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Computer Animation Production System

May 05, 2023

The Computer Animation Production System (CAPS) was a proprietary collection of software, scanning camera systems, servers, networked computer workstations, and custom desks developed by The Walt Disney Company and Pixar in the late 1980s. Although outmoded by the mid-2000s, it succeeded in reducing labor costs for ink and paint and post-production processes of traditionally animated feature films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. It also provided an entirely new palette of digital tools to the filmmakers.

History and evolution

The Computer Graphics Lab at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) developed a "scan and paint" system for cel animation in the late 1970s. It was used to produce a 22-minute computer-animated television show called Measure for Measure. Industry developments with computer systems led Marc Levoy of Cornell University and Hanna-Barbera Productions to develop a video animation system for cartoons in the early 1980s.[1]

The first usage of the CAPS process was Mickey standing on Epcot's Spaceship Earth for "The Magical World of Disney" titles. The system's first feature film test was in the production of The Little Mermaid in 1989 where it was used in a single shot of the rainbow sequence at the end of the film.[2] After Mermaid, films were made completely using CAPS; the first of these, The Rescuers Down Under, was the first 100% digital feature film ever produced. Later films, including Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame took more advantage of CAPS' 2D and 3D integration.[3][4]

In the early days of CAPS, Disney did not discuss the system in public, being afraid that the magic would go away if people found out that computers were involved.[5] Computer Graphics World[6] magazine, in 1994, was the first to have a look at the process.[7]

Awards

In 1992, the team that developed CAPS won an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Scientific and Engineering Award. They were:[8]

Technical capabilities

CAPS was a digital ink and paint system used in animated feature films, the first at a major studio. Using CAPS, enclosed areas and lines could be easily colored in a computer environment using an unlimited palette. This replaced the expensive process of transferring animated drawings to cels using India ink or xerographic technology, and painting the reverse sides of the cels with gouache paint. It also allowed for sophisticated new techniques such as transparent shading and blended colors.

The completed digital cels were composited over scanned background paintings, and camera or pan movements were programmed into a computer exposure sheet simulating the actions of old style animation cameras. Additionally, complex multiplane shots giving a sense of depth were possible. Unlike the analog multiplane camera, the CAPS multiplane cameras were not limited by artwork size. Extensive camera movements never before seen were incorporated into the films. The final version of the sequence was composited and recorded onto film. Since the animation elements existed digitally, it was easy to integrate other types of film and video elements, including three-dimensional computer animation.

CAPS was capable of a high level of image quality using significantly slower computer systems than are available today. The final frames were rendered at a 2K digital film resolution (2048 pixels across at a 1.66 aspect ratio), and the artwork was scanned so that it always held 100% resolution in the final output, no matter how complex the camera motion in the shot. Using the Pixar Image Computer, images were stored at 48-bits per pixel. The compositing system allowed complex multi-layered shots that was used almost immediately in The Rescuers Down Under to create a 400-layer opening dolly shot. The DALS system made use of one of the first large-scale, custom RAID systems in the film industry.

Decline and legacy

Treasure Planet (2002) and Home on the Range (2004) under-performed financially in their theatrical runs. This, combined with the success of CGI animated movies from Pixar Animation Studios and competitor DreamWorks Animation, prompted Disney Feature Animation's management team to close down their traditional 2D animation department in 2004. The CAPS desks were removed and the custom automated scanning cameras were dismantled and scrapped. By 2005, only one desk system remained, and that was only for reading the data for the films that had been made with CAPS.

In 2007, John Lasseter became the studio's new head of management and called for the 2D unit's reopening. Rather than return to CAPS, however, Disney's subsequent traditionally animated productions How to Hook Up Your Home Theater (2007), The Princess and the Frog (2009), The Ballad of Nessie (2011), and Winnie the Pooh (2011) were produced using Toon Boom Animation's commercial computer software, which offered a more up-to-date digital animation system.

Projects produced using CAPS

Feature films

Short films

References

  1. ^ Bruce Wallace, Merging and Transformation of Raster Images for Cartoon Animation, Proceedings of SIGGRAPH 1981, Vol 15, No. 3, Aug. 1981, 253-262.
  2. ^ Barbara Robertson (January 2010). "The Tradition Lives On". Computer Graphics World. 33 (1). Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  3. ^ Robertson, Barbara (July 2002). "Part 7: Movie Retrospective". Computer Graphics World. 25 (7). December 1991 Although 3D graphics debuted in earlier Disney animations, Beauty and the Beast is the first in which hand-drawn characters appear in a 3D background. Every frame of the film is scanned, created, or composited within Disney's computer animation production system (CAPS) co-developed with Pixar. (Premiere: (11/91)
  4. ^ "Timeline". Computer Graphics World. 35 (6). Oct–Nov 2012. DECEMBER 1991: Beauty and the Beast is the first Disney film with hand-drawn characters in a 3D background. Every frame is scanned, created, or composited within CAPS.
  5. ^ "Alvy Ray Smith: RGBA, the birth of compositing & the founding of Pixar". fxguide.com. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  6. ^ "Visual Effects - Computer Graphics World - 3D Modeling - Animation - CGI". cgw.com. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  7. ^ . Computer Graphics World. July 1, 1994. Archived from the original on December 26, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2015 – via highbeam.com. (Computer Animation and Production System used for animated motion picture The Lion King)
  8. ^ "The Academy Awards Database". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2019-09-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ "The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) - Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved 2014-09-15. caps personnel

May 05, 2023
computer, animation, production, system, caps, proprietary, collection, software, scanning, camera, systems, servers, networked, computer, workstations, custom, desks, developed, walt, disney, company, pixar, late, 1980s, although, outmoded, 2000s, succeeded, . The Computer Animation Production System CAPS was a proprietary collection of software scanning camera systems servers networked computer workstations and custom desks developed by The Walt Disney Company and Pixar in the late 1980s Although outmoded by the mid 2000s it succeeded in reducing labor costs for ink and paint and post production processes of traditionally animated feature films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios It also provided an entirely new palette of digital tools to the filmmakers Contents 1 History and evolution 2 Awards 3 Technical capabilities 4 Decline and legacy 5 Projects produced using CAPS 5 1 Feature films 5 2 Short films 6 ReferencesHistory and evolution EditThe Computer Graphics Lab at the New York Institute of Technology NYIT developed a scan and paint system for cel animation in the late 1970s It was used to produce a 22 minute computer animated television show called Measure for Measure Industry developments with computer systems led Marc Levoy of Cornell University and Hanna Barbera Productions to develop a video animation system for cartoons in the early 1980s 1 The first usage of the CAPS process was Mickey standing on Epcot s Spaceship Earth for The Magical World of Disney titles The system s first feature film test was in the production of The Little Mermaid in 1989 where it was used in a single shot of the rainbow sequence at the end of the film 2 After Mermaid films were made completely using CAPS the first of these The Rescuers Down Under was the first 100 digital feature film ever produced Later films including Beauty and the Beast Aladdin The Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame took more advantage of CAPS 2D and 3D integration 3 4 In the early days of CAPS Disney did not discuss the system in public being afraid that the magic would go away if people found out that computers were involved 5 Computer Graphics World 6 magazine in 1994 was the first to have a look at the process 7 Awards EditIn 1992 the team that developed CAPS won an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Scientific and Engineering Award They were 8 Randy Cartwright Disney David B Coons Disney Lemuel Davis Disney Thomas Hahn Pixar James Houston Disney Mark Kimball Disney Dylan W Kohler Disney Peter Nye Pixar Michael Shantzis Pixar David F Wolf Disney Walt Disney Feature Animation DepartmentTechnical capabilities EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed May 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message CAPS was a digital ink and paint system used in animated feature films the first at a major studio Using CAPS enclosed areas and lines could be easily colored in a computer environment using an unlimited palette This replaced the expensive process of transferring animated drawings to cels using India ink or xerographic technology and painting the reverse sides of the cels with gouache paint It also allowed for sophisticated new techniques such as transparent shading and blended colors The completed digital cels were composited over scanned background paintings and camera or pan movements were programmed into a computer exposure sheet simulating the actions of old style animation cameras Additionally complex multiplane shots giving a sense of depth were possible Unlike the analog multiplane camera the CAPS multiplane cameras were not limited by artwork size Extensive camera movements never before seen were incorporated into the films The final version of the sequence was composited and recorded onto film Since the animation elements existed digitally it was easy to integrate other types of film and video elements including three dimensional computer animation CAPS was capable of a high level of image quality using significantly slower computer systems than are available today The final frames were rendered at a 2K digital film resolution 2048 pixels across at a 1 66 aspect ratio and the artwork was scanned so that it always held 100 resolution in the final output no matter how complex the camera motion in the shot Using the Pixar Image Computer images were stored at 48 bits per pixel The compositing system allowed complex multi layered shots that was used almost immediately in The Rescuers Down Under to create a 400 layer opening dolly shot The DALS system made use of one of the first large scale custom RAID systems in the film industry Decline and legacy EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed May 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message Treasure Planet 2002 and Home on the Range 2004 under performed financially in their theatrical runs This combined with the success of CGI animated movies from Pixar Animation Studios and competitor DreamWorks Animation prompted Disney Feature Animation s management team to close down their traditional 2D animation department in 2004 The CAPS desks were removed and the custom automated scanning cameras were dismantled and scrapped By 2005 only one desk system remained and that was only for reading the data for the films that had been made with CAPS In 2007 John Lasseter became the studio s new head of management and called for the 2D unit s reopening Rather than return to CAPS however Disney s subsequent traditionally animated productions How to Hook Up Your Home Theater 2007 The Princess and the Frog 2009 The Ballad of Nessie 2011 and Winnie the Pooh 2011 were produced using Toon Boom Animation s commercial computer software which offered a more up to date digital animation system Projects produced using CAPS EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Computer Animation Production System news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Feature films Edit The Little Mermaid 1989 ending scene The Rescuers Down Under 1990 Beauty and the Beast 1991 Aladdin 1992 Hocus Pocus 1993 The Nightmare Before Christmas 1993 9 The Lion King 1994 Pocahontas 1995 The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1996 Hercules 1997 Mulan 1998 Tarzan 1999 Fantasia 2000 1999 The Emperor s New Groove 2000 Atlantis The Lost Empire 2001 Lilo amp Stitch 2002 Treasure Planet 2002 Brother Bear 2003 Home on the Range 2004 Short films Edit Off His Rockers 1992 Trail Mix Up 1993 Runaway Brain 1995 John Henry 2000 Destino 2003 Lorenzo 2004 The Little Matchgirl 2006 References Edit Bruce Wallace Merging and Transformation of Raster Images for Cartoon Animation Proceedings of SIGGRAPH 1981 Vol 15 No 3 Aug 1981 253 262 Barbara Robertson January 2010 The Tradition Lives On Computer Graphics World 33 1 Retrieved 11 November 2016 Robertson Barbara July 2002 Part 7 Movie Retrospective Computer Graphics World 25 7 December 1991 Although 3D graphics debuted in earlier Disney animations Beauty and the Beast is the first in which hand drawn characters appear in a 3D background Every frame of the film is scanned created or composited within Disney s computer animation production system CAPS co developed with Pixar Premiere 11 91 Timeline Computer Graphics World 35 6 Oct Nov 2012 DECEMBER 1991 Beauty and the Beast is the first Disney film with hand drawn characters in a 3D background Every frame is scanned created or composited within CAPS Alvy Ray Smith RGBA the birth of compositing amp the founding of Pixar fxguide com 5 July 2012 Retrieved 11 November 2016 Visual Effects Computer Graphics World 3D Modeling Animation CGI cgw com Retrieved 11 November 2016 Disney lets CAPS out of the bag Computer Graphics World July 1 1994 Archived from the original on December 26 2015 Retrieved December 25 2015 via highbeam com Computer Animation and Production System used for animated motion picture The Lion King The Academy Awards Database Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Retrieved 2019 09 13 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link The Nightmare Before Christmas 1993 Full Cast amp Crew IMDb IMDb com Inc Retrieved 2014 09 15 caps personnel Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Computer Animation Production System amp oldid 1144974200, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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