Animation stand

The animation stand is the traditional workplace to record analog 2D animation. He also serves as the host of movie titles and property, recording relatively flat objects, such as scientific films.

In its simplest form it consists of a worktop on which the animation is applied, an illumination device, and a tripod for the camera, looking vertically down onto the table. This basic structure can be extended to many elements as long as the space is sufficient. Because of the close integration of camera and animation table functions trick tables were often offered as a complete system of film camera manufacturers.

Trick tables that do not include film, but a camera is called Repro tables.

Construction

• The worktop is located in convenient as possible height for the seated or standing in front of a cameraman.
• The tripod is usually a camera column. The camera can be moved perpendicular to it, so as to change the picture, since animated film cameras usually have only lenses with a fixed focal length. A mechanical device, the image sharpness of the camera is automatically tracked, just changed the aperture to compensate for the difference in brightness between small and large receiving surface.
• Right and left outside over the worktop 2, usually 4 or more lamps are mounted, which ideally radiate at an angle of 45 ° to the work area and to illuminate these as evenly as possible.

To enable tracking shots in two-dimensional animated film, various elements of animated table must be mobile. Each movable element is called an "axis " trick table.

• The worktop is in East-West and North -South direction movable ( seen from above). The drive is either hand crank or with engines that are addressed by computer control.
• A cutout of the countertop is independent from the rest in the east-west direction to move. For example, are drawn past a background behind a previous figure, while the movement of the whole worktop changed the picture.
• The work top can be rotated with the center of rotation lies on the axis of the camera.

When trick tables with manual operation, the respective intervals of a movement must be set on each axis by hand. If the table is fully motorized, so the computer control not only ensures that even really any necessary adjustment of an axle in place, but they can moreover also drives independently calculate ensures. The cameraman has to only enter the start and end positions, possibly to intermediate positions, as well as information about how far accelerated movements or to be braked.

To place animation drawings correctly in the camera, it is equipped with a lamp, which compose the image that the camera "sees" exactly projected by the lens onto the worktop.

Multiplan camera

The term " multi - camera plan " actually refers to a combination of camera and multi-storey trick table. Such a structure used ones Lotte Reiniger, the name " Multiplan " first got that camera, which was constructed by Ub Iwerks in 1933 for Disney. One of the last Multiplan cameras in Germany in 1994 for Gerhard Hahn Filmproduktion in Berlin redesigned and used for " Asterix in America ".

• Instead of a single level, the worktop, more levels ( "Level" ) can be added. They consist of panes of glass in stable frame which are positioned at a distance between about 20 and 60 cm above the other. Each of these levels has its own lighting and in turn its own movable axes.

Back projection

Some animation stands are provided with a " rear projection " device, ie a projector that projects a previously recorded movie so that the trick camera can record it together with the animation.

• In the countertop, there is an opening in the superimposed two are located on either side of flat-ground magnifying lenses. The back projector is placed at such a distance that the projected image it fills the opening as possible. In-focus will be on the plane between the two lenses. Although there is no projection, such as a screen, the camera can record the resulting virtual image there. This technique of aerial image - recording makes it possible to define animation as painted cels on the same level and to illuminate without the projected image would be affected by the lighting.

Digitizing

Although the increasing digitization has enabled the camera man, always be able to perform more complex camera moves quite comfortable, the other handles when working with the rostrum but remained unaffected. It has also fought against the dust adhering to the statically charged Cels, and setting up a tracking shot with multiple levels took hours because the multiple lighting threw as many unwanted shadows on the lower levels. Complex recordings of this kind thus remained the major animation projects from feature-length reserved.

The rapid development of software for digital image processing enabled in the mid 80s to generate many previously produced only on the rostrum effects in the computer. Mid -90s, digital compositing standard in larger and increasingly smaller studios, and nowadays the most common effects are to accomplish already in consumer video editing programs. As a result many animation stands were retired, and even in animation training centers such as film schools they dusty in their rooms, while the computer workstations were crowded.