The Indian shopping festival 2007 : a computer animation dissertation

Abstract

The term Animation is derived from the word animare, which is Latin for 'to give life to'. Within the context of the animated film, this largely means the artificial creation of movement in inanimate lines and forms (Wells, 1998, p 10). Movement is quite possibly the one defining feature of life - our experience of life is characterized largely by our experience and observation of movement around of us. The illusion of movement in Animation gives us the illusion of life. The movement typically conforms, however loosely, to the movement we view and experience in our every day lives, allowing us to interpret, relate to and empathize with the on-screen action. The use of computers to produce Animation has injected new life into what was becoming an increasingly marginalized part of the media and entertainment industry, and Computer Animated films have become exceedingly lucrative and successful. A typical CG Animation production involves the work of hundreds of people spending thousands of hours working with specialized software, workstations and render-farms. However, the advent of powerful and affordable personal computers has arguably placed the ability create a CG Animation firmly within reach of the average individual, at a quality that is on par with the very best in the industry. This is what I intend to explore and prove with this dissertation.