ComputAnimation: A Tribute to Pixar

Let' start this off with something big and enjoyable that everyone in this lifetime has enjoyed: Computer Animation. Computer Animation was around as early as the 1940s and 1950s. John Whitney began experiments in computer graphics, but it was on the early 1960s when digital computers had become widely established and new avenues for innovative computer graphics blossomed. The animation at the time was used for mainly engineering, scientific and other research purposes, but artistic experimentation began to make its appearance by mid-1960s. By the mid-70s, many such efforts were beginning to enter into public media. Much computer graphics at this time involved 2-dimensional imagery, though increasingly, as computer power improved, efforts to achieve 3-dimensional realism become the emphasis. By the late 1980s, photo-realistic 3D was beginning to appear in cinema movies, and by mid-90s had developed to the point where 3D animation could be used for entire feature film production.

Yes it is the animation style that bigwigs such as Disney and Dream Works have employed to reel in the audience. Some notable examples of  movies that employ this style include; Shrek, How to Train Your Dragon, Toy Story, and Frozen. Pixar Studios, however, takes computer animation to a whole new level of intensity. 

When their first movie, Toy Story, came out, it changed the way people saw and thought about computer animation. During this time, studios tended to make animated cartoon films, (such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin). Computer animation has been around since the 1960s and slow improvements were made to make it better and better, but despite several attempts to make it a "thing" with the public, it never really took off. At first, Pixar was a company that sold computer software, but then after a while, they were verge of bankruptcy from lack of computer sales. Walt Disney Studios was one of the company's buyers, using Pixar's printers to ease the work between lab and ink framework to the initial 2-D animation process, Pixar then decided to try their hand in animation and relocated to California to begin and continue their relationship with Disney that can be seen to this day. 

With the release of Toy Story, people thought differently about animation. Now we can go far beyond the realms of human imagination and make the screen come alive. This company is now one of the most respected companies in animation and it continuously strives to make it films to the best of perfection, appealing to audiences everywhere. It takes over 4 years to get the animation down for every Pixar film and with better technology, Pixar improves its films to the highest degree of quality. This video outlines the complicated process behind the making of Brave, released in 2012. 

I hoprd that you enjoyed this blog. Tune in next week to read more :).