Wednesday 24 September 2014

Gertie the Dinosaur: 1914 - Winsor McCay


Gertie the Dinosaur: 1914 - Winsor McCay
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY40DHs9vc4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cr-u-hVYrPA 


Winsor McCay's interactive act with his own cartoon creation 'Gertie the Dinosaur' became famous in 1914. 
This animation was mostly created by hand, with McCay having drawn thousands of frames on rice paper. It is an important animation to look at as it was the first of its time to use keyframes, registration marks and animation loops.
Gertie is a line drawn dinosaur who likes to eat and dance. Many shots throughout the short film are repeated to save time and drawing. 
The film is silent but with a musical accompaniment, so captions on a separate blank shot interact with Gertie as if McCay were speaking directly to her himself. The musical accompaniment used is repetative and lighthearted, to reflect the mood of the cartoon as a whole.
At the end of the film, McCay even appears on the screen himself to be given a ride by Gertie.

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