Eadweard Muybridge

Eadweard Muybridge became pivotal to the creation of animation because of a man called Leland Stanford. Stanford wanted to scientifically answer the query of the time; 'Do all a horses legs leave the floor simultaneously as it gallops?', and hired Muybridge to help him prove it. Firstly, Muybridge proved his theory with a photographic negative in 1878 of a horse mid-gallop, with all his legs off the floor. This negative was lost, but Muybridge, spurred on by Stanford, expanded the project by taking a series of photographs of a moving horse named 'The Horse In Motion'. This series of photos stands as one of the earliest forms of videography. He then also made the same video but of an American bison cantering. This wasn't the only form of animation that Muybridge used, as he also practiced with a phenakistoscope portraying a couple waltzing. I am also keen on experimenting with different types of animation before definitively deciding on which style to stick with, although the basis will most probably be of photography stop motion I am interested in exploring different mediums.

Mindmap of Ideas

The first mindmap is of my initial ideas, covering the different types of media that I could choose and use as my final piece. I wanted to see everything that was available to me so that I wouldn't be too hasty in choosing a project that I'd be doing for several months. I created this to cover all bases and to get to my final decision: animation.

The second mindmap consists of my original ideas surrounding the animation topic. I felt that before I could start my project I should explore different thoughts and ideas that I could use. This covers the different types and styles of animation there are, and ideas related to that. I felt by doing this I could cover all my bases and not regret my choice of project at a later date.

Project Proposal

For my Extended Project I have decided to do a version of stop motion photography. I will photograph a series of movements, for example for my test I will photograph a man walking along a path. I will then develop all these photographs, and lay the first image on a surface. I will then photograph this, then add the second image on top of the first, then photograph this. I will do this for every image, then attach all my photographs to a film file, so that when it plays back it will seem as though the photographs content (a man walking) is actually moving. The camera and photographs will stay in the same place, as I will be using a tripod. I will also consider using a photo frame to keep the images in place rather than just have them on a surface, as this will seem more professional and tidy.

I think if I complete the test shot exactly to plan, then it should come out professionally and well done. I will create several different types of animation, such as photographs, Flash and drawn to see which comes out the best and which is the most successful. For my actual project I will be using photography stop motion the same as my first draft, except this will have more of a story line and will be considerably longer than the test shots. I have a vague idea what I will base my film/animation on, but will expand my ideas later on in my project.
I have decided to use this idea as my project because I want experience in another field of the media, as opposed to doing photography by itself or art instead. I think this will be beneficial for me as if it is a success I could use the same method for future projects. I have never done anything like this project before so it will take a lot of planning and drafts to ensure nothing goes wrong.

I think this idea will be both entertaining and informative and could be used for educational purposes. I think in particular foreign people could view my animation to better understand English idioms. At the beginning of the project, before I decided on creating an animation, I brainstormed different ideas covering film, photography and art. I felt I should look into other different channels of media that I could cover rather than just doing the first idea that came into my head. By doing this I could see which projects would play to my strengths, and see what I'd had the most success with in the past. From this research I decided to use an outlet that I was good at, photography, and also have the chance to experiment with a new form of media, stop animation.

For the animation I will not need a lot of resources. Just a camera, tri-pod, and editing software. I will also need actors to star in my drafts and my final, and props for them to work with. The skills I will need would be a photographic ability, and also the patience for the final piece to come out smoothly. I will also require a basic understanding of the editing software I will use to have the best possible outcome.