Cory Da Blogger: Task 3 (2013)

Animated / Digital Media Design

Animation is one of the most ubiquitous and all-permeating forms of visual communication today, seen everywhere from the multitude of TV channels dedicated solely to cartoons to the title sequences of our favorite movies to the reactive graphic interfaces our smartphones. And while most of us have a vague idea of how, when, and where it all began, we tend to take for granted the incredible visual wizardry possible today. With that in mind, here's a brief history of the beloved medium's beginnings through the seminal work of five early animation pioneers.

Pioneers

MCCAY: LITTLE NEMO (1911)

Cartoonist and artist Winsor McCay (1869-1964) is often considered one of the fathers of "true" animation.

His 1911 film, Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist of the N.Y. Herald and His Moving Comics, also referred to simply as Little Nemo and featured here last week, contains two minutes of pure animation at around 8:11, using sequential hand-illustration in a novel way not seen in previous films.

MUYBRIDGE: WALTZING COUPLE (1893)

Though the work of English photographer Eadweard J. Muybridge isn't animation, his animal locomotion studies are among the earliest visual experiments with moving images, laying the foundations for later forms of videography.

In 1872, the Governor of California took a public position on a commonly debated question of the era: When a horse gallops, are all four of its hooves off the ground simultaneously? Most paintings of galloping horses at the time showed the front legs extended forwards and the rear legs extended backwards, so Governor Stanford sided with the "unsupported transit" theory and took it upon himself to prove it scientifically. He hired Muybridge to settle the question, who enlisted a series of large cameras using glass plates placed in a line, each triggered by a thread as the horse passed. He paired that with a clockwork device. The images were then copied as silhouettes onto a disc, later viewed on a zoopraxiscope. In 1877, Muybridge finally settled Stanford's question with a single photographic negative showing Stanford's racehorse, Occident, fully airborne in the midst of a gallop.

In 1893, Muybridge used the phenakistoscope—an early animation device that harnessed the "persistence of vision" principle to create an illusion of motion—to extend his visual studies to animation.

Walter Elias "Walt" Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966) was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor,animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O. Disney, he was co-founder of Walt Disney Productions, which later became one of the best-known motion picture producers in the world. The corporation is now known as The Walt Disney Company and had an annual revenue of approximately US$36 billion in the 2010 financial year.

Disney is particularly noted as a film producer and a popular showman, as well as an innovator in animation and theme park design. He and his staff created some of the world's most well-known fictional characters including Mickey Mouse, for whom Disney himself provided the original voice.

First Mickey Cartoon

New Mickey

The Croods

Disney today and its empire.

Curry Trends

1. Video will be critical. Newspaper sites are taking the fight to their TV competitors in the growing digital video space. U-T San Diego plans to ramp up its in-house TV station to 24-hour coverage, leading a cluster of other papers producing daily original video. Video can lead to cachet — such as the Las Vegas Sun’s award-winning work — but more important, lucrative pre-roll revenue dollars (not to mention overlays, video sponsorships and other monetization opportunities). Andwatch for the rise of video networks both within and between media companies.

2. Tablets will accelerate digital media’s evolution. The 2012 holiday season has pushed tablet penetration closer to critical mass. The form factor has already prompted dramatic experiments in journalism (Men’s Health’s interactive iPad features was a standout, as was the Denver Post’s iPad app) and advertising opportunities. Look for more differentiated tablet media apps in 2013 to take advantage of the device’s lean-back nature, high-resolution screen and video friendliness.

The Future Holds

1. What is the future of digital media? What will we be talking about 12 months from now?

At a macro trend level, digital keeps creeping into our lives. It's increasingly mobile and social. At a micro level, I believe we will be talking about things like "social entertainment" in the not so distant future. We've been seeing how social is becoming connected to how we watch TV for example. In fact, "buzz" on social networks generated via programs is essentially a more pure form of ratings. If a program isn't getting a lot of chatter which can be measured via social, it's likely not doing all that well. In fact, we might even have to look at the whole ratings system based upon the potential to measure social data. Nielsen should look out. On that note, it's not just television. Sports and live entertainment events are tied to social media and as people "watch"—they also participate. Social is not a spectator sport, and entertainment will finally reflect this.

2. What is the next big thing, biggest upcoming shift in digital media?

I think Facebook's "reach generator" self service advertising model will be a game changer. I truly believe that companies will shift their advertising dollars over to Facebook over time due to how targeted ads will become. Also, Facebook is increasingly blurring the line between what was traditionally known as "paid" and "earned" media as it allows companies to promote select posts. And If the targeting data isn't great now—just wait because it will probably get better as the Facebook empire grows. Companies will still only be able to support so much budget when it comes to advertising and I think more if it is going to go through Facebook and the companies who work as part of their ecosystem.