Software Requirements for Animation

The following software capabilities are highly desirable in a multimedia computer system with animation facility:

1. Animation creation software: - It allows the user to create animation sequences from scratch by using a mouse and various simple objects, such as lines, circles and polygons, with various supporting colors. For example, an animation sequence to illustrate bouncing of a ball can be created as follows-







• Select a circle object and fill it with red color.



• Then start the recorder of the animation creation software.



• Then select the colored circle and drag it around the screen by using a mouse, recording several positions for it on the screen (each time you release the mouse button, you record the object’s position on the screen.



• Finally, stop the recorder and use save command to save the animation.






2. Screen capture software: - It is used to capture the displays of a computer screen as graphic images, which can be used in animation.



3. Animation clips: - This is a library of animation clips from which one can select and directly import an animation clip and use it in a multimedia application, saving the time and effort, which might otherwise be required to create a similar animation clip. This is also useful. if one does not have an animation creation software. An animation clips library often provides the facility to add a new animation clip or delete an existing animation clip from the library.



4. Animation file importing: - The task of creating a multimedia application incorporating animation can often be greatly simplified, if the application software can import animation files in some standard formats. Common animation file formats include.FLI and FLC.



5. Software support for high resolution: - If the animation sequences of a multimedia application are made up of very high quality images, it is important to have not only the necessary hardware, but also software support for displaying high resolution images, which have many colors to maintain the high quality of animation display.



6. Recording and playback capability: - It allows the user to control the recording and display of an animation sequence. For example, it provides the user with options to ‘pause’ and ‘replay’ the animation sequence.



7. Transition effects: - Animation can be even more interesting, if it is enhanced with transition effects, such as fade-in and fade-out, layering, zooming and rotation of objects.


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Hardware Requirements for Animation

Computer animation generally involves the following hardware devices.

1. Image generation tools and devices, such as scanners, digital cameras, and video capture board interfaced to some standard video source, like video camera or video cassette recorder (VCR), are used to generate images to be used in animation.



2. Computer monitors with image display capability is the minimum requirement for outputting (displaying) animation .In addition, multimedia computer systems capable for handling animation also require a graphics accelerator board, which not only controls the resolution and number of colors of display, but also speeds up the refresh rate. Refresh rate is the time taken to paint the computer screen with a new image frame, replacing the previous images frame. Increased speed, due to the use of graphics accelerator board, smoothes out the movement (avoids flickering of animation sequences) because subsequent frames, which make up the animation can be displayed quicker.

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What is animation

Computer animation deals with the generation, sequencing, and display of a set of images (called frames) to create an effect of visual change or motion, similar to a movie film (video).
Animation is an important component of multimedia, because just as a picture is a powerful way to illustrate information, a small animation clip is even more powerful and useful for illustrating concepts, which involve movement. For Example, in the multimedia application meant for educating small children an animation clip will be very effective in illustrating the difference in movement of a horse during a gallop versus a walk. Without animation, it will be very difficult to explain such concepts by using only still images and text. Similarly, in a multimedia application meant for teaching swimming, the proper way to swing hands for swimming can be more effectively illustrated with an animation as compared to images and textual description.
Animation is often confused with video may be because both deal with the display of a sequence of images to generate an effect of motion. However, animation is commonly used in those instances where videography is not possible, or animation can better illustrate the concept than video. For example, collision between two stars, or movement of planets around sun, cannot be video graphed, and hence, can be best illustrated with the help of an animation clip. Similarly, flow of blood in our arteries and veins, and pumping of blood by our heart can be best illustrated with the help of animation clip. Animation is also very commonly used in advertisements, cartoon films, video games, and virtual reality applications. Virtual reality is relatively new computer technology, using which, the user can put on a pair of goggles and a glove and tour a three-dimensional world that exists only in the computer, but appears realistic to the user.
Animation deals with displaying a sequence of images at a reasonable speed to create an impression of movement. For a jerk-free full motion animation,25 to 30 frames have to be displayed per second.
Hardware Requirements for animation.
Software Requirements for animation .