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.