What is Animated Film?

Animated films can be made in loads of different ways;

• cel


• CGI


• stop motion

All of these work on the basic idea that each frame of film is made up of a still image and, slowly, these still images when put together (each one is slightly different to the one that came before it) create the sensation of movement and is therefore animated.

As technology moves forward filmmakers have always sought new ways to make films (sound, colour, 3D, special effects, CGI). The latest method to be tried is Motion Capture. Motion Capture (or Mo-Cap as we'll call it from now on) uses the technique of dressing an actor in a lycra suit, sticking censors all over them (including their faces) and using computers to track their movements (thus capturing their motion - clever, no?).

So far, the most famous example of this is Andy Serkis' performance as Gollum in Lord of the Rings, but this isn't an animated film. Maybe a better example would be Beowulf or The Polar Express. See below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9qpqyO_dmU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVfB6GhlwIM

Both of these were directed by Robert Zemeckis, famous for the Back to the Future trilogy and Forrest Gump. One criticism of these movies is that the faces (and especially the eyes) seem slightly creepy or 'soulless', whereas the rest of the film is incredibly realistic (see backgrounds and clothes).

Another criticism is that there seems little point in animating characters to look super-realistically human. Why not just film the actors themselves? The picture below shows Jamie Bell and Andy Serkis (yes, him again) on the 'set' of the new Tintin movie, with Peter Jackson (LOTR) and director Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Saving Private Ryan, Indiana Jones).

This picture shows just how much extra 'stuff' the artists and animators will have to add to this film. The filming of the actors is only one small step on the way to making this film. So, is this animation? What do you think? Is this the future of animated film? Or would you prefer to see real actors on screen? What will be the main factor on whether Hollywood goes along this road much further? The fact the Hollywood big shots like Jackson and Spielberg are having a go, suggest they think it will be popular.