Animation 2.0

Animation can be described as a technique of successive drawings or photographs of puppets in different poses to create an illusion of movement when shown as a continuous sequence.

Animation traditionally has its roots in visual arts using completely analog techniques. The first animations can be dated back to early cave paintings. The first commercial appearance of animated content were realised in early 1900 with the invention of the cinema. In the late sixties, Computer Graphics emerged and built the foundation for what is today known as Computer Animation. While its early adopters had to work on dedicated hard and software, this constraint has fundamentally changed during the last 15 years. Today, a small team is capable of creating high quality computer generated animation and imagery by the use of some standard workstations and of-the-shelf software. Moreover, additional computing power can be acquired by cloud computing. This technological change has brought (Computer) Animation to a broader audience, having also a great impact in the field of Visual Effects, which are today mostly realized by the use of Computer Graphics.

Animation 2.0 is the working title for identifying and researching future trends that will influence how animated content is created and perceived. Technology as we know it is changing and evolving constantly and at a high pace. Most of these changes are driven by the advances in technology, production techniques, artistic trends and scientific research, which makes necessary the adaptation of both the animation content and techniques.