Photoanimation
Encyclopedia
Photoanimation is a technique as old as the motion picture industry, in which still photos, artwork, or other objects are filmed with the use of an animation stand
. On the Oxberry Master Series Stand, the compound (platform) of the animation stand moves East-West and North-South or varying degrees of these parameters and tilts at angles up to 45 degrees in any direction with combinations that cover the compass rose. In the meantime the camera
, mounted to a steel track, moves up and down relative to the subject being filmed. The E-W/N-S movement combinations and scans are done with a motorized compound that rotates and tilts. Backlighting can also be applied beneath the compound platform to create special visual effects.
Oxberry Master Series animation camera
stand filming made possible the pinnacle of the application of this technique and it was brought to a high art form and technique by writer-director Raúl daSilva
working with camera stand operator, Francis Lee, in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s for communication, instruction, promotional and advertising motion pictures. The June 1969 issue of American Cinematographer
, the magazine for the American Society of Cinematographers, contains a cover story written by Raúl daSilva
on the art of Photoanimation (see cover insert) with a comprehensive description of the possibilities of this craft.
In making such films the soundtrack is first produced, analyzed and bar sheets made depicting the soundtrack details. Exposure sheets for filming (camera exposures) are then abstracted from the bar sheets.
When skill and planning are applied one can take a series of stills and/or objects through a combination of movements blended with a compilation of photographic effects. One of the most elaborate examples of complex, combined photoanimation shooting is demonstrated in Raúl daSilva’s critically acclaimed, six-time international film festival prizewinner, Rime of the Ancient Mariner with Sir Michael Redgrave which was produced between the years 1973 and 1975. In this film the director brings together the art of several illustrators spread throughout two centuries, artists who attempted to breathe life into the epic poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
. Not only is there a seminal display of the collected art work but through the photoanimation technique combined with sound and music a unique visualization of the poem was created. Photoanimation techniques, as stated above, were used from the very early days of motion pictures but not at this level of sophistication and complexity. Hollywood often leaned on this less expensive technique for some of its movie trailers in the early era.
From the 1980s on filmmaker Ken Burns
(The Civil War and other films for PBS) popularized a simpler, less complex form of photoanimation later called the Ken Burns Effect
.
Animation stand
An animation stand is a device assembled for the filming of any kind of animation that is placed on a flat surface, including cel animation, graphic animation, clay animation, and silhouette animation....
. On the Oxberry Master Series Stand, the compound (platform) of the animation stand moves East-West and North-South or varying degrees of these parameters and tilts at angles up to 45 degrees in any direction with combinations that cover the compass rose. In the meantime the camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
, mounted to a steel track, moves up and down relative to the subject being filmed. The E-W/N-S movement combinations and scans are done with a motorized compound that rotates and tilts. Backlighting can also be applied beneath the compound platform to create special visual effects.
Usage
Animation camera
An animation camera, a type of rostrum camera, is a movie camera specially adapted for frame-by-frame shooting animation or stop motion. It consists of a camera body with lens and film magazines, a stand that allows the camera to be raised and lowered, and a table, often with both top and...
stand filming made possible the pinnacle of the application of this technique and it was brought to a high art form and technique by writer-director Raúl daSilva
Raúl daSilva
Raúl daSilva is a TV commercial producer, business documentary filmmaker, writer and an expert in the field of photoanimation.-Biography:Raúl daSilva began his film career in 1965 at the Jamison Handy Organization of Detroit, Michigan...
working with camera stand operator, Francis Lee, in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s for communication, instruction, promotional and advertising motion pictures. The June 1969 issue of American Cinematographer
American Cinematographer
American Cinematographer is a monthly magazine published by the American Society of Cinematographers.American Cinematographer focuses on the art and craft of cinematography, going behind the scenes on domestic and international productions of all shapes and sizes...
, the magazine for the American Society of Cinematographers, contains a cover story written by Raúl daSilva
Raúl daSilva
Raúl daSilva is a TV commercial producer, business documentary filmmaker, writer and an expert in the field of photoanimation.-Biography:Raúl daSilva began his film career in 1965 at the Jamison Handy Organization of Detroit, Michigan...
on the art of Photoanimation (see cover insert) with a comprehensive description of the possibilities of this craft.
In making such films the soundtrack is first produced, analyzed and bar sheets made depicting the soundtrack details. Exposure sheets for filming (camera exposures) are then abstracted from the bar sheets.
When skill and planning are applied one can take a series of stills and/or objects through a combination of movements blended with a compilation of photographic effects. One of the most elaborate examples of complex, combined photoanimation shooting is demonstrated in Raúl daSilva’s critically acclaimed, six-time international film festival prizewinner, Rime of the Ancient Mariner with Sir Michael Redgrave which was produced between the years 1973 and 1975. In this film the director brings together the art of several illustrators spread throughout two centuries, artists who attempted to breathe life into the epic poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
. Not only is there a seminal display of the collected art work but through the photoanimation technique combined with sound and music a unique visualization of the poem was created. Photoanimation techniques, as stated above, were used from the very early days of motion pictures but not at this level of sophistication and complexity. Hollywood often leaned on this less expensive technique for some of its movie trailers in the early era.
From the 1980s on filmmaker Ken Burns
Ken Burns
Kenneth Lauren "Ken" Burns is an American director and producer of documentary films, known for his style of using archival footage and photographs...
(The Civil War and other films for PBS) popularized a simpler, less complex form of photoanimation later called the Ken Burns Effect
Ken Burns Effect
The Ken Burns effect is a popular name for a type of panning and zooming effect used in video production from still imagery.The name derives from extensive use of the technique by American documentarian Ken Burns...
.