Animated education hits fourth dimension

Claudia Sardi, The Jakarta Post, Gianyar

Rilly steps back, pauses, and then takes a deep breath. In his head, he has already visualized a joyful, adventurous trip.

"Rilly, come on, we have to leave now," a female voice behind him cries. "Otherwise we won't get there by dawn."

Rilly sets his eyes firmly on the distant horizon and begins moving his legs, lifting his wings, pounding them faster and faster. The combined momentum of wings and feet catapults him high above the ground.

The little duck has just taken off for his first big journey.

Rilly is the youngest of a Mandarin duck family that must migrate to a warmer place to avoid the harsh winter back home. Their journey is the subject of a film being screened in the newly opened 4D animation theater at Bali Bird Park in Batubulan, Gianyar regency.

Before entering the theater, which still smells of freshly laid carpet, children and their parents are equipped with 3D glasses so they can experience the three-dimensional effects when watching the film on the theater's 6x4-meter screen.

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Agreement signed to expand animation education in India

New Delhi: An agreement has been signed between Frameboxx Animation & Visual Effects, an animation training institute, and Seneca College of Applied arts & Technology, Canada to offer post-graduate degree certificate programmes in animation, visual effects and gaming.

Seneca College of Applied arts & Technology is situated in Toronto and is internationally recognized for its leading edge training in 3D Animation, Gaming and Visual Effects.

The first batch of the programmes is scheduled to start from January 2009.

A world-wide attention was given to the centre in 2005 when work done in its facility by its faculty, students and graduates was showcased in the Oscar-winning animated short film Ryan.

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Original Video Animation: From Japan with Love

Original video animation, or OVA for short, is a Japanese import art technique that features mind-blowing visual sequences and deep plot lines. In fact, OVA will beat most movie animation titles in several critical artistic categories, hands-down.

Original video animation came onto the scene in the late 1970s as the experiment of a group of Japanese animators. As the anime craze grew over the course of the next decade, thousands of OVA titles were released to meet demand. The video animation in these artistic works rivals that of mainstream movie production companies, which are bound by formatting guidelines and other creative restrictions.

Features of Original Video Animation

Here’s an overview of OVA:

• Release Date. Original video animation works are released straight to video, often not even appearing on television or the big screen.
• Format. OVAs are typically released on DVD or laser disc to account for the enhanced visual and audio effects that give this genre its pizzazz.
• Characteristics. These video animation shorts are usually between 20 minutes to two hours in length and span several episodes to create the story.
  

Artistic Control

Perhaps the most attractive feature of an original video presentation is its edginess and underground feel. And that’s all due to the immense artistic control that OVA producers employ. OVA animators have full control of their video animation productions. They are able to tell the story in their own timeframe; thus plot lines and characters are complex and engaging.

If you haven’t yet experienced an original video animation, you’re missing out on one of the pure forms of the art. The Internet and especially eBay are the perfect resources for finding this popular Japanese animation art form.
About the Author

Kelly Richardson covers the local education and technology scenes in major cities across the country. His articles appear in educational journals, periodicals, and e-zines.

Source : http://www.animationschoolreview.com/

7 STEPS IN ANIMATING A SCENE

Tips On Getting Started: there are a number of ways to start the process of learning animation. One is to buy books and teach yourself. The Bible of the industry is the ³Illusion of Life² by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. The information and drawings in this book make it worth the fifty dollars or more that you will pay for it. My advice is to buy this book and start your library of Animation Books to refer to and use as you start your journey of understanding ³The Fascinating World Of Animation.²

The following 7 steps became the gospel according to the nine old men of animation that worked with Walt Disney in founding the industry that you see today. Don¹t just read itŠmemorize it, learn it and use it every time you draw. There is no short cut for skills and knowledge. It all starts will heart and desireŠdo you have it? Next, it takes time and dedication, can you give it?

Seven Steps in Animating A Scene Taken from the ³Illusion Of Life² by Frank Thomas & Ollie Johnson (pp.236-241) *Look these up and read the original version for a complete understanding.

1. Think About The Scene: Plan out how the scene should be animated. Don¹t start animation until you have the action planned out in your mind. Also, keep in mind the character¹s personality and how the scent fits the overall picture. Time spent here will save you time later.
2. Thumbnails: These are small sketches that work out the staging of the characters in the scene and the key poses in the scene. Each pose should tell something about the character. Also, be aware of how your scenes fit into the visual continuity of the sequence. Your thumbnails will guide you and give inspiration for changes. Work out your ideas before you start to save you a lot of time later. These small drawings can be changed easier than the enlarged drawings and solve problems before you get to the storyboard.
3. Mechanics Of Presentation: Make sure your character fits the perspective and scale of the layout. Solve your basic problems of camera angles and camera placement to avoid redoing your work and this will also giving greater interest to the overall film. Recheck the size relationship of all characters before you commit to the animation.
4. Solve Special Drawing Problems: If there are unusual angles or staging angles that are complex, work them out in the thumbnail stage or when you enlarge to full size but have them solved before you start animating. Remember that it takes 12-24 drawing to create one second of animation. Don¹t waste your time on animation if you have problems with the thumbnails or enlargements.
5. Double Check Your Ideas: Make sure you haven¹t forgotten something in the planning of your ideas for the scene. Double check your layout, staging, perspective and key poses. Also, check your animation to make sure it is drawn within the field limits. Use your base sheet to guide your drawings. Trucks and pans can be adjusted to fit the animation, but you need to be sure they are correct before shooting the pencil test.
6. Enlarge Thumbnails To Full Size: Redraw or enlarge your thumbnails with the lucyagraph to fit the layout for the scene and adjust them to work as your key rough poses for animating your scene.
7. Animation And Timing: Now that the animator has his key poses and staging planned, he can concentrate on animating the additional extremes that will control the acting, expressions, dialogue and timing. Timing charts are put on the extremes or key frames so the assistant can put in the additional drawings that are needed to have the character moving at the correct speed and timing the animator has in mind for the scene. The numbers correspond to the key frames and the hash marks are visual guides as to the spacing of the drawing in relationship to the extremes or keys.

Hopefully these tips will help you understand more about the process of animation and spark your interest in the field of "The Fine Art of Animation"

Source : http://www.animationtoolworks.com/

Animators with diplomas to contribute to tourism sector

Education Ministry has opened animation departments in vocational high schools due to rising demand for the art in the tourism sector

Rising demand for animation and animators in the tourism sector has resulted in the opening of animation departments in schools, attracting a great deal of interest from students.

Nowadays hotels are trying to attract more and more tourists via various creative methods. Among them animation activities are an almost indispensable part of hotel facilities especially in the all inclusive system as well as an effective way to keep the tourists in the hotel premises and more involved in the hotel services.

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