The effects of sound...

"Sound effects play an important role in conveying action. Music helps express emotion."- Micheal Geisler.

I agree with this statement, as it is an accurate reflection of the importance of sound. If we were to watch a film clip without any sound, it may not hold as much meaning, as we are unable to feel the emotion that is being portrayed by the characters. We need to use sound to create a feeling to fit with what viewers can see on the screen. For example, in a horror film it would be impossible to create the sense of suspense without any sound, because the images on screen are only a part of the production, it needs sound to make it whole.

It is easy to spot when a sound effect is missing from a production, quite often we can psychologically place a sound in a silent gap, that we feel fits the scene we are looking at. Using the correct sound effects help to engulf an audience in a performance, as they can connect with the characters and the emotions they are experiencing.

Without sound, we only have half of an experience.

Creating an animation using Zu3D!

In a recent Ed futures session, we were given the opportunity to use the program Zu3D to create an animation. In my first year of University we created animation using 2 animate, however, the Zu3D software allows you to create a more complex animation, using a range of tools. Using Zu3D, we were able to construct a suitable background for our animated projects, and then add our characters or objects through a layering effect. This allowed us to edit each layer of the project, so that they would fit with each other. In order to portray the illusion of 'movement', we can use the program to manipulate our images, whilst taking a series of screenshots at each stage. This gives us the effect of a flowing moving image.

Although it was fascinating to be able to understand and experiment with how stop-motion animation is made, it soon became clear that a great deal of patience was needed, along with a lot of spare time!



The video above shows the short animation which I managed to create in a two hour session. On average, film companies produce 20-30 seconds of animated film per week, so it can take years to complete a whole film (Dirks, 2014).  

  

How to...make a thaumascope!!

In today's seminar, we were asked to design and make a thaumascope. A thaumascope is an example of camera-less animation, which works by creating the illusion that an image is moving, by spinning a piece of card fast enough to trick your eyes. In order to do this, you need to have a design in mind that will look as though it is moving once you start spinning the thaumascope.

For my own design, I chose to draw a bird on one side of the card, and a cage on the other, in the hope that once the card was spun, it would look as though the bird was inside the cage. Here are the steps I took to make my thaumascope:

Although they seem fairly straightforward to make, there are various considerations which need to be made. For example, on my first attempt at making the thaumascope, I drew the bird much bigger than the cage, which caused problems once it was spun. The design of the thaumascope is extremely important in order for it to be executed successfully. Overall, the thaumascope is an effective type of camera-less animation, which is simple and effective to make, and good fun!

Stop-Motion Animation!

Stop-Motion animation is a technique used to create the illusion that an object is moving, by physically manipulating it, and photographing it at each stage. Once you have a string of images, all with a slight change in each one, you can put them together to create a short clip. This can be done with actual objects, models (eg. clay), cut outs, puppets and silhouettes. Productions such as South Park, Wallace and Gromit, and the Corpse Bride all use varaints of stop-motion animation. The animation used to create the Wallace and Gromit productions is also known as 'claymation', as it created using the manipulation of clay figures and models.

Many of the first stop-motion films were produced in the early 1900's, using sketched drawings or actual objects to create a moving scene. At this time, stop-motion animation was a big idea, and became extremely popular with film directors, however, it is a time consuming process, especially when its used to make a feature length films such as Wallace and Gromit, which took around five years to complete.



The video above is one of the earliest stop-motion animated films, called 'Fun in a Bakery Shop'. It has been made from a series of frames which have been put together to create the illusion of a moving image. Stop-motion animation is not as commonly used in film today, due to the development of computerized animation as it is a much more cost and time effective.

Animation!!

Today's seminar has been based on the different types of animation. Animation first started back in the 1600's, with egyptian tomb drawings and cave drawings. There are various types of animation, ranging from the classic sketched/drawn animation often seen in the original Walt Disney productions, to the most current computerized animation seen in the film industry today. The last animated feature I watched was Disneys Frozen. As it is a recent Disney production, it uses computer and graphics technology to create its animated look.




Frozen is a 3D computer animated fantasy film, produced in America in the Walt Disney Studios. It is the 53rd animated feature in the Walt Disney classic selection. Frozen was produced using a blend of computerized and hand-drawn animation, and several new animation tools were developed, to create realistic-looking snow and ice. Personally, I enjoyed Frozen (especially the songs), because the storyline was very well executed, and the animation used made each character different from the next.

I would highly recommend anyone reading this to go and watch it if you havent already done so!  

Introduction to Education Futures!!

Today was our first seminar for the education futures module, which I chose due to my dissertation topic being on technology in the classroom. The overview of the module looks very interesting, as we will be creating animations and looking at gaming in the classroom. So far we have discussed how important the learning environment is, and what makes a good learning environment. In my personal opinion, the structure in University at present provides a poor learning environment at times, as the lecture theatre does not provide the right conditions for students to engage in their learning. I think that this module will not only be enjoyable and a good alternative to other modules, it will also be interesting as it will get us all thinking about how education is now and how it could be in the future.