ANIMATION !!

“Animation is creating and recording of individual phases of an event, which when played at a certain predetermined rate, that exceeds our persistence of vision, gives us an illusion of movement.”

For a very long time, animation has only been a synonym to the traditional cel animation , where an artist used to sit and draw 24 drawings for every one second of animation that we see on screen. But lately the trends have changed and now with the rapidly changing technology the face of animation has undergone a complete metamorphosis. Computer graphics has taken the imagination of the artist beyond the realms of comprehension. Things that seemed impossible a few years back have become very much possible now. Animation is witnessing such level of photo realism that the line between animation and life has completely blurred if not erased.

Animation is both Art and Science at the same time. Hence knowing just the technology is not enough to start animating. One also needs to understand the fundamentals of animation. The principles of animation that were developed decades ago; the concept of story-boarding,writing for screen, mise-en-scene, staging etc,all collectively form the foundation of animation and needs to be understood and followed.

We, at SAAMS, make conscious effort to practice animation both as an art and as a science and not just wonder at the technology that makes things happen. We also appreciate and marvel at the art behind it.

Traditional Cel Animation or 2D

As the name suggests, it is the animation that is created in Two Dimensional space (2D). This is the style of animation that has been used since the beginning of twentieth century.

2D animation gets associated with cartoons , since most of the time it’s the cartoon characters that get animated. Over the years it has been researched and refined and volumes have been written about it.

2D animation always serves as the first step in the ladder that leads to the zenith of animation industry.

Computer Graphic Imagery or 3D

Unlike cel animation that is done on paper , in 3D, the venue shifts to the computer hard disk from the paper. Here the character gets modelled and animated within the computer and then shot with a virtual camera that is a part of the software. The camera , in this case, can perform more difficult and complex moves .This is the emerging trend of animation which is being accepted and used all over the world. 3D animation is not just confined to animated cartoons but has also entered the realm of regular live action films.

Computer graphic animation has helped actors perform some impossible and death defying scenes. 3D animation is also responsible for the amazing special effects that we see on screen now a days.