Telling Tales// 'Unnoticeable 3D animation' within motion pictures.

In 1908 the 'first cartoon' in history (that has been documented) was created by Emile Cohl titled 'Fantasmagorie' which consisted of hand drawn animation on a chalk board. At the time moving pictures were something very new to the eye but now nearly 100 years on times have changed. With the birth of 3D animation occurring some 30 years ago now, we are currently witnessing 3D animation somewhere somehow within motion pictures near constantly; be it for stunts, special effects or even entire characters. 3D animation now plays a massive role in our movies, be it obvious or 'unnoticeable' by the eye.

But what is 'unnoticeable 3D animation' and what do I mean by it?
3D animation has come a long way in recent years as far as blending together with live action, for example the 'Lord of the rings' character Golum was entirely animated, using motion capture and a computer generated model. This character interacts with live action actors seamlessly as if real. The first live action performance that occurred along side an animation was in 1914s 'Gertie the Dinosaur' which involved a 2D traditionally animated feature playing in real time behind an actor. However this animated feature only gave the illusion that the dinosaur was interacting with the actor and was no where near as convincing as the animated characters within The Lord Of The Rings films. From Gertie to Golum with the help of 3D animation, animation itself has come a long way regarding live action.

In modern times, special effects that would of once consisted of stop motion and real life models have been replaced by computer animated simulations; arguably improving the visual effect it has to the audience, with criticisms of die-hard 'old special effects' fans. From fire to the entire destruction of a building,  computer animation would have played some part in making it happen; in recent years, that's for sure.

The newly released trailer for the 2016 Deadpool movie features a balanced blend of live action and animation. When suited, Deadpool is entirely animated from motion capture as he interacts with life action objects and actors; this is international from the director, to help push across the characters cartoony appearance and movements.

This 3D animation is yes, noticeable slightly but in a way that has you questioning if the character is live action or animated. But looking at other aspects of the trailer such as the stunts, they could very well be (and most likely are) animated.

3D computer animation has a huge range of possibilities for motion pictures that is near endless and with technology continuing to develop into the next generation of what is achievable that range will most certainly expand. Realism is being achieved within movies, seamlessly that it's often unnoticed by viewers. But with the gap between realistic animation and real getting smaller and smaller, the question is - Is animation really worth it if it's no different then real?