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What Are the Different Animation Formats?

There are many different animation formats that all have different uses depending on the requirement. These different animation formats give animators even more creativity and design choices. This allows for a wider variety of animated content for many different uses among the web. The most common animation format is an animated GIF. An animated GIF file is a sequence of still images being rapidly flipped through to produce the illusion of motion (Think of it as a virtual flipbook). GIF files can be completely motionless or they can be animated which increases there versatility beyond other formats.

Another animation format is FLA. The FLA format is used for flash files and is also used commonly. Flash files are generally used for hand drawn animation but can also be used for stringing together still images, much like a GIF. The main difference between a flash file and a GIF file is the size. GIF files are generally much smaller than flash files, but flash files allow you to do more with them. A common use for flash files on the internet is within online games. They can also be used for videos and small animated images, although GIF’s are predominantly used for animated images.

One other animation format is Dynamic HTML. Dynamic HTML is used in conjunction with HTML, but the main difference between the two is that regular HTML creates static sites while Dynamic HTML creates sites with animation within it. This is advantageous to use because it does not require the user to physically create the animation, instead they can use java script to create it for them which saves a lot of time when creating a website. Dynamic HTML file sizes are variable but can be relatively small.

What Are the Different Animation tools/Programs?

There are a lot of different animation formats, but there are also a lot of different animation tools/programs. These tools/programs can vary in use with some doing a lot of tasks while others doing specific tasks. One tool/program which is very popular is adobe flash. Adobe flash (As the name suggests) creates flash files and contains a massive verity of tools to help make animation easier. On such tool is the morph tool which allows you to change one image into another image fluently. This saves time as it does not require the animation to manually change the image to the other image.

Another animation tool/program is GIFmaker. GIFmaker is a free online program which allows for simple creation of GIF’s. It works by first uploading the images you want and then finalizing the file to download it. You also have options to change the speed of the animation and the size of the images. In addition you can change the order of the images to suit the animation.

What are the Advantages of Animated GIF’s?

There are many different advantages to using GIF’s, these include:

·         Transparency

·         LZW (Loss-Less Compression)

·         Small File Size

·         Can Be Anything You Want

Transparency

Transparency is when you have an image with a blank background that other images can be seen through. For example if you put a transparent image in front of a multi-coloured background, the background would show behind the transparency of the main image. This is useful when you want to place an image on top of another without having to merge the two together.

LZW (Loss-Less Compression)

LZW (Or loss-less compression) is when you compress a file but no data is lost. For example if you wanted to compress a GIF file to upload it to a website, you could do that and the image resolution would stay the same. This is useful for when you want to upload a GIF file to a website, or if you wanted to have a GIF file load on a website. This also allows for multiple GIF’s to be present on a web page at any given time.

Small File Size

The small file size of GIF’s is what makes it possible to use on websites. This coupled with LZW allow the GIF file to be used for many different things. GIF files can be animated and still maintain their small file size which makes it great for websites, and it also allows them to load as if it was just a J-PEG file.

They Can Be Whatever You Want

GIF files can be whatever you want. They can be static or they can be animated. This alongside the previous advantages make GIF files one of the most versatile file types out there. A lot of image files on the web are in fact GIF files and almost all animations are GIF’s. This is because the limitations for their design are in the hands of their creators.

What Are the Disadvantages of Animated GIF’s?

There are Disadvantages to using animated GIF’s. These include:

·         256 Colour Limit

·         The Resolution Can Be Blocky When Zoomed In

·         Too Many GIF's Can Slow Bandwidth

·         Too Many GIF's Can Spoil The Viewing Experience

256 Colour Limit

The 256 colour limit for GIF files is a trade of for the small file size and is incredibly small when compared to the 16 million colour limit for J-PEG files. Although this might sound like a huge disadvantage, GIF files can be used for animation which is what makes them so popular. GIF’s aren’t always animated though so the small file size and LZW make up for it by allowing multiple GIF’s to be present on a web page at any given time.

The Resolution Can Be Blocky When Zoomed In

The resolution for GIF files is fairly reasonable and stays at its optimal resolution because of LZW. However if you zoom into a GIF file it will keep its original resolution. This means that the image will become more pixelated the more you zoom in to it. This is disadvantageous because it means that you would have to increase the file size in order to view the image at a larger state.

Too Many GIF’s Can Slow Bandwidth

Having too many GIF’s on one web page can slow your bandwidth down. This is because there are potential over 100 images that the web page may have to load depending on the length of an animated GIF. Even though the file size is reasonably small, having too many on screen at any given time will slow your bandwidth down and cause problems for your internet. This can also be a problem if the same amount of GIF images is present on every web page, making your website load even slower for your viewers.

Too Many GIF’s can spoil The Viewing Experience

Having too many animated GIF’s on a web page can spoil the viewing experience. This is because the human brain will feel clustered and overworked since it needs to cope with all of the animations at once. This can leave the viewer disoriented and confused which may lead to the number of viewers on your website decrease. It is important to know your limitations on animated GIF’s for a web page and it also factors in on bandwidth and load times.

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What is Persistence of Vision?

Persistence of vision is the term used for when an image is momentarily visible in the retina (1-25^th of a second). It is what makes animation possible because it allows the human eye to view the next image in a sequence a fraction of a second after it has shown. Your brain is then tricked into thinking it is the same image, so it puts them together which gives the image the illusion of movement.

This is also the reason why you do not see the black spaces between some pictures because your eyes are still processing the first image you saw. For example if I drew several images of a stickman catching a ball but added some black spaces between each image, your brain would not perceive those spaces as they were and instead only process the next image.

Persistence of vision also applies to 3D animation and in some animations it is possible to see little stutters. These are the black spaces between the frames and these are only visible if the animation is not fast enough. Animation cannot be too fast though, as the human eye can only perceive about 20 FPS (Frames per Second). This is also how we are able to view the world fluently.

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What Are The Different Uses Of Animation?

There are many different uses for animation. Some of these include:

·         Advertising

·         Creative Arts

·         Entertainment

·         Education

·         Simulation

What is Animation used for in Advertising?

Animation is used in Advertising to keep the viewer engaged. Animation can be very useful in advertising, as it can grab the viewers’ attention and keep them interested in the advert. It is important however to not have too much animation, as the viewer can lose interest, so it is important to have the right level of animation and information to get your point across.

What is Animation used for in Creative Arts?

Animation is used in Creative Arts to portrait an emotion or a feeling. This is used effectively in music videos and art projects. Musicians use animation in music videos in order to express their emotions. For example in the music video for the song - This is Halloween - (Nightmare before Christmas), the animator uses animation for the entire duration of the video. This allows them to create unique situations and events to give of the emotion of fear and enchantment.

What is Animation used for in Entertainment?

Animation is used in Entertainment to create imaginary images. This is can be anything from a 3D model to a 2D model. This can benefit the movie because it allows the script writer to be more creative in his work, as animation can be used to create almost anything. For example in the movie Evil Dead 2, there is a scene where the protagonist (Ash Williams) begins to descend into madness and all the furniture around him start to laugh at him. This is achieved through a mix of both stop motion (The furniture) and full motion (The actor). This allows the user to experience what the character is experiencing.

What is Animation used for in Education?

Animation is used in Education to keep the students focused on their work and to be imaginative. This is useful because not only does it bring life to their work; it allows them to be imaginative and artistic. The most common use of animation in education is through PowerPoint’s and presentations, although it can be used for work purposes such as the use of Adobe Flash.

What is Animation used for in Simulations?

Animation is used for Simulations to create accurate real life situations that the user can react to accordingly. The animation can be used to create 3D dynamic images depending on the simulation and the task required. For example in a flight simulator there is the cockpit and the view ahead of them; this can be animated to allow the user to control the plane and react accordingly to situations such as fuel indicators and controlling the plane.

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What does the term “Animation” mean?

The term “animation” describes a series of still images moving quickly to create the illusion of movement. Animation can be created by hand or through the use of a computer and is used in a wide variety of media such as computer games, television shows, the internet, images, movies and videos.

Two traditional methods of animation

There are many different methods of animation. These include:

·         Flipbook

·         Computer generated

·         Claymation

·         Hand drawn

·         Stop motion

One of the people who pioneered animation in there method was Walt Disney. Walt Disney was a pioneer hand drawn animation; he perfected its use and created some of the most amazing and memorable animations such as the Mickey Mouse cartoons, the vast amount of films (such as Cinderella, Alice in wonderland and Peter pan). To perfect his animation technique, he would draw the first image and then use it as a trace for his other images. This would make sure his images were fluent and didn’t contain any errors.

Two people who pioneered animation in there method were John Whitney Jr and Gary Demos. John Whitney Jr and Gary Demos were pioneers for computer animation because they were responsible for the first use of CGI in a feature movie. The movie in question was Westworld. They needed to use CGI in the movie to portray the androids point of view. They achieved this by pixelating the screen and changing the colour whenever the movie wanted the viewer to see what the robot was seeing.

Computer Animation techniques - how movement is achieved

There are 4 different ways in which movement is achieved in computer animation. These are:

·         Frame by frame

·         Tweening

·         Morphing

·         Masking

Frame by frame – frame by frame is a term used for when still images are played in a sequence one frame after another. It is a common form of animation and is the most basic of computer animation. For example if I created an image in a frame and then tweaked that image in the following frames, when I played them in a loop it would seem as if the pictures were moving.

Tweening – Tweening is the term used for when an image seemingly flows into the next. It is used when still images need to be given flawless motion but cannot due to ruggedness or choppy images. For example if I created an animation of a person walking which looked like a robot walking, I could use Tweening to smooth it out so it would look more like a person walking rather than a robot.

Morphing – Morphing is the term used for when an image changes into a different image. Morphing involves one image overlapping an image while it changes into it. For example in the original incredible hulk T.V. series, masking would be used to change Bruce banner into the hulk. It would be done by taking the two images in separate frames and creating a sort of transition effect between them.

Masking – Masking is the term used for concealing or revealing an image using a mask. A mask can be anything from a basic shape, an image, a part of the image or an effect such as a colour changer. They are used most commonly for highlighting specific parts of an image which would catch the viewers’ attention. An example of masking would be whenever you look through a scope in a video game. The users screen shows what can be seen through the scope and the rest of the screen is usually blacked out, so that they can only see a circle.