Since the beginning of animation in 1892, when French inventor Charles Emile Reynaud transformed the medium by being the first to project Parisian animated cartoons for the general public.
Animation has changed over time due to a number of inventions, progressing from crude hand drawings to the stunning computer works of art of today.
International Animation Day is observed on October 28 every year and was founded in 2002 by the International Animated Film Association, a division of UNESCO. The purpose of the day is to celebrate the dynamic field of animation and to encourage new talent.
Speaking at the premiere of the Guardians animated film series, Jesse Sunkwa Mills, creative director at Mills Media, urged businesses to invest in the sector, highlighting its capacity to spur corporate expansion.
“The French institute has been quite helpful in recent years. Over the years, the French embassy has been a strong supporter of animation and still is. Now is a terrific time for us to be here. The sector is expanding. “It’s improving compared to before,” he stated.
“Compared to earlier times, the number of persons entering the industry has increased significantly, including studios and freelancers. Of course, the impact of technology is largely responsible for this. Animation production is definitely far better than it was in the past, but I wouldn’t say it’s much simpler. More people can enter the space now since the tools we use for animation are significantly better than they were in the past.
Animation is the illusion of movement produced by a sequence of images. However, the real mechanism is a little more intricate than that,” Mills continued.
The Animation Association of Ghana President, Samuel Quartey, gave an explanation of the advancements in Ghana’s animation sector.
Eight years ago, he continued, they made the decision to help its members who wanted to make feature films and had studios.
“We worked on marketing strategies and assisted them in producing their movies. The outcome has been favorable. We’ve had Abrefi Kɔtɔ, Asantewaa, The Crossroads, and now The Guardians. Therefore, based on the data, we can state with confidence that the number of people watching local animated films has increased. If you were making a local cartoon movie ten years ago, you wouldn’t know if people would come see it. However, we’ve succeeded in making it function.”
Jesse Sunkwa Mills and his group persisted in the face of many challenges.