Winsor McCay Animation

Winsor Mccay was the creator to some of the very first animations, and early on he demonstrated many of the animation techniques that are still being used today.  When viewing two of his animations, Gertie the Dinosaur (1914) and How A Mosquito Operates(1912) it is evident that he knew what aspects to include in an animation that helps it to connect with the audience.  Gertie the Dinosaur demonstrates interaction between the real world and the animation world.  Winsor interacts with Gertie by giving her something to eat, and giving the presentation of the animation at one point, and then by the end of the animation it appeared as if he was riding Gertie and no longer presenting his animation but rather he was in it.  We see that all the time in the movies now on a much more complex scale, but that just shows how Winsor really demonstrated the basic techniques of animation from the start. 

In the second animation viewed, How A Mosquito Operates, he really brings out the character of the Mosquito and shows how important even the smallest details are in making an animation realistic and interesting.  While the Mosquito is gathering blood from the human and it starts to fill his whole body up, the idea of gravity and balance is played with.  Winsor really does a good job of displaying the Mosquito's balancing acts and having his actions reflect what the Mosquito was doing.  All of it helped in creating a better understanding of what the characters were thinking and trying to accomplish without any words at all.