Flamin' and Arcade Myself!

Animated movies such as Stuart Little, Mowgli, Tom & Jerry, Popeye and some of the top Indian mythological movies like Hanuman, Ramayana, and Mahabharata are a delight to watch . Thanks to the highly developed technology due to which fine quality animation is feasible. Film industry has soared high due to 3D animation. Due to 3D Animation, the lifeless images look dynamic and actual. The history of movies has been changed by these advanced techniques and tools. People usually prefer to watch light animated movies as they want to just relax themselves from the day’s normal schedule. It’s enjoyable and comforting to watch 3D animated movies. 3D animation is fundamentally a method of moving computer or hand drawn images quite swiftly giving you a delusion of movement or motion. Animation has taken a major step and entered the world of movies, it’s not just restricted to cartoons anymore. 3D Animated movies have achieved enormous popularity and trend in the film industry. Animated movies are at par with action and adventurous movies these days. 3D Animated films are not just a preference of kids, even the grown ups have developed huge trend to watch animated series and cartoon characters. Film industry too is highly influenced by 3D animation. With the increasing demand of animated movies, there is a incessant up gradation of technology and computer graphics so that the target audience feels happy and likes the entire series of 3D animated movies. Whether it is movies, cartoon films, TV series, advertising or media, the entire credit for success of a brand goes to the expert animator. Animators are people who use their ingenuity and create movies or advertisement clippings that divert the prospective customer. A perfect combination of unimaginable graphics, special visual and sound effects and advanced technologies has swept the world of movies. It is due to 3D animation, where thoughts can probably change to reality and the impossible becomes possible which brings colors to the lifeless and the unnoticed. 3D animation has not only affected the film industry but has opened new ways for people who wish to make a successful career in this field. It is quite profitable for people choose animation and multimedia as their careers as they can earn good profits for their inventiveness. To effectively convey the message and subject of the animation, one has to have a perfect blend of text, video, graphics, sound effects, interaction and other useful tools, other than 3D animation. Thus, you need to be an skilled technician as well as have a good visualization power and also innovative enough to sway the target audience. It was Walt Disney who dominated the animated film industry and soon the other major player was Warner Brothers who made short animated films to compete Walt Disney characters. And very soon the animated films hit the big screens which fascinated people from all age groups. These days 3D animated movies are a major contributing part of film industry. 3D Animated movies have successfully held its position in the world of cinemas.

Animation is something that I like to watch a lot, sometimes it feels crazy when you keep watching animes (like Naruto and Dragonball z) and talking about them anywhere and everywhere you go. Some people think that this is crazy, from their point of view it’s like “Those things are just imaginative, their is nothing like flying persons having unlimited powers, that may destroy the world and they are fighting at the cost of their lives to save this earth. Some of them are not even earthling, they are like alien or extra-terrestrials who are from some other planet and galaxy, which in fact also know our language, i mean can you believe it all of those aliens can speak our language, starting form Japanese or Chinese then they also know English and then they came to know your regional language, isn’t that odd? and my answer is always same to them, “they are alien what do expect from them, though i know that they are just mare imaginative creatures and it can also be TRUE that their is no such thing like Aliens or extra-terrestrial, as I always say no one can think of anything new. Those things are always modified from some other thoughts which have some origins of reality, so in this case their must be something that do exist and creating these stories or giving ideas of these stories. It’s like they have an alien Grandma who keeps story telling them every night and they make a story out of it and sell it to some production company.

Well except this I mean my friends i also have some problem facing because of my parents who do not understand my feeling towards those animes, I believe O.K., I do believe that those animes are fake having no real origin or any grandma telling stories, but still the story and the concept of these animes are just marvelous and some of them even give us good education and also some journal knowledge, if they ever look it in that kind of way. Well in my case I came to know about many things, like the spiritual power of a normal human being and it’s uses and that power is also known as “CHI”. Sometimes i like to learn their language so that i don’t have to wait to watch them in a language that i understand. They also provide some geographical knowledge and their Sci-Fi concept may look like that they are giving a sneak peak into the world of future where many things, NO, approximately everything is being controlled by those damn Machines, and that makes some persons to find that kind of technology which is totally human operated having no brain of itself. The main point it spreads the word of peace and to fight for “What you Love” even if you have to die for it and that thing include the positive side of life. For me it’s like a really entertaining encyclopedia. So what do you think about that, huh!?

Since the very beginning of time, man has always been interested in capturing a sense of motion in every work of art. Right from the eight legged boar that was first found in the Altamira caves in Northern Spain to right alongside the mummified remains of pharaohs long gone, this craze for capturing motion is always evident in every artistic endeavor known to man.

A good example of what an ancient comic strip would like can be found in the ancient Egyptian wall decorations. A famous illustration by Leonardo da Vinci depicts how various limbs would look in different positions. Giotto’s seem to miraculously be taking flight in their motions, and the Japanese made use of scrolls to tell their stories.

Real animation can never be achieved without the person first understanding a basic principle: “the persistence of vision”. This particular principle was first brought to our notice in the 19th century by a Frenchman with the name of Paul Roget, who also invented the thaumotrope. This particular contraption happened to be a disc with a string attached on both ends. One side of the disc had a bird on it and the other an empty cage. When the disc was twirled, the bird would appear to be in the cage. This only goes to show that the human eye can retain images even when it is exposed to a series of pictures, one at a time.

Since then, there have been two other inventions that have gone a long way in furthering the cause of animation: the phenakistoscope by Joseph Plateau and the zoetrope by Pierre Desvignes. The phenakistoscope was a circular card like structure with slits along the edges. When the viewer held this whirling device up to a mirror and looked through the slits, a series of drawings along the circumference of the card would appear to the viewer as a moving object. The same technique was used for the zoetrope, wherein a strip of paper containing drawings was carefully inserted into a cylinder. The cylinder was then twirled on a spindle and the viewer would gaze through the slots on the top of the cylinder. The figures on the insides of the cylinder would magically come to life.

The invention of the motion camera and projector by Edison was the first real invention that propelled the concept of animation into reality. And although, animation became reality with the motion camera, it was still in its simplest of forms. The short film by Stuart Blackton, “Humorous Phases of Funny Faces” was probably the first real movie to bring animation to life. For the movie, comical faces where drawn on a blackboard and then photographed, after which they were erased and another stage of expressions would be drawn.

This particular “stop motion” effect managed to captivate audiences by the simple fact that it managed to make basic drawings come to life.

In the early 20’s, the hype surrounding animated cartoon began to diminish while movie exhibitors began to look elsewhere for other sources of entertainment media. The reason behind this being that the audience was bored stiff of watching animated figurines doing their thing without there being any real storyline to it. Up until this point, animation was still in its basic form (with the exceptions of Winsor McCay’s works like Gertie the Dinosaur). What McCay managed to accomplish was a character in this dinosaur that he brought to life, something which was only seen in Felix the cat by Otto Messmer. The very notion of a dinosaur coming to life was in itself remarkable.

The biggest drawback about the animated flicks that came out during this time was the fact that there was never any importance given to plots. The animated flicks during this time were only a series of gags that were haphazardly strung together. And not what anyone today would call funny.

Of course you have to take into consideration that most of the animated movies were based on stringing primitive gags (and in many cases violence) together. In many movies you would have one character beating another character mercilessly. Or, the hero would cut the villain into tiny slices of ham.

As nonsensical as it may sound to us today, it did work for a while back then, until a big change came about in the animation industry towards the mid twenties. The bigger animation studios began to take over the smaller projects and set certain industry standards for animation. Animators were given a definite number of drawings to draw per day and cartoons began to be manufactured cheaply and in quantity.

And this is how the animation industry got started before the times of Disney.

The computer animation field has quite a prominent part to play in the entertainment industry. Gaming animation is so famous at this moment of time that high quality games are being developed into movies. The example in this regard can be of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and DOOM. If you manage to earn a degree in arts specializing in gaming animation or computer animation you can perhaps work in the entertainment industry.

Course Structure
The course structure of online animation degree program consists of visual effects, gaming animation and computer animation. When earning an online degree in animation, you will also get to know about the new software programs and latest multimedia trend. If you are only interested in video game animation, it is advisable that you go for a specialization in video game animation.

Online Bachelor of Science in Animation Degree
If you are looking for training in the practical aspects of animation then Bachelor of Science in Animation is the way to go. The most intriguing thing about this online degree program is that it also includes combination of general education and management concepts, which can come in real handy when you are doing project work. You can attain entry-level jobs by earning an online Bachelor of Science in Animation degree. It includes multimedia designer, assistant animator and graphic artist.

Online Masters in Animation Degree
An online Masters degree in Animation prepares students to use computer applications and various sound imaging techniques. Other important features of this online degree program are specialized camerawork, CAD applications, image capture, equipment operation and computer programming.

Career prospects
If the Bureau of Labor Statistics is to be believed, the annual salary of animators is more than $50,000. When you earn an online degree in animation, you will surely face no problems in acquiring a job. However, to advance your career it is of paramount importance that you go for a higher degree. If possible, go for a Bachelor in Animation or Masters in Animation. Opportunities for animators are expected to grow by more than 10 percent by 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Earning Online Degrees in Animation
To earn an online degree in animation, first you need to find an accredited university that is conducting online degree programs in animation. Details of some accredited online universities that offer online degree programs in animation are:

Westwood College Online: Westwood College Online offers Associate, Bachelor and Masters level degree programs in animation. The best part about Westwood College is that their degree programs also provide hands-on training in areas like physics, special effects, psychology, video production techniques and 3D animation. Instructors at Westwood College Online are quite good.

Penn Foster Career School: Accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council, Penn Foster Career School is one of the world’s biggest distance learning college conducting Associate and Diploma programs in the Animation and Graphic Design. The faculty at Penn Foster Career School is highly qualified and experienced so as a student you do not need to worry about the quality of education.