The definition of animation

Many people may still be unfamiliar with the word "animation". "Animation" is the same as what we used to call it

" What's the difference between "cartoons"? Why use this other word?

Let us first take a look at the definition of "animation". In the simplest terms, animation is the use of continuous action sequences in a short period of time

to create images through visual residue. The principle of visual illusion of character movements is actually the same as that of movies, except that movies are performed by continuous movements of real people, while ordinary cartoons must be hand-painted or adjusted by hand to achieve the same effect.

The effect. Generally speaking, the average number of frames per second for cartoons is 24. In other words, a 10-second video requires 240 frames or 240 frames. Many cartoons strive for smooth and beautiful images. , some action scenes often draw more than 24 frames per second, such as the works of famous director Hayao Miyazaki over the years.

However, it does not mean that just connecting several still pictures can be called animation. Since it is created frame by frame, it is necessary to combine the film

between different frames. The key point of this type of art is that the movements are coherent and express unique beauty and ideas.

Richard Taylor made it clear at the outset in "Encyclopedia of Animation Techniques": "Animation is generally defined as creating the illusion of movement by combining a continuous sequence of static images. ... Animation is not the use of The picture just moves. The essence of animation is to draw movements." He also quoted the animation master Norman McLaren who founded the National Animation Bureau of Canada. ) said: "How you move is more important than what you move. ...What the animator does in each frame of the film is not as important as

what he does between frames."

In fact, the translation of "animation" is not much better than "cartoon", because the media of "animation" are not limited to "hand-drawn drawings" or "computer drawings". There are various creative types such as paper cutting, puppets, clay, and even matches and needle screens. In the first chapter of "Exploration of Animated Films", Li Daoming, who has studied and taught animation art for many years, mentioned the difficulty of defining it. He also coincidentally quoted McLaren in conclusion: "Animation is not The art of "moving paintings"

is the art of "drawn movements"

Back to the word "cartoon", it is literally translated from English. "Cartoon" originally refers to cells or comic strips in newspapers, and was later extended to become a video that combines continuous action cartoons. However, since the material of current animation is far more than hand-drawn films, "animation" or "animated film" has gradually replaced "cartoon" as this type of video art. general name.

Disclaimer in advance that this article is reprinted from "The History of World Animation Written by Ray"

1. The Origin of Animation

Traditional art emerged with the birth of human civilization , while movies and animation were invented by humans. The invention of animation preceded movies by several years.

The development of industrial civilization and people's research on human visual perception are prerequisites for the birth of movies and animation. The advancement of photography and mechanical design in the 19th century provided a material basis for the invention of animation. In 1824, the British physiologist Peter Mark Roget published a paper "Persistence of Vision with Regard to Moving Objects", discovering the persistence of vision of the human eye. retention phenomenon. This discovery provided a psychological basis for the invention of animation and movies.

In 1825, British John A. Paris invented the Thaumatrope. In 1832, Belgian scientist Joseph Plateau invented the phenakistiscope. These primitive prototypes of animation continue to move in the direction of better producing the illusion of motion.

In 1877, the Frenchman Emile Reynaud improved on the device invented by his predecessors and created a praxinoscope with several mirrors assembled into a drum shape. ). Reynaud continued to improve movable sight glasses, and in 1888 he invented his optical cinematograph (Théatre optique). On October 11, 1892, Reno signed a contract with the Grevin Museum, a famous wax museum in Paris, to show the world's earliest cartoons here. The screening program consists of a number of pictures that last about ten to fifteen minutes per reel.

In the production of these films, Reno has made use of the main techniques of modern cartoons: the separation of moving images and scenery, comic strips drawn on transparent paper, stunt photography, circular motion, etc. Therefore Reno is generally regarded as the founder of animation.

During the same period, inventors in the United States and France were working on moving image devices using film. After more than ten years and the efforts of inventors from various countries, the Lumière brothers finally invented the kinetoscope, the device closest to modern movies. In the practice of early films, filmmakers discovered the principle of stopping and reshooting. By the first decade of the 20th century, several basic production techniques for modern animation had been invented, and early animation filmmakers from various countries, represented by James Stuart Blackton, began to produce and shoot Animated films on film, thus the beginning of modern animated films.

2. The Golden Age of Animation

In the early years of the invention of animation, it was generally considered to be a sideshow and was only used as entertainment programs in playgrounds and other places. One for screening. However, artists and businessmen are gradually realizing the artistic possibilities and commercial opportunities contained in animation. As a part of the emerging film industry, animation has gradually developed. In 1914, American Earl Hurd invented the technology of layered animation on transparent celluloid sheets. This technology reduced the workload of animation production and made longer animation production possible. Gradually, a relatively fixed production process was formed in early animation studios, which was still used in the field of commercial animation until the early 1980s.

In the United States, the animation production industry gradually formed a scale, with Winsor McCay, John Bray, Max Fleischer and others They played a huge role in the establishment of the American animation industry. During this period, a group of early animators in Europe, such as Emile Cohl, devoted themselves to more personal exploration. Along with the waves of Impressionism and Expressionism in the art and film circles, they created a large number of Art animation. By the early 1920s, with the emergence of art cinemas, clubs, exhibitions and books in Europe in addition to mainstream commercial films, the so-called "art animation" pattern gradually took shape.

During World War I, the United States stayed away from the battlefield and its film industry developed. After the war, it replaced France as the world's largest film producer. The dominance of American animation in scale and quality continued until at least the end of World War II.

In 1923, Walt Disney, who was only 22 years old, came to Hollywood and established his own animation studio. Although the young Disney did not receive formal art education, he was flexible and energetic. While he was rich in artistic creativity, he also had a strong business acumen. In the late 1920s, Disney gradually established its reputation and status in the animation industry. In 1928, one year after the birth of Hollywood's first sound film "Jazz Singer", Disney produced the first sound cartoon "Steamboat Willie". This short film made Mickey Mouse the most widely known animated character and established Disney's animation empire. From the late 1920s to the early 1950s, Disney produced a large number of high-quality animated short films and feature films. Later, major Hollywood studios such as Warner and MGM also established animation production departments. This period is a significant milestone in the history of animation. Known as the "Golden Age".

In the 1930s, animation studios such as Disney and Warner continued to improve animation production techniques and introduced color photography into the field of animation. During the Great Depression in the United States in the early 1930s, the animation industry was booming and attracted a large number of artists to join animation production at low wages. In 1937, Disney produced the first American animated feature film "Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs", which reached a new peak in animation production and had a huge impact around the world.

American cartoons were introduced to China in the early 1920s. The pioneers of Chinese animation, brothers Wan Laiming, Wan Guchan, and Wan Chaochen, began to research and produce cartoons on their own. In 1926, the Wan brothers produced China's first animated film, "Havoc in the Studio." In 1941, inspired by Disney's "Snow White," the Wan brothers produced China's first animated feature film "The Princess with the Iron Fan." The early start and high level of Chinese animation are rare in the world, and it has a well-deserved pioneering status in Asia. The pioneers of Japanese animation were influenced by early Chinese animation. Early Japanese animator Osamu Tezuka said frankly that he decided to devote himself to animation after seeing "Princess Iron Fan".

Around 1940, Disney produced several animated feature films such as "Dumbo", "Pinocchio", and "Fantasia", which became the The highest quality animation of the era. At the same time, MGM and Warner also produced a large number of excellent animated short films.

Similar to the star system in Hollywood during the big studio era, a large number of animation stars were born from the late 1920s to the early 1940s. Disney's Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy, Warner's Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, and MGM's Tom and Jerry are still alive in the movie world and have conquered generations of audiences. . The marketing model of American animation with celebrity animated characters as its core is also beginning to take shape.

After the United States entered the war in the early 1940s, animation companies such as Disney received government funding and devoted themselves to the production of war propaganda films. During the war, some animators were drafted into the army, and some animators from major studios began to set up their own businesses or join smaller animation studios. In the early 1950s, with the passing of the iconic "Paramount" Act, the "production-distribution-exhibition" vertical system of the traditional Hollywood studio system was regarded as a monopoly and gradually collapsed. In the international market, the rise of European films and the movement of various countries to consciously resist the cultural invasion of American films have also had an impact on the American film industry. The number of large-scale animation productions in the United States has gradually decreased, and Disney has also shifted its core business to film distribution and entertainment industries. With the popularity of television in the late 1950s, the animation industry, which relied on movie box office, entered an unprecedented low point during its transformation. Large-scale productions almost disappeared, and animators became unemployed one after another. Various animation companies also worked hard to attract talents after the war. However, because animation companies generally refused to give animators a share of the royalties from their films, a large number of animators turned to television and advertising production. Until the early 1990s, the American animation industry was in a state of relative contraction. During this period, innovation in animation creation moved to other countries and regions.

3. The rise of artistic animation

In the early 1950s, the invention of television changed the Western lifestyle. Television animation and advertising animation have become an important part of the animation industry, which has also prompted a large number of animators in studios to set up their own businesses for independent production. At the same time, a group of outstanding animators devoted themselves to independent animation creation and animation education, and the new generation of animators began to understand animation in a different way from their predecessors. The rise of post-war Italian neorealist films, French New Wave films and modernist films from various countries also contributed to the rise of artistic animation after the 1950s.

In 1945, several young animators established the UPA Animation Production Company. They nicknamed their company United Productions of America to show their respect for the animation production of major studios. irony. They were committed to producing lower-cost animation and pioneered the "limited animation" production method. Subsequently, independent animation production in the United States became popular. Animation artists who hated the conventions of Disney style produced more personalized cartoons at very low cost.

In 1939, the National Film Board (NFB), a government-funded institution designed to encourage film creation, was established in Canada. In 1942, Norman McLaren joined the National Film Board of Canada and became head of the animation department. In 1952, Norman McLaren produced the animated short film "Neighbors" in Canada. The Animation Film Board of Canada (NFB) has gradually attracted a group of artistic animation creators from all over the world. In the 1970s, NFB achieved even greater success, with Gerald Potterton, Caroline Leaf, Ishu Patel, and Frederick Dozens of outstanding animators such as Frédéric Back worked at the NFB for a long time from the 1960s to the 1980s, creating or improving paper-cut animation (Cut-out animation), live-action animation (Pixilation animation), and sand animation (Sand animation). ), Paint-on-Glass animation, Clay animation, Puppet animation, Pin-screen animation and other animation forms, creating a large number of highly imaginative works. animated short film. The NFB's animation department played an important role in the development of world animation and is still an important institution that encourages artistic animation creation.

At the same time, the animation production industry in various European countries has gradually been established. The United Kingdom, France and other countries have produced a number of high-quality cartoons. With the establishment of a number of international animation festivals such as the Annecy Animation Festival, international exchanges of animation art have gradually developed in the Western world. Early animation masters such as Norman McLaren, Alexandre Alexeeff, Oskar Fischinger and others not only pioneered transnational artistic animation production, but also It has had a huge impact beyond the scope of national animation.

In the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries, due to the consistent emphasis of socialist countries on film and animation, the animation industry received state funding. Of course, some works were inevitably marked by ideological dominance.

In 1936, the Soviet Union Art Film Studio was established in Moscow and produced a large number of excellent cartoons. Among the socialist countries during this period, in addition to the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and China made high achievements in animation. The Zegreb School of Yugoslavia and the puppet animation of Czechoslovakia have both won high reputations internationally.

Before 1949, Chinese animation was most influenced by Disney. After the 1950s, Chinese animation was influenced by the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. This generation of Chinese animators also actively explored how to establish a national style of Chinese animation and achieved high achievements. Shanghai Animation Film Studio, established in 1957, has had a profound impact on the world with its unique national animation style.

The predecessor of Shanghai Animation Film Studio was Northeast Film Studio Cartoon Unit. After moving to Shanghai in 1950 and becoming the art team of Shanghai Film Studio, it brought together a group of outstanding animators such as Te Wei, the Wan Brothers, Qian Jiajun, Yu Zheguang, and Zhang Chaoqun. When Shanghai Art Film Studio was established in 1957, it had grown to a scale of more than 200 people. From the early 1950s to before the Cultural Revolution, China's animation industry developed rapidly, and a large number of excellent animation works appeared.

In the late 1950s, Chinese animators tried to create national-style animation, using Chinese forms to express the reality of Chinese society. "The Proud General" directed by Te Wei in 1956 and "Crossing the Monkey Mountain" directed by Wang Shuchen in 1958 were the first outstanding works of Chinese animation during this period. The character design of "The Proud General" draws on the facial makeup of Peking Opera, and the background design draws on the meticulous and heavy-color techniques of traditional Chinese painting, fully absorbing the decorative nature of traditional art. This also creates a tradition of Chinese animation being influenced by national operas. "Crossing the Monkey Mountain" draws on stories and images from traditional woodblock New Year pictures and achieves very good results. In addition, "A Child's Brocade" directed by Qian Jiajun in 1958 was 60 minutes long, which is enough to show that Shanghai Film Studio at that time had the ability to produce high-quality animated feature films.

In the early 1960s, Chinese animation products emerged one after another and entered a glorious period. Among them, the animated feature film "Havoc in Heaven", the ink cartoons "Tadpole Looking for Mom" ??and "Mu Flute" can be regarded as classic works in the history of world animation.

"Havoc in Heaven" (1964), directed by Wan Laiming and Tang Cheng, continues the style pioneered by "The Proud General", drawing on the images and movements of opera, and using opera-style music and dialogue. "Havoc in Heaven" was designed by cartoonist and decorative painter Zhang Guangyu. Zhang Guangyu absorbed elements of traditional printmaking and dramatic facial makeup to create Sun Wukong, which is still the most beloved animated image in the history of Chinese animation. Zhang Guangyu's character design and the background design of decorative painter Zhang Zhengyu (Zhang Guangyu's first) have reached a high degree of artistic unity. The unified traditional decorative style and superb technical level make this masterpiece an insurmountable peak in the history of Chinese animation. In the past 40 years, there is still no Chinese cartoon that can reach the artistic level of "Havoc in Heaven". "Havoc in Heaven" not only demonstrated the world-class production level of Chinese animation at that time, but also allowed animators around the world to see the possibility of creating national-style animation. In the late 1970s, "Havoc in Heaven" was screened in various European countries through film festivals and other channels, arousing a huge response.

Another major breakthrough made by Chinese animation during this period was the creation of ink animation, a unique animation form, which made outstanding contributions to world animation. Te Wei and Qian Jiajun directed "Tadpole Looking for Mom" ??in 1961 and "Mu Flute" in 1963, which achieved high artistic achievements. "Tadpole Looking for Mom" ??is based on Qi Baishi's freehand flowers and birds, and accurately reproduces Qi Baishi's painting style. "Herding Flute" is based on Li Keran's cattle herding pictures, and the film style is delicate and lyrical. These two early ink animations not only broke through the technical difficulty of making animations using ink painting, but also achieved the unity of content and form artistically. In the early 1960s, cartoons such as "Little Sisters of the Prairie Heroes" directed by Qian Yunda, "Brainless and Unhappy" directed by Zhang Songlin, "Golden Dream" written by cartoonist Hua Junwu, and directed by Wang Shuchen also achieved great success. High achievement.

From the late 1960s to the late 1970s, with the development of political movements such as the "Four Clean-ups" and the "Cultural Revolution", the short-lived glorious period of Chinese animation came to an end in a hurry. A group of excellent cartoons were called "poisonous weeds" and criticized. In the past ten years or so, several Chinese animations have been in a state of stagnation. At the same time, the animation industry in the United States gradually recovered its scale, and Japan also established and developed a huge animation industry after the 1960s. After opening up the country in the early 1980s, Chinese animation not only had to face the impact of American and Japanese animation, but also faced its own problems.

Between 1977 and 1983, Shanghai Meiying Studio inherited the excellent tradition of the 1960s and created animated feature films such as "Nezha Hao Hai" and "Tales from the Book of Heaven", as well as "Nine-Colored Deer", "Snow", etc. Children", "Three Monks" and other short films. Among the Chinese animations of this period, the 70-minute "Nezha Haohai" directly caught up with the level of "Havoc in Heaven". This animated film, with character design by artist Zhang Ding and directed by Wang Shuchen, Yan Dingxian, and Xu Jingda (Ada), continues to explore the path of national style, making it a representative work of Chinese animation during this period.

At the same time, Shanghai Meiying Studio is no longer the only one in Chinese animation creation. Several film studios across the country have established animation departments.

The creation of animated short films has also entered a peak period. Short films such as "Snow Child", "Nine-Colored Deer", "Deer Bells", "Snipe and Clam" and later "Landscape Love" have all achieved extremely high artistic achievements. Among them, "Three Monks" directed by Xu Jingda (Ada) not only continues to promote the national animation style, but also explores the essence of animation, becoming another representative work of Chinese animation.

Although Chinese animation has recovered and developed, it soon faced another low period. In the early 1980s, American and Japanese TV animations began to enter China. Their highly entertaining popular culture orientation is something that Chinese animations, which have relied on government funding for many years under the planned economic system, do not possess. The animation industry in the United States and Japan has formed a large high-quality animation production process and has rich experience in international distribution. Since distribution in their home country and other regions is already profitable, they use very low fees (or even free) to promote TV animations in China. Chinese animation has long been out of touch with the market and cannot adapt to high-efficiency commercial animation production. This influx of foreign animation has seized a large amount of market share. At the same time, due to the low salary level in China's animation industry, the American and Japanese animation industries are also engaged in animation processing in China, and the younger generation of animation workers are flowing into animation processing. The older generation of animators are getting older, while the new generation of animators have been engaged in animation processing for a long time and lack originality. On the other hand, although Chinese animation made achievements in the early 1960s and early 1980s, it did not establish even a basic market mechanism. In the late 1980s, the animation industry was generally eager for quick success and quick profit, and focused on quantity rather than quality. These factors have all caused the overall decline of Chinese animation.

In the 1990s, Chinese animation continued to thrive and its output increased, but the quality was still unable to compete with foreign animation. On an international scale, the animation industry is undergoing a digital revolution. Digital technology allows the animation industry to produce higher-quality animations at a lower cost. New digital technologies are also used by independent productions, and personalized animation creation is more common. .

Faced with the downturn in China’s animation industry, the government began to pay attention to and support the animation industry. The entry of private capital, the establishment of animation channels, and the rise of animation education have all brought new hope to the development of Chinese animation. At the beginning of the new century, the animation industry around the world is in an unprecedented period of rapid development. While Chinese animation continues to face challenges from foreign animation, it is also brewing a new take-off.

4. Digital technology brings about the renaissance of animation

While traditional animation has experienced ups and downs, a new animation revolution is quietly brewing. In 1950, computer experts at MIT produced the first computer animation. By the 1970s, a large number of scientists and artists began to devote themselves to the field of computer graphics (CG). In the late 1970s, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a laboratory led by James Blinn, produced an early three-dimensional animated short film called Voyage2. Practitioners of traditional animation have also invested in this field. The Canadian Animation Film Bureau (NFB) produced the animated film Hunger directed by Peter Foldes in 1974, which applied the latest computer technology.

In the early 1980s, computer animation technology entered the practical stage. There were over 20 minutes of digital animation in the 1982 Disney film Tron. During the same period, Industrial Light and Magic in the United States began to apply digital animation technology in the field of computer special effects. In 1984, they produced the first fully digital composite shot in "Indiana Jones and the Devil." The 1989 movie "Abyss" featured the first fully computer-generated three-dimensional animated character. In terms of digital animation, Japan is also an early start country. In 1984, Osaka University in Japan produced the digital animation short film Bio-Sensor. The craftsmanship of traditional animation has also been completely transformed by digital technology, improving efficiency and quality. In 1989, Disney's animated feature film "The Little Mermaid" became their last animation produced using traditional techniques.

In the 1980s, a large number of digital animation production companies were also established. Pacific Data Images (PDI), established in 1980, Pixar, established in 1985, and Blue Sky Studios, established in 1987, have now become large studios producing film animations.

Digital technology began to gain popularity in animation studios in Europe, America and Japan in the 1990s. Digital imaging technology became a catalyst for the renaissance of the film and animation industry. Disney has used digital technology to reduce costs and create more beautiful images since "The Rescuers Down Under" in 1990. "Beauty and the Beast" (1991), "Aladdin" (1993) ) and other animated films became huge successes. "The Lion King" in 1994 became the highest-grossing animated feature film in Disney's history.

Three-dimensional cartoons have become the new mainstream in the animation industry.

In 1995, Pixar Studio produced the first 3D animated feature film "Toy Story", marking the beginning of 3D animation. For more than ten years, the United States has produced "A Bug's Life", "ANTZ", "Ice Age", "Shrek 1 & 2" 2), "Finding Nemo" (Finding Nemo), "The Incredibles" (The Incredibles), "Robots" (Robots) and other films have all achieved unprecedented commercial success.

The wave of digital animation is also spreading outside the United States. Japanese animation has also adopted a large number of digital technologies. In recent years, animated films such as "Princess Mononoke", "Spirited Away", "Top 2" and "Steamboy" have all adopted digital animation technology. South Korea, France and other countries have also taken advantage of this wave to vigorously develop the animation industry and become new major animation production countries.

The unprecedented activity of the animation industry has made animation one of the cores of new media. China's animation industry has also seen a new group of digital animation producers join the industry, and the number of animation practitioners and students majoring in animation has increased rapidly. Chinese animation not only faces various long-standing institutional shortcomings, but also faces new development opportunities.