1.3 - Digital animation

Produce an info-graphic poster, with examples, comparing vector animation with raster animation.  You should include:

○      a description,

○      their uses,

○      popular file formats,

○      software,

○      notable dates,

○      advantages and disadvantages (including compression: file size, download speeds; scalability).

 

Provide examples of the following formats: .fla, .swf, .gif, .mng, .svg. State for each:

○      what the formats mean,

○      what software supports them and

○      how and why they are used.

Task 1 - Understand uses and principles of web animation

1.1 - Traditional animation (T1 Wk1) - EMMA

• Create a 5 second claymation with the title ‘the box’
• Create a short animation using Flash CC with the ‘onion skinning’ technique and tweening
• Explain the techniques used, and the technical details (such as frame rates, file format, resolution etc) of your animations.
• Explain the “persistence of vision” theory and compare it to one current theory surrounding the optical illusion of motion.  You should include a description, key dates, people and opinions. 

1.2 - History of animation (T1 Wk1) -KAROL

 

Create an illustrated explanatory timeline of the history of animation.  You should provide:

• a description of each technique,
• notable people related to the techniques,
• the advantages and disadvantages, 
• one analysed example for each technique. 

 

You should cover hand drawn (cel, zoetrope...); flick books; animated cartoon; animation process of the graphic information file format (gif); dynamic hypertext markup language (dHTML); extensible hypertext markup language (XHTML); Java applets.  Include snippets of animation code where appropriate.

Animation

The aim of this unit is to develop your practical skills in the creation of interactive animations designed for web delivery. You will investigate web animations and explore digital animation methods. You will devise, plan and create an animation using vector-based animation software techniques to produce animated, interactive web content.

Users of the web increasingly expect dynamic, visually engaging and media-rich content. This can be created by designers in the form of interactive vector-based animations. Animations of this type are scalable, so they can be resized easily for different screen resolutions from mobile devices to the highest resolution monitors. They are also small in file size, they can stream across the internet even at dial-up modem speeds and all internet users can download a software player that makes viewing their content possible. These characteristics make vector-based animations a popular choice for vibrant web content, and designing such sites is a thriving sector of the interactive media industry.

The unit begins with investigations into web animations. These investigations will cover both visual and technical research. You will look closely at interactive animations on the web to analyse their design and content. You will also investigate technologies associated with web animation in order to better understand how your work will run on the internet.

Planning a web animation project involves designing, storyboarding and drawing animation content. You will gain experience of planning a web animation project in response to a vocationally relevant client brief. You will use vector-based animation software techniques to produce animated interactive content designed for delivery on the internet, and will save and export this animation in a format suitable for the web. This unit will also develop your ability to reflect critically on your own work, as you will need this professional skill in any future career.

The outcome of this unit will be in the form of a completed production blog, and a completed animated advertisement for the web.  The production blog must contain all research, planning, design, analysis, evaluation and re-design notes as well as a lesson activity diary.  As with other units, you must use this blog to communicate in a variety of ways, for example you may wish to support your writing with embedded images, and you may wish to produce your lesson activity diary as a video or podcast.

1. Understand uses and principles of web animation.

Understand requirements for a specific media production.

Understand the nature and purposes of research in the creative media industries

2. Be able to devise web animation.

Be able to prepare pre-production documentation for a specific media production.

Be able to apply a range of research methods and techniques

3. Be able to create web animation following industry practice.

Be able to apply pre-production planning for a specific media production.

Be able to present results of research.

Due Feb 11th

Individual evaluation: Identify 

• Technical aspects of your promo video
• Framing/ shots/ quality of images
• Was it what you proposed to do? 
• Were your findings accurate? 
• Was it fit for purpose?
• What did you target audience think? 
• How does it appeal to your target audience? 

Your evaluation should be a minimum of 300 words - make sure you identify why you have made certain decisions. You could highlight key points from your edit by taking screen shots with writing or evaluating your edit with a voice over and text boxes.