Wednesday 2 October 2013

Rob Adams Unit 31 P2

Rob Adams

Unit 31

P2  - Explain different uses of animation.  Add a page to your blog describing, how the animations are used in the following cases? 
- Advertising
-Creative Arts
-Entertainment
-Education
-Simulation


Animation has a variety of uses in modern culture. From public advertising, to simulating real life situation. Animation can be used in a wide range of ways to benefit a certain goal.


Advertising

Animation can be used in advertising to enhance the chance of trying to persuade the public to buy an item. For example, car manufacturers tend to use animation in advertising to enhance the cars. This could range from simply using animation to make the car seem very fast, to using animation to transform the car altogether. This use of animation not only makes the public more inclined to buy the product, but to also ensures that potential customers associate their products with the animation in the advertising, so that the general view of the company is enhanced.


Creative Arts


Animation can be used in creative arts to create an image that is animated, but still considered art. An example of this would be 'Cinemagraphs'. Cinemagraphs are a still image that contain a slight use of animation to create a piece of still art that actually has life in it. This is a very modern form of art, and uses animation techniques to blend the still image with the animated one, meaning that an image can be brought to life. This use of animation creates an effect where the viewer feels as if they are watching a video, when in fact it is a still image with only slight movement. This image of a trapped butterfly is an example, Note how the rest of the image is completely still, yet the butterfly continues to move around. It creates an effect that makes it seem as though time has stopped around the butterfly. This is an efective use of animation, as it means that art is no longer a piece of work that has to be hung up on a wall. Cinemagraphs take art to a new level, meaning that a painting could actually be brought to life. 


Entertainment

Animation is extremely popular in entertainment. As animation techniques have progressed so much in modern times, it can now be used to create almost anything that the user can imagine. One such use of animation in entertainment is the Lightsaber in the Star Wars franchise. Although a very simple method is used to create the effect of a Lightsaber, the fictional weapon has become one of the most iconic items in the modern culture. Animation was also used to create the scenery for the final battle in Revenge of the Sith. This final battle is again one of the most iconic battles in the film industry. This use of animation in entertainment shows that it can not only enhance the reception of a film, but can also potentially create something that is impossible for viewers to forget.



Education

Animation is used in various ways in education. Animation can be used to bring diagrams and charts to life, meaning that students are more engaged and inclined to focus on what they are being taught. For example, a student would be less inclined to look at a simple diagram of a spider. However if animation were used to bring the spider to life, this would catch the attention of the student, who would then be more inclined to focus on it and concentrate on what they are being told about it. Animation can also be used to show a much clearer picture of what the teacher is trying to explain. It can be used to show where things go, how fast they go, where they go in and out and much more, helping students to understand more clearly what they are being taught.



Simulation

Animation can be used in simulation to train employees and workers. A common use of animation to simulate a working environment is in the army. The army use 3D animation to simulate the soldier being on a battlefield. This simulation is then used to train the soldiers perceptions and senses, as well as their tactics and fitness. It can provide the realism and stress of a real life battlefield, without actually endangering the solider. This is a very practical use of animation, as it means that people can be trained to a high standard, without actually going into the environment that they are training for.

Rob Adams Unit 31 P3

Rob Adams

Unit 31


P3 - Discuss the advantages and limitations of animated GIFs. Produce an entry in your blog that discusses the different animation formats and tools available in the animation industry. You should also discuss the features, advantages and limitations of animated GIFs.


There are many different formats and tools that can be used to create an animation. In this blog I will look at some of the key formats, and their individual advantages and disadvantages


GIF
GIF stands for Graphic Interchange Format. They contain multiple frames of 4 or more images being played one after another to create a short animation. GIF's will usually be played in a never ending loop, so when it ends, it will simply restart. The images in a GIF can be played in any order, and can be any image, as long as the image is no more than 256 colors. 

Pro's
GIF's can be controlled, and so the creator has a lot of freedom to create what he or she wants to. They are also very small file size, and so do not take up much memory. This also means that multiple GIF's can be created and used with no problems. GIFS can also benefit from 'lossless compression', meaning that the file size can be compressed and reduced, without losing any quality in the GIF. GIF's can also support transparent backgrounds, meaning that they can fit with the primary color of a webpage. 

Con's 
A GIF file can only contain 256 colors. While this may seem like a lot, it actually isn't at all in terms of images on a computer. IT also provides much less detail than a JPEG, and so images can lack quality. Lossless compression, although beneficial, can also decrease quality in a GIF if the images have a lot of colors. 

Dynamic HTML
Dynamic HTML (DHTML) is a format that allows web browser to become more 'dynamic'. When a user uses a function that is supported by Dynamic HTML, it will modify the function to become more Dynamic. An example of this would be a drop down menu on a web page. Without Dynamic HTML, the animated menu would not drop down, and so the link that are placed on the menu would simply list on the page rather than drop down when the mouse hovers over the menu. 

Pro's
Most browsers already support this, and so the user does not need to download any file for this to work. They also allows websites to become more unique and accessible  as well as allowing more information and options to be put onto the page, as links that would previously have been listed on a page, can now be stored into a menu which is only accessed when the user requires it. 

Con's
DHTML tools can be very expensive. The coding can also be a long, complex and difficult task for the creator. A final disadvantage would be that whilst the majority of browsers to support DHTML, there are some that do not, meaning DHTML is not available to everyone. 

Flash
Flash is an application that runs animations specifically created in Adobe Flash Player. They are created using a timeline.Animations are created by editing the size, colour and other properties of an object between each frame.  

Pro's
There are a number of effects available to the user such as expanding and blurring. IT can also help to display messages much more effectively on a website

Con's
Flash files don't work on iPhones and iPads, which are extremely popular these days. Also, using a lot of flash on a website can lead to slow loading times. 

Quicktime
Quicktime is an animation format that was developed by Apple. It comes with most Mac computer systems and supports sound and video, as well as animation. 

Pro's
Quicktime supports sound, video and animation. It can also perform lossless compression. It is free to download, meaning that anyone can use it.

Con's
File size can be bigger than other formats.

Shockwave
Shockwave was developed by Macromedia and allows web pages to support 'multimedia objects'. It allows publications in Adobe director to be displayed as a web page on a web browser. 

Pro's
It is freely available to anyone. It also provides much more tools and additional perks than Flash. 

Con's
Is not available on all platforms, and Shockwave Plug-In must be installed before it can be used.