Multimedia Production

MULTIMEDIA PRODUCTION 4(1+3)

Lesson 11: Multimedia Building Blocks – Text, Animation

Techniques of animation

When you create an animation, organize its execution into a series of logical steps. First, gather up in your mind all the activities you wish to provide in the animation; if it is complicated, you may wish to create a written script with a list of activities and required objects. Choose the animation tool best suited for the job. Then build and tweak your sequences; experiment with lighting effects. Allow plenty of time for this phase when you are experimenting and testing. Finally, post-process your animation, doing any special rendering and adding sound effects.

1. Cel Animation

The term cel derives from the clear celluloid sheets that were used for drawing each frame, which have been replaced today by acetate or plastic. Cel animation artwork begins with keyframes (the first and last frame of an action). For example, when an animated figure of a man walks across the screen, he balances the weight of his entire body on one foot and then the other in a series of falls and recoveries, with the opposite foot and leg catching up to support the body.
The animation techniques made famous by Disney use a series of progressively different on each frame of movie film which plays at 24 frames per second. A minute of animation may thus require as many as 1,440 separate frames.

2. Computer Animation

Computer animation programs typically employ the same logic and procedural concepts as cel animation, using layer, key frame, and tweening techniques, and even borrowing from the vocabulary of classic animators. On the computer, paint is most often filled or drawn with tools using features such as gradients and anti aliasing.

• Computer Animation is same as that of the logic and procedural concepts as cel animation and use the vocabulary of classic cel animation – terms such as layer, Keyframe, and tweening.
• The primary difference between the animation software program is in how much must be drawn by the animator and how much is automatically generated by the software
• In 2D animation the animator creates an object and describes a path for the object to follow. The software takes over, actually creating the animation on the fly as the program is being viewed by your user.
• In 3D animation the animator puts his effort in creating the models of individual and designing the characteristic of their shapes and surfaces.
• Paint is most often filled or drawn with tools using features such as gradients and anti- aliasing.


3. Kinematics


• It is the study of the movement and motion of structures that have joints, such as a walking man.
• Inverse Kinematics is in high-end 3D programs, it is the process by which you link objects such as hands to arms and define their relationships and limits.
• Once those relationships are set you can drag these parts around and let the computer calculate the result.


4. Morphing


• Morphing is popular effect in which one image transforms into another. Morphing application and other modeling tools that offer this effect can perform transition not only between still images but often between moving images as well.
• The morphed images were built at a rate of 8 frames per second, with each transition taking a total of 4 seconds.