Persistence of vision is the term used for when an image is
momentarily visible in the retina (1-25th 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
