• They have two computers accessible to kids (with Microsoft Office and Games), but no Internet.
• Anyone can use the computers for 1/2 hour.
• They will be moving into a new facility next year with more space and computers.
• They have three other computers in the office with Internet for employees only.

Computer access in my community has been, and continues to be, a scramble between twenty to thirty kids for only ten computers, such as in the Benjamin Franklin Library. I think that the ideal computer access is when we as students are able to get on-line and do research without having to worry about our thirty-minute time limit. In East L.A. there are only a few facilities where one is able to do research, type, and do work. For example, our local library, the Benjamin Franklin Library, has a short time limit for Internet access, and that is what keeps most of us from being encouraged to actually do research. The fact of the matter is that where there is a lack of Internet access and computer access, we students tend to do worse in school. If there were more computers, I believe that students would be more enthusiastic about learning.

Animation has developed a lot over the years. Technology has caused a lot of changes in animation’s style and production. In fact, it still does. With all the new-flanged technology, it’s hard to believe that animation will probably be completely different in 100 years. For the longest time, animation has been a major part of entertainment and it will probably stay that way.

Different types of technology have changed animation since it began. For example, the first motion picture was made by the kinetoscope. The kinetoscope was like an automatic flipbook made with photographs. Then came xerography and the rotoscope. They were both made to speed up animation production, and speed up they did. But xerography had a habit of leaving scratchy lines on the paper. After that came a very important innovation, cels. Cels were clear overlays, which allowed the animator to draw only one background per scene, which sped up the process quite a bit.

This also allowed mass-production. As cels were being used, sound and color entered the big picture of animation. Sound was first demonstrated in Walt Disney’s "Steamboat Willie." Color, which was created mostly for kids’ entertainment, was shown first in Disney’s "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." Starting in the late 1940’s animation started showing on television. At first, it was mostly created for adults, shows like "Rocky and Bullwinkle" and the "Boing Boing Show." In the 1970’s, Saturday morning cartoons like "The Jetsons" and "Batman" were made for kids.

During this time, studios were getting bigger and bigger. The first studios were created because after "Gertie the Dinosaur," people realized that animation could be profitable. One of the first studios was the Fleisher Studio. Max Fleisher is responsible for creating "Betty Boop," "Popeye and Felix the Cat." The Disney Studio was also an early studio. Creator of synchronized sound, Walt Disney made thousands of wonderful animated movies including "Snow White," "Aladdin," and "Beauty and the Beast." Although it was made later, the Warner Bros. Studio was also successful. Even though they could afford to pay many voice people, Mel Blanc spoke for nearly all of the Warner Brothers characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and many others. These are just a few of the many studios that provide animation entertainment.

In years to come, animation will most likely change amazingly. Who knows, soon animation could be shown on wristwatches or even show boxes. The advance of technology will never stop. With all this technology, it will allow animation to become more profitable, more advanced and much more entertaining.

:. tcla

Animation is very important. It has changed and developed over the years. It all started out when an intelligent young man, Edward Muybridge, used tripwires to show the motion of a horse. That really didn’t affect anything, but it led Thomas Edison to invent the innovative kinetoscope. It was made to show a one-minute short cartoon by flipping still pictures in sequence. It affected people by showing them the first signs of cartoon motion or movement. Then, a new important innovation came in.

JR Bray invented cels. Cels changed animation forever. Cels changed the speed of animation. Cels allowed artists and cartoonists to not redraw the background of the main part of a character’s body. That was the cause. The effect was that it mass-produced cartoons, made the artist’s job easier. But JR Bray made money because he sold cels for a lot of money. Anyway, after artist Winsor McKay invented the rotoscope, it made the production or mass production of animation easier. It sped up the production of cartoon drawings. Next, xerography was invented. It made duplicates of drawings by tracing or scanning pencil cels and eliminated the inking process. But one problem it had was that it left scratch lines on the paper. It mass-produced drawings which made more profit. Around the 1920’s an intelligent man did something incredible. He made an innovative technology.

He released a 15-minute movie, "Steam Boat Willie." It was the first appearance by Mickey Mouse! But what was special about this short was that it had synchronized sound! The man responsible for this was Walt Disney. He popularized voices on cartoons. Sound was important it added personality to the cartoons. Like my teacher Mr. Smith said, "If you turn off the volume of a cartoon or movie you would see how boring it is." It was entertaining.

In the future, animation will be different and the same.

Then, color came in. It was already used in cartoons before the 1920’s but in 1938 Walt Disney released "Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs." It was the first full-length animated movie with color! That also made cartoons more entertaining. After that, television was made. Television is a big part of animation. At first it was made to show news and advertisements. But over the years, television developed into news, advertisement, and entertainment. The last innovative technology was computers. Computers also came up to be a big part of animation. Computers have allowed animators to add more visual depth to the cartoons. Also, it has allowed people to make a profit and get more jobs on the Internet.

In the future, animation will be different and the same. More and more cartoonists and animators will have more opportunities because the Internet will be different. But it will be similar too. A lot of artists will need to use pencils, cels, and so forth to make cartoons. It is important that animation exists because it’s a big part of our country’s history and it makes all people happy.

:. tcla

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