Scanimate
Encyclopedia
Scanimate is the name for an analog computer animation
system developed from the late 1960s to the early 1980s.
The Scanimate systems were used to produce much of the video
-based animation seen on television
between most of the 1970s and early 1980s in commercials, promotions, and show openings. One of the major advantage the Scanimate system had over film-based animation and computer animation was the ability to create animations in real time
. The speed with which animation could be produced on the system because of this, as well as its range of possible effects, helped it to supersede film-based animation techniques for television graphics. By the mid-1980s it was superseded by digital computer animation
, which produced sharper images and more sophisticated 3D imagery.
Animations created on Scanimate and similar analog computer animation systems have a number of characteristic features that distinguish them from film-based animation: The motion is extremely fluid, using all 60 fields per second (in NTSC
format video) or 50 fields (in PAL
format video) rather than the 24 frames per second that film uses; the colors are much brighter and more saturated; and the images have a very "electronic" look that results from the direct manipulation of video signals through which the Scanimate produces the images.
VR-2000 or IVC
's IVC-9000
of Scanimate's era, the IVC-9000 being used quite frequently for Scanimate composition due to its very high generational quality between re-recordings).
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
system developed from the late 1960s to the early 1980s.
The Scanimate systems were used to produce much of the video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
-based animation seen on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
between most of the 1970s and early 1980s in commercials, promotions, and show openings. One of the major advantage the Scanimate system had over film-based animation and computer animation was the ability to create animations in real time
Real-time computer graphics
Real-time computer graphics is the subfield of computer graphics focused on producing and analyzing images in real time. The term is most often used in reference to interactive 3D computer graphics, typically using a GPU, with video games the most noticeable users...
. The speed with which animation could be produced on the system because of this, as well as its range of possible effects, helped it to supersede film-based animation techniques for television graphics. By the mid-1980s it was superseded by digital computer animation
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
, which produced sharper images and more sophisticated 3D imagery.
Animations created on Scanimate and similar analog computer animation systems have a number of characteristic features that distinguish them from film-based animation: The motion is extremely fluid, using all 60 fields per second (in NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
format video) or 50 fields (in PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
format video) rather than the 24 frames per second that film uses; the colors are much brighter and more saturated; and the images have a very "electronic" look that results from the direct manipulation of video signals through which the Scanimate produces the images.
How it works
A special high-resolution (around 800 lines) monochrome camera films high-contrast artwork. The image is then displayed on a high-resolution screen. Unlike a normal monitor, its deflection signals are passed through a special analog computer that enables the operator to bend the image in a variety of ways. The image is then shot from the screen by either a film camera or a video camera. In the case of a video camera this signal is then fed into a colorizer, a device that takes certain shades of grey and turns it into color as well as transparency. The idea behind this is that the output of the Scanimate itself is always monochrome. Another advantage of the colorizer is that it gives the operator the ability to continuously add layers of graphics. This makes possible the creation of very complex graphics. This is done by using two video recorders. The background is played by one recorder and then recorded by another one. This process is repeated for every layer. This requires very high-quality video recorders (such as both the AmpexAmpex
Ampex is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff. The name AMPEX is an acronym, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excellence...
VR-2000 or IVC
International Video Corporation
International Video Corporation, or IVC, was a California company that manufactured several models of low to middle-end videotape recorders, or VTRs, for industrial and professional use. Their products were quite popular in the industrial and institutional markets.- IVC 800 series 1 Inch VTR :IVC...
's IVC-9000
IVC videotape format
IVC 2 inch Helical scan was a high end broadcast quality helical scan analog recording VTR format developed by International Video Corporation , and introduced in 1975. Previously, IVC had made a number of 1 inch Helical VTRs...
of Scanimate's era, the IVC-9000 being used quite frequently for Scanimate composition due to its very high generational quality between re-recordings).
Use in TV and films
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- NBC SportsNBC SportsNBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
- The Electric CompanyThe Electric CompanyThe Electric Company is an educational American children's television series that was produced by the Children's Television Workshop for PBS in the United States. PBS broadcast 780 episodes over the course of its six seasons from October 25, 1971 to April 15, 1977...
- Logan's RunLogan's RunLogan's Run is a novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. Published in 1967, it depicts a dystopic ageist future society in which both population and the consumption of resources are maintained in equilibrium by requiring the death of everyone reaching a particular age...
- Star WarsStar WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
- Sesame StreetSesame StreetSesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
- Lancelot Link, Secret ChimpLancelot Link, Secret ChimpLancelot Link, Secret Chimp is an American action/adventure comedy series that originally aired on ABC from September 12, 1970, to September 2, 1972...
- BraingamesBraingamesBraingames was an educational program shown on HBO in the mid-1980s. It was a half-hour program consisting of brain-teasing animated skits designed to make the viewers think.-Episodes:...
- Be Forever YamatoBe Forever Yamatois the third theatrical film based on the classic anime series Space Battleship Yamato . The film is unique for switching from monaural VistaVision to Quadraphonic CinemaScope when the Yamato enters the Double Galaxy.-Plot:The Black Nebula Empire, last seen in Yamato: The New Voyage, lands a...
and Final YamatoFinal YamatoThe Space Battleship Yamato saga ended in 1983 with the fifth theatrical movie, . At a running time of approximately 165 minutes, Final Yamato currently holds the record as being the longest running animated film ever made.-Synopsis:The Galman Empire is destroyed but the planet Galmania is not, by... - Willy Wonka & the Chocolate FactoryWilly Wonka & the Chocolate FactoryWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 musical film adaptation of the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, directed by Mel Stuart, and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. The film tells the story of Charlie Bucket as he receives a golden ticket and visits Willy...
- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club BandSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (film)Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is a 1978 American musical film. Its soundtrack, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, features new versions of songs originally written and performed by The Beatles. The film draws primarily from two of their albums, 1967's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club...
- The Letter PeopleThe Letter PeopleThe Letter People is the name of a children's literacy program and the television series based on that program. The term also refers to the various characters depicted in the program and television show.-Original program:...
- ZOOM (Season 4, 1975)
- Villa Alegre
- Post-Newsweek StationsPost-Newsweek StationsPost-Newsweek Stations is the official name of the broadcasting division of the Washington Post Company and is a self-contained corporation within that company...
(ID's, 1974)
External links
- Old-School Electronic Animation Central - Formerly the Scanimate Files
- Scanimation in the Analog Days (An explanation of the Scanimate system)