Camera-less animation: Creating a Thaumatrope

As we are exploring stop-motion animation, we looked at some of the first types of moving imagery before the notion of animation and film was prevalent.
We each made a Thaumatrope. This was a popular toy in the 19th century. It consisted of two images, normally on circular pieces of card, stuck together, back to back, with a piece of string in between them. When twirling the piece of string rapidly the two images become one.
Here is an example. On one side is the brightly coloured bird, on the other is the cage, when twirling the string on the left and right of the images, they appear to become one.



Here is my attempt at making a Thaumatrope. To make it, I used a pencil, a permanent marker, two pieces of card, a long piece of string (doubled to make it thicker) a ruler and a compass.

 Firstly I measured the card and cut it into equal sizes. Then I drew a dog on the right side of one piece of card.

Next I drew a cat on the left side of the second piece of card.

I then glued the two pieces of card together, back to back. Making sure that the image behind is upside down and that the drawings were adjacent to one another. Next I measured the left and right sides of the card and made holes with a compass in the centre. I put the string through the holes and folded it in half so it was thicker for better grip and control when spinning the Thaumatrope.

I then coloured the images in with permanent marker as they would stand out better as silhouettes.

Here is how the finished Thaumatrope looks.

As you can see, I made a rectangular shape rather than a circular. After trying and testing it, I think a circular shape would work better. Also I attached separate pieces of string at either end instead of running a single length of string between the two pieces of card. I think the spinning motion would have been better had I made it that way.

Quote

"A truth whispered among animators is that 70% of a shows impact comes from the soundtrack" Michel Dougherty

Personally I believe the percentage of impact to be equal for both visual and audio. The emotion you feel when you are watching anything is hugely increased by the soundtrack accompanying it. The imagery can be anything from beautiful and moving to chaos and carnage, however I believe it to be the right soundtrack that provokes the wealth of emotions experienced.
As for the use of the word "whispered", this gives us the impression that it is a secret that animators don't want to admit. Understandably so as their job is to create the actual imagery we see before us so to admit that most of the impact comes from the music would be quite difficult for an animator. However it is the soundtrack that brings that animation to life. It is a collaboration, without the soundtrack we would not experience the amount of emotion intended and vice versa.

Stop-motion Animation

Stop motion animation is animation that is captured one frame at time, with physical objects that are moved between frames. It requires the animator to physically alter the scene, shoot another frame, physically alter, shoot again and so on and so forth. When you play back the sequence of images rapidly, it creates the illusion of movement.  Stop-motion is used all the time for movies, tv adverts, tv series and many more.

There are several different types of stop-motion animation. The first was the hand drawn images produced by the likes of the Walt Disney Company such as Snow White or Aladdin. As time has moved on Disney have come to use Computer Generated Imagery (CGI), another form of animation.





The most well-known type of stop-motion animation is 'Claymation'. This is where we use 3D objects

or characters sculpted from clay or other moldable material, and then taking a series of still pictures that are replayed in rapid succession to create the illusion of movement. One of the most famous 'claymation' productions in the UK is Wallace and Gromit.

 



 Another example of stop-motion is Cutout animation. This is where animations are created using 2D materials such as card and paper. South Park is one of the most famous Cutout animations.      
 Stop motion can be very time consuming to make but the end results are well worth the effort. Not having to hire actors to physically star in movies, stunt doubles, special effects etc, cuts costs of movie making. Those working on stop animation movies will be spending time rather than money.                                                          

The last animation I watched

I recently watched one of my favourite animated films, The Nightmare Before Christmas. It is a stop-motion animation that includes both silouhettes and claymation.

It was released in 1993 and was the first feature-length stop-motion animation produced by Hollywood. Many considered it a gamble to produce a feature-length film of this kind but it paid off and is now one of the best loved films of its time and a dual-holiday classic.
For one second of film, up to 12 stop-motion moves had to be made. It took around 100 people, three years to complete this movie.
Here is the trailer of the 21 year old movie.

What is a Learning Environment?

Learning does not occur in the classroom alone. It can take place anywhere.

A learning environment is all dependent on the learner and their learning style. It can be anywhere the learner feels comfortable and is able to concentrate and understand the subject in hand. 

There are many factors that contribute to the right learning environment but they are based on individual preference. Some people prefer background noise when working, others prefer silence. Some prefer the space surrounding them to be neat and tidy, some aren't bothered.

To organise a learning environment in a formal setting such as a classroom can prove quite difficult when you have a class of many individuals with differing wants and needs for learning. In formal settings, balance is the key. Colours, images, interactive equipment and music are just some examples that can be incorporated into a stimulating learning environment for children. Some children get distracted from the task at hand easily; therefore the classroom needs a balance. A classroom needs to be a place where a child feels comfortable and has the chance to concentrate. It should be a place that motivates their learning.