Squigglevision is a method of
computer animation in which the outlines of shapes are made to
wiggle and
undulate
Undulation may refer to:
* Lateral undulation, the most primitive of vertebrate locomotor patterns
* Undulation of the geoid, the separation between the geoid and the reference ellipsoid of the Earth
* Undulation point, a point on a curve where t ...
, emulating the effect of sketchily hand-drawn animation.
Tom Snyder
Thomas James Snyder (May 12, 1936 – July 29, 2007) was an American television personality, news anchor, and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows '' Tomorrow'', on the NBC television network in the 1970s and 1980s, and ' ...
of
Tom Snyder Productions
Soup2Nuts (sometimes referred to as Soup2Nuts Studios, and formerly part of Tom Snyder Productions) was an American animation studio founded by Tom Snyder. The studio is known for its animated comedy series, its use of Squigglevision, a techniqu ...
invented the technique, which his animation studio
Soup2Nuts
Soup2Nuts (sometimes referred to as Soup2Nuts Studios, and formerly part of Tom Snyder Productions) was an American animation studio founded by Tom Snyder. The studio is known for its animated comedy series, its use of Squigglevision, a techni ...
subsequently used in ''
Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist
''Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist'' is an American adult animated sitcom that ran on Comedy Central from May 28, 1995 to February 13, 2002. The series starred the voice talents of Jonathan Katz, H. Jon Benjamin, and Laura Silverman. The show w ...
'', ''
Dick and Paula Celebrity Special'', ''
Home Movies'', ''
O'Grady
''O'Grady'' (stylized as ''O*gRAdY'') is an American animated television series created by Tom Snyder, Carl W. Adams, and Holly Schlesinger for Noggin's teen-oriented programming block, The N. The show was animated at Snyder's Soup2Nuts studio ...
'', and ''
Science Court''.
Compared with
traditional animation
Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation.
Proc ...
, Squigglevision is relatively fast and easy to produce. The non-stop motion of the "squiggling" outlines reduces the need for more complex animations in order to make a scene feel dynamic. Tom Snyder describes the result as "economy of motion". "There are almost no disadvantages," Snyder asserted. "It costs just as much to do a helicopter scene as it does to do a living room scene."
In order to create the line oscillation effects that characterize Squigglevision, Tom Snyder Productions' animators loop five slightly different drawings in a sequence called a . The animators then operate software from
Avid Technology
Avid Technology is an American technology and multimedia company based in Burlington, Massachusetts, and founded in August 1987 by Bill Warner. It specialises in audio and video; specifically, digital non-linear editing (NLE) systems, video edi ...
to merge the flics into the scene, and synchronize them with the
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...
.
See also
*
Animated cartoon
*
Animation
*
John Callahan
*
Richard Condie
Richard Condie, (born 1942) is a Canadian animator, filmmaker, musician and voice actor. Condie is best known for his 1985 animated short '' The Big Snit'' at the National Film Board of Canada and has won six international awards for ''Getting ...
References
Animation techniques
Audiovisual introductions in 1995
Computer-related introductions in 1995
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