New Delhi: Every year on October 28, International Animation Day or World Animation Day is observed worldwide. In 2002, the International Animated Film Association created this day to commemorate when animation first appeared in public. It was on October 28 when Charles-Emile Reynaud and Theatre Optique at the Grevin Museum in Paris showed their first production. The “Pantomimes Lumineuses” production was a collection of three cartoons, ‘Pauvre Pierrot’, ‘Un bon bock’, and ‘Le Clown Et Ses Chiens’.
But do you know what was the first-ever animation? In this article, learn about the first-ever animation ‘Fantasmagorie’.
First animation: Fantasmagorie
Émile Cohl, cartoonist and animator and often called “The Father of the Animated Cartoon,” produced the first animated film, Fantasmagorie, which came out in 1908. It was a French animated film and one of the earliest examples of hand-drawn animation. Film historians consider it the first animated cartoon.
He worked on the animated film in 1908 from February to May or June. The film was released on August 17, 1908. Although the film is short, it contains a lot of material created in a stream-of-consciousness style. In 2008, to celebrate the film’s 100th anniversary and honour Cohl, Serbian artist Rastko Ćirić made a film called “Fantasmagorie 2008”.
How the film was created?
The film was made by drawing each frame on paper and then filming it onto negative film, which gave it a blackboard appearance. It consisted of 700 drawings, each shown twice (animated “on twos”), resulting in a running time of almost two minutes.
Watch the first animated film
Quick facts about animation
Like most art forms, animation is evolving constantly, and with technological advancements, the options are growing.
Every animation artwork is inspired in some way or the other.
In animation, it is important to understand how objects move so that the animation can portray the essence of movement in a realistic way.
Animation is not limited to a single application. It is commonly used for amusement, presentations, and teaching various subjects.
