Animation Fundamentals— Celebrating 75 Years of Superman
A short animated feature celebrating the 75th anniversary of Superman from Man of Steel (now Justice League) Director Zack Snyder and Batman: The Animated Series co-creator Bruce Timm. Within two minutes they sum up the long (and sometimes silly) history of the iconic superhero.
There are many examples within the short of the 12 elements of animation, but we’ll focus on three: exaggeration, staging, and secondary action.
Superman is probably one of the greatest examples of exaggeration. From the way he flies, fights and throws objects, each moment emphasizes his strength and power.
There are many examples of secondary action within the short. The moments before taking off flying pass skyscrapers or winding up the next punch against an enemy help to make Superman’s actions more dynamic.
Superman has had many iconic poses over the past 70+ years, and the animators use staging in each frame that lands on a pose to convey Superman’s personality and identity as a superhero across each decade and different mediums of entertainment.
Within this two minute tribute, animators took us through Superman’s long history, and used each of the 12 elements of animation to portray what the Man of Steel has meant as an iconic comic book superhero.
