How it works
A special high-resolution (around 800 lines) monochrome camera records high-contrast artwork. The image is then displayed on a high-resolution screen. Unlike a normal monitor, its deflection signals are passed through a special analog computer that enables the operator to bend the image in a variety of ways. The image is then shot from the screen by either a film camera or a video camera. In the case of a video camera, this signal is then fed into a colorizer, a device that takes certain shades of grey and turns it into color as well as transparency. The idea behind this is that the output of the Scanimate itself is always monochrome. Another advantage of the colorizer is that it gives the operator the ability to continuously add layers of graphics. This makes possible the creation of very complex graphics. This is done by using two video recorders. The background is played by one recorder and then recorded by another one. This process is repeated for every layer. This requires very high-quality video recorders (such as both theScanimate today
Two of the Scanimates are still in use at ZFx studios in Asheville, NC. The original "Black Swan" R&D machine has been updated with more modern power supplies and can produce material in standard or 1080P high definition video. The "white Pearl" machine is the last one produced and is being kept in its original configuration for historical purposes by David Sieg at ZFx inc. The machines are installed in a working production environment with Grass Valley switchers, Kaleidoscope effects systems and Accom digital disk recorders for layering.Use in TV and films
TV Programs/Movies
*''Aerobicise'' (opening sequence) *TV Channels/Home Video/TV Productors
*See also
*References
* Carlson, Wayne (2003). Section 12: Analog approaches, non-linear editing, and compositing (from ''A Critical History of Computer Graphics and Animation''). Retrieved March 13, 2004 from https://web.archive.org/web/20070328205521/http://accad.osu.edu/~waynec/history/lesson12.html * Sieg, David W. (2003). Scanimation in the Analog Days by David Sieg Retrieved June 23, 2017 from http://scanimate.com/article.html * Sieg, David W. (2017). The Scanimate Site Everything Scanimate Retrieved June 23, 2017 from http://scanimate.comExternal links