Model Based Animation

Introduction

Model based animation refers to the movement of models in order to create the illusion they are animated. Models which are usually used are things such as clay models or action figures.

Morph

Morph is a 1994 model based animation produced by 'Aardman Animations.' Morph gained much popularity from the british childrens program 'SMart.' In this there would be a series of shorts showing the character morph speaking jargon and engaging in a series of shenanigans. A morph episode will be produced like most forms of animation. By this i mean the usual move object take photo frame by frame method.

Pingu



Pingu is a BAFTA award winning stop-motion tv series developed using principle of model based animation. Like morph it is produced in a series of shorts using the same methods. Also like morph, the character speak jargon making production easier in terms of casting and voice recording.

Robot Chicken

Not all forms of model based animation have to be clay animation. This can be seen through Seth Green's cult classic 'Robot Chicken.' A stop motion show which focuses on the mockery of pop culture and topics in the public's interest. It uses the exact same principles of any other form of model based animation. The only difference being that rather than using lay figures the animators use action figure.



Modern day animation

Spongebob Squarepants (Stephen Hillenburg)

Spongebob squarepants is an award winning animated television series created by stephen Hillenburg in 1996. the series started after the end 'rockos modern life' in 1996. Hillenburg teamed up with a group of writers and directors from 'nick' to product the spongebob series. By the year 2000 the show had gained massive popularity from various audiences. Like most animation in this time period it was seen as a cartoon with adult themes. Due to this a wide range of people from all ages appreciated the series. Initially the animation was done in traditional cell shade animation. However seeing the potential in computer animation they eventually moved on to using digital ink and paint.

The Simpsons (Matt Groening)

The Simpsons is a satirical cartoon comedy first aired in '1987' on the 'Tracey Ullmen Show.' The show began to gain popularity in the 90's due to it's appeal to a wide target audience. It proved the animated programmes could appeal to adults as well as children. This later beckoned in many other similar shows with similar themes. This was due to the fact many animators realised animation could be produced with adult themes in order to appeal to the older audience. The actual production of a Simpsons episode takes a lot of time (usually up to five months.) It will begin with the writing of the script and then all of the shows dialogue will be recorded. Seasons 1-14 were created using the traditional method of cell animation. This consist of drawing the scenes on cell papers and painting them manual  However, eventually technology progresses and digital ink and pain is used by digitalising the cell papers. Often certain aspects of animation will be done in 3-d such as objects rolling as it makes the movement much smoother.

Family Guy (Seth MacFarlane)

Family guy was an adult cartoon first aired in 1999. The writer, Seth MacFarlene, who had many inspirations (The Simpsons being one of them.) After the success of The Simpsons Macfarlane decided to create an animated show primarily for adults. This is seen through it's controversial jokes and adult content. It has proved very successful although received much criticise due to how much it resembles other shows such as 'The Simpsons.' This show, like most animation we see today is created using digital ink and paint.

Conclusion

Animation has came a long way since the early days of hand-drawing each frame. In this day in age the process is much quicker due to the increasingly development in technology and digital means of animating. Now animations are tailored for the needs of a range of target audience, not just children. This has changed the public's perception on animation and is a widely used and respected form of film making and television production.

Responding to criticisms

Introduction

Upon the completion of my animation i posted onto my blog in order to receive feedback on my work. In this post i will be giving my own opinion to my finished product asweel as analysing the responses from others.

Personal response

Upon finishes my animation I was very pleased with how it had turned out. However, I was rather disappointed at the quality of the video. After doing colour correction it looked better however i was still not content with the final quality. There was an awful lot of digital noise on the visuals (normally when you enlarged the video.)

(Of cause, the fact i have presented it with Youtube's streaming quality is also a factor for it's poor quality.)

Other than the videos quality, I feel the rest of my project went very well. It came out near enough exactly how I envisioned it too and is entertaining to watch. If I was to create it again I would definitely use a better camera in order to improve the quality.

Peers feedback

I was pleased with this piece of feedback especially due to the fact that the enjoyed my interaction with the drawing. I felt this was the best part of my animation  Therefore i agreed with this feedback and I am happy that people enjoyed my stop motion.

This is another positive comment which i received  I am pleased that they praised the title sequence. I agree with them saying that this is what 'brought it together.' This is due to the fact I initially planned for the titles to be similar to this in order to bring the whole animation together. Therefore, i am pleased that it was effective in presenting my finished product.

The rest of the comments which I received on my animation were positive. Very few viewers suggested improvements which i was rather surprised about. Mainly down to the quality of the video. Although their were a few suggested improvements which I had not expected.

This was one of the few improvements which was suggested for my animation. This viewer felt that i could have made it longer. I think this is definitely something to take into consideration. In fact, initially I wanted to have an extra scen within my animation were the character rips part of the page of. However, due to the duration I had to produce the animation i didn't have nearly enough time to finish this part of the animation. However, if I was to do the project again I think I would definitely make it much longer as I feel it is cut shot currently.

As you can see, another improvement which was suggested was to possibly make the drawing more detailed. The viewer also goes on to say that it 'isn't necessary ' Although I feel it could be effective with detailed drawings I don't feel this particular animation would benefit from them. This is due to the nature and humor of my animation. It is on a notebook therefore I wanted to make the character seem more like a persons doodle. On the other hand, if I was to create a similar animation with I different theme I think I would make the drawings much more detailed.

In conclusion i personally am very pleased without how my animation has turned out. I am also happy to see such a large amount of positive comments from my animation. As i stated earlier if i was to do this project again i would use better quality camera and possibly increase the length of the film.