Pioneers

Pioneers of animation

Joseph Plateau

Joseph Plateau, born in Belguim in 1801, invented the Phenakitoscope, also known as the 'Spindle Viewer'. The Phenakitoscope was a disk split into equal segments, and a frame drawn on each one. When the disk was spun quickly, looking at one segment caused the perception of a motion picture. The original Phenakitoscope had a couple dancing on it, and was previewed to friends and family. The Phenakitoscope has to be circular, else it's perception of motion is not effective. The style and atmosphere created by the Phenakitoscope was pretty unique - the first smooth animation, it created a 'light, jolly mood' as described by a developer of the device named Dr Faraday.  Created in 1832, this was a very old device and inspired a lot of future animators.

William Horner

William Horner invented the Zoetrope. Zoetrope, in Greek, literally means 'alive active'. The Zoetrope was a device that produces a motion picture by looking through slits in the side of a cylinder at frames - once the cylinder was spun, looking at the pictures caused the illusion of movement. The slits cause blurring of the frames, which produces a smoother animation. The sides of the Zoetrope were originally made of bamboo, but other types of wood were used later. It was based on the Phenakitoscope, only improvements were made - a different viewpoint and more efficient. Due to the slits in the sides, the Zoetrope creates a pretty unique mood - action. The slits cause a strobing effect between frames, meaning that the action seen is slightly jerky and inconsistant. The Zoetrope was created in 1833, but the developed in 180 AD by Chinese inventor Ting Huan.

Charles-Emile Reynaud

Charles-Emile Reynaud created the Praxinoscope, the improved successor of the William Horner's Zoetrope. Created in 1877, it was very similar to the Horner's invention, only an inner cylinder was added which had mirrors facing the frames, which replaced the slits to look through. Because the slits were taken out of the design, the atmosphere created by this device was changed - a smoother animation was seen, so the mood went from 'action' by the Zoetrope to an almost 'romantic' feel on this device, the Praxinoscope. This was achieved by a more subtle frame change per image, and so the animation looked a lot more realistic. A lamp is installed in the middle of the Praxinoscope so the inner image can be seen clearer. When the device was spun and one was looking at the mirrors, a motion picture could be seen. It was an improvement to the Zoetrope because the animation was smoother, due to the lack of distortion caused by the slits.

Edward Muybridge and Edison

Edward Muybridge and Thomas Edison created the Kinetoscope - a device which created animation history by creating the illusion of movement in 40 frames per second, and a decent storyline. The Kinetoscope was a box with a peephole in the top, and a knob on the side. When the knob was turned, a line of wafer-thin film was passed over where the peephole could see. Because this device used a more specific viewing tool, the atmosphere developed further - from more primal animation devices I have outlined before, this animation device was a lot more 'posh' and 'upper class'. The mood was therefore more advanced, meaning that comedy and humour could be told though these animations. Out of all of these devices, the Kinetoscope is far more advanced and the others - it's storyline can be a lot more drawn out and longer, due to the amount of physical space. A light was also used to illuminate the frames - something never done before. Each frame on the original device was a photograph taken of a ballet dancer by Thomas Edison.

Auguste and Louis Lumière

The Lumiere brothers are considered the first movie makers ever. Born in the late 19th century in France,  both worked for their father, and both wanted to extend their passion - they created 10 short films which ran for approximately 45 seconds each. The films were hand cranked and were 17 meters long in film each. They were shown privately on the 28th December, 1895. The films were about everyday activities - workers entering factories, fishing and a seal swimming to name three. The mood created by the Lumiere brothers was definitely the fist major step forward - the basis of what we watch today, the moods created had the potential to be very advanced. The use of specific comedy, ie. slapstic, was used some films produced by them. Along with these specific sub-genres, 'thriller' was used in a few of their productions, too. The brothers went on tour with these films and aired them in Bombay (present day Mumbai), Montreal, London and Buenos Aires. They went on to make other short films. Louis died in 1948 (aged 84) and Auguste died in 1954 (aged 91).

'Arrival at the station'.

Louis and Auguste Lumiere.

The first ever film poster, designed by the Lumiere brothers.

George Pal

George Pal was a Hungarian born American film producer. His work was mostly stop-motion animation but he also made live action films, and was a fan of science-fiction. Born in 1908, his animations were original and inspired some future animators. At the start of his career, he made 5 short films promoting Horlicks Malted Milk. A great success, others began to see his talent. He began experimenting with the mixture of genres, most famously Sci-Fi and drama, in his production 'Destination Moon', which won a best special effects Oscar in 1950. He also experimented with weird story lines to create even odder atmospheres - a film released in the early 50's named 'The Great Rupert' was about a musical squirrel who follows families around, playing the piano, to help them battle distressed situations. Obviously far fetched, these sort of collaborations inspired all kinds of odd and surrealist film. George Pal worked at Paramount, and is best remembered as the producer of 'War of the Worlds', 'Tom Thumb' and 'The wonderful world of the brothers Grimm'.

'Jasper and the Watermelons'