The Persistence of Animation

Animating, Ani-Morphing and Un-Ani-Morphing of the Evolutionary Process in Carl Sagan’s Cosmos

Abstract: The paper examines an animated segment from the 1980 documentary show Cosmos, hosted by renowned astronomer and astrophysicist Carl Sagan. The segment visualized the evolutionary process using ground-breaking (for their time) morphing effects. The paper demonstrates how the segment’s use of morphing effects link it to the artistic roots of animation, found in ani-morphs (as defined by Norman M. Klein) and “Lightening Sketch” stage performances. Like the early animators and stage-performers, the segment’s animation and Sagan’s narration served to both mystify and then de-mystify the animation process, in order to do the same for the evolutionary process.

Biographical Statement: I am a PhD Student at the Communication Studies Department, Hebrew University (Jerusalem) researching animation as a text. My research aim is to build an overall theoretical framework for animation, finding an academic definition for “animation” as a separate and unique textual category, and putting together an analysis method for texts in this category. An aspect examined in my research is the historical and technological development of animation, and how the familiar concept of animation evolved. The proposed paper, which links early 20th century animation practices with the production of a 1980 computer-animated segment, demonstrates the evolution of animation as a concept.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 at 6:09 pm and is filed under Definitions of animation, Metamorphosis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.