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Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier Science. Copyright © 2003, Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. All trademarks found herein are property of their respective owners. Recognizing the importance of preserving what has been written, Elsevier Science prints its books on acid-free paper whenever possible. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Subotnick, Steven. Animation in the home digital studio : creation to distribution / Steven Subotnick. p. cm. – (Focal Press visual effects and animation series) Includes index. ISBN 0-240-80474-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Computer animation. I. Title. II. Series. TR897.7.S83 2002 006.6¢96–dc21 2002035227 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. The publisher offers special discounts on bulk orders of this book. For information, please contact: Manager of Special Sales Elsevier Science 200 Wheeler Road Burlington, MA 01803 Tel: 781-313-4700 Fax: 781-313-4880 For information on all Focal Press publications available, contact our World Wide Web home page at: http://www.focalpress.com 10987654321 Printed in the United States of America To A, H, and N preface When you engage the medium at such a fundamental level—the single frame—you truly understand that all filmmaking is an illusion, a manipulation of time, space, and shape. Animation is the most honest cinematography. Bryan Papciak Because animators are always tethered to technology they can be compared to doctors, who scientifically attend to the logical needs of a patient through physics, electronics, chemistry, and psychology; but I like to compare them to mad scientists, along the lines of Doctor Frankenstein, who serve no therapeutic or utilitarian end beyond astonishment and running amok. George Griffin Technology has caught up with our desire to visualize and express time, rhythm, and movement. These qualities are an integral part of art in the future. Thus, understanding animation is a critical part of that future. Christine Panushka How do you think of animation? Is it funny? Serious? Entertaining? Educational? Poetic? Does it involve drawing? Sculpting? Dancing? Singing? Acting? Does animation have any- thing to do with the Thirty Years’ War? Dostoevsky? Abandoned insane asylums? Opera? UNICEF? Animation is all of these and more. It is a wonderfully flexible and eclectic art form that combines qualities of cinema, literature, the visual arts, theater, and dance. The magic of bringing the inanimate to life has attracted people from many different back- grounds and interests to this medium. Ladislas Starewich, considered the father of puppet animation, came to animation from an interest in entomology. Pioneer animator Alexander Alexeieff invented the pinscreen in order to emulate his earlier work as an engraver and book illustrator. Kathy Rose is a dancer and performance artist who began animating as a way to explore her interests in both drawing and movement. William Kentridge is a South African artist whose animated films grew out of an interest in recording the process of drawing. In the past, most animation was shot on film, which made it difficult for the average person to make animation without investing in specialized equipment and film training. But as a result of developments in digital video and personal computing, it is now possible and prac- tical to make animation with the aid of home computers. This shift makes production acces- sible to many more people—an opportunity to make animation a more widely practiced and appreciated art. It is possible that in the coming years we will see animation used as an expressive medium by individuals in the same way that painting, music, and writing have always been studied and practiced. Moving images and multimedia presentations are major forms of mass communication in our culture. We are bombarded with newscasts, sitcoms, miniseries, feature films, commercials, web advertising, streaming entertainment, even animated highway billboards. x preface In these forms of mass communication, animation is ubiquitous; most commercials use some form of animation, some of the most popular TV shows are animated, any list of successful films will include animated features, and the distinction between live-action and animated motion pictures is becoming less clear as digital special effects become more sophisticated. Even our toys and appliances contain animation, including video games, web sites, infor- mational kiosks, and electronic appliances. But for the most part, this great wash of moving images serves only three purposes; the first is to convince us to buy a product (advertising), the second is to entertain or amuse us (TV shows, movies, and games), and the third is to impart information about a subject (news, documentaries, and instructional screens). Although there is no question that animation can be successfully used for the purposes of selling products, entertaining, and disseminating information, the importance of animation as a personal art may be less obvious. Each of us is like a lens through which the experiences of an individual lifetime are focused and concentrated. When we pay attention to this aspect of ourselves, we may feel a desire to express some of our thoughts and feelings, as well as to see how others have sought to express similar thoughts and feelings. To give concrete form to a thought or a feeling is to try to understand what is meaningful about it. This is where the arts come into our lives. We appreciate great works of art because they are objects or performances that help us to have a meaningful experience, and we make our own art because we feel a need to make or discover our own meaning. Song, dance, music, storytelling, drawing, paint- ing, sculpture, and theater are a few of the forms in which people have worked at self- expression, and animation can also serve this need. Primarily because of technical and budgetary obstacles, animation has not been practiced as widely by individuals as other personal art forms, but the purpose of this book is to show that the individual practice of animation is now more possible than ever before. Recent developments in high-speed data transfer and digital video, and increased pro- cessing power in home computers, have brought digital filmmaking within the reach of people working on small (or even tiny) budgets. Film is now just an option, no longer a requirement, for the animator. Why is this important? First, because more people will now be able to make their own animation as a personal art form. Second, because wider prac- tice not only would benefit those individuals interested in making their own animation, but also would enrich the entire medium. The more people there are involved in making and looking at animation, the greater the chances for the development of general animation literacy and aesthetic sophistication. As with any cultural phenomenon, animation is advanced by participation and dialog. In a sense, I am writing this book for the amateur. By amateur, I mean someone who works for love rather than for money, whose main motivation is a drive for personal satisfaction and artistic fulfillment. This drive may consume only a few hours a month, one day a week, or if circumstances allow, more time. This book is for anyone—the non-artist, the student, as well as the professional artist—who wants to make animation. This is a book about making animation with the aid of a computer. It is an attempt at explain- ing the entire process, from becoming familiar with animation as an art form, through inspi- preface xi ration and idea development, to methods of production and distribution. The result is a guide to producing your own animation with digital tools. I have divided this book into three sections. The first section answers the questions “What is animation and why use digital tools?”; the second section answers the question “How can I make animation with digital tools?”; and the third section answers the question “Where can I find more information about animation?” It is not necessary to read this book in order, chapter after chapter. Rather, it is intended to be used as a reference during animation creation. Chapter 7 may be most useful if you are ready to start production on an animation. Chapter 5 may be most useful if you are just starting to think about your ideas. Chapter 2 may be most useful if you are interested in seeing more animation. Chapter 9 may be most useful if you are ready to move beyond the information covered in this book. acknowledgments I deeply appreciate the generosity of the animators who have contributed their words, images, and animations to this book; they are an inspiring and educational presence. Tim Miller’s illustrations add clarity, warmth, and charm to the text. I also thank my friends and colleagues at RISD and Harvard who have given me technical advice, in particular, Tammy Dudman. I also thank Amy Kravitz, Yvonne Andersen, and Dan Wyner for reading the man- uscript; my father, Morton Subotnick, for his help testing the CD-ROM; and my editor, Amy Jollymore, for all her assistance and advice. note on the cd-rom Accompanying this book is a CD which contains two collections of animation. One collec- tion is called “Technical Exercises”; these are the fifteen animations described in Chapter 7. With the CD and Chapter 7 in hand, you can examine both the results and the specific processes of animation production. The other collection on the CD is called “Gallery of Animators”; these are sixteen short clips made by a number of active animation artists.