HISTORY OF ANIMATION EXAM WITH VERIFIED ANSWERS #15
Early Public Entertainment Forms That Influenced Film Production - correct answer
Magic lantern shows, Vaudeville circuit (Mutoscopes, Lightning sketches, Primitive
movies)
George Melies - correct answer Created The Astronomer's Dream (1898), A Trip to the
Moon (1902), and The Eclipse (1904). Employed special effects; pioneer of trick films.
Trick films - correct answer Stopping the camera, then the actor walks out of frame,
making it look like they disappeared (Melies). Camera stops between when the actor
draws things and then they turn into real things (Blackton). Could have seen films like
this at a fair, storefront theatres, nickelodeon's, vaudeville circuit, etc. *Not animation.*
John Stuart Blackton - correct answer Started career as a lecturer/illustrator, then
reporter/artist at New York World. Became interested in film upon visiting Edison's Black
Maria film studio. Pioneer in early cinema, produced early examples of "trick" films.
Formed Vitagraph in 1897 which eventually merged with Warner Bros.
Edwin S. Porter - correct answer Trying to think of ways to attract audiences and to
distinguish their films from others. In Animated Painting (1904), the sun appears to rise
up, but it's actually on a wire. Not an example of animation.
Humorous Phases of Funny Faces by Blackton (1906) - correct answer First film to
incorporate actual frame by frame hand drawn animation. The figures are moving
continuously rather than being a jump cut. Blackton wipes away the chalkboard;
filmmakers wanted to remind the audience of the artist but preserve the illusion of how
they did it, like a magician. Stop motion animation with paper cutouts. Runs the film
backwards to make figures appear and disappear.
Emile Cohl - correct answer One of the two early animators who approached animation
from an artistic point of view, rather than a business one. Was well known as an
illustrator and political caricaturist before becoming an animator later in life. Belonged to
an artistic/political group called "the Incoherents" that celebrated absurdity, insanity, and
irrationality in art and culture and this is reflected in his work. Use of "metamorphic"
sequences in work. Saw that a business used his drawings without permission, but then
became interested in what was going on at the studio.
Fantasmagorie by Cohl (1908) - correct answer Considered the first fully animated film,
consists of 700 drawings. Different from his drawings; simple linework. This helps
explores the movement of the figures. Reversed the film color so that it showed up as
white on black. Paused the film to fake out the audience with a paper cut out.
Winsor mccay - correct answer In NYC he became a celebrity comic strip artist with his
popular "Dreams of a Rarebit Fiend" and "Little Nemo in Slumberland" strips for New
York Herald. *He had the unique ability to translate his graphic style from the printed
, page to an animated film and to infuse his characters with distinct personalities.* One of
the two early animators who approached animation from an artistic point of view, rather
than a business one.
Little Nemo by mccay (1911) - correct answer Working with Blackton at Vitagraph
studio. People were already familiar with the comic strip; this was like the Marvel movies
of today. Live action introduction that highlights the amount of labor that went into the
film. First example of squash and stretch and registration marks. Done on thin rice
paper.
There was nothing else like this in the world at the time. Went back and hand colored it
frame by frame. Cycling; Using the same animation again so that you don't have to
redraw it. Looks like it was rendered in a 3D space; sense of perspective.
Gertie the Dinosaur by mccay (1914) - correct answer Was used by mccay in his stage
act. Also has a framing device where he bets his friends which allowed it to be shown
without him being there. Gertie has a fleshed out personality; she's surprised,
distracted, and acts like a pet. It feels like Gertie takes up a lot of space; it looks
laborious to breathe when she sleeps and you can see the weight on her feet when she
walks.
Lotte Reiniger - correct answer German filmmaker recognized as the major pioneer in
silhouette animation. Her career began in the theatre and it is likely that this experience
and observation of human performance helped her create more lifelike, nuanced
movements in her silhouettes (She saw the shadows of the dancers on the scrim from
backstage). Fantasy was the major genre in which she worked. Her career spanned
seven decades (1916-1979).
Silhouette animation - correct answer A variation on stop-motion animation that involves
the use of movable, cut-out silhouette figures as another animation process.
The Adventures of Prince Achmed by Reiniger (1926) - correct answer Earliest extant
animated feature; cartoons in the theater were usually short and comical. Made up of
characters and story fragments from a collection of the Arabian Nights tales. The
opening film takes place in the ancient city of Baghdad. Music was composed by
Wolfgang Zeller. Trademark of her films is characters morphing into other
things/creatures (The fight between the witch and the magician); reminiscent of Emile
Cohl. Characters didn't usually have facial expressions; emotion was conveyed through
music and movement/body language.
John Bray - correct answer Established newspaper cartoonist who became interested in
animation. Moved from multiple drawing animation to a system where only moving parts
were recreated; *Established the division-of-labor style of production still used today;
Patented his processes;* Studios had to pay to use this technique. Employed better
marketing and distribution than other animation producers
Early Public Entertainment Forms That Influenced Film Production - correct answer
Magic lantern shows, Vaudeville circuit (Mutoscopes, Lightning sketches, Primitive
movies)
George Melies - correct answer Created The Astronomer's Dream (1898), A Trip to the
Moon (1902), and The Eclipse (1904). Employed special effects; pioneer of trick films.
Trick films - correct answer Stopping the camera, then the actor walks out of frame,
making it look like they disappeared (Melies). Camera stops between when the actor
draws things and then they turn into real things (Blackton). Could have seen films like
this at a fair, storefront theatres, nickelodeon's, vaudeville circuit, etc. *Not animation.*
John Stuart Blackton - correct answer Started career as a lecturer/illustrator, then
reporter/artist at New York World. Became interested in film upon visiting Edison's Black
Maria film studio. Pioneer in early cinema, produced early examples of "trick" films.
Formed Vitagraph in 1897 which eventually merged with Warner Bros.
Edwin S. Porter - correct answer Trying to think of ways to attract audiences and to
distinguish their films from others. In Animated Painting (1904), the sun appears to rise
up, but it's actually on a wire. Not an example of animation.
Humorous Phases of Funny Faces by Blackton (1906) - correct answer First film to
incorporate actual frame by frame hand drawn animation. The figures are moving
continuously rather than being a jump cut. Blackton wipes away the chalkboard;
filmmakers wanted to remind the audience of the artist but preserve the illusion of how
they did it, like a magician. Stop motion animation with paper cutouts. Runs the film
backwards to make figures appear and disappear.
Emile Cohl - correct answer One of the two early animators who approached animation
from an artistic point of view, rather than a business one. Was well known as an
illustrator and political caricaturist before becoming an animator later in life. Belonged to
an artistic/political group called "the Incoherents" that celebrated absurdity, insanity, and
irrationality in art and culture and this is reflected in his work. Use of "metamorphic"
sequences in work. Saw that a business used his drawings without permission, but then
became interested in what was going on at the studio.
Fantasmagorie by Cohl (1908) - correct answer Considered the first fully animated film,
consists of 700 drawings. Different from his drawings; simple linework. This helps
explores the movement of the figures. Reversed the film color so that it showed up as
white on black. Paused the film to fake out the audience with a paper cut out.
Winsor mccay - correct answer In NYC he became a celebrity comic strip artist with his
popular "Dreams of a Rarebit Fiend" and "Little Nemo in Slumberland" strips for New
York Herald. *He had the unique ability to translate his graphic style from the printed
, page to an animated film and to infuse his characters with distinct personalities.* One of
the two early animators who approached animation from an artistic point of view, rather
than a business one.
Little Nemo by mccay (1911) - correct answer Working with Blackton at Vitagraph
studio. People were already familiar with the comic strip; this was like the Marvel movies
of today. Live action introduction that highlights the amount of labor that went into the
film. First example of squash and stretch and registration marks. Done on thin rice
paper.
There was nothing else like this in the world at the time. Went back and hand colored it
frame by frame. Cycling; Using the same animation again so that you don't have to
redraw it. Looks like it was rendered in a 3D space; sense of perspective.
Gertie the Dinosaur by mccay (1914) - correct answer Was used by mccay in his stage
act. Also has a framing device where he bets his friends which allowed it to be shown
without him being there. Gertie has a fleshed out personality; she's surprised,
distracted, and acts like a pet. It feels like Gertie takes up a lot of space; it looks
laborious to breathe when she sleeps and you can see the weight on her feet when she
walks.
Lotte Reiniger - correct answer German filmmaker recognized as the major pioneer in
silhouette animation. Her career began in the theatre and it is likely that this experience
and observation of human performance helped her create more lifelike, nuanced
movements in her silhouettes (She saw the shadows of the dancers on the scrim from
backstage). Fantasy was the major genre in which she worked. Her career spanned
seven decades (1916-1979).
Silhouette animation - correct answer A variation on stop-motion animation that involves
the use of movable, cut-out silhouette figures as another animation process.
The Adventures of Prince Achmed by Reiniger (1926) - correct answer Earliest extant
animated feature; cartoons in the theater were usually short and comical. Made up of
characters and story fragments from a collection of the Arabian Nights tales. The
opening film takes place in the ancient city of Baghdad. Music was composed by
Wolfgang Zeller. Trademark of her films is characters morphing into other
things/creatures (The fight between the witch and the magician); reminiscent of Emile
Cohl. Characters didn't usually have facial expressions; emotion was conveyed through
music and movement/body language.
John Bray - correct answer Established newspaper cartoonist who became interested in
animation. Moved from multiple drawing animation to a system where only moving parts
were recreated; *Established the division-of-labor style of production still used today;
Patented his processes;* Studios had to pay to use this technique. Employed better
marketing and distribution than other animation producers
