Introduction - Computer Animation: Algorithms and Techniques - page 6

The praxinoscope uses a cylindrical arrangement of rotating mirrors inside a large cylinder of images
facing the mirrors. The mirrors are angled so that, as the cylinders rotate in unison, each image is suc-
cessively reflected to the observer.
Just before the turn of the century, the moving image began making its way on stage. The magic
lantern (an image projector powered by candle or lamp) and shadow puppets became popular theater
entertainment [ 3 ]. On the educational front, Etienne-Jules Marey [ 27 ] and Eadweard Muybridge [ 30 ]
[ 31 ] investigated the motions of humans and animals. To show image sequences during his lectures,
Muybridge invented the zoopraxinoscope , a projection device also based on rotating slotted disks.
Then, in 1891, the seed of a revolution was planted: Thomas Edison invented the motion picture viewer
(the kinetoscope ), giving birth to a new industry [ 38 ] .

1.2.2 The early days of “conventional” animation
Animation in America exploded in the twentieth century in the form of filming hand-drawn, two-
dimensional images (referred to here also as conventional or traditional animation). Studying the early
days of conventional animation is interesting in itself [ 26 ][ 38 ][ 44 ][ 45 ], but the purpose of this over-
view is to provide an appreciation of the technological advances that drove the progress of animation
during the early years.
Following Edison's kinetoscope, there were several rapid developments in film technology. One of
the most notable developments was the motion picture projector by the Lumiere brothers, Auguste and
Louis, in France. They are credited with the first commercial, public screening of film in Paris on
December 28, 1895. They called their device the cinematograph . It is a camera that could both project
and develop film. They used it to film everyday events including a train coming into a train station; this
footage, when shown to the audience, sent everyone scrambling for cover. It was also used for aerial
photography (years before the airplane took to the skies).
The earliest use of a camera to make lifeless things appear to move occurred in 1896 by Georges
M´li`s. M´li`s used simple camera tricks such as multiple exposures and stop-motion techniques to
make objects appear, disappear, and change shape [ 18 ] [ 47 ]. His best known trick film is A Trip to
the Moon (1902). One of the earliest pioneers in film animation was J. Stuart Blackton, an American
who animated “smoke” in a scene in 1900, ushering in the field of visual effects . Blackton is credited
with creating the first animated cartoon, Humorous Phases of Funny Faces (1906), by drawing and
erasing on a chalkboard between takes. Emile Cohl, a Frenchman, produced several vignettes including
Fantasmagorie (1908), which is considered to be the first fully animated film ever made. The American
Winsor McCay is the first celebrated animator, best known for his works Little Nemo (1911) and
Gertie the Dinosaur (1914). McCay is considered by many to have produced the first popular

animations [ 26 ].
Like many of the early animators, McCay was an accomplished newspaper cartoonist. He redrew
each complete image on rice paper mounted on cardboard and then filmed them individually. He was
also the first to experiment with color in animation. Much of his early work was incorporated into
vaudeville acts in which he “interacted” with an animated character on a screen. Similarly, early
cartoons often incorporated live action with animated characters. To appreciate the impact of such
a popular entertainment format, keep in mind the relative na¨vet´ of audiences at the time; they had
no idea how film worked, much less what hand-drawn animation was. As Arthur C. Clarke stated about
sufficiently advanced technology, it must have been indistinguishable from magic.