The Story of the Moving Image - Animation Discovery
What is animation?
Any process where artificial movement is created by photographing a series of drawings, objects, or computer images one by one. Small changes in position, recorded frame by frame, create the illusion of movement.
Animation is at the heart of the magic of the moving image, and people have been bringing images to life using light and shadow for millennia. ACMI's centrepiece exhibition The Story of the Moving Image celebrates animation across time.
About this resource
In this resource for primary students, you will be taken on a journey that explores the history of animation as it is presented in The Story of the Moving Image.
Students can engage with Discover and explore prompts before coming to ACMI -- these prompts are also relevant as a follow-up to the visit. The Respond and reflect questions and prompts relate to the exhibition and can be referred to during and after the visit.
They will also enjoy following ACMI's Animation Discovery Trail while visiting ACMI. We've kept it simple and user-friendly.
This resource has been developed for Children’s Week and is presented by ACMI in partnership with the Victorian Government.
Download The Story of the Moving Image animation trail
Yanmeeyarr
Yanmeeyarr (which means "flickering in the firelight") is a multipart artwork created by Keerray Woorroong Gunditjmara artist Vicki Couzens to greet and farewell visitors to the exhibition. Couzens was inspired by the way that shadow, light and movement are used by Australia's First Peoples to tell stories and share culture. She describes her work in terms of inclusion and connection -- "The viewer in movement and reflection becomes part of the dance, as the figures become animated."
| 1. Watch the video (above) and listen to what Vicki Couzens has to say about her work. As a class, discuss what you have learned about what Vicki Couzens' wanted to achieve in creating this work. |
| 2. How does Yanmeeyarr connect First Nations storytelling in Australia with the moving image? |
| 3. During your visit to The Story of the Moving Image, remember to look up to see Yanmeeyarr as you enter. Make sure you move as you look. That way you will animate the dancing figures with the help of the huge textured lens. |
| 4. When you leave, you will see the dancing figures that have come down from the ceiling and are now on the wall. Vicki Couzens wanted the shiny metal surface and the white markings to create a sense of movement as you walk past and see your reflection. |
Exhibition highlight: Shadow Play
The discovery of fire not only banished the darkness and provided warmth, but allowed people to shape their imaginations by projecting shadows.
When you visit The Story of the Moving Image, you can relive the origins of the moving image by casting and transforming your own shadow. You'll be delighted and surprised by the strange and changing shapes you make.
Magic Lanterns
The magic lantern is a projection device dating back to the early 1600s. You can find many beautiful magic lantern slides and projectors displayed in The Story of the Moving Image.
Up until the invention of the electric light, light was limited and precious, especially in winter. Watching a magic lantern show where fantastical images were projected out of the darkness would have been exciting and special. Some magic lanterns were designed to create a sense of movement, often by the use of two slides.
Magic lantern shows might tell a funny story, educate people on science or geography or present a scary mystery. The projected image was often just one part of the show, with sound, music and special effects adding to the experience.
At the end of the 1800s, toy magic lanterns were sometimes given to children as a present so they could hold their own magic lantern shows. These toys used oil or kerosene for their light!
| 5. There were many different kinds of magic lantern shows. Discover some of the different topics covered by visiting the ACMI website to see a sample selection of the slides we display in our exhibition: https://www.acmi.net.au/works/100533--magic-lantern-slides/ |
| 6. The person who used to operate the magic lantern and put on a show was called a lanternist. What kind of magic lantern show would you create if you were a lanternist? What music, sound and special effects would you add to make an exciting show? |
| 7. During your visit, take the time to look at the wall of magic lantern slides. Which ones stand out most for you? |
| 8. Create a design for your own set of magic lantern slides. If you feel super-keen, you could draw your designs onto plastic sheets with felt-tip markers and then use a torch to project them onto the wall. |
| 9. Imagine you lived long ago before movies and TV were invented and you watched a magic lantern show for the first time. Write a letter to a friend and tell them what you saw, and how it made you feel. |
Exhibition highlight: Biunial Magic Lantern
ACMI's bi-unial magic lantern is very special. Bi-unial means it has two lenses. This meant that the lanternist could place one slide over another to create the illusion of movement. Make sure you look out for the scene projected onto the wall by ACMI's bi-unial lantern in our exhibition.
Animation Toys
In the 1800s, factories began making lots of goods for people to buy, including toys for children. All those years ago, a child might receive an animation toy as a present for their birthday or at Christmas. They might be given: a phenakistiscope, a zoetrope, a thaumatrope, a toupie-fantoche, a flipbook, or a praxinoscope theatre. These toys had such great names! Have a go at pronouncing them.
We have examples of all of these toys on display in The Story of the Moving Image so that you can see how they work.
Look carefully at each of them and think about how they have been designed and what makes them create the optical illusion of animation.
| 10. Choose one of the following animation toys to research: phenakistiscope, zoetrope, thaumatrope, toupie-fantoche, flipbook, or praxinoscope. |
| 11. Find out how your animation device works and then try to explain it to a friend. |
| 12. Create a PowerPoint presentation, poster or pamphlet that explains what your chosen animation device is and how it works. |
| 13. During your visit to ACMI, take the time to play with the animation toys on display. Then focus on the device you chose to explore before your visit. Do you notice anything that surprises you? Does your chosen toy work the way you thought it would? Describe the animation created by your toy. |
| 14. As well as many traditional animation toys, The Story of the Moving Image also has a digital 3D zoetrope. When it stops, check out all the 3D models and work out how the animation is created. Notice how the animation doesn't begin until the lights start flashing. Why do you think this is the case? |
| 15. Did you know you can make your own thaumatropes and flipbooks? Check out our Blinky Bill Activity Pack for some inspiration. https://www.acmi.net.au/education/school-program-and-resources/blinky-bill-activity-pack/ |
Make your own thaumatrope inspired by The Story of the Moving Image
Exhibition highlight: Interactive Flip Book
The flip book is one of the most basic and popular early forms of moving image animation. By drawing an image that gradually changes on sequential pages and then rapidly flipping through them, the images animate!
When visiting The Story of the Moving Image, you can turn yourself into an animated flip book. When you move in front of ACMI's interactive flip book maker, a camera takes a sequence of photographs that are then turned into an animation. What makes this digital flip book extra special are the shapes and colours that are part of the clever digital design created for ACMI by the Grumpy Sailor Creative Experience Design Studio.
Australian Animations
Australian children's television shows are world-renowned. If you look carefully as you explore The Story of the Moving Image, you will:
- spot Bluey on a very tiny TV screen on our TV wall
- find out about the artistry behind the creation of Little J and Big Cuz in the Moving Worlds section of the exhibition
- learn more about sound design with Li'l Elvis and the Truckstoppers in our interactive Foley studio.
Did you know The Lego Movie was created by a studio called Animal Logic in Australia? You can find out more about the way the characters were designed for the movie in Moving Worlds.
| 16. Choose an Australian animation that you have either watched or know about. Find out three new things about your chosen show. Maybe you can find out about the design of the characters, the actors who voice the characters, or the music used in the show. Share what you have learned with your class. |
| 17. Many animated Australian TV shows are watched by children all around the world. Imagine you live in another country and don't know anything about Australia. What new things do you think you would learn from watching an episode of the animation you chose to find out more about? |
| 18. Create a poster advertising your chosen TV animation. |
| 19. You will find a display about the artwork created for Little J and Big Cuz in the section of our exhibition called Moving Worlds. This section highlights how TV shows, movies and videogames are made. What do you find out about Little J and Big Cuz in the display? |
| 20. Look at The Lego Movie display and think about the design of the characters. Which is your favourite character in the movie? |
| 21. Unikitty is a character that combines a cat and a unicorn. Design your own Lego-style character by combining two different animals or creatures. |
Exhibition highlight: The Pitch
Make sure you take the time to watch the two storyboard pitches that are on the large screen in Moving Worlds. One of them is the scene in Shrek where the Gingerbread Man is questioned by Lord Farquaad and the other is a scene from Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008), where the zoo animals take off in a rickety plane as they try to return to New York City.
These pitches give us a behind-the-scenes look at how an animation is created. Animated films aren’t always plotted from start to finish. Instead, teams of artists often develop scenes and stories by creating a storyboard that maps out what the scene will look like. The storyboard artist then acts out the scene for the rest of the team. This way the team can work out what works well and what needs to be changed, or left out altogether.
Animation in videogames
Animation is at the heart of videogames, and it is amazing how videogames have changed over time. Many current videogames use sophisticated digital technology to look as real as possible. However, other games such as Untitled Goose Game are loved by players, partly because of their simple animation design.
In the videogames section of The Story of the Moving Image, you will find games that have been chosen because they are special and interesting, and you will find a great variety of animation styles.
In The Story of the Moving Image, you will also find early arcade games, which you can play and enjoy. Their visual design -- which means how they look -- is very simple, but they are lots of fun to play.
| 22. Ask the adults in your life about the videogames they played when they were growing up, and what they played them on. Ask them what stands out most in their memory. |
| 23. Pong is a very early arcade game that looks very simple but was a lot of fun to play. See if you can find a video of the gameplay online. |
| 24. What videogames do you like to play? Discuss your favourites with a partner and make a list of what you think makes a good game. |
| 25. If you would like to find out more about videogames and even make one yourself, check out ACMI Game Builder: https://www.acmi.net.au/education/school-program-and-resources/game-lessons/game-builder-level-1/ |
| 26. Play one of the arcade games in The Story of the Moving Image. What do you notice about the images and the animation? What are some of the differences between these arcade games and the videogames you play at home? |
| 27. Explore the wall of controllers. Which controllers do you recognise and which ones have you never seen before? Choose a controller you don't recognise and try to figure out how it works and what kind of game you would play with it. |
| 28. Videogame graphics means what you see on the screen. Which videogame graphics do you like best in The Story of the Moving Image? What do you like about them? |
Ms Pac-Man Arcade Game
Have you heard of the arcade game Pac-Man which was released in 1980? In the gameplay, the player controls Pac-Man, who must eat all the dots inside an enclosed maze while avoiding four ghosts.
Ms Pac-Man was released in 1982 and featured new mazes and improved the unpredictability of the ghost enemies to make the game more challenging. Original character designs featured Ms Pac-Man with hair, but this was soon replaced with her famous bow.
Start Creating
Now that we have inspired you with how animation has changed over time, why not try creating your own animation or videogame. We have plenty of helpful resources: