91

Expedition 6, Lesson 8

The Early Days of Animation

1Asmall,blackmousewithlarge,roundearstapdancesacrossafloor.Apipe-smokingsailorswallowsspinachoutofacan.Hesuddenlygrowsbulgingarmmusclesandpunchesabullyintothenextcounty.Along-eared,carrot-chompingrabbithopsoutofhishole.“Eeyah,what’sup,Doc?”heasks. 2DoyourecognizeMickeyMouse,Popeye,andBugsBunny?Inthefirsthalfofthe20thcentury,thesecharacterscapturedtheimaginationoftheateraudiences.Theyappearedinthefirstanimatedcartoons.Thesecartoonsweremainlyshortfeatures.In1937,theWaltDisneycompanycreatedthefirstfull-lengthanimatedmovie.ThemoviewasSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs.Ittookthreeyearstoproduce. 3Animationfortelevisionappearedinthe1950s.Weeklycartoonprogramssoonbecamepopular.TheyincludedshowssuchasHuckleberry HoundandThe Flintstones.Mostofthemwerecreatedforchildren.But,forthemostpart,thequalityofTVanimationwasn’tasgoodasthatformovies.Hand-drawnanimationtookalongtime.Itcosttoomuchtoproduceweekly.

Animated Movies

Roy Sato, senior animator, working on a digital animation feature

92

Expedition 6, Lesson 8

How Animation Is Created

4Animationiscreatedbytakingpicturesofaseriesofdrawings.Whenthestillimagesareshowninfastsequence,theygivethefeelingofmotion.It’snoteasytoachievethiseffect,though.Artistsmustmakethousandsofdrawings.Eachsecondoffinishedfilmrequires24frames,orimages.Thisrequiresasmanyas24drawings,dependingonthetypeofmovementbeingshown.Fastermovementsrequiremoredrawings.Eachframemustblendsmoothlywiththenextone. 5Ananimationartistbeginswithageneralsetofdrawings.Thedrawingslooklikeagiantcomicstrip.Theyillustratethemajoractioninastory.Theartistalsohasarecordingofthestory’sdialogue.Thisguidesthetimingofthedrawings.Italsohelpstheartistmatchthecharacters’movementswiththeirspeech. 6Inoldercartoons,thebackgroundoftenstayedthesame.Anartistdrewandpaintedtheimagesonclearfilm.Thesecouldbestackedontopofthebackground.Eachdrawingshowedacharacterinaslightlydifferentposition.Tomakethetaskmoreefficient,oneartistdrewthemostimportantframes.Thenanotherartistdrewtheframesinbetweenthese.Afterallthedrawingswerefinished,eachwasphotographedwithaspecialcamera.

“Peanuts” animator,

Bill Melendez, in his studio

93

Expedition 6, Lesson 8

7Supposeyouwantedtocreatean8-minuteanimatedcartoon.Herearesomeofthesuppliesyouwouldneed:7,000sheetsofpaper,50felt-tippens,50pencils,5erasers,20paintbrushes,2-1/2gallonsofpaint,1/2pintofink,and720feetofcolorfilm!

Try Your Hand at Animation

8Haveyouevermadeaflipbook?Thiswillgiveyouanideaofwhathand-drawnanimationislike.First,thinkofashortactionyouwouldliketoshow.Youcouldshowapersonhittingahomerun.Youmightshowachildbouncingaball.Oryoucouldshowachickhatchingfromanegg.You’llneedalargesheetofdrawingpaper.You’llalsoneedabout12sheetsof4-inchby6-inchpaperandabinderclip.Don’tforgetapencil.Followthesestepsinorder:

1.Onthesheetofdrawingpaper,makeroughsketchesofthemovementyouwanttoshow.Sketchthemainactions,fromstarttofinish.Youwillusethisasyourguide.

2.Nowmakeyourfirstdrawing.

3.Clipasecondsheetofpaperontopofyourfirstdrawing.

4.Drawthesecondpicture.Varythedrawingjustalittletoshowthebeginningsofmovement.

5.Withonehand,liftthesecondpageupanddown.Thiswillhelpyouseethe“movement”youarecreating.Makeanynecessarycorrectionstotheseconddrawing.

6.Clipathirdpieceofpaperontopofyourseconddrawing.Makeyourthirddrawing.

Artists often draw comic strips with pen and ink.

94

Expedition 6, Lesson 8

7.Putyourfingersbetweenthepagesand“roll”allofthemupward.Doesthisrevealtheactioninyourdrawings?

8.Keepaddingandcheckingyourdrawingsuntilyoucompleteyouractionsequence.

9.Whenyou’refinished,useyourthumbtoflipthroughallthepages.Didyoucreateasenseofmovement?

9Imaginehowmanydrawingsareneededtoshowacomplicatedseriesofmovements.It’snowonderthatsomeearlyanimatedmoviestookyearstomake.

How Computers Changed Animation

10Computershavecreatedanewageinanimation.Theuseofcomputershaschangedthewayanimatedmoviesandcartoonsaremade.Framescanbeautomaticallycreated.Imagescanbestoredincomputermemory.Thismeansthatlessworkisneededtoshowasetofactions.Computertoolscanguidehowimageschangeovertime.Anartistcanalsousethesetoolstochangethecolorsofobjectsorthedistancesbetweenthem.Evenmoreimportant,theimagescanbesharedamongartistsworkingondifferentcomputers.Severalartistscanworkonthesameprojectatthesametime. 11ThefirstmoviecreatedentirelywithcomputerimageswasToy Story,producedin1995.Evenusingcomputers,themovierequired27artists.Italsotook800,000machinehourstomake.Sincethen,manyothermovieshavebeenmadeusingcomputers.ShrekandFinding Nemo,forexample,arecompletelycomputer-animated. 12Hand-drawnanimationcanlookflat.Ithasonlytwodimensions,heightandwidth.Computerscanaddasenseofdepth.Thiscanmakeanimationseemmuchmorelifelike.Ontheotherhand,somepeoplecomplainthatcomputerimageslooktoocoldortooperfect.Asthetechnologycontinuestodevelop,theimageswillcontinuetoevolve. 13Whatwillanimatedmovieslooklikeinthefuture?Newtechnologywillshapeanimationinnewways.Andartistswillfindnewwaystocreatenewworldsonfilm.Computeranimationwillcontinuetopushthelimitsofourimaginations—farbeyondtheworldsofMickeyMouse,Popeye,andBugsBunny.

79

Expedition 6

• What role does the computer play in your life?

• What things have changed with the invention of the computer?

• What is the role of computers in previous Expeditions?

computers changing times

80

Expedition 6, Lessons 1 and 2

1supposeyoucouldinterviewtheworld’sgreatinventors.Whattraitswouldyouexpectthemtoshare?Theywouldbedreamers,ofcourse.Theywouldbededicatedandhardworking,sothattheirdreamscouldcometrue.Theywouldmostlikelybecourageousbecausethereisalwaystheriskoffailure.Whataboutgenius?InventorAnWangfeltthatsuccesshadmoretodowithcommonsensethanwithgreatintelligence. 2WangwasborninChinain1920.Inhighschool,Wangshowedanaturaltalentforscienceandmath.Afterhighschool,hewenttocollegeinShanghaitopursueadegreeinengineering.However,hiseducationwasinterruptedbywar. 3JapaninvadedChinainthelate1930s.Whileincollege,Wangknewthatthewarwouldaffecthislife.JapanesesoldierssweptacrossChina.TheymadetheirwaytoShanghai.Wangfledtothemountains.Thereheworkedtodefeattheinvaders.TheChinesegovernmentandtroopsneededradiossotheycouldstayintouchwitheachother.TheyalsoneededtotrackthepositionsofJapanesesoldiers.However,theyhadfewpartsandnowaytogetnewradios.Wangusedhisknowledgeoftechnologytobuildradiosfromsparepartshefound.

Idea Man

81

Expedition 6, Lessons 1 and 2

4In1945,thewarwasfinallyending.Japan’sarmywouldsoonbedefeated.Duringthistime,WangwasofferedthechancetostudyatHarvardUniversityintheUnitedStates.Wanghadlostmuchofhisfamilyinthewar.HedecidedtocometoAmericatostartanewlife.

From Adding Machine to Calculator

5In1948,aftergettinganadvanceddegreeatHarvard,Wangworkedasascientist.Hehelpedotherscientistsdevelopcomputers.Atthattime,computerswereverylarge.Onecomputerfilledanentireroom.Thescientistswantedtocreatemachinesthatweresmallerandeasiertouse.Wanghadtheideaofusingmagneticmemorytostorelettersandnumbers.Magneticenergyistheforcebywhichcertainobjectsattractotherobjects.Now,allcomputersuseWang’sinvention. 6In1951,Wangstartedhisowncompany.“IfoundedWangLaboratories,”heexplained,“toshowthattheChinesecouldexcelatthingsotherthanrunninglaundriesandrestaurants.”Wang’scompanymadevariouselectronicproducts. 7WhileWangwasbuildinghiscompany,hehadanotheridea.Hewouldusemagneticmemoryinsideacalculator,adeviceforsolvingmathproblems.Today’scalculatorsfitinthepalmofyourhand.Before1965,though,peopleusedbulkyaddingmachinesthatcouldonlyaddandsubtract.Usershadtopullonahandleforeachprocess. 8Wangworkedforseveralyearsonthedevelopmentofacalculatorwithmagneticmemory.Hiscompanybegansellingaversionofelectroniccalculatorsin1965.Theywerenotthesmalldevicesweusetoday.Buttheywereagreatimprovementonaddingmachines.

From Typewriter to Word Processor

9Sixyearslater,Wangwasstillplayingwithideas.Atthattime,mostbusinessesusedtypewriterstocreateletters,forms,andreports.Atypewriterisamachinewithakeyboard.Whenyoupressoneofthekeys,ametalletterstrikesaninkedribbon.Thisprintstheletterontopaper.Mistakesmadewithatypewriterarehardtocorrect.Wangdecidedtoimproveonthetypewriter.Hewouldusemagneticmemorytocreateawordprocessor.

82

Expedition 6, Lessons 1 and 2

10Wordprocessorshelpyoucreateandmanipulatetext.Mistakesareeasytocorrect.Wordsandsentencescanbemovedaroundeasily. 11Wangspentyearsdevelopinghiswordprocessor.First,headdedmagneticmemory.Thenheaddedascreen,likethescreenonaTV.Finally,in1976,Wangproducedthefirstwordprocessor.Itwasanevenbiggersuccessthantheelectroniccalculator.Thenewmachinemadebusinesswritingeasier.Peopleoutsideofthebusinessworldalsodiscoveredtheeaseofusingawordprocessor.

From Word Processors to Computers

12Afterhissuccesseswithcalculatorsandwordprocessors,Wangbegantodevelopcomputers.In1979hedesignedasmallcomputerforbusinesses.Wangwentontoholdmorethan35patents,orclaims,relatedtocomputersduringhiscareer. 13In1988,twoyearsbeforehisdeath,Wangearnedagreathonor.HebecameamemberoftheNationalInventorsHallofFame.AnWang’sideasarepartofthetechnologythatweusetoday.Hiscommonsenseandhisgeniusstilltouchourlives.

1920

1925

1930

1935

1940

1945

1950

1955

1960

1965

1970

1975

1980

1985

1990

The Life of

An Wang

Born near Shanghai

Enters Harvard University

Helps Chinese war effort

Begins work as scientist

Starts Wang Laboratories

Sells first electronic calculator

Introduces word processorsSells small office computers

Retires

Joins National Inventors Hall of FameDies

1951

19761979

1982

1988

1948

83

Expedition 6, Lessons 3 and 4

1Whoaretwoofthemostfamousmovierobotsofalltime?IfyouguessedC3POandR2D2fromStar Wars,you’reright.Theserobotswereclever,loyal,andlovable.Theirpersonalitiescharmedmovieaudiences.Inmucholdermovies,robotswereoftenlarge,clunky,andclumsy.Iftheyspokeatall,theirvoicesweremachine-like.Theywereascharmingastincans.Thesedays,movierobotsaremorelikehumans.Theyspeakandmovelikehumans.Theyfallinlove.Somehelphumanssolvecrimes,andsomeevencommitcrimes. 2Movierobotsareseldomlikerobotsinreallife,though.Real-liferobotscouldnotbemistakenforhumans.Somerobotsmighthavearmsorlegsthatworkinthesamewayashumanarmsandlegsdo.Butsofar,robotsmostlylookandactlikemachines.Theymayappeartobeintelligent,butthisisbecausethepeoplewhodesignthemareintelligent.

Robots

Star Wars fan with characters from the movie

84

Expedition 6, Lessons 3 and 4

What Is a Robot?

3Arobotisatypeofmachinewithmovingparts.Insomeways,itislikeawashingmachine.Itworksonitsowntodoajob.Robotswerecreatedtotaketheplaceofhumans.Someoftheearliestexampleslookedandmovedmoreliketurtles,though!Builtinthe1940s,thesesmallrobotshadelectricmotors.Theycouldmoveslowlyinanydirectionbutcoulddolittleelse.Thefirsttruerobotswereinventedinthe1960s. 4Arobot“feels”thingsarounditbyusingcamerasandotherdevices.Butarobotneedsa“brain”tocarryoutthisoranyotheraction.Acomputerorcomputer-likepartservesasarobot’sbrain.Withoutthecomputer,eventhemostcomplicatedrobotisnosmarterthanascrewdriver. 5Allofarobot’sinstructionscomefromacomputerprogram.Thissetofinstructionstellstherobotwhattodo.Arobotcannotuselogicorcommonsenseonitsown.Neithercanitbeillogicalonitsown.Itcanonlyfollowinstructions.Someinstructionsaregiventotherobotfromadistantcomputer.Othersaregivendirectlytotherobot’sinternalcomputer.Manyrobotscanreceiveinstructionsinbothways. 6Humanswritetheinstructionsthatguidearobot’sactions.Haveyouheardtheexpression,“Garbagein,garbageout”?Incomputerlanguage,thismeansthatbadinstructionsmakeforbadresults.Itappliestocomputerinstructionsforarobottoo.Arobotcannotworkwellwithoutaneffectivecomputerprogram.

What Robots Do

7Robotsdomanytasksforhumans.Someofthejobsareroutine. Arobotmightcleanakitchenfloororcarryobjectsfromoneplacetoanother.Otherjobsaredangerous.Forexample,somerobotsfindanddestroybombs.Robotscanoftendotasksmorequicklyandaccuratelythanhumanscandothem.Unlikehumans,robotsdon’tgettired.Theycanworklonghours,andtheydon’tgetbored.

85

Expedition 6, Lessons 3 and 4

8Manyfactoriesuserobots.Robotsdotaskssuchaswrappingfoodandpaintingcars.TheyareusedintheassemblyofTVsetsandairplaneparts.Theserobotsareusuallylargeandheavy.Theymayhavearms,hands,legs,andfeet.Theyaremadetodothesametasksoverandover. 9Scientistssendrobotstoexplorespace.Recently,theysentrobotstoexploreMars.ThespaceshipsthatcarriedtherobotstoMarswerethemselvesrobots.Nohumanswereonboard.ThespaceshipswereprogrammedtolandonMars.Thensmallrobotscalledroversleftthespaceshipstoexploretheirregularsurfaceoftheplanet.TheserobotswerecalledSpiritandOpportunity.Theroverscarriedcamerasandotherinstrumentsforexploringandcollectingsamplesofsoil.Whentheyranintosomethingtheycouldn’tclimbover,acomputerprograminstructedtherobotstobackupandturn.

Designing a Robot

10Supposeyouwanttodesignarobot.Howwillyoudoit?First,youneedtodeterminewhatyouwantyourrobottodo.Let’ssayyouwanttherobotsimplytomovearoundonitsown.Youwantittobackupandturnifitbumpsintosomething. 11Next,youneedtodecideontherobot’sform.Makeafewdrawingsoftherobotyouhaveinmind.Will

A cellular phone controls this robot.

86

Expedition 6, Lessons 3 and 4

itlooklikeaperson?Orwillitlookmorelikeamachine?Youmightwanttomakeyourrobotsmall.Thatway,itwon’tneedalotofpowertowork.Showallofitspartsinyourdrawings. 12Then,youhavetoaddpartsthatactlikesenses,suchastouchorsight.Thesepartstelltherobotwhenanobjectisinitsway.Doyouwanttobuildarobotthatcansenseheatandlight?Thinkofwaystodothis.Makemorenotesanddrawings. 13Finally,youneedsomeonetowriteacomputerprogramfortherobot.Thistellstherobotwhattodo.Thepersonwhowritestheprogrambreaksdowneachrobotactionintoitssmallestparts.Thenthatpersonwritesalongstringofcommandssuchasthese: •“Roboton.” •“Moveforward.” •“Backup.” •“Turntotheleft.” 14Youcanseethatevenasimpleprogramsuchasthisoneinvolvesmanysteps.Nowthinkaboutarobotthatdoesmuchmorethanjustmovefromplacetoplace.Somecarmakersuserobotstopaintnewcarstheybuild.Justimagineallthestepsneededtotellarobottopickupacar,turnitover,anddipitintoahugevatofpaint.EvenR2D2andC3POwouldbeimpressed.

87

Expedition 6, Lessons 6 and 7

1IfalltheInternetpagesweregatheredintoonebook,thebookwouldhavemorethaneightbillionpages.Canyouimaginetryingtoreadallofthesepages?Evenifyoucouldview8,000pagesaday,itwouldtakemorethan2,700yearstogothroughthemall! 2ThankgoodnessforcomputerprogramscalledWeb“searchengines.”Theyhelpusfindourwaythroughthiscomplicatedassortmentofinformation.SearchenginessuchasGoogle™andYahoo®!offeranefficientwaytodothis.Youjusttypeinakeywordorphrase.ThesearchenginethenfindsalistofWebsitesconnectedtothewordorphrase.Thesiteslistedfirstmostcloselyrelatetoyourtopic.

Understanding Web Pages

3NamesofWebsitesonasearchenginelistappearinblueandareunderlined.Thesearecalledlinksbecausetheyconnectyoutootherpages.Whenyouclickonalink,aWebpageappearsonthescreen. 4ManyWebpagesarecrowdedwithtextandpictures.Whileyou’rereadingaWebpage,small“windows”maysuddenlyappearonthepage.

Searching for a Job

Online

88

Expedition 6, Lessons 6 and 7

Thesearecalledpop-ups.Theirpurposeistotrytosellyousomething.Thereareotherwaysthatadvertiserscompeteforyourattention. 5SupposeyouvisittheWebsiteofyourfavoritemusicartist.You’llseelinkstoothersites.Somelinkswillleadyoutomoreinformationabouttheartist.Otherswillleadyoutoads.AdvertisinglinksmightappearinaseparatecolumnonaWebpage.Theymightalsoappearasphotosormovingpicturesonthepage. 6TheInternethasbeencalledan“informationsuperhighway.”Peopletravelonahighwayforvariousreasons.TheyvisittheInternetfordifferentreasonstoo.SomepeoplesearchtheInternetforinformation.Othersgoonlinetobuyproducts.SomepeopleevenusetheInternettofindjobs.

Filling Out an Online Job Application

7Searchingonlineforajobissimilartolookingforajobinotherways.Youbeginbyfindingajobcategorythatinterestsyou.Thenyounarrowyoursearch.Inanewspaper,youlookthroughjobcategorieslistedinalphabeticalorder.Online,youcanuseasearchengineforthistask.Youmighttypeinaphrasesuchas“jobsearch.”Thesearchenginewillshowyouseverallinks.Whenyouclickonalink,you’llseecategoriessuchas“banking”or“foodservice.”Chooseacategory,ortypeoneinthebox.Thenchooseacityandstate.Severaljobchoiceswillappear.Readtheinformationabouteachjob.Afterthis,youcanapplyforthejobthatseemslikeagoodfitforyourskills. 8Whenyoufilloutajobapplicationonpaper,youuseapen.Ifyoumakeamistake,youhavetocrossitout,whichlooksmessy.Oryoucanstartoverwithanewapplication.Whenyoufilloutanapplicationonline,youcaneasilycorrectmistakes.Otherthanthisdifference,fillingoutanapplicationonlineislikefillingoneoutinperson.Mostofthequestionsareroutine.Takealookatthesampleonlineform.Thinkabouthowyouwouldanswereachquestion. 1 About You Fillininformationaboutyourself.Thisincludesyourname,address,phonenumber,andSocialSecuritynumber.YoumusthaveaSocialSecuritynumbertogetajob.Typetheinformationintotheboxes. 2 Job Applied For Onapaperapplication,youmightnotseethissection.Anonlineapplicationformmightbeusedforseveraldifferentjobsatthesamecompany,though.Besuretoshowthejobyou’reapplyingfor.

89

Expedition 6, Lessons 6 and 7

3 Availability Are you currently employed?Simplytype“yes”or“no.”Nodetailsareneededyet.Are you applying for full-time or part-time work?Areyoustillinschool?Thenyoumaybelookingforpart-timework.Clickthebuttonnextto“part-time.”What days and hours are you available? Answerthisquestionhonestly,aswiththeotherresponsesontheform.Acompanywillwanttoknowifyourworkhoursareflexible.Insomecases,

Last Name:

First Name:

Middle Name:

Social Security Number:

Street Address:

City:

State:

Zip Code:

Daytime Telephone:

Evening Telephone:

If you are underage 18, do you have a

certificate of ageor employment?

What position are youapplying for?

Are you currentlyemployed?

Have you ever workedhere before?

If yes, when?

Are you applying for full-time or part-time work?

Please Choose

Online Job ApplicationFill in each box. Point and click to type your information.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

AVAILABILITY

Yes No

Yes No

Yes No

Name and address of school

Dates attended

Did you graduate?

Company Name

Address

Telephone

Your Title

Dates Employed

Responsibilities

Reason for Leaving

Company Name

Address

Telephone

Your Title

Dates Employed

Responsibilities

Reason for Leaving

Company Name

Address

Telephone

Your Title

Dates Employed

Responsibilities

Reason for Leaving

EDUCATION (cont.)

Full-time Part-time

Yes No

EMPLOYMENT HISTORYList your most recent employer first.

What days and hours are you available?

What date are youavailable to begin work?

Name and address of school

Dates attended

Did you graduate?

Name and address of school

Dates attended

Did you graduate?

EDUCATION

Yes No

Yes No

I agree that the statements in this application are true and complete. I understand that false statements on this application may be grounds for rejection or immediate termination of employment. I grant permission to verify any information I have given on this application.

Agree Disagree

SUBMIT

1

3

2

4

5

6

Example of an online job application

90

Expedition 6, Lessons 6 and 7

yourabilitytoworkavarietyofdaysandhoursmayimproveyourchancesofgettingthejob.When can you start?Fillinadatethatyouarefreetobeginwork. 4 Education Fillinthenameandaddressofyourschool.Typeinthemonthsandyearsthatyouhaveattendedtheschool.Did you graduate?Answer“yes”or“no.” 5 Work History Thisexampleasksyoutolistyourmostrecentjobfirst.Evenifanapplicationdoesnotaskyoutolistjobsinacertainorder,it’sbesttoshowthemostrecentonesfirst.Typeinthefullnameofthecompany.Thentypeinthedates—inmonthsandyears—thatyouworkedatthisjob.Includethecompany’saddressandphonenumber.Inthespaceprovided,explainyourjobdutiesandgivethenameofyoursupervisor.Ifyouareaskedtogiveareasonforleavingajob,answerasbrieflyaspossible. 6 Agreement Mostonlinejobapplicationswillhavethissection.Byclickingon“Agree,”youshowthatyourinformationistruthful.Youalsogivethecompanypermissiontocheckanyinformationyouhaveprovided.Readtheformagainbeforeclickingon“Agree.”Makeanychangestoensuretheaccuracyofyourresponses.Correctanyspellingmistakes.Ifyouareaskedtoremitanapplicationfeeorsomeotherpayment,double-checkthecompany’sWebsite.Askanadulttohelpyoudecidewhetheritcanbe

trusted.Whenyouaresurethatyourapplicationisinorder,clickon“Agree.” 9Finally,clickon“Submit”tosendtheapplicationtothecompany.Nowit’suptothecompanytocontactyouforaninterview.Inthemeantime,youcansearchonlineforotherjobsincasethisonedoesn’tworkout.Goodluck!