Technology
The World Beyond the Screen
Evolution of Animation Technology
Have you ever woken up early on a Sunday just to watch a cartoon or anime? The answer is probably yes. The innate nature of curiosity of the human mind always wonders about colourful thoughts. But it wasn’t always full of colour and action. Before colour, there was only monochrome and before monochrome, there were only lines. Yes, lines! With the growth of modern technology and innovation, it is hard for us to imagine entertainment to be just lines. But that is how animation first began.
In the 1960s, Vector Graphics Software was used to make engineering drawings and simulate flight paths. They were called Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Software. This software was only able to compute basic shapes and lines and was not really meant for animation purposes. However, one curious man thought otherwise and endeavoured to use it for a creative purpose.
The Contributions of Able
Robert Able started working with computer graphics as an apprentice to John Whitney, one of the pioneers of computer animation. Able thought of using the CAD software to do some basic animations. He was able to figure out a way to use the software to produce short animations. This method, however, became insufficient and a new raster graphics software had to come into play. Raster Graphics is a method of producing an image using a two-dimensional grid of pixels. In simpler words, it allowed for the introduction of colour into the image. This led to various short pieces of animation and attracted the attention of the big sharks.
Able formed his own animation company and was commissioned to do an expensive Super Bowl commercial. He was challenged to create a humanoid robot that would mimic human movements smoothly. In order to do so, he put forth a system that later developed into what we now know as Motion Capture. Motion Capture uses cameras to capture markers that are attached to specific parts of the subject. The computer then uses these markers as a reference to calculate the movements of the live subject and then digitally transfers it to the virtual subject through software. This was revolutionary at the time and required a lot of computational power.
During another project with the famous Hollywood director Steven Spielberg, Able used a technique called texture mapping, which allowed the use of real-life textures in animations. This system works by using a texture and then wrapping it over a 3D model to give it a high amount of detail. Using these various techniques, Able enabled (pun intended) the use of computer graphics to produce feature-length films which went on to win several awards.
The Expansion of Computer Graphics
Pixar is one of the biggest names in the animation industry. The company started out with an animated film called “The Adventures of André & Wally B.” in 1984. This film gained international recognition and encouraged Apple to collaborate with Pixar and produce animation-oriented hardware units. These units allowed various traditional animation companies to incorporate computer graphics into their animation process. The Walt Disney Company was one such entity that used computer graphics to digitise its hand-drawn animations. They also started using 3D environments as backdrops for their 2D characters. Computer graphics helped them to speed up production and produce more animated films.
Films started incorporating computer graphics into their pipeline using a technique called Alpha Compositing. In such a method, a cutout is made for the graphics element using a black and white matte known as an alpha mask. The cut-out graphics element is then placed on the film using compositing. This allowed for the use of computer-generated elements in a live-action film.
Exploring New Frontiers
One of the first films to use computer-generated graphics was Tron. The creators of Tron used computer-generated effects as well as practical effects to create an entirely surreal environment with live-action characters in them. The film was shot with high contrast so that the visual effects team could easily distinguish between the different components in the image. They manually had to take four to five different images of each frame to make alpha masks for each of the components so that they could composite them together later. This meant having to take more than 100,000 images and then applying the effects to each image before compositing it back together. The sheer amount of work and dedication that went into Tron is astounding.
Animation technology has evolved a lot throughout the years. From portraying simple lines to entire cities, it has shown us a new path of possibilities. With modern computational power, every individual now has the resources to use computer animation as a tool to explore their creativity. But even today, animation technology continues to evolve. Various new technologies like live compositing and virtual production are being introduced. The Mandalorian is one such example where instead of creating a world around the character, the character was placed in a virtual set. The set consisted of large screens which depicted the virtual backgrounds used. With the development of VR and AR, the limits of art and visualisation are being pushed further.
Even if modern technology makes animation look easy, one must never undermine the hard work of the people that were behind its evolution. The countless hours of effort that they poured into their art are what truly give it its value. And the happiness their art has brought to the world is the sweetest reward they could have.
