Answer to Antonina's Question 2.

Animation has really changed in the recent past. Computers do most of the animation that we see publicized. How do you think it has changed cinema and how do you think it will change it in the future?


Animation has changed cinema forever. There are endless possibilities for the development of better and better animation that can be used in action films to cartoon films. “Given enough time and money, almost everything can be simulated on a computer, filming physical reality is but one possibility.” (Manovich 294) Animation has made possible the creation of countless films by allowing computer generation to enhance and go beyond the previous way of purely filming physical reality. For example, “...It is now possible to generate photorealistic scenes entirely on a computer using 3-D computer animation; modify individual frames or whole scenes with the help of a digital paint program; cut, bend, stretch, and stitch digitized film images...” (Manovich 295) Animation has made film making easier and given cinema numerous new advantages such as these. Digital film combines live action material, painting, image processing, compositing, 2-D computer animation, and 3-D animation. (Manovich 301) Digital film combines so many aesthetically pleasing principles that it should continue to be a large part of the film industry from now on. Blockbuster movies began to take on computer-generated special effects in the 1990s and the trend has grown ever since. I believe it will continue to grow. Now, not only do the large Blockbuster films have digital effects, but the film industry as a whole are able to use them as digital film technology is affordably replacing traditional film technology. In the future, we may see less and less physically real scenes and more and more computer generated ones with all of the advantages and possibilities animation holds over live-action film.

Peter Stilp