Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
of motion. Although Marey's photography has an aesthetic quality to it and
could be described as beautiful, these artistic aspects were not the purpose
of the work. He returned again and again to the interpretation of movement.
Placing high-visibility marks at strategic points on a figure or an animal and
using chronophotography rather than a number of individual images, he
was better able to trace the arcs of movement of specific parts of a figure in
motion. This technique predates the use of such methods in motion-capture
devices by almost a hundred years.
Marey's research and his scientific approach to recording, reproducing, and
analyzing motion made a valuable contribution to both cardiology and
aviation. His devices not only measured the movement in running figures—he
studied wave patterns and the velocity of currents, and he created aquaria for
the study of fish and fluids as well as wind tunnels for the study of air flow and
turbulence over vanes and wings. Indeed, it was through his study of wings
that the theory of flight and its application to early powered flight were better
understood. Though Marey did not live to see man's first powered flight, the
pioneering aviators the Wright brothers publicly acknowledged Marey's
influence on their work.
Generally the producers of the early forms of animation needed little by
way of reference material, since the animation was so simplistic. Demand for
animation was very high from audiences that were intrigued by animation's
novelty factor, which meant that audiences were satisfied with rather crude
forms of cartoon animation. As funny or as charming as they may have been,
these early films did not rely on the quality of the animation to sell them.
This approach to animation production was perfectly suited to many studios
that were happy to produce work quickly and cheaply with little regard to
raising standards. Other studios and individual animators sought to make
improvements to further the art form and, perhaps more important, to secure
audience loyalty to particular characters and to ensure financial security.
The greatest of all these early animators was Winsor McCay. Although he
wasn't engaged in formal study of action analysis, McCay clearly had a good
understanding of dynamics and animation timing whereas others were
struggling to simply make things move. He achieved believable action in his
characters, including actions of which the audience had little or no first-hand
experience.
How a Mosquito Operates
(1912) and
Gertie the Dinosaur
(1914)
remain masterpieces of animation timing. They arrived at a time when many
studios were struggling with the problem of creating enough animated
product to satisfy the market. McCay's high-quality animation was not to be
equaled until Walt Disney began work on
Snow White
almost 25 years later.
One pioneering studio that did much to employ action analysis as a way
to improve the standard of the animation they produced was the Fleischer
Brothers Studios. Based in New York, the studio was run by two brothers,
Max and Dave Fleischer, who were contemporaries of Walt Disney. The studio
became famous for producing many of the early stars of animation, including
