EDEXCEL BTEC LEVEL 3 90 CREDIT DIPLOMA IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Assignment 2
Tools and Animation
Joel
30/01/2017
,Contents
Task 1:....................................................................................................................................................2
Advantages and limitations of GIF’s: (P3)...........................................................................................2
Task 2: (P4).............................................................................................................................................3
What are Vector and Bitmap file formats?.........................................................................................3
Software Tools:..................................................................................................................................3
Task 3: (P5).............................................................................................................................................4
Factors to be taken into account while creating animations on the internet.....................................4
Task 4: (M3)...........................................................................................................................................5
Reducing File Sizes for animations:....................................................................................................5
Task 5: (D1)............................................................................................................................................6
Compare different specialist computer animation software packages:.............................................6
Joel Page 1
,Task 1:
Advantages and limitations of GIF’s: (P3)
There are many reasons why Gif's are used in animation because of the advantages that come with
them. However, there are also disadvantages to using them. Gif's are one of the most popular file
formats for animation online because of how easy they can be used for many different things. Gifs
are good for sharing quick images over the internet because of how they load quickly and their small
file size. Gifs are also available for use on most web browsers which means that no extra plug-ins are
needed. This means that everyone that is viewing the gif won't have any problems viewing it. Gifs are
not always the highest quality images because they can only contain 256 colours. This is because of
how it is compressed to take up less storage space. This means that Gifs sacrifice some quality for
low storage space. Due to them also only having a limited amount of colours it means that they can
load faster, especially for simpler shapes. Also a good benefit of gifs is that they can have transparent
backgrounds. This gives them a good advantage over other file formats like JPEG. Another one of the
Gif's file formats major advantages are that they can be animated. This means that they can show
video-like clips by quickly showing different images in a sequence, similar to a flipbook. One
disadvantage of Gif file formats is that they are incapable of having sound. They also can’t really
create really complex video animations with gifs because each frame is a different image. This can
mean that gifs can be very difficult to edit and manipulate after they are finished being created.
There are a range of different file formats that can be used for animation. Dynamic HTML is a format
where the content of the animation changes depending when it is viewed. It could change depending
on the time of day, where you are located or a range of other things. Dynamic HTML can be used for
rollover images or banners on news websites. Advantages of Dynamic HTML are that it loads fast and
no extra plug ins are needed since it all loads in the browser. It also allows for more interactive
webpages and a better user experience. Some disadvantages are that ways of creating good dynamic
html can cost a lot of money. Also creating the dynamic html can be very difficult if you aren’t very
good with coding. One other drawback is that sometimes the coding created may not be compatible
with all browsers so the website won’t look professional.
Adobe Flash is used a lot to make more complex animations and even games. Flash animations allow
for more interactive websites as long as the flash player plug in is installed. Flash files can sometimes
take long times to load since they have no real limit on how big they can get. Another drawback is
that Adobe flash can also be expensive. Very similar to flash, shockwave is used to create interactive
games and animations to play. Lots of devices support shockwave as well as long as the shockwave
plug in is installed. Once again, the file sizes can be quite big depending on how much is in the
animation. Shockwave can also cost quite a bit to buy.
QuickTime, created by Apple, is used for videos, pictures and audio. It can be used on most Apple
devices. It is a free application and the quality is quite high quality. Also editing can be done very
easily by most people. However, the files can be quite large taking up lots of memory and causing
long buffering times. Another drawback is that they can’t support all file formats.
Joel Page 2
, RealPlayer is a good animation tools that can be used for music and films because it can be used on
most platforms and file formats. It can easily be installed for free as well. Drawbacks of this
application can be that buffering of large files. Also advertisements can appear a lot since this
software is free.
Silverlight is also another piece of software that is compatible on most platforms and browsers. This
program allows the user to write applications including images, video and animations. It is similar to
Flash and QuickTime. It is also a free download that gives lots of features to use. Drawbacks of this
program are that plug-ins are needed for this to work for others. It can also be hard to learn to use
effectively.
Task 2: (P4)
What are Vector and Bitmap file formats?
The difference between bitmap and vector images is how the actually images are made up. Bitmap
images are made up of many small squares of colour. These small pixels are all arranged to create the
full image. Vector images on the other hand are actually made up using mathematical formula that
create the lines or curves that make up the whole images. To edit these images different software
would need to be used. For example, Adobe Photoshop for bitmap images and Adobe Illustrator for
vector images. The main uses of vector images are to create logos or drawings. This is because of
how they are made. The actual pixels aren’t saved because that’s not how they are made. It is the
formulas that make them that are saved. Therefore, they can be scaled however needed without any
loss of quality. Because of this though, the more complex the vector image, the longer it will take to
recreate. A lot of the time, vector images are rasterized, this basically means converted to bitmap.
This means that they then load faster with the sacrifice of some quality when being rescaled. Bitmap
images are better for realistic images since each individual pixel can be changed, this allows for
lifelike images to be created compared to the simpler vector images. However, when you zoom in on
a bitmap image you can see the blur on the edges of different parts since each individual pixel can be
seen. This isn’t always a problem since bitmap can be extremely realistic when created with high
resolution. For example, 4k images are extremely high quality because of how many pixels make up
the entire image.
Software Tools:
Frames are a tool in animation that make up each individual part of the animation. They are all
sorted chronologically. You can edit each frame by themselves to create very detailed animations,
however, animations can be created on “twos” or “fours” where the same image is used for four
frames in a row. This is because of the persistence of vision and how some frames are unneeded
since they can’t be analysed by the human brain. Special frames called key frames can also be used
for special tools that can be used in animation software.
Layers are a good tool in animation because it means you can work on certain parts of an animation
without messing up other parts. This is useful when animating facial features for example. This
means you can work on the features without ruining other parts of your work. All layers work
together to make the full animation and can be edited individually.
Joel Page 3
Assignment 2
Tools and Animation
Joel
30/01/2017
,Contents
Task 1:....................................................................................................................................................2
Advantages and limitations of GIF’s: (P3)...........................................................................................2
Task 2: (P4).............................................................................................................................................3
What are Vector and Bitmap file formats?.........................................................................................3
Software Tools:..................................................................................................................................3
Task 3: (P5).............................................................................................................................................4
Factors to be taken into account while creating animations on the internet.....................................4
Task 4: (M3)...........................................................................................................................................5
Reducing File Sizes for animations:....................................................................................................5
Task 5: (D1)............................................................................................................................................6
Compare different specialist computer animation software packages:.............................................6
Joel Page 1
,Task 1:
Advantages and limitations of GIF’s: (P3)
There are many reasons why Gif's are used in animation because of the advantages that come with
them. However, there are also disadvantages to using them. Gif's are one of the most popular file
formats for animation online because of how easy they can be used for many different things. Gifs
are good for sharing quick images over the internet because of how they load quickly and their small
file size. Gifs are also available for use on most web browsers which means that no extra plug-ins are
needed. This means that everyone that is viewing the gif won't have any problems viewing it. Gifs are
not always the highest quality images because they can only contain 256 colours. This is because of
how it is compressed to take up less storage space. This means that Gifs sacrifice some quality for
low storage space. Due to them also only having a limited amount of colours it means that they can
load faster, especially for simpler shapes. Also a good benefit of gifs is that they can have transparent
backgrounds. This gives them a good advantage over other file formats like JPEG. Another one of the
Gif's file formats major advantages are that they can be animated. This means that they can show
video-like clips by quickly showing different images in a sequence, similar to a flipbook. One
disadvantage of Gif file formats is that they are incapable of having sound. They also can’t really
create really complex video animations with gifs because each frame is a different image. This can
mean that gifs can be very difficult to edit and manipulate after they are finished being created.
There are a range of different file formats that can be used for animation. Dynamic HTML is a format
where the content of the animation changes depending when it is viewed. It could change depending
on the time of day, where you are located or a range of other things. Dynamic HTML can be used for
rollover images or banners on news websites. Advantages of Dynamic HTML are that it loads fast and
no extra plug ins are needed since it all loads in the browser. It also allows for more interactive
webpages and a better user experience. Some disadvantages are that ways of creating good dynamic
html can cost a lot of money. Also creating the dynamic html can be very difficult if you aren’t very
good with coding. One other drawback is that sometimes the coding created may not be compatible
with all browsers so the website won’t look professional.
Adobe Flash is used a lot to make more complex animations and even games. Flash animations allow
for more interactive websites as long as the flash player plug in is installed. Flash files can sometimes
take long times to load since they have no real limit on how big they can get. Another drawback is
that Adobe flash can also be expensive. Very similar to flash, shockwave is used to create interactive
games and animations to play. Lots of devices support shockwave as well as long as the shockwave
plug in is installed. Once again, the file sizes can be quite big depending on how much is in the
animation. Shockwave can also cost quite a bit to buy.
QuickTime, created by Apple, is used for videos, pictures and audio. It can be used on most Apple
devices. It is a free application and the quality is quite high quality. Also editing can be done very
easily by most people. However, the files can be quite large taking up lots of memory and causing
long buffering times. Another drawback is that they can’t support all file formats.
Joel Page 2
, RealPlayer is a good animation tools that can be used for music and films because it can be used on
most platforms and file formats. It can easily be installed for free as well. Drawbacks of this
application can be that buffering of large files. Also advertisements can appear a lot since this
software is free.
Silverlight is also another piece of software that is compatible on most platforms and browsers. This
program allows the user to write applications including images, video and animations. It is similar to
Flash and QuickTime. It is also a free download that gives lots of features to use. Drawbacks of this
program are that plug-ins are needed for this to work for others. It can also be hard to learn to use
effectively.
Task 2: (P4)
What are Vector and Bitmap file formats?
The difference between bitmap and vector images is how the actually images are made up. Bitmap
images are made up of many small squares of colour. These small pixels are all arranged to create the
full image. Vector images on the other hand are actually made up using mathematical formula that
create the lines or curves that make up the whole images. To edit these images different software
would need to be used. For example, Adobe Photoshop for bitmap images and Adobe Illustrator for
vector images. The main uses of vector images are to create logos or drawings. This is because of
how they are made. The actual pixels aren’t saved because that’s not how they are made. It is the
formulas that make them that are saved. Therefore, they can be scaled however needed without any
loss of quality. Because of this though, the more complex the vector image, the longer it will take to
recreate. A lot of the time, vector images are rasterized, this basically means converted to bitmap.
This means that they then load faster with the sacrifice of some quality when being rescaled. Bitmap
images are better for realistic images since each individual pixel can be changed, this allows for
lifelike images to be created compared to the simpler vector images. However, when you zoom in on
a bitmap image you can see the blur on the edges of different parts since each individual pixel can be
seen. This isn’t always a problem since bitmap can be extremely realistic when created with high
resolution. For example, 4k images are extremely high quality because of how many pixels make up
the entire image.
Software Tools:
Frames are a tool in animation that make up each individual part of the animation. They are all
sorted chronologically. You can edit each frame by themselves to create very detailed animations,
however, animations can be created on “twos” or “fours” where the same image is used for four
frames in a row. This is because of the persistence of vision and how some frames are unneeded
since they can’t be analysed by the human brain. Special frames called key frames can also be used
for special tools that can be used in animation software.
Layers are a good tool in animation because it means you can work on certain parts of an animation
without messing up other parts. This is useful when animating facial features for example. This
means you can work on the features without ruining other parts of your work. All layers work
together to make the full animation and can be edited individually.
Joel Page 3
