So Have We Seen the End of 2-D Animation?

[Lone Wolf]

I don't think we'll see 2-D animation disappear completely for the reasons others have mentioned. I do think it's a shame though that classical animation will die out (if it hasn't already). For those that don't know -- classical animation refers to how animation was done before computer technology. It was a real "hands on" experience and quite a bit of fun. I know because I've had some experience with it myself when I was a kid. I took an animation workshop in my local art gallery when I was about twelve or thirteen and we did a lot of claymation, which basically involved writing out storyboards first, then building mini movie sets with little people made from plasticine. Then when it was time to start shooting, you mounted a Super 8 movie camera (anyone else here old enough to remember those?) on a tripod and put a cable device into the camera which allowed you to expose only one frame of film at a time, moving your plasticine figures ever so slightly from one shot to the next. This was a long painstaking process and you could take up to two hours doing this just to get one or two minutes worth of film, and then your "actors" would start melting into goo under the heat of the lights. But in spite of that, I enjoyed it and found it rewarding.

I would love to be able to this today in my spare time, but it's just not possible. Video cameras have long ago replaced movie cameras for amateur use and you just can't do stop motion with a video camera -- particularly a digital camera -- because it's an entirely different means of capturing images than film. Of course, I have no experience with computer animation, but it seems as though it wouldn't be as much fun to produce since it's not the same kind of hands on experience that stop motion is.

 

[messyplace]

How are these sorts of video's made?

http://www.2bloggadgets.com/?p=68

 

[Ilikemuppets]

It looks like there made pretty much the same wat they do stop motion. That was cool, though!

 

[Xerus]

And I noticed that there are hardly anymore musical numbers in today's animated movies. Especially the CGI movies. Back in the old days, they had great original songs done to neat animation. Like, "Be Our Guest", "You Never Had a Friend Like Me", "The Phoney Prince of England", and "I Wanna Be Like You."

 

[MrsPepper]

I don't know why I didn't see this thread the first time around.

2D can't die. 3D is flooding the market. Pretty soon 2D will come back again. I heard from someone that Disney's studios will probably reopen shortly. And I honestly can't wait because I am not a big fan of 3D. I just don't ike the way it looks.

 

[Sgt Floyd]

I dont remember if I ever said this, (I'm too lazy to look), but I am not the biggest fan of CGI movies. Dont get me wrong, there are some terrific ones, like ice age, shrek, but they had good animation. It seems that CG animation is getting worse, not better. In my opinion, CG movies look forced and just fake. No, I like 2D animation, but even that has become computerized.

And dont get me started with Stop-Motion. I could go on a long rant about how its dieing, but I'll try to keep it short. Like the Wallice and Gromit guy (sorry, dont know his name), switched from claymation to CGI with Flushed away. Its sad! But people like Tim Burton, who still use stop motion are keeping it alive, but just barely. I was watching the making of CatCF on HBO and someone said Tim doesnt like to use CGI. Some things you cant avoid using CG, but if he doesnt need to use CG, he wont. I love those old stop motion christmas movies. I love stop motion movies in general because there is a realness to them. In the sence they dont have a rubbery, fakeness seen with CGI. In my opinion, stop motion is the best kind of animation. I am really considering going into a career with stop motion animation, but I would never get a job. Unless Tim is still making stop motion movies, lol. My parents said they would get equipment for me to make some stop motion shorts, but not only would it be extremely expensive, they probably wouldnt find the right equpiment.

 

[Sgt Floyd]

Sorry, accidental double post

 

[Ilikemuppets]

I don't know why I didn't see this thread the first time around.

2D can't die. 3D is flooding the market. Pretty soon 2D will come back again. I heard from someone that Disney's studios will probably reopen shortly. And I honestly can't wait because I am not a big fan of 3D. I just don't ike the way it looks.

I have to agree the 3D is playing itself out. And for the most part they just arn't putting out good movies any more. Everybody's just out to make a quick buck.

By the way, Congradulations on your 3000th posts!

And I would say your right Stg Floyd. The quality of those movies is just declining.

 

[McFraggle]

I don't know why I didn't see this thread the first time around.

2D can't die. 3D is flooding the market. Pretty soon 2D will come back again. I heard from someone that Disney's studios will probably reopen shortly. And I honestly can't wait because I am not a big fan of 3D. I just don't ike the way it looks.

I've heard rumors that potentially Pixar would be releasing the CGI films and then the Disney brand would be used for traditional 2-D animation so that both brands owned by Disney wouldn't be essentially competing with each other.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

I think that would work. But I'm glad Disney's using 2-D again!