Scribble - Prototype for Flipbook Animation

 Students Penn Greene, Ryan Thurmer, Chris Parker and Alexis Stepanek received a $2,500 top prize for their Scribble handheld animation prototype.
at the  University of Michigan, US.

A small group of innovative University of Michigan students with an interest in animation has brought the old-school flip book into the 21st century with the “Scribble”, a handheld touchscreen toy that turns digital drawings into flipbook stop motion animations.

With a plastic-tip pen, users hand-draw and save a series of consecutive images, which the Scribble then plays back in sequence to create the illusion of movement (once saved, drawings can be edited). A functional prototype of the device recently netted first place in a toy design competition co-sponsored by the University of Michigan College of Engineering’s Center for Entrepreneurship, and Giddy Up Toys.

To make their product, University of Michigan Art and Design undergrads Penn Greene, Ryan Thurmer, Chris Parker, and Alexis Stepanek ripped electronics from an Asus Eee PC. They specially ordered their touchscreen and custom-wrote the Scribble software. The device also comes with a built-in camera for those who want to go the stop-motion animation route.

The Scribble grew out of a December focus group in which student designers asked third-graders what they wanted for the holidays. “Many wanted interactive touchscreen devices such as iPods or Nintendo DSes,” Thurmer said. “Using this information, we reflected on vivid memories of creating flip books as children. We knew we wanted to recreate those experiences and memories, but in a more environmentally friendly and technological way, without the use of paper.”

The Scribble has a touchscreen, and you sketch  on it with a plastic tip pen. Then when you’ve drawn and saved your first image, the lines of that image change from black to grey. You can then draw your second image over the top of the first one, using its gray lines as a guide for the progression of your animation. When you’ve saved the second image, the lines of the first one will disappear, but the lines of the second will still be there to guide you as you draw the third. Get the idea?

Movie greats such as George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and Nick Park all cite Ray has one of their inspirational heros in the field of animation.

Harryhausen is modest about his elevated status this these Directors, he prefers to give the credit to Willis O’Brien, the visual-effects supervisor on King Kong (1933) and the man who gave Harryhausen his first feature film job, on Mighty Joe Young (1949).

But it is Harryhausen who, on the occasion of his 90th birthday this week, will be celebrated with the exhibition of his drawings, models and film footage at the London Film Museum, and by a collectible limited-edition book called Ray Harryhausen: A Life in Pictures. And it’s Harryhausen who is cited as an influence by film-makers from Steven Spielberg (“I salute him every day”) to James Cameron (“We all owe Ray a great debt”); from Pixar (who named a restaurant after him in Monsters Inc) to Tim Burton (who said Mars Attacks! was a direct homage).

Nick Park, the Oscar-winning animator behind Wallace and Gromit and another avowed Harryhausen fan, says that Gromit’s famously expressive eyebrows were partially inspired by those of Mighty Joe Young. “I remember seeing Ray Harryhausen on I think it was a TV programme called Screen Test. I just got to work straight away in my own little attic studio. I made a brontosaurus out of coat-hanger wire and foam and my mum’s old tights.”

Live long and prosper Ray. We look up to you and celebrate with you on your upcoming birthday.

New Look Cartoon Network Looney Tunes

One of the worlds largest cartoon publishers “Cartoon Network” are planning to breathe new life in to the classic Warner Brothers Looney Tunes shows. Just last month Cartoon Network during its upfront presentation, announced a number of new animated shows including an animated version of the Mad magazine.

The new Looney tunes shows which will included the ususal suspects of Daffy Duck , Bugs Bunny, Sylvester , Yosemite and more will see a new format. Rather than the original 7 minute cartoon the network is planning half hour slots for the animated series. Also Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny will be moved out of the woods and placed in a suburbian neighbourhood.

However the half hour episodes will be interspersed by cartoons within the cartoon. There will be two-minute ‘Merrie Melodies’ music videos — original songs sung by such characters as the Tasmanian Devil, Speedy Gonzalez, and Marvin the Martian – and two and a half minute Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote shorts, which will be computer-animated.

However Cartoon Network modern take on these originals does not go down well with some of the original fans of the format. For example Fatty Fat comments ..

I just plain don’t get the need to tinker with Looney Tunes at all. It’s just more reinventing the wheel. I’m nostalgic for the originals that were around in syndication all during my childhood, and if I can be nostaligic for cartoons that were made 50 years before I was born, so can/have/will others. It’s not like I was sitting through Bugs Bunny cartoons thinking, “I’d be interested in this if they’d just make this character edgier…maybe Rastafarianize him by, say 30%…now that’d be a totally outrageous paradigm!”

For me I welcome the reviving of these old cartoons for a whole new generation by Cartoon Network. Us old folks should just move on and hand over the good times to the next generation.

It was created by man called “John”. I will let the description speak for itself as follows:

“My brother created this project in 1978 when he was 18 years old . He built the model of the Starship Enterprise bridge. He made all the clothes ect. for the dolls and spent tedious hours animating the characters. He dubbed in the audio after he copied the super 8 footage on to a beta tape The animation was done from his memory of the episode because VCRs were not invented when he did this project. My hope is that this gets the recognition it deserves. RIP John.”

The puppets were made from 1970’s GI Joe action figures. John made all the costumes and the set himself. Some of the comments on the video are justifiably complimentary.

stoneman127 What’s so fantastic about this is that the dolls/figures of the characters move so smoothly, lively, not stiff. You can tell a lot of work went into this. This is really top class stuff. And this was done before all the high tech camera equipment and special effects were available. It’s truly an amazing piece of work. This is really great!

grandehillusion Very impressive !!!
your brother had a lot of talent, worthy of Ray Harryhausen.
It is a very beautiful tribute has its work that to diffused it on YouTube.
Thanks for sharing.

I have started watching the original series again recently having received a gift of the Complete Blue Ray DVD box set. They have enhanced some of the original special effects and cleaned up the images. It has been done with sensitivity and does not spoil the overall feel. Recommened as is John’s fine work above.

Disneys' Familyfun - iKITMovie

It was Recommended by FamilyFun digital manager Samuel Mead and kids, Ruby, age 8, and Finn, 5 (plus  cousins Cedar, 15, Silas, 11, Matia, 12, and Noah, 9) – Their tips were ..

Our Tips

Stop-motion animation programs are compatible with most digital video cameras and some digital still cameras (check before you download). I had to adjust my camera’s settings from HD to DV before beginning.

For a more professional look, we set our camera on a tripod and shot against a flat, brightly lit sheet of white paper.

To inspire my young animators, I showed them some of the many finished works posted online. The kids were particularly jazzed by a short called “Western Spaghetti” (eatpes.com).

Also we got an really nice article by Karin Piper author of “Charter Schools – The Ultimate Guide for Parents” about us on Examiner.com.

Karin is a speaker, school choice advocate and author of award winning Charter Schools: The Ultimate Handbook for Parents. Karin provides communications and tools necessary for parents to become informed decision makers in the expanding world of education options. She also works with various organizations in engaging with surrounding communities and creating dynamic relationships with families. Karin can be contacted through Karin@theeducationchoiceexpert.com or visit her website at charterschoolmom.com.

It’s described as: Clean It Up. A stop-motion video featuring animated lips that clean up a rundown home. The art work was done by a street artist in Chicago called Goons. His style is primitive cartoon like characters with exagarated lips!

GoonsArtAce Norton - Stop Motion Director

The stop motion animation was directed by Ace Norton. Ace grew up in Venice, Los Angeles. He father and grandfather were both screenwriters in the movie business.  Ace was prolific in his short film production while at high school winning an award for his short “Cherry Coke Rage” at the Los Angeles Film Festival.
The mellow music used in the video is  Keep It Clean by Camera Obscura. They are worth checking out actually if you are looking for some laid back female vocal led sounds.
The stop motion short was sponsored by Wrigleys Orbit clean it up campaign. The film is part of their promotion of disposing of gum responsibly.

“Orbit: Clean It Up” features over 500 unique drawings created by Goons. It tells the story of a paper ball rolling down dirty street cleaning as it goes. It culminates with the ball cleaning the front of an old house restoring it to its former glory. The ad promotes the “clean” image of Wrigleys gum!

How to Train Your Dragon from Dreamworks animation will be in theaters March 26, 2010. Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrara, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Craig Ferguson, Kristen Wiig and T.J. Miller are the voice actors in the film. It’s directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois. The trailer is below for your enjoyment. I hope they improve on the graphics for the main dragon, as it currently stands it looks out of place with the other characters and background. While it may well be worth going to see if only for the 3D experience it does not look as good as Pixar’s recent offerings.

NEWS : The UK’s famous art gallery, the Tate and Aardman studios have teamed up for an ambitious project to create a feature movie made entirely by children. Aardman will spearhead this 3Million pounds sterling project by organising contributions from children in the UK to create a movie which will be launched as part of the 2012 Olympics celebrations. Aardman will hold workshops around the UK hoping to directly involve thousands of children’s hand drawn animation cutout backdrops and characters as well as recording sound effects , voices and ideas.

“In this age of the creative economy where ideas are the driving force, discovering and nurturing creative ideas in children is of vital importance,” said Aardman Chairman Dave Sproxton.

“We want children to be involved at every level and believe that the spontaneity and creativity of the children will create a film that is as inspiring as it is entertaining.”

Sir Nicholas Serota, the director of Tate, said: “We’re giving children the opportunity to work at the coalface and really use their own creativity. This is about stimulating creativity among young people. It is a natural way of extending the education work that we do and capturing the interest of young people in the visual.”

I don’t like reading film reviews normally because the authors drag out the conclusion to the review until the end. So here is my conclusion on UP 3D the movie.

It was excellent. Well worth going to see (expecially in 3D). Suitable for all ages. Our group ranged in ages from 8 to 44 years old. All agreed it was brilliant. Everyone took something different from it. Now read on if you would like to know a little more. Otherwise just plan a night out and go and see it in 3D.

Synopsis of the story

Carl Fredricksen, the main character is introduced in the opening scenes as a young boy watching a black and white movie in the cinema about a heroic adventurer called Charles Muntz . He dreams of going on such an adventure as he follows his balloon in to an abandoned house some days later. It is here he meets his future wife..Ellie who shares his sense of adventure. They marry later and the first few minutes of the movie runs through their life together in montage form up to the point where they are old and Ellie dies without every going on their adventure to South America.

So we are left with a 78-year-old balloon salesman about to be forced in to a retirement home by aggressive city developers encroaching on the once abandoned house ( as seen in opening of the movie)  that he and Ellie renovated and lived in all there lives. But rather than give in to them he decides to go on that adventure to South Africa ( Angel Falls ) and bring his house with him by lifting it in to the sky with hundreds of helium balloons. Once in they sky floating over the city he discovers he has a passenger in the form of an 8 year old boy scout type character or wilderness explorer as he calls himself on the front porch. The boy “Russell” accompanies Carl to south America where they are joined by a talking dog called Doug ( and then dogs) and a twelve foot tall bird which they name Kevin. During their adventure they meet with Charles Muntz, Carl’s boyhood hero. Charles soon disappoints as a hero. It quickly becomes evident that Charles Muntz has become obsessed with capturing this mysterious bird “Kevin” in order to rebuke an earlier humiliation by his peers and the scientific community who claimed such a bird never existed. In his relentless 50 plus year search , Charles now discovers that Carl and Russell know where the bird can be found. Needless to say Carl and Russell try to hide and protect the bird from Charles Muntz and his shotgun.

Carl , Russell and Doug

The adventure picks up pace in these scenes which result in Muntz’s timely demise and the return of Kevin to his family of baby birds!  Carl get’s Russell back home in time for his senior Wilderness Explorer badge presentation and all is well.

While this animation seems like a very well executed adventure for children it has very deep threads running thr0ughout. From the first ten minutes you are left in no doubt about the animations deeper messages on life and meaning. Sounds like I’m getting heavy here.( or even worse ..”arty” lol ).but it is surprising to find this depth in a 3D animation. And I, as all of our adult members in our group where taken back by its sophistication. Themes such as “loss – as we see Carl loosing a childhood sweetheart after 70 years of marriage” , “not seizing life , adventure and opportunities”. “Being dissappointed by lifelong hero’s” when Muntz turns out to be a self centered mean spirited egomaniac. Phew..that’s heavy going alright.. but its real.

Anyways..enough..go see it. It’s real.

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