From Pencils to Pixels - Alan Yentob tells the story of how animation went digital

Alan Yentob's "From Pixels to Pencils"

From Pencils to Pixels - In this admirable 2003 documentary, Producer Alan Yentob tells the story of how animation went digital. It's an excellent, thoughtful hour-long introduction to the medium by one of the BBC's most experienced Producer-directors.

Tom Sito's History of Computer Animation

Ivan Sutherland demonstrates Sketchpad, 1963.

Being of a generation for which computers represented the future, it is a bit unsettling that a book on the history of computer animation could be written. Like I need another reminder of my aging. Tom Sito has done it, with Moving Innovation, A History of Computer Animation, to be released next month. FLIP asked Tom a few questions, via computer......

FLIP: What the hell does Tom Sito know about Computer Animation?

TS: Hah! You’re right. My name is not the first to come to mind when you think CG. When I was completing Drawing the Line, I included a chapter on the Digital Revolution. I needed to explain about CG’s origins to show how it affected the animation community and how it changed the traditional animation production pipeline, which had been sacred since J.R. Bray in 1913. The chapter grew so large that my editor cut it by two-thirds, and told me “ You have another book here.”

Animation History QUIZ!

Call yourself an animator? Think you know the history of animation? Sharpen your pencil, get yourself a piece of paper, and test your knowledge with our brand-new exclusive-to-FLIP animation history quiz! The story begins 18,000 years BC....

The Sneeze That Changed the World

118 years ago today, in West Orange, New Jersey, a man named Fred Ott took a pinch of snuff and sneezed a sneeze unlike all other sneezes, for Fred Ott sneezed in the presence of a man named Thomas Edison, who was trying out his newfangled invention, the motion picture camera.  This was one of the world's first motion film tests, which must have been mind blowing in its day.

Just a bit of historical perspective as you go about your day, making motion pictures from your phones and uploading them instantly to a world-wide audience.  

Gesundheit, Fred!

-Steve