We all have memories of our childhood selves sitting in front of the television and watching cartoons. Saturday morning cartoons are as deeply rooted in our childhood as the toys, comic books, and games that we play. Animation was the closest thing to our heroes and adventures coming to life. As technology advanced, so does our entertainment facilities. From sitting in front of the television and watching, we are now able to take part in the action. Fully immersing ourselves into our entertainment, not by imagination but by actual interaction.
Let’s look into the development and differences of virtual reality and animation.
Definition of VR and Animation
What is an Animation?
Let’s first look into the definition of VR and animation. Traditional animation is a medium where in drawings or mediums are presented in a way to appear with movement. Traditional animation was done by photographing succeeding drawings and then showing them in rapid succession. This creates the illusion of the drawings moving. Using the same concept, the same can be done for actual or any real life model like figures made of clay, wood, or other mediums. This is known as stop motion animation.
What is VR?
You may be mistaken to call all forms of technology that use VR goggles or glasses as virtual reality. Today, VR is used as an all encompassing technology for the use of these said glasses or goggles. In its real sense, virtual reality is a medium. A medium where you use your senses to be fully immersed and participate in this generated reality.
The new world can be realistic, totally new like being on a different planet, or basically anything depending on the program running. It can track your eye and body movement and react to the actions you are doing. Virtual reality has the ability to transport a person to a whole new world and interact with this world. The key here is that you are directly participating as compared to just watching in full view.
The History
Animation
Definition is only the beginning when looking at the differences of VR and animation. Animation can be dated back to prehistory. As far back as man can draw, different styles have been used to try and depict movement. From cave drawings to Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, these drawings were made to imply motion. As technology improved, from cameras to video playbacks, animation too has become more complex and improved. Today, most animation is computer generated imagery. A fully digital medium where pen and paper are optional items.
VR
Virtual Reality may seem like very new technology. However, VR has its beginnings in the 1800’s. The concept was using twin mirrors to project one image. By the 1950’s to 1960’s, multiple simulated environments where being tested. In the 1980’s, the term virtual reality was first used to describe this new medium. The popularity of virtual reality today has risen considerably because technology has finally caught up with what was intended.
More Than Entertainment
We are mainly exposed to VR and animation today due to its use in entertainment. From popular animated shows in tv and film, to different vr gaming in a wide variety of platforms. However, entertainment is not the only use for these two technologies.
Outside of the entertainment industry, there have been an increased use of animation. It has been used for education. It has proved to be a great tool to visualize different topics and make them easier to understand. The same is true in other industries like architecture, engineering, and even forensics. Imagination is truly the only limit for the use of this medium.
Virtual reality gained popularity in the gaming, entertainment, and mobile application sectors. However, with the increase in exposure, so too has the increase in different uses been developing. Simulations for health care, museums, space exploration and training, manufacturing and engineering, and also education have been developed. The military, retail and even legal procedures have emerging offerings using VR. More and more applications are being developed everyday. And with the advancement of this technology more and more can it penetrate everyday actions.
The Industry Today
A whole sector of the entertainment industry is dedicated to animation. Animation studios are plentiful, with almost every major studio owning its own. The line between live action and animation has continually blurred due to the mixing of these two techniques. With animation becoming more life like, it is only a matter of time when you can not count the difference.
Instead of animation studios, virtual reality has been dominated by gaming and mobile giants. With the most rampant use of VR still on these sectors, the growth of their advancements has been considerable.
How VR can transform and affect animation
With the release of numerous kinds of technology today, it seems like VR has the potential to make the most impact. You can already see the impact it is making in the world of animation.
- Increase the emotion and attachment – each story we watch gives us an emotion. It can make us angry, sad, or happy. It does this through the video and audio we experience while watching an animation. With VR, imagine how much more emotional attachment we can have if we are fully incorporated into the story.
- Turning animation into an interactive medium – no longer can you just watch the story unfolding, but actually experience being part of it.
- Improving the display – Traditionally, animation has been presented as a 2D medium. 3D releases have been increasingly common, however today’s theaters do not fully take advantage of the 3rd dimension. Virtual reality is the bridge that can fully utilize a better viewing and overall experience.
What’s In Store For The Future
What’s in store for the world of animation and virtual reality? It may be impossible to predict the future, but we can read the signs. Each advancement not only improves the product, but makes it more entrenched into our everyday lives.
Resources:
https://www.fi.edu/virtual-reality/history-of-virtual-reality
http://www.iamwire.com/2017/07/transformation-animation-virtual-reality/155938
https://www.cnet.com/news/virtual-reality-terminology-vr-vs-ar-vs-360-video/
https://history-of-animation.webflow.io/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animation#Animator
https://medium.com/@creativesip1/uses-of-animation-in-industries-other-than-media-and-entertainment-92158274707b
https://www.livescience.com/53392-virtual-reality-tech-uses-beyond-gaming.html
http://animationanomaly.com/2012/05/09/5-predictions-for-the-future-of-animation/