A Short Study into the History of Film, Animation and Visual Effects

The moving picture in its adolescence can be accredited to inventions such as the ‘Magic lantern’ created in 1609 which is, in essence,  a machine that projects images on sheets of glass (or ‘Slides’) which light is then directed into through a concave mirror (Magic lantern – Wikipedia, 2021). However, the initial creation of the projected image could be traced back at least 2,000 years ago, around the time fire was discovered and humans would entertain in the form of shadow puppetry (fig.2)  (A history of the Magic Lantern – The Magic Lantern Society, 2021).There are also ancient pieces of pottery which depict understanding of the succession of movement in image form, from as early as the bronze age (fig. 1) (history of animation, 2021).

Fig. 1

While inventions such as the ‘magic lantern’ could create a succession of images that could replicate the illusion of movement, an invention called the ‘Thaumatrope’ was invented in 1825 by John Ayrton Paris, and was one of the initial devices that created the illusion of consistent movement to the eye, technically making it one of the first forms of animation and moving image (Thaumatropes – Museum of the History of Science, 2021). This was essentially a disk with two images on either side attached to string, then twirled around rapidly giving the illusion that the two images are combining and producing movement. However, the earliest inventions that show more fluidity in the succession of images are the phenakistoscope and the Zoetrope. The phenakistoscope, invented in 1832, was a ‘slitted disk with sequential images mounted on a handle’ which once it was spun, would create the illusion of movement (The phenakistoscope Optical Toy Pre-Cinema Animation, 2018). In 1834, the ‘Zoetrope’ (fig.2) was first introduced, which is a spinning cylinder with a ring of sequential images on the interior that, once spun gave the illusion of movement.

Fig.2

Moving into 1872, Eadweard Muybridge was enticed to settle a bet- at any point in the horse’s gallop, do all 4 legs leave the ground simultaneously? This bet was eventually settled in 1877 when Muybridge set up ‘a system of 12 separate cameras spaced 21 inches apart, and each camera was triggered by a tripwire which was triggered when the horse stepped on it’ (BBC Paul Merton’s Weird and Wonderful World of Early Cinema, 2015). The fast succession of these images, much like the zoetrope, created the appearance of movement, however the main difference being the inclusion of cameras. This can be said to be the basis of film.

In 1891 the famous American inventor Thomas Edison finalised his ‘kinetoscope’, which was one of the first devices that were designed to show moving image. This invention had a short commercial life that only spanned from 1894 to 1900, and could only shoot 30-36 frames per second, which lasted less than 20 seconds (Abel, 2005). In the year 1872, the ’praxinoscope’ was created by Charles Emile Raynaud which, much like its predecessor of the Zoetrope, displays sequential images on the interior of a cylinder. The defining difference being the placement of a mirror so the onlooker can perceive the movement with ease (Praxinoscope – Museum of the History of Science, 2021). In 1892, Raynaud projected what can be claimed as the first publicly displayed animated film on his praxinoscope (BBC Paul Merton’s Weird and Wonderful World of Early Cinema, 2015).

The creation of Cinema began in 1895, and on the 28^th of December that very year, the Lumiere brothers demonstrated their invention the ‘Cinematograph’ (figure 3). Taking inspiration from Edison’s ‘Kinetoscope’ however improving upon this they implemented projection as a key element of their invention, enabling more than one person to view the image sequence at once (Karwatka, 2007). This can be viewed upon as the very start of cinema as we know it now.

Fig.3

Similar, notable work in the early years of the projected film can also be accredited to pioneers such as Robert W Paul and Birt Acres, who invented the first British 35 mm camera in 1895. In Germany, Max and Emile Skladowsky invented the ‘bioscope’ and publicly displayed it 2 months prior to the Lumiere screening; However, this ultimately did not technically uphold in comparison (BBC Paul Merton’s Weird and Wonderful World of Early Cinema, 2015). An important figure that arose from the public demonstrations of the ‘Cinematograph’ was stage magician George Melies. His great understanding of magic served well in his creativity in camera manipulation, allowing to produce early instances of ‘double exposure’ (fig.4) to appear in multiple places as once (BBC Paul Merton’s Weird and Wonderful World of Early Cinema, 2015). Melies talents ran parallel with those of George Albert Smith who, in similar fashion was a stage hypnotist and manipulated the camera in ways that pioneered the practises we have today. Smith created a camera that allowed lenses to be put in place and could easily reverse motion, and this later became and essential building block of editing (BBC Paul Merton’s Weird and Wonderful World of Early Cinema, 2015). Pioneer James Williamson in 1901 created a film called ‘The Big Swallow’ which displays some well-crafted early signs of editing and shot transition.

         Fig.4 (The Man with the Rubber Head. 1901. Meilies)

With rapid development of the early camera, animation started to progress in revolutionary directions too. The 1906 film “Humours phases of funny faces” can be classes as the first official animated picture recorded on standard picture film (BBC Paul Mertons Weird and Wonderful World of Early Cinema, 2015). This featured hand drawn animation on a blackboard (Fig.5) . In similar fashion Emil Cohl’s ‘Fantasmagoire’ in 1908, one of the earliest animated films drawn black lines on paper and inverted to give the ‘blackboard’ aesthetic to the film.  In 1911, comic artist and animation ‘Windsor Mccay’ created his first animation ‘Little nemo’ which stood out for this time period due to the expressive motions displayed by the characters based on his comic strips (Winsor McCay: Little Nemo (1911), 2020). Natheless, it was not until ‘Gertie the Dinosaur’ (1914) that the portrayal of true character really started to come across, and can be seen as a defining moment in the development of character animation (History Of Animation Documentary, 2014).

Fig. 5 (Humours Phases of Funny Faces. 1906. James Staurt Blackton)

The 1920’s are a pivotal moment in the history of animation, and rapidly increases to the ‘Golden Age’ of animation, which spanned from 1928 to the 1960’s. It is essential to initially note the pioneering efforts of the Fleischer brothers, notability the invention of the ‘Rotoscope’ in 1919 which drastically improved the fluidity of animation created during this time (Cement, 1998). There was a major rivalry between east coast ‘out of Inkwell films Inc’ and west coast studio ‘Disney’; both the studios having distinct opposing styles which clearly reflect the kind of environments they were situated. Disney’s shorts at this time had a much more’ sunny’ and optimistic feel to them, reflecting the livelihood of the west, whereas the Fleischer cartoons had a roughness that reflected the 1920’s New York (Out of the Inkwell: The Fleischer Story, 2020). While it is often mentioned that ‘Steamboat Willie’ (1928) was the first animation to include sound, it can be traced to the 1926 Fleischer production of ‘KOKO Song Car Tunes’ (Ko-Ko Song Car-Tunes | Pack Up Your Troubles | 1926, 2020). The 1929 Wall Street Crash proved to only boost the consumption of animation in theatres, giving people a sense of escapism. This then lead onto the significant impact of the 1937 Disney production of ‘Snow White’, which is considered to be the first fully coloured feature animation and did astronomically well at the box office, changing the course of animation (History Of Animation Documentary, 2014). In technicalities, it is vital to mention that Fleischer produced “Popeye meets Sinbad” in 1936 before Snow white, which was fully coloured and sold as a ‘feature animation’ to theatres; this however was only around 18 minutes long (Out of the Inkwell: The Fleischer Story, 2020). The 1930’s are also notable for the inclusion of stop motion characters such as ‘King Kong’, and also the inclusion of Claymation monsters with live action film which further develops the animated character (A History of CGI Characters, 2016). Spanning from the 1930’s to 1969, ‘The Looney Tunes’ created by Warner bros, rose to popularity also, and by 1970 animation started to branch out into advertising as well an animated shorts and films.

The 1980’s paved way for the introduction of computer generated animation, starting in 1985 when the first computer generated character was brought to the screen titled the “Stain glass knight” who features in ‘Young Sherlock Holmes’ (A History of CGI Characters, 2016).By 1986, Steve Jobs, Ed Catmull and John Lasseter form one of the biggest companies known in the animation world ‘Pixar’. This company fully start to form the CGI animated film and are pioneers in the area. After a series of shorts such as ‘Luxo Jr’ in 1986, the company go on to make the first ever fully computer animated film ‘Toy story’ in 1995 which won the ‘special achievement award’ in 1996 as before this there was not an animated feature film category (Toy Story – IMDb, 2021). The late 1980’s to the 1990’s was a big moment for the development of visual effects. In 1989, industrial light an magic completed a 75 second clip of a computer animated ‘water tentacle’ features in ‘The Abyss’ (1989) , taking 6 months to complete (A History of CGI Characters, 2016). This went on to win an academy award for best visual effects later on, and using techniques went on to improve this effect in ‘Terminator Two; Judgment day’ (1991) for the ‘liquid metal cyborg’ (A History of CGI Characters, 2016). Jurassic park (1993) revolutionised computer graphics, creating ‘photoreal’ dinosaurs which has skeletal systems, muscles and skin textures in place (A History of CGI Characters, 2016).1996-1999 demonstrate a well-crafted integration of CGI animated creatures into live action film, such as ‘Dragon heart’ (1996) and ‘Star wars’ the phantom menace’ (1999) A key technological aspect of visual effects that was developing at this time was the use of motion capture. During this period, Robert Zemeckis’s company “Image movers digital” were making technical advancements to the motion capture technology and its relationship to animated film, in productions such as ‘The Polar Express’ (2004) and ‘Beowulf’ (2007). Nonetheless, it was the 2002 Production of ‘The Lord of the Rings; the Two Towers’ that initially presented the true potential of this form of animation with the CGI character ‘Golem’ (Digital presentation of Andy Serkis’s movement), and truly show the capabilities of early facial motion capture (Tinwell, 2014) (figure 6).

Fig.6

Notable films, progressing into the early 2000’s include that of ‘Final Fantasy’(2001), the first hyperreal fully computer generated animation (which was unsuccessful potentially due to its relationship to the uncanny valley). The 2003 ‘Matrix reloaded’ sequel who implemented a process called ‘universal capture’ (A History of CGI Characters, 2016). The 2006 ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest’ which illustrated immense advancements in computer generated imagery with the character ‘Davy Jones’. ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button ‘(2008), which administered fantastic digital aging techniques that allowed Brad Pitt’s face to be aged, de-aged and places onto various actors. And the most notable of all these is the 2009 ‘Avatar’ which is one of the highest grossing films of all time, and displayed some of the most important technological advancements in motion capture, rendering, visual effects and the computer generated industry  as a whole that still appear impressive in the present day (Avatar-IMDB , 2021).

This brings us to the 2010’s, where ground-breaking technological advancements have occurred, and Computer-generated imagery has become the industry dominant for animation and Visual effects. A few notable films span from Tangled (2010) (Tangled-IMDB, 2021) , which after a 6-year development cost $260 million (the most expensive film at the time), to ‘Alita Battle Angel’(2019) which showcases excellent integration of CGI Characters and live action footage. Now into the early 2020’s, The development of film, animation and visual effects can only progress technologically and aesthetically to further and more advanced ideals that will bring entertainment to a new level.

List of Figures-

• Figure 1- (20) Pinterest
• Figure 2- News – Zoetrope Animations & Praxinoscope
• Figure 3- The Story Behind The Evolution Of The Cinematograph Is As Interesting As It Gets! (procaffenation.com)
• Figure 4- Georges Méliès – The Man with the Rubber Head (1901) – YouTube
• Figure 5- HUMOROUS PHASES OF FUNNY FACES – YouTube
• Figure 6- The Lord Of The Rings: 10 Gollum Mannerisms From The Books Andy Serkis Nails (screenrant.com)

Filmogrpahy-

• BLACKTON, James Stuart. 1906.Humours Phases of Funny Faces
• CAMERON, James. 2009. Avatar
• CAMERON, James. 1989. The Abyss
• CAMERON, James. 1991. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
• COHEN, Robert. 1998. DragonHeart
• COHL, Emile. 1908. A Fantasy (Fantasmagoire)
• COOPER, Merian C and Ernest B, Schoedsack. 1933. King Kong
• DISNEY, Walt and Ub IWERKS. 1928. Steamboat Willie
• FINCHER, David. 2008. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• FLEISCHER, David and William BOWSKY. 1936. Popeye the Sailor Meets Sinbad the Sailor
• FLEISCHER. 1926. Pack Up Your Troubles
• GRENO, Nathan and Byron HOWARD. 2010. Tangled
• HAND, David, COTTREL David and Wilfred JACKSON. 1937. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
• JACKSON, Peter. 2002. The Lord Of the Rings: the Two Towers
• LASSETER, John. 1995. Toy Story
• LASSETER, John. 1986. Luxo Jr
• LEVINSON, Barry. 1985. The Young Sherlock Holmes
• LUCAS, Geroge. 1999. Star Wars: Episode 1- The Phantom Menace
• MACCAY, Windsor. 1911.Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist of the N.Y. Herald and His Moving Comics (including  Little Nemo)
• MACCAY, Windsor. 1914. Gertie the Dinosaur
• MELIES, George. 1901. The Man with the Rubber Head
• RODRIGUEZ, Robert. 2019. Alita Battle Angel
• SAKAGUCHI. Hironobu. 2001. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
• VERBINSKI, Gore. 2006. Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Mans Chest
• WACHOWSKI, Lana and Lilly. 2003. The Matrix Reloaded
• ZEMECKIS, Robert. 2004. The Polar Express
• ZEMECKIS, Robert. 2007. Beowulf

References-

(not all references are from academic papers)

• Youtube.com. 2016. A History of CGI Characters. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZqSAYE5Mrw> [Accessed 11 October 2021].
• org.uk. 2021. A history of the Magic Lantern – The Magic Lantern Society. [online] Available at: <https://www.magiclantern.org.uk/history/> [Accessed 11 October 2021].
• ABEL, R., 2005. Encyclopedia of Early Cinema. Abingdon, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom,: Taylor & Francis Ltd, p.491.
• 2021. Avatar. [online] Available at: <https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499549/> [Accessed 12 October 2021].
• Youtube. com. 2015. BBC Paul Mertons Weird and Wonderful World of Early Cinema. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87km5sFrIQQ> [Accessed 11 October 2021].
• CEMENT, G., 1998. Betty Boop Confidential: Betty, Bimbo and Koko out of the inkwell. Positive; Paris, pp.98-99.
• History-of-animation.webflow.io. 2021. history of animation. [online] Available at: <https://history-of-animation.webflow.io/> [Accessed 11 October 2021].
• Youtube.com. 2014. History Of Animation Documentary. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfzy05M-nzY> [Accessed 11 October 2021].
• KARAWATKA, D., 2007. The Lumiere Brothers and Their Motion Picture Projection Equipment. Tech Directions, [online] 66(6), p.10. Available at: <https://web-a-ebscohost-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=8ab90446-b944-4034-b549-4cc9c678adc3%40sdc-v-sessmgr01> [Accessed 11 October 2021].
• Youtube.com. 2020. Ko-Ko Song Car-Tunes | Pack Up Your Troubles | 1926. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUqq3TzhKLw> [Accessed 12 October 2021].
• wikipedia.org. 2021. Magic lantern – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_lantern#:~:text=The%20magic%20lantern%20used%20a%20concave%20mirror%20in,a%20lens%20at%20the%20front%20of%20the%20apparatus.> [Accessed 11 October 2021].
• Youtube.com. 2020. Out of the Inkwell: The Fleischer Story. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xemq4sNfMf8> [Accessed 12 October 2021].
• Museum of the History of Science. 2021. Praxinoscope – Museum of the History of Science. [online] Available at: <http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/exhibits/fancy-names-and-fun-toys/praxinoscope/> [Accessed 11 October 2021].
• Museum of the History of Science. 2021. Thaumatropes – Museum of the History of Science. [online] Available at: <http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/exhibits/fancy-names-and-fun-toys/thaumatropes/> [Accessed 11 October 2021].
• 2021. Toy Story – IMDb. [online] Available at: <https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114709/awards> [Accessed 12 October 2021].
• Youtube.com. 2018. The phenakistoscope Optical Toy Pre-Cinema Animation. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=BefB2qFB6Sc> [Accessed 11 October 2021].
• 2020. Winsor McCay: Little Nemo (1911). [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSFt27VF4qU> [Accessed 12 October 2021].
• 2021. Tangled-IMDB. [online] Available at: <https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0398286/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1> [Accessed 12 October 2021].
• TINWELL, A, Mark GRIMSHAW and Debbie ABDEL-NABI. 2014. The Uncanny Valley and Nonverbal Communication in Virtual Characters. [online] Available at: https://www.bolton.ac.uk/StaffBiographies/Angela-Tinwell/Tinwell-et-al-2014-NVC[1]Uncanny-Valley.pdf