Aniforms
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Aniforms is the name of a process for creating simple real-time animations for live audiences or visual media. It was invented by Morey Bunin, a puppeteer who worked with string marionettes and hand puppets, and his spouse Charlotte. The distinctive feature of an Aniforms character is that it appears on a real or simulated television screen.[1]
Patent History
After forming Aniforms, Inc., Bunin filed for a patent on the process on August 4, 1960, and was granted U.S. Patent 3,070,920 on January 1, 1963.[2]
According to the patent, Aniforms are "open two-dimensional figures…constructed to simulate many objects." The figures are flexible to allow free manipulation, which is accomplished by "rods or wires … attached to the figures" for both support and movement. The controls are arranged or painted to be invisible to the audience.[2]
Bunin later improved the process to take advantage of emerging Chroma key technology. All background and control surfaces were painted blue, and the black-white signal polarity was reversed without altering the color signals. This resulted in a black outline figure on a white background, which could then be superimposed or keyed on another scene without the object background showing through. Bunin filed for a patent on the improved process on January 20, 1975, and was granted U.S. Patent 3,899,848 on August 19, 1975.[3]
Application in Television Production
The Aniforms process has been used on several television productions:
- Captain Kangaroo for the character of "Fred," who appeared on the fictional "Channel One" for conversations with The Captain and other human characters.[4]
- The Surprise Show, a children's program that was broadcast by WPIX-TV, New York City, from 1965 to 1967. The program featured Aniforms during its first season, but station executives dropped the concept for the run of the show because of the expense. The characters were voiced by Wayland Flowers, Cleavon Little, and Jimmy Boyd.[5]
- Barney's Army, a children's program produced and broadcast by WPTF-TV 28, Raleigh, North Carolina from 1979 to 1983. Aniforms, Inc. supplied the characters, which were operated and voiced by local actors. A production assistant, Tony Madejczyk, recalled that use of the puppets was subject to non-disclosure agreements, and that when the puppets were not in use "we had to drape a tarp over the puppet." Puppets could not be stored at the station when the show was out of production.[6]
- Malcolm, a 1983 pilot for a game show co-hosted by Alex Trebek and an Aniforms character named Malcolm. The premise was that three contestants appearing in boxes on a screen alongside Malcolm were asked a question with a two-word answer by Trebek; the first two to "buzz in" had to supply the answer, collaboratively, in order. If they failed to do so correctly, Malcolm would offer the third contestant a clue. The pilot was commissioned by NBC, and the show was not picked up.[7]
Successors
"Fred" and other Aniforms characters are considered more puppet than animation.[7] Their relatively crude, two-dimensional forms and lack of locomotion was appealing primarily because of the illusion of interacting in real time with an animated character.
Stephen Colbert and his production associates have worked with Adobe Character Animator software and its developers to produce true interactive animations for broadcast. Their topical productions range from a live interview with an animated Hillary Clinton in 2016 to several animated series including Our Cartoon President, the upcoming series Fairview and Washingtonia; and Tooning Out the News. The Adobe technology uses motion capture to track hand-drawn characters in real time. In contrast to Aniforms, which requires only a puppeteer and an optional voice artist, it takes "25 to 30 animators total" to produce a 10-minute episode in the 24-hour turnaround cycle required for the concept.[8]
References
- ^ Gussow, Mel (16 March 1997). "Morey Bunin is dead at 86; pioneer television puppeteer". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Puppet like figure and animation apparatus" (PDF). Free Patents Online. FreePatentsOnline.com. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ^ "Animated Cartoon Character and Method" (PDF). Patent Images. Google. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- ^ Kurer, Ron. "Fred, from Channel One". Toon Tracker (via web.archive.org). Ron Kurer. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ^ "The Surprise Show". ToonaRific. ToonaRific Cartoons. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ^ "Aniforms". We Now Return to…Barney's Army. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ^ a b Keeley, Matt. "The lost 1983 game show pilot 'Malcolm' was surprisingly innovative with its puppet sidekick". Kittysneezes. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ^ Dowling, Amber (14 April 2020). "How 'Tooning Out The News' pivoted its animation process amid coronavirus pandemic". Variety. Retrieved 15 June 2022.