Source entry #1. Research Question: How did evolution of animation in movie production evolved throughout the years? Article I chose ” The history of animation; celebrating Disney’s 100 years of stories ” posted by NYFA.
An article “The history of animation” published by NYFA / 3D animation & VFX / Industry Friends is a great start for my research project. The article posted on New York Film Academy website provides informative and deepened information about the history of animation and overall evolution of Disney with a specified timeline of years 1940’s to nowadays. The animation industry has become an absolute “giant” in the world of cinema. Despite the huge different varieties of companies/teams and of course years of efforts required to make modern animated films, author also mentions the crazy statistical percentage data. The animation industry dominates as the most profitable genre, posting an impressive 52% gross margin since 2004, leaving the second most profitable genre, which is action in the dust of at 48%. Adventure movies which are animated is the number 1 genre for earning the money. For example, despite of talking about Disney production, the movie “Avatar” still stands in the first place since 2009, with its 2.8 billion US dollars in box office, is the world’s highest-grossing film of all time. But let’s leave a statistic(s) a little behind for now and get deeper into the actual effect evolution. Of course, animation wasn’t always a multimillion dollar affair… It’s hard to define what the first ever animation was, as it depends entirely on what is classified as an animation. Given that animation, at its heart is simply the act of creating the illusion of movement through still images, you could argue that the craft began hundreds of thousands of years ago. We are all familiar with the stereotypical cave painting imagery, which usually depicts hunting in motion, that what the first animation was like. Over the next decade, more experimental animation techniques, including rotoscoping technique were developed, producing some hit or miss results. However, the opening of small studio in LA changed the whole game / movie industry forever. With more innovations and notable works over the 20th century (and beyond) than we could ever hope to list here, Disney’s studio and tumultuous history set a precedent for the entire animation industry. Disney Studios also inspired the popular 12 principles of animation, which many animators use and swear by nowadays as well.
Posted by Iuliia Khutsishvili. Link to the article : The History of Animation: Celebrating Disney’s 100 Years of Stories (nyfa.edu) .
