliness on the face of Coraline Jones was very well done with the vast number of expressions in the library. The costumed mice and Scottish terriers glowing blossoms and giant insects are all innovative. The 3 D printing is superb tool used in this animation movie.
Reference URL: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/coraline
https://www.lomography.com/…/119725-stop-motion-animation-coraline
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Animations of the Movie “Spirited Away (2001)”
Perfect setting for an animation movie is here- 10-year-old Chihiro, an abandoned theme park, a haunted bath house, and ghost. Hayako Miyazaki just turned into an animation classic called Spirited Away. The cute looking Chihiro is bold, even when she is imprisoned. The bath house owner is Yubaba, the wicked queen with a massive head. The horror in the face of Yubaba is very well animated. The depth of the screen is well created. Meticulously rendered character expressions of all the characters is the plus point. Miyazaki goes for the grand emotion, brilliant colours and design. Chihiro has the harrowing task of giving a sturdy wash and scrub of centuries. Spirited Away is handcrafted art, with apt breadth and depth gave it the first-class appeal. The transformation of Chihiro’s parents to pigs is done with converging technique.
The movie works as a good watchable cartoon. Hayao Miyazaki could handle the split second protagonist jumps very impressively. The coordination of time and articulation is excellent. Only a genius can visualise the movements during climbing and be falling. The director could take care of simple things so that the movements are smooth and not jerky.
To get the correct picture of Chihiro forcefully opening the serpent’s mouth to treat, Miyazaki physically went to a veterinary doctor’s clinic, and video graphed the process of feeding medicine to a dog. The perfection paid. The director is known for the art style. He painstakingly drew everything. The hand was drawn technique many directors try to dispense with. He did not cut corners. The freezing things or people that aren’t in the foreground are also avoided for perfection.
They used a pencil and paper for most of the animation, and the drawings were scanned into the computer and painted digitally. We can feel the Photoshop editing making the digitally painted backgrounds superb. CG animation was also deployed. The digital compositing and editing make the visual effect fantastic.
Reference URL: http://www.awn.com/animationworld/spirited-away-working-world
entertainment.time.com/…/slide/spirited-away-2001
Animations of the movie “Tangled (2010)”
The transformation of 2 D to 3 D computer graphics is clearly seen in the Walt Disney’s animation movie Tangled successfully. The frame count is used to only highlight the variation in timing for the character movement as it appears on screen is a new concept. This is and not intended to be an accurate record of the exact
With the in-depth knowledge of traditional animation, venturing into the 3D CG medium was seamless. The team focussed on non-formulaic performance centred animation. Hence Tangled demonstrates a sophisticated use of the traditional animation principles to convey the inner thoughts and emotions of the characters successfully. The traditional animation sensibilities have resulted in the use of dynamic storytelling poses. With the additional deployment of the rhythm, tilt and twist were maintained in the right proportion.
The over animation was substantially come down due to the strong storytelling; the subdued motion was the result of the proportionate reduction of gestures. The cluttering of the screen is achieved due to these factors. The technicians could bring in rhythm within the pose in the right dose.
All the body parts are working together to express the essence of motion and support the use of longer holds. This avoided seamless frame transition and breakdown in the illusion of life. The movement quality was specially adapted to the mood of the scene. This coordination is possible only for a genius.
Different movement qualities in the character action were used in Tangled. This blends subdued character action and realistic motion. This is usually seen only in full cartoon action. The movement and timing in are superb. Tangled, therefore, reflects the emotional context of the scene helping to progress the story in an engaging manner. The weight and structure of the characters are done through a sophisticated use of timing and spacing.
Altogether Tangled is a well-crafted animation movie.
Reference URL: http://www.sensesofcinema.com
Animations of the Movie Spirited Away (2001)
Perfect setting for an animation movie is here- 10-year-old Chihiro, an abandoned theme park, a haunted bath house, and ghost. Hayako Miyazaki just turned into an animation classic called Spirited Away. The cute looking Chihiro is bold, even when she is imprisoned. The bath house owner is Yubaba, the wicked queen with a massive head. The horror in the face of Yubaba is very well animated. The depth of the screen is well created. Meticulously rendered character expressions of all the characters is the plus point. Miyazaki goes for the grand emotion, brilliant colours and design. Chihiro has the harrowing task of giving a sturdy wash and scrub of centuries. Spirited Away is handcrafted art, with apt breadth and depth gave it the first-class appeal. The transformation of Chihiro’s parents to pigs is done with converging technique.
The movie works as a good watchable cartoon. Hayao Miyazaki could handle the split second protagonist jumps very impressively. The coordination of time and articulation is excellent. Only a genius can visualise the movements during climbing and be falling. The director could take care of simple things so that the movements are smooth and not jerky.
To get the correct picture of Chihiro forcefully opening the serpent’s mouth to treat, Miyazaki physically went to a veterinary doctor’s clinic, and video graphed the process of feeding medicine to a dog. The perfection paid. The director is known for the art style. He painstakingly drew everything. The hand was drawn technique many directors try to dispense with. He did not cut corners. The freezing things or people that aren’t in the foreground are also avoided for perfection.
They used a pencil and paper for most of the animation, and the drawings were scanned into the computer and painted digitally. We can feel the Photoshop editing making the digitally painted backgrounds superb. CG animation for some of the fix was also deployed. The digital compositing and editing make the visual effect fantastic.
Reference URL: http://www.awn.com/animationworld/spirited-away-working-world
entertainment.time.com/…/slide/spirited-away-2001
Animations of the movie, “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit -2005
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit released in 2005, the British animation movie took America by storm because of its superior quality. British movies have rarely been appreciated in the US, maybe due to the conservative mind-set. But the action-packed movie projecting the cranky inventor, his love for cheese and his no-nonsense friend, a dog called Gromit was successful with the box office hitting the roof. The record-shattering within a week of release was unprecedented even for the home made movies.
Wallace & Gromit had all the ingredients to make a good movie a great one. Especially 2005 was not a good year even for the big budget movies. This movie is mild, laced with humor and highly imaginative animation. The coordination of the movement of the characters was superb. The angle shot from the top is done with imagination.
The crazy inventor Wallace and wily Gromit were recreated from clay models. The animation technique used for this was stop-motion animation. The stop animation is the perfect blend of creativity and realism but unfortunately tiresome and painful.
It is so labor intensive that it could produce maximum two seconds of film per day’s work. But that was worth to be nominated for Oscar. It took four years to make this movie ‘The Curse of the Were-Rabbit’ and close to $30 Million were spent for production. The voice synchronization to meet the animation was also good.
The framework, speed and the lighting in this movie are altogether a different experience. The screen fading technique is unique and flawless. When Wallace craves for the cheese, the animated facial expression gave the audience enough to laugh.
It is still a wonder that a decade back without the present day software advancement they could produce such a movie rich in animation and humor.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_%26_Gromit:_Curse_of_the_Were-Rabbit
downloads.bbc.co.uk/…/learningenglish/britain/060825_animation.pdf ·
http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2005/10/03/wallace_and_gromit_2005_review.shtml
The Animations of Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Fairy Tale of Love Triumphing Over Looks
The movie, Beauty and the Beast by Disney was an exciting one which won Technical Academy Award for the design and development of the Computer Animated Production System. The original screen creation for each character was tried in animation movies rather for the first time. Faithful to the Disney tradition 1,295 painted backgrounds, and 120,000 drawings were used in the film, and that is reflected in the quality. (Beauty and the Beast was the first full-length animated feature film to be nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award).
Creativity
To make the Beast unique, a combination of the features of a lion, buffalo, wild boar, gorilla, wolf, and bear were skilfully merged. Princess Belle, the beauty and her magical world are shown with expressions of all human passion and weakness. Her attractive appearance is attributed to the graphical skill. Belle is the fifth Princess Disney had created. This is particularly the case as the movie was made in 1991 when the animation software development was at a nascent stage. Even the Beast’s castle-Maurice’s Cottage- was created painstakingly.
Frameworks
The movements and framework of the beautiful Princess dancing with the Beast are incredibly done. Computer-generated imagery was used in several parts of the film, most notably in the three-dimensional ballroom background, allowing dramatic camera movements on the animated characters as they danced.
The transformation of the Beast into the Prince is dramatic; here the smoke seen is real, not animated. The main song play animation is also the first. The animation from Sleeping Beauty is reused at the end of this movie dance of the Belle and the Prince. Real Loire Valley of France was explored for the realistic animation style.
Animations of the movie ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ (1993)
Burton’s “Nightmare” is a dream come true movie which is built using stop-motion technique for the first time. This film won the Oscar Nominations for best visual effects. These particular effects are of surreal technique.
Story and Weaving
The story revolves around the Halloween town and its inhabitants – jazz-playing zombies, Four Tenor-like vampires, a wolfman, and a wheelchair-bound scientist. The Frankenstein-like scarecrow named Sally is an excellent piece of animation. Jack, trying to hijack Christmas Town to Halloween Town and pose as Santa was done with superior light and sound effects and extemporary animation. However once in a while, the depth is missing as well as consistency.
Animations
The cover art of ‘Skellington eerily silhouetted against a full moon’ is done with extreme craftsmanship. The coiled hill that overlooks a desolate graveyard is the peak of surrealism. Sally’s expression when being attracted to Jack romantically is well done. There is something about the creation and animation of the gifts as well-shrunken heads, Christmas tree-eating snakes. The Santa is well crafted to suit the movie.
Wonderfully original animation, fun & original songs make the movie outstanding. However, the lighting could have been better. As well as the focuses on the characters are not steady enough and the lingering effect is occasionally missing.
Angle of shots
The angles of shots are also wavering sometimes making the concentration of the viewers diverted. The number of shots per seconds and synchronization of same with the angle, depth could have been better. Possibly in 1993 the software for animations movies was not that developed as of now. Overall, the synchronization of the different elements and convergence of the main theme could have been better planned and executed. Even though projected as a family movie, at some point only kids can relish the jokes and actions.
Overall a considerable effort is made in the making of this full-length musical animation film, and it shows.
Reference URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nightmare_Before_Christmas
Animations of the Movie, ‘The Incredibles’, 2004
The director of ‘The Incredibles‘ took his boyhood memories and actions into this movie. And it shows the genius in him; the superheroes forced to live in almost in exile. And Mr Incredible helps them in the fight of the villain and his coterie.
Cinematography
The Cinematography of “The Incredibles” is extemporary. So the animation followed suit as excellent too. The visual effects on the screen were meticulously crafted. In short, there is a total control of all elements that is required for a good animation movie. The three ingredients of a good cinematography- placement and movement of people, objects, etc. – for both moving and fixed frames are sweet. The visual composition with lights and shadows, as well as the angle, are worth mentioning. The synchronisation of layout and lighting is excellent to follow without strain.
Total control
The directors did use the control over the camera, lighting, and depth of field, perspective, and subject placement effectively. Faithful to the tradition of Pixar, they spent months and months on the visualisation. The ‘Incredible’ has every shot well planned A scene comprised of elements that are just there – allows the audiences’ attention to focus wander and lapse, but not in ‘The Incredibles.’
Homework
The homework in making the storyboards perfect reflects the quality. In a nutshell, all the parameters to make a good animation movie like Storyboard Sketch, Layout and Key Animation Surfacing, Set Dressing and Final Layout Simulation and Shading and Lighting all were correctly put in the right perspective and quality. A special mention of the shading -how the object reacts to light; how light is absorbed, reflected, or internally scattered by the form- is marvellous. This includes the shot composition and density distribution.
In the ultimate analysis, the team did use all the techniques and software needed to take an ordinary animation movie to an extraordinary level.
Reference URL: www.floobynooby.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-cinematography-of-incredibles.
Animations of the Disney Movie Ratatouille
The animation movie from Disney of 2007 was a box office hit. Would it be so if the release was this year: Afraid No, as the animation techniques used nine years back are almost outdated? In Ratatouille, Protagonist Remy is smiling nervously as he clings to a piece of cheese while he is pinned to a door by sharp knives and forks. That makes believe that film’s tagline is, “He’s dying to become a chef”. The dot on the ‘I’ is doubling as a rat’s nose adorned with whiskers. The producers could keep the suspense of the name till last and tell that was a French dish.
Theatrical release poster involving Remy, an anthropomorphic rat, was not up to the mark as Mickey Mouse. The producers could have taken care in colour combination and movements suitably. The fight for supremacy after the death of the chef could have been more dramatic. The alliance with a Parisian restaurant’s garbage boy to achieve the goal looks like the last-minute introduction. Hence the coordination did not make much impact.
Even though the food animation used in the film, the crew consulted chefs from both France and the United States; the excitement could not be translated. Ratatouille premiered on June 22, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. Remy’s background as a clan made them flee does not look realistic. The conflict of Linguini to kill the rat, and Remy’s intelligence, was animated properly. Remy discovers that he can control Linguini’s movements by pulling his hair is well created.
Remy is freed by his brother Emile and Django was wonderfully animated. Gusteau’s motto, “Anyone can cook.” was carefully crafted and executed. The facial expressions of Ego, Remy and Emile, are excellent. Quite likely they used many frames and chose the best sequences. Ratatouille is intended to be romantic, but it did not take up much in that direction. The dish bald was not introduced by Ali. The computer-generated images of food that would appear delicious but not consistent.
The Animations of Aladdin (1992 Disney film)
Magic eludes from Aladdin’s lamp
The 1992 animation movie Aladdin from Disney camp was one of the most successful movies. But looking back, people expected much more from Disney by way of technical perfection and animation technique in their 31st animation movie. Something unnatural hangs around the mystic Aladdin.
Originality sacrificed.
The lack of creativity in animation haunts Aladdin. The film Thief and Cobbler by Richard Williams has a strong resemblance to Aladdin, but the question is who copied whom. Besides the plot, characters, sciences, sequence and the background design are similar if not duplicate. Even the resemblance of the antagonist Zigzag, in character design and other aspects to Genie and Jafar is glaring. The Abu, the kleptomaniac pet monkey of Aladdin, was right. The producers took time in San Francisco Zoo to find the right animation of monkeys. The good animation and voice of Rajah, the tiger, is worth mentioning. But the computer caricaturing is not that natural as it should be. Possibly in 90’s, the software was not this much advanced as of today.
Copycats
The success of Aladdin concrete way for a couple of more sequels, but they were lacklustre ventures. The facial expressions of Jasmine do not fit to be that of a would-be sweet heart. The design and caricature of the Genie are good. Jafar’s transformation to a giant cobra is done with right animation earnest. The animator tried to design each character with geometric precision. That was a misfire. The ageing of characters is illogical at times.
Coping with the swooping lines of Persian miniatures and Arabic calligraphy the caricatures were more or less presentable but not perfect. Since each character was animated alone, with the animators consulting, there is a lack of coordination which is evident.It looks like Disney cut corners to reduce the production cost and shed a couple of high paid actors. But the genie is making all animation faults straight?
Reference URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aladdin_(1992_Disney_film)
Animations of the Movie “How to Train Your Dragon Part II”
“How to Train Your Dragon Part II” was the first project of DreamWorks movie that made use of upgraded software suite of the studio. This upgraded software suite is named Apollo and it is basically the new software Premo that makes the movie completely different from the first part. Premo provided the animators with huge, pressure sensitive screens from Wacom. It helped the animators to interact directly with the CG character just by using the tip of their pen. They could actually interact with the skin, muscles, and other elements which responded in real time. So, the previous waiting time vanished and the real-time interaction with the created characters made the work of animators not just interesting but extremely satisfactory as well.
The production team has made use of scalable multicore processing technology which they have developed jointly with Hewlett-Packard. It is truly the latest revolution in animation filmmaking and has enabled the animation artists to work on rich and complex in real time. This working method in real time has been the most determining factor behind the enormous success of the entire filmmaking. The use of this new software (both animation and lighting software) was simply an overwhelming experience for the artists. The Torch technology provided scope for better subtlety and also improved the facial animation features. The previous part of the film showed several intricate movements, but all of them were basically the composite movement of masses. With the new animation software the sense of fat, jiggle, loose skin movement, and the extraordinary sensation of skin moving over the muscles brought entirely new experience not only for the artists but also for the viewers.
The entire production team is thankful for the development of this extraordinary software and the method in which it works for the success of the movie. It is now being expected that the remaining of the proposed trilogy will bring something more interesting to the makers of the film and nothing but an absolute blissful experience for the viewers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Train_Your_Dragon_2#Animation ,
Animations of the Movie ‘How to Train Your Dragon’
The movie ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ is one of the most striking creations from DreamWorks Animation. It has been termed as the most visually stunning film yet. The animation technology is so well developed that the experience of watching the dragons swarming in the battle scenes, human beings racing and flipping are nothing but blissful. The prime dramatic scenes are so well created that the viewer is sure to praise the animation technology without a second thought.
The situation was not so assuring while the film was being planned. DreamWorks Animation used old animation software called Emo. This particular was developed during the 1980s by the organization named Pacific Data Images. This software was capable of creating primitive animation graphics and text. But that was not enough to create the particular kind of things to make the movie How To Train Your Dragon. The animators faced the problem of working with rough geometric approximate drawings of the various creatures. They were unable to create real sized and shaped models. Even when they tried to combine different body parts of the creatures, the software became extremely slow.
DreamWorks finally consulted with HP and Intel to solve their problem and that too did not bring any good solution. So, DreamWorks decided to rebuild the entire software according to their own necessities right from level one. The newly created animation “Premo” was the final output and this is the real creator of the stunning movie. Premo allowed the animators to work with real sized and skinned characters. They could actually interact with the characters and camera positions could also be controlled according to specific necessity. The strong multi-core processor allowed the movie director to take a shot with multiple characters. While watching the movie, you can actually see several dragons flying around simultaneously in a particular scene. These shots were created by actually using several dragons and all of these became possible with the help of advanced technology of the animation software.
Reference URL:
Wall E Meets a Dead End
T
he animation from Wall-E from Walt Disney was a bit of a sensation in 2008. But unfortunately, the 103 minute film did not satisfy the viewers much. Maybe the expectation of the audience was too high, or the over confidence of the team did the damage. The sci-fi label is least suitable for this movie. The only consolation is that in 2008 when this film was released, the animation software was in its infancy.
The abandoned earth full of debris did not invoke the feeling it was supposed to create; to make believe that human race had to migrate out of this land just because of the condition created.
The waste collecting robot’s movements are a bit unwieldy, and astronaut like. The Disney team could have created a far more intelligent looking scavenger robot for this job. The screenplay by the director Andrew Stanton also did not help much in the make believe situation. The synchronization of animation with movement and conversation is pathetically inadequate.
In the distant future, a small waste-collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of humankind. The clean-up mission by the Buy N Large Corporation through Wall-E, looks like a ‘mission unaccomplished.’
As if the movie would not be a box office hit if there is no love angle, the team created EVE, the female beauty. But the audience expected a more human robot than the fictitious looking character. The cumulative quality animation, writing, music, sound- is much below average for a Disney movie as well as those hits like “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2”.
The EVE falling in love with Wall-E is much short of dramatic moments. However, the dust storm and rescue of Eve did show some genius animation. Also, the arrival of the rescue ship was good. Except for the eco-friendly message the movie carried, this mediocre movie lacks the typical Disney touch.
Superb Animation for Lion King is Still Alive and Fresh
Well, do you remember the first animated movie ‘The Lion King’, who doesn’t isn’t? It s been 17 years after its release that the movie still is as fresh as it was 17 years back. Thanks to the animators who contributed to the movie and made it appear so real. Thirteen animators from Florida and California supervised the movie and were responsible for setting the beautiful tone and establishing the lovely personalities for the main characters in the film. Nearly 20 minutes of the movie was animated (including the sequence of “I Just can’t….King” sequence”) at Disney (MGM studios) premises.
Ultimately 600 or more animators, artists and technicians worked hard through the entire journey of The Lion King production. The animators who animated the characters studied the real life of animals to be used as reference for animation. The filmmakers could portray their vision on screen because of computers. The remarkable use of animation reflects in the sequence of wildebeest stampede. The 3D computer program was used to create well defined, numerous, cel shaded wildebeest characters to appear like drawn animation, and given an arranged paths towards mountain side to activate unpredictable and real movement of the herd. To create the sequence of 2-1/2 minute stampede, 5 specially trained technicians and animators nearly spent two years to make it as amazing as we saw in the movie.
The animators, who worked hard to make the movie The Lion King a success, knew the characters well. Since they studied about their real habits, behavior, they could portray the reality in the animated characters. The efforts paid off and we could see the wonders of 3D on screen with each character still alive in our mind after a period of 17 years.
Animations in the movie, Batman: The Killing Joke
Walt Disney did draw each scene drawn by hand to accommodate the 16 frames per sec animation movie.
Fortunately, the present producers have all the 3 D tools and computer ‘graphitronics’ to assist them in producing animated movies. But the encashing or translating of that advantage into an elegant animation movie was a flop.
The deployment of techniques
Still, the animation techniques employed in ‘Batman: The Killing Joke’ could have been much better and impressive. The wide angle perspective used in this animated movie has not fully utilised the potential. Nor the sequential arrangements of shots were unsteady6 and unfocused. Even though a bit of blame can be passed on to the script while adapting from a novel, on the totality the animation is a failure. The background music when the Batman hunts for the escaped Joker sounds like a horror movie. And the motion capture in visual arts is far from satisfactory.
No game changer
The watchers who expected a game changer in the movie were thoroughly disappointed. Right from the body language, synchronisation of speech to the colour converging, everything went for a toss. Even the timing of the release was planned in such a way that no other animated movies clashed. The three years of hype building was almost collapsed due to the mediocre quality of frames. The introduction of Batgirl and her revenge were good but not good enough to hide the infirmities of animation even minutely. The colour themes or the light/dark transformation were much below average compared to the contemporary animation movies.
Poor focus
When the Joker attacked Barbara, she was forced to seek power from the Oracle was animated with below average audio-visual effect. Even the story line did not help the animation. For example the Joker’s conviction that his single shot paralyses the Batgirl is unconvincing even to the kids. The camera is focusing on the ground, at crucial points, were disappointing. The 76-minute movie offers much less of excitement or technical supremacy. Even the bleeding transformation techniques between framed available at present could not be deployed by the team. The background music when the Batman hunts for the escaped Joker sounds like a horror movie.
Well in the ultimate analysis the joke is on us on – the movie in general and especially on the technical side of animation.
Ugly Embraces Broken Computer Animation to Tell Its Story
In the present “golden age of computer science”, the latest progress in the graphics world involves realism. Graphic designers are focused and determined to achieve the heights of perfection by portraying the world as we see it. They make it possible by paying special attention to the details of natural movements so that their graphics appear more realistic.
Whether it’s the latest animated movie or video game, this is the principle followed. But interestingly there are also other projects that focus on feelings instead of mere visual animation and “Ugly” is one of them. The project is basically an excellent attempt to combine naturalism and perfectionism. “Since being in control is an illusion, we decided to give up on it”, says Diakur.
The idea of Ugly was taken from an internet story posted by an anonymous writer. It revolves around an ugly cat and a Native American Chief. They live in a very evil neighborhood where everybody treats the ugly cat very badly because he’s ugly. The Native American Chief is the character to whom the cat’s ugliness doesn’t make a difference and he becomes best friends with the ugly cat.
For a computer generated film, what makes “Ugly” different is the way it’s shot. The brains behind this movie have combined puppeteering and dynamic simulations by completely ignoring the element of perfection. Dynamic simulation is basically the process of using a computer program to model your purpose. The makers have done this keeping puppeteering in mind as the characters hang on wires in digital space in a rather imperfect way as the film has a more spiritual approach.
The animation involves graphics that are intentionally made imperfect which makes the film more natural. Everything in the film is made ugly excluding the sunsets and sun rises. The film is realistic in a way that it focuses on the natural feelings instead of detail of the movements whereas its graphics make it imperfect.
https://killscreen.com/articles/ugly-embraces-broken-computer-animation-tell-story/
The Animations of the 3D-animated ‘Megamind’
Megamind is an exceptional 3D-animated American movie. This superhero comedy movie with exclusive graphics, animation, screenplay and 3D-effects is a quality product of DreamWorks Animation Studios and the movie was distributed by Paramount Pictures. Megamind, with its outstanding onscreen effects and a unique story, premiered on the screens of Russia on 28th October, 2010, with worldwide grossing over $321 million.
Megamind provides 96 minutes of breathtaking and spectacular graphics to its viewers that steals your complete attention. Even if you don’t adore the story, the clarity of all the elements on the screen and the depth of resolution are so astonishing that you can think of Megamind as something that spoils all the audience that loves 3D animation as well as stirs the non-3D kind of people’s aspiration towards 3D animated movies. Even though it wasn’t one of the very best top grossing movies, it surely is an awe-inspiring work of art.
The environments and buildings in the movie were created using procedural buildings done through coding that allows varying the parameters accurately. By using interior alignment cubed maps and point-based rendering, the creators made sure that the life in the background continues even when you focus on the characters in front. One of the most strenuous tasks was the picture-in-picture shots of characters that the animators overcame with precision and determination.
The blue bald super villain yet likable, Megamind, and the white handsome former superhero, Metro-Man as well as the silly, awkward and graceless, Tighten, proved to be some really awesome artwork. They created the muscles with animations and jiggle that would make the characters look stronger when they were active. The animators worked as a team in Qualoth cloth simulator to design the clothes for characters. The different environments, each character’s expressions and the visual appearances made the movie a really great 3D product for everyone to cherish and remember.
The Animation Success of the Film ‘The Secret Life of Pets’
Animal animation films seem to be a hit these days. Disney’s Pixar may have gained the upper hand earlier this year with Zootopia and Finding Dory but Universal Pictures won’t stand down. The movie production giant behind the epic animated films Despicable Me and Minions once again tapped Illumination Entertainment to create another box office success, The Secret Life of Pets. The story revolves around the things that pet animals secretly do while their owners are away. It is set in a New York apartment and features a spoiled terrier rescue and his gang of pets in the apartment. This movie is directed by Illumination’s founder and CEO, Chris Meledandri along with co-directors Chris Renaud and Yarrow Cheney. The writers for the film were Brian Lynch, Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio.
The movie was conceived by Meledandri because he is also a pet-lover himself and he has two terriers. Most of the technical work is done in Paris. Renaud lives in Paris where Illumination Mac Guff is based. They do all the animation work in Paris with over 700 artists on the project. According to Renaud, since all the animation is done in Paris, all equipment like 3-D cameras, lights, finished images and all other supporting materials are produced in the country. All other aspects like storyboards, script and voice actors are all in the US. Their collaboration with the team in the US has been made possible by Skype.
It is to be remembered that due to the success of the movie Despicable Me, Illumination had to use Adder Technology computer products to aid in faster processing of their needs in the production. The animation house is also known for using energy saving technology by IBM called iDataPlex System which lowers energy use up to 40% for their server farms. It has helped them greatly in the rendering and graphics. Obviously, cutting energy is not an issue since Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures have successfully released chart-topping animated films together.
Tips and Examples for Planning the Animated YouTube Videos
Animated video has become very popular these days and they are capable of engaging the audience more effectively as compared to other methods of advertisements. The quality of the content along with several benefits from the SEO point of view has resulted in the popularity of the videos. There are certain factors which contribute to the actual success of the entire animation video and it is important to consider those matters carefully in order to make the video a real success.
The very first thing to consider is to select the exact style that will match to the business for which the video is being made. Unless the matching is good, the video cannot be a successful one; i.e. cannot draw required audience. The other things to consider are the budget, exact time frame, purpose of the animation, where the maker wants to use it or who the targeted audience will be. Unless proper planning is made on these grounds, the output cannot be a successful one.
While talking about the various examples in this field of explainer animation, it must be mentioned that the basic choice of is dependent on the maker’s budget and the targeted audience. The Animated Whiteboard can be a good choice when the budget is small (about £500) and the time is short. Though it is not very customizable (i.e. cannot be created exactly according to one’s wish); it is chosen by the businesses who do not have lots of money to spend for explainer animations or do not have much time to spend for elaborate designing.
Second one in the choice list can be the AnimatID which can be done within the budget of £1000 to £2000. It takes about 2 weeks to make this animation video and all the characters as well as animation graphics are created to fit the organization’s branding method perfectly.
DreamWorks Animation and Digital Domain join hands in the field of Virtual Reality
Digital Domain and DreamWorks Animation recently entered into a pact to develop their business in the world of virtual reality. They initially plan to start working with the popular characters of Shrek and Kung Fu Panda and later expand into other franchises.
The CEO of Digital Domain feels proud to have successfully garnered the confidence of a big organization as DreamWorks Animation and it is this pride that has resulted in the development of the virtual reality experiences for the popular characters.
Digital Domain took their first steps in the business of virtual reality in the year 2015. They took the help of virtual reality camera technology, streaming, production services as well as VFX. These gave them the confidence for the recent acquisition of Immersive Media Ventures which finally will result in the development of 360-degre camera and streaming technology.
The Beijing-based company Youku has also entered into a 3-year joint venture plan with Digital Domain so that they can do profitable business at the market in Greater China. Both the companies are hopeful about developing the intellectual property rights business along with the 360-degree live streaming, pre-recorded video, virtual reality works, augmented reality, and immersive media projects which are to be based on Youku’s several events and contents.
Youku has always very careful about the content of the virtual reality projects and they are now extremely dedicated to developing the extremely comprehensive virtual reality platform via various channels as well as self-production programs.
The recent announcements about the joint venture programs also highlight the technology section where the unveiling of the 306-degree camera (named Zeus) was announced. This camera is to be used for all virtual reality projects and other related ones. Very little information was revealed about the actual outline of the projects other than the fact that Digital Domain Holdings has planned for a separate business development plan for the post-production facilities based in Hong Kong.
Inside Out – The Digital Animation Wonder in form of a Computer-animated Comedy Film
Inside Out is the 3D computer-animated comedy-drama as well as adventure film released by Walt Disney Pictures in 2015. Pixar Animation Studios was the chief producer of the film while Pete Docter took the seat of the Director. The idea of developing this particular film first struck Pete Docter when he noticed the changes in the personality of his daughter in the year 2009. The research team consulted several psychologists who helped to revise the film on the basis of neuropsychological facts. Docter was determined to reflect and unveil the neuropsychological changes that are related to emotions.
Pete Docter realized the fact that emotions of the characters can be expressed with the modern digital animation techniques. Docter specifically mentioned that the inclusion of digital animation technology is capable of pushing the level of caricature not only in the design but also in the style of movements and this technique has never been used before. The production team decided to bring in digital animators Tex Avery and Chuck Jones to do the best possible job and the supervising animators (Shawn Krause and Victor Navone) were asked to push the graphic caricature instead of just maintaining the rigid behavior of each character of the film.
It was the magic created by digital animation techniques that show us how the interior of a character’s mind will look like and for this the filmmakers took the help of the technique named ‘electrochemical’. Electrochemical actually means the digital animation technology that enables the thinking of things as energy and they can be excited when necessary. The presence of the ‘effervescent quality’ of the emotion in the film was difficult to animate (and excessively expensive) but was made possible with the help of the most updated digital animation technologies. The sparkling aura made the film very expensive but at the same time, made it unique.
The Art of Animation 
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