Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways. The most common method of presenting animation is as a motion picture or video program, although there are other methods.

Etymology

From Latin ''animātiō'', "the act of bringing to life"; from ''animō'' ("to animate" or "give life to") + ''-ātiō'' ("the act of").

Early examples

Early examples of attempts to capture the phenomenon of motion drawing can be found in paleolithic cave paintings, where animals are depicted with multiple legs in superimposed positions, clearly attempting to convey the perception of motion.

A 5,000 year old earthen bowl found in Iran in Shahr-i Sokhta has five images of a goat painted along the sides. This has been claimed to be an example of early animation. However, since no equipment existed to show the images in motion, such a series of images cannot be called animation in a true sense of the word.

A Chinese zoetrope-type device had been invented in 180 AD. The phenakistoscope, praxinoscope, and the common flip book were early popular animation devices invented during the 19th century.

These devices produced the appearance of movement from sequential drawings using technological means, but animation did not really develop much further until the advent of cinematography.

There is no single person who can be considered the "creator" of film animation, as there were several people working on projects which could be considered animation at about the same time.

Georges Méliès was a creator of special-effect films; he was generally one of the first people to use animation with his technique. He discovered a technique by accident which was to stop the camera rolling to change something in the scene, and then continue rolling the film. This idea was later known as stop-motion animation. Méliès discovered this technique accidentally when his camera broke down while shooting a bus driving by. When he had fixed the camera, a hearse happened to be passing by just as Méliès restarted rolling the film, his end result was that he had managed to make a bus transform into a hearse. This was just one of the great contributors to animation in the early years.

The earliest surviving stop-motion advertising film was an English short by Arthur Melbourne-Cooper called ''Matches: An Appeal'' (1899). Developed for the Bryant and May Matchsticks company, it involved stop-motion animation of wired-together matches writing a patriotic call to action on a blackboard.

J. Stuart Blackton was possibly the first American film-maker to use the techniques of stop-motion and hand-drawn animation. Introduced to film-making by Edison, he pioneered these concepts at the turn of the 20th century, with his first copyrighted work dated 1900. Several of his films, among them ''The Enchanted Drawing'' (1900) and ''Humorous Phases of Funny Faces'' (1906) were film versions of Blackton's "lightning artist" routine, and utilized modified versions of Méliès' early stop-motion techniques to make a series of blackboard drawings appear to move and reshape themselves. 'Humorous Phases of Funny Faces' is regularly cited as the first true animated film, and Blackton is considered the first true animator.

Another French artist, Émile Cohl, began drawing cartoon strips and created a film in 1908 called ''Fantasmagorie''. The film largely consisted of a stick figure moving about and encountering all manner of morphing objects, such as a wine bottle that transforms into a flower. There were also sections of live action where the animator’s hands would enter the scene. The film was created by drawing each frame on paper and then shooting each frame onto negative film, which gave the picture a blackboard look. This makes ''Fantasmagorie'' the first animated film created using what came to be known as traditional (hand-drawn) animation.

Following the successes of Blackton and Cohl, many other artists began experimenting with animation. One such artist was Winsor McCay, a successful newspaper cartoonist, who created detailed animations that required a team of artists and painstaking attention for detail. Each frame was drawn on paper; which invariably required backgrounds and characters to be redrawn and animated. Among McCay's most noted films are ''Little Nemo'' (1911), ''Gertie the Dinosaur'' (1914) and ''The Sinking of the Lusitania'' (1918).

The production of animated short films, typically referred to as "cartoons", became an industry of its own during the 1910s, and cartoon shorts were produced to be shown in movie theaters. The most successful early animation producer was John Randolph Bray, who, along with animator Earl Hurd, patented the cel animation process which dominated the animation industry for the rest of the decade.

''El Apóstol'' (Spanish: "The Apostle") was a 1917 Argentine animated film utilizing cutout animation, and the world's first animated feature film.

Techniques

Traditional animation

Traditional animation (also called cel animation or hand-drawn animation) was the process used for most animated films of the 20th century. The individual frames of a traditionally animated film are photographs of drawings, which are first drawn on paper. To create the illusion of movement, each drawing differs slightly from the one before it. The animators' drawings are traced or photocopied onto transparent acetate sheets called cels, which are filled in with paints in assigned colors or tones on the side opposite the line drawings. The completed character cels are photographed one-by-one onto motion picture film against a painted background by a rostrum camera.

The traditional cel animation process became obsolete by the beginning of the 21st century. Today, animators' drawings and the backgrounds are either scanned into or drawn directly into a computer system. Various software programs are used to color the drawings and simulate camera movement and effects. The final animated piece is output to one of several delivery media, including traditional 35 mm film and newer media such as digital video. The "look" of traditional cel animation is still preserved, and the character animators' work has remained essentially the same over the past 70 years. Some animation producers have used the term "tradigital" to describe cel animation which makes extensive use of computer technology.

Examples of traditionally animated feature films include ''Pinocchio'' (United States, 1940), ''Animal Farm'' (United Kingdom, 1954), and ''Akira'' (Japan, 1988). Traditional animated films which were produced with the aid of computer technology include ''The Lion King'' (US, 1994) ''Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away)'' (Japan, 2001), and ''Les Triplettes de Belleville'' (France, 2003).

Full animation refers to the process of producing high-quality traditionally animated films, which regularly use detailed drawings and plausible movement. Fully animated films can be done in a variety of styles, from more realistically animated works such as those produced by the Walt Disney studio (''Beauty and the Beast'', ''Aladdin'', ''Lion King'') to the more 'cartoony' styles of those produced by the Warner Bros. animation studio. Many of the Disney animated features are examples of full animation, as are non-Disney works such as ''The Secret of NIMH'' (US, 1982), ''The Iron Giant'' (US, 1999), and ''Nocturna'' (Spain, 2007).

Limited animation involves the use of less detailed and/or more stylized drawings and methods of movement. Pioneered by the artists at the American studio United Productions of America, limited animation can be used as a method of stylized artistic expression, as in ''Gerald McBoing Boing'' (US, 1951), ''Yellow Submarine'' (UK, 1968), and much of the anime produced in Japan. Its primary use, however, has been in producing cost-effective animated content for media such as television (the work of Hanna-Barbera, Filmation, and other TV animation studios) and later the Internet (web cartoons).

Rotoscoping is a technique, patented by Max Fleischer in 1917, where animators trace live-action movement, frame by frame. The source film can be directly copied from actors' outlines into animated drawings, as in ''The Lord of the Rings'' (US, 1978), or used in a stylized and expressive manner, as in ''Waking Life'' (US, 2001) and ''A Scanner Darkly'' (US, 2006). Some other examples are: ''Fire and Ice'' (USA, 1983) and ''Heavy Metal'' (1981).

Live-action/animation is a technique, when combining hand-drawn characters into live action shots. One of the earlier uses of it was Koko the Clown when Koko was drawn over live action footage. Other examples would include ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' (USA, 1988), ''Space Jam'' (USA, 1996) and ''Osmosis Jones'' (USA, 2002).

Stop motion

Stop-motion animation is used to describe animation created by physically manipulating real-world objects and photographing them one frame of film at a time to create the illusion of movement. There are many different types of stop-motion animation, usually named after the medium used to create the animation. Computer software is widely available to create this type of animation.

Puppet animation typically involves stop-motion puppet figures interacting with each other in a constructed environment, in contrast to the real-world interaction in model animation. The puppets generally have an armature inside of them to keep them still and steady as well as constraining them to move at particular joints. Examples include ''The Tale of the Fox'' (France, 1937), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (US, 1993), ''Corpse Bride'' (US, 2005), ''Coraline'' (US, 2009), the films of Jiří Trnka and the TV series ''Robot Chicken'' (US, 2005–present).

Puppetoon, created using techniques developed by George Pal, are puppet-animated films which typically use a different version of a puppet for different frames, rather than simply manipulating one existing puppet.

Clay animation, or Plasticine animation often abbreviated as ''claymation'', uses figures made of clay or a similar malleable material to create stop-motion animation. The figures may have an armature or wire frame inside of them, similar to the related puppet animation (below), that can be manipulated in order to pose the figures. Alternatively, the figures may be made entirely of clay, such as in the films of Bruce Bickford, where clay creatures morph into a variety of different shapes. Examples of clay-animated works include ''The Gumby Show'' (US, 1957–1967) ''Morph'' shorts (UK, 1977–2000), ''Wallace and Gromit'' shorts (UK, as of 1989), Jan Švankmajer's ''Dimensions of Dialogue'' (Czechoslovakia, 1982), ''The Trap Door'' (UK, 1984). Films include ''Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'', ''Chicken Run'' and ''The Adventures of Mark Twain''.

Cutout animation is a type of stop-motion animation produced by moving 2-dimensional pieces of material such as paper or cloth. Examples include Terry Gilliam's animated sequences from ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (UK, 1969–1974); ''Fantastic Planet'' (France/Czechoslovakia, 1973) ; ''Tale of Tales'' (Russia, 1979), The pilot episode of the TV series (and sometimes in episodes) of ''South Park'' (US, 1997).

* Silhouette animation is a variant of cutout animation in which the characters are backlit and only visible as silhouettes. Examples include ''The Adventures of Prince Achmed'' (Weimar Republic, 1926) and ''Princes et princesses'' (France, 2000).

Model animation refers to stop-motion animation created to interact with and exist as a part of a live-action world. Intercutting, matte effects, and split screens are often employed to blend stop-motion characters or objects with live actors and settings. Examples include the work of Ray Harryhausen, as seen in films such ''Jason and the Argonauts'' (1963), and the work of Willis O'Brien on films such as ''King Kong'' (1933 film).

* Go motion is a variant of model animation which uses various techniques to create motion blur between frames of film, which is not present in traditional stop-motion. The technique was invented by Industrial Light & Magic and Phil Tippett to create special effects scenes for the film ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980). Another example is the dragon named ''Vermithrax'' from ''Dragonslayer'' (1981 film).

Object animation refers to the use of regular inanimate objects in stop-motion animation, as opposed to specially created items.

* Graphic animation uses non-drawn flat visual graphic material (photographs, newspaper clippings, magazines, etc.) which are sometimes manipulated frame-by-frame to create movement. At other times, the graphics remain stationary, while the stop-motion camera is moved to create on-screen action.

* Brickfilm A sub genre of object animation involving using LEGO or other similar brick toys in order to make an animation. These have had a recent boost in popularity with the advent of video sharing sites like YouTube, and the availability of cheap cameras, and animation software.

Pixilation involves the use of live humans as stop motion characters. This allows for a number of surreal effects, including disappearances and reappearances, allowing people to appear to slide across the ground, and other such effects. Examples of pixilation include ''The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb'' and ''Angry Kid'' shorts.

Computer animation

Computer animation encompasses a variety of techniques, the unifying factor being that the animation is created digitally on a computer. This animation takes less time than previous traditional animation.

2D animation

2D animation figures are created and/or edited on the computer using 2D bitmap graphics or created and edited using 2D vector graphics. This includes automated computerized versions of traditional animation techniques such as of, interpolated morphing, onion skinning and interpolated rotoscoping.

2D animation has many applications, including analog computer animation, Flash animation and PowerPoint animation. Cinemagraphs are still photographs in the form of an animated GIF file of which part is animated.

3D animation

3D animation is digitally modeled and manipulated by an animator. In order to manipulate a mesh, it is given a digital skeletal structure that can be used to control the mesh. This process is called rigging. Various other techniques can be applied, such as mathematical functions (ex. gravity, particle simulations), simulated fur or hair, effects such as fire and water and the use of motion capture to name but a few, these techniques fall under the category of 3D dynamics. Well-made 3D animations can be difficult to distinguish from live action and are commonly used as visual effects for recent movies. ''Toy Story'' (1995, USA) is the first feature-length film to be created and rendered entirely using 3D graphics.

Terms

Photo realistic animation, is used primarily for animation that attempts to resemble real life. Using advanced rendering that makes detailed skin, plants, water, fire, clouds, etc. to mimic real life. Examples include ''Up'' (2009, USA), ''Kung-Fu Panda'' (2008, USA), ''Ice Age'' (2002, USA).

Cel-shaded animation, is used to mimic traditional animation using CG software. Shading looked stark and less blending colors. Examples include, ''Skyland'' (2007, France), ''Appleseed'' (2007, Japan), ''The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker'' (2002, Japan)

Motion capture, is used when live action actors wear special suits that allow computers to copy their movements into CG characters. Examples include ''Polar Express'' (2004, USA), ''Beowulf'' (2007, USA), ''A Christmas Carol'' (2009, USA), ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (2011, USA)

2D animation techniques tend to focus on image manipulation while 3D techniques usually build virtual worlds in which characters and objects move and interact. 3D animation can create images that seem real to the viewer.

Other animation techniques

Drawn on film animation: a technique where footage is produced by creating the images directly on film stock, for example by Norman McLaren, Len Lye and Stan Brakhage.

Paint-on-glass animation: a technique for making animated films by manipulating slow drying oil paints on sheets of glass, for example by Aleksandr Petrov.

Erasure animation: a technique using tradition 2D medium, photographed over time as the artist manipulates the image. For example, William Kentridge is famous for his charcoal erasure films, and Piotr Dumała for his auteur technique of animating scratches on plaster.

Pinscreen animation: makes use of a screen filled with movable pins, which can be moved in or out by pressing an object onto the screen. The screen is lit from the side so that the pins cast shadows. The technique has been used to create animated films with a range of textural effects difficult to achieve with traditional cel animation.

Sand animation: sand is moved around on a back- or front-lighted piece of glass to create each frame for an animated film. This creates an interesting effect when animated because of the light contrast.

Flip book: A flip book (sometimes, especially in British English, called a flick book) is a book with a series of pictures that vary gradually from one page to the next, so that when the pages are turned rapidly, the pictures appear to animate by simulating motion or some other change. Flip books are often illustrated books for children, but may also be geared towards adults and employ a series of photographs rather than drawings. Flip books are not always separate books, but may appear as an added feature in ordinary books or magazines, often in the page corners. Software packages and websites are also available that convert digital video files into custom-made flip books.

Other techniques and approaches

Character animation

Chuckimation

Multi-sketching

Special effects animation

Animatronics

Stop motion

See also

12 basic principles of animation

Adult animation

Animation database

Animation software

Architectural animation

Tradigital art

Avar (animation variable)

Blocking (animation)

Computer generated imagery

History of animation

International Tournée of Animation

List of movie genres

List of animation studios

List of animated feature-length films

List of animated shorts available on DVD

List of animated short series

List of animated television series

List of computer-animated films

List of stop motion films

List of traditional animated feature films

List of motion picture topics

Wire frame model

Motion graphic design

Motion capture

Model sheet

References

Further reading

Anderson, Joseph and Barbara, "The Myth of Persistence of Vision Revisited", ''Journal of Film and Video'', Vol. 45, No. 1 (Spring 1993): 3-12

Culhane, Shamus, ''Animation Script to Screen''

Laybourne, Kit, ''The Animation Book''

Ledoux, Trish, Ranney, Doug, & Patten, Fred (Ed.), ''Complete Anime Guide: Japanese Animation Film Directory and Resource Guide'', Tiger Mountain Press 1997

Lowe, Richard & Schnotz, Wolfgang (Eds) ''Learning with Animation. Research implications for design'' Cambridge University Press, 2008

Masson, Terrence, ''CG101: A Computer Graphics Industry Reference'' Unique and personal histories of early computer animation production, plus a comprehensive foundation of the industry for all reading levels. ISBN 978-0-9778710-0-1

Serenko, Alexander, The development of an instrument to measure the degree of animation predisposition of agent users, Computers in Human Behavior Vol. 23, No. 1 (2007): 478-495.

Thomas, Frank and Johnston, Ollie, ''Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life'', Abbeville 1981

Walters, Faber and Helen (Ed.), ''Animation Unlimited: Innovative Short Films Since 1940'', HarperCollins Publishers, 2004

Williams, Richard, ''The Animator's Survival Kit'' ISBN 978-0-571-20228-7

Bob Godfrey and Anna Jackson, 'The Do-It-Yourself Film Animation Book' BBC Publications 1974 ISBN 978-0-563-10829-0 Now out of print but available s/hand through a range of sources such as Amazon Uk.

Lawson, Tim and Alisa Persons. ''The Magic Behind the Voices'': A Who's Who of Cartoon Voice Actors. University Press of Mississippi. 2004. (A history of cartoon voice-overs and biographies and photographs of many prominent animation voice actors.)

Ball, R., Beck, J., DeMott R., Deneroff, H., Gerstein, D., Gladstone, F., Knott, T., Leal, A., Maestri, G., Mallory, M., Mayerson, M., McCracken, H., McGuire, D., Nagel, J., Pattern, F., Pointer, R., Webb, P., Robinson, C., Ryan, W., Scott, K., Snyder, A. & Webb, G. (2004) ''Animation Art: From Pencil to Pixel, the History of Cartoon, Anime & CGI''. Fulhamm London.: Flame Tree Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84451-140-2

Crafton, Donald (1982). ''Before Mickey''. Cambridge, Massachusetts.: The MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-03083-0

Solomon, Charles (1989). ''Enchanted Drawings: The History of Animation''. New York.: Random House, Inc. ISBN 978-0-394-54684-1

External links

Experimental Animation Techniques

How An Animated Cartoon is Made

"Animando", a 12-minute film demonstrating 10 different animation techniques (and teaching how to use them).

CARTOON, the European association of animation film, organising coproduction forums and training seminars for animation professionals.

Animation Magazine, The News, Business, Technology and Art of Animation

Category:Article Feedback 5

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name	Shane Dawson
size	175px
birth name	Shane Yaw
birth date	July 19, 1988
birth place	Long Beach, California, U.S.
occupation	YouTube video maker (actor, comedian)
yearsactive	2008–present
known for	Sketch Comedy, vlogging
website	}}

Shane Dawson (born Shane Yaw, July 19, 1988) is an American YouTube comedian and actor. Dawson is known for making comedy videos featuring many recurring characters (such as Shananay, Ned the Nerd, S. Deezy, Shane's Mom and Aunt Hilda), impersonations (such as Paris Hilton and Miley Cyrus), and spoofs of popular music videos and TV shows. As of August 2011 his main YouTube channel is the fifth most subscribed channel of all time, behind RayWilliamJohnson, Nigahiga, Machinima.com and Smosh. Dawson has since expanded on YouTube by adding his second channel (eleventh most subscribed) where he posts video blogs and the series "Ask Shane", which moved to his main channel February 26, 2011.

Dawson's career began when he and several friends would turn in videos instead of homework in high school. Dawson's first videos on Youtube were old assignments that he turned in during high school.

In November 2009, he was featured on ''Attack of the Show!'' In 2010, Forbes magazine named him their 25th most famous web celebrity.

Personal life

Dawson grew up in Long Beach, California, where he attended Lakewood High School. Dawson has revealed in a video, that as a teenager he was over-weight and would get bullied a lot, as well as being beaten by his alcoholic father, who then abandoned the family. He has since lost 150 pounds. Shane has three dogs - Miley, Charlie & Chocolate as well as two cats, Muffins and Snoop. They often appear in his videos. He used to work in Jenny Craig, Inc. along with his mother and brother, but was fired after he uploaded a video of himself pole dancing in the building he worked in. His mother, brother and about 6 other coworkers who appeared in the video also got fired after the company saw the video.

Shane Dawson currently resides in Sherman Oaks, California.

YouTube channels

thumb|Shane Dawson plays a number of recurring characters including (from left to right) Shane, Aunt Hilda, S-Deezy, Shananay, Ned, Mom, and Paris Hilton Shane Dawson posts new videos on his main channel, ShaneDawsonTV, every Saturday and video blogs on his second channel, ShaneDawsonTV2, throughout the week. Every Monday, posted on his second channel, he also has an "Ask Shane" webseries where he answers questions from his viewers. This series is similar to a previous web series, "Viewer Orgy Party", which currently only airs approximately once a month. His third YouTube channel, Shane, is where he posts unedited videos directly from his iPhone. He began using this channel in May, 2010. He has also begun a new series called "Shane and friends" on his main channel which he does once every month. This series includes him giving advice and talking as basically all his characters. Shane often collaborates with other YouTubers or appears in their videos, such as BrittaniLouiseTaylor, TheFineBros, JoeNationTV and ijustine.

In August 2010, he announced that he was going to write a TV pilot and post it on his main channel, featuring himself and his characters from previous videos, about him in high school.

SD High

On August 11, 2010, Dawson announced that he was in the making of a 30-minute pilot which he will call ''SD High''. Previously, the funding he needed for the pilot was provided by digital media group Take180 after he helped them out with acting in their own videos. The pilot is based on two previous videos which Dawson uploaded to his main channel recently. In his previous videos, the story centers around a teenage boy in school, and his interactions with the other characters. The pilot was due to be released towards the end of September 2010 on his main YouTube Channel, however Dawson later announced that he had been contacted by a television studio to produce the pilot for their TV channel(s). According to Dawson, there is some uncertainty involving the pilot, however it may be a TV show in the future. On March 26, 2011, Dawson uploaded a video to YouTube explaining to his audience that he's working with Happy Madison Productions, Sony Pictures, and some other YouTubers including TheFineBros and BrittaniLouiseTaylor to create the TV show. The video contains an explanation from Dawson about what he's working on, and a 'mock trailer', made up of clips from previous episodes on his YouTube channel, for the show. The pilot is currently in production.

Awards and nominations

Shane Dawson has been nominated for various awards. On August 9, 2010, Dawson won the award for Choice Web Star at the 2010 Teen Choice Awards. Although the category was not featured at the awards show, Dawson stated in a video that he posted to YouTube the next day that "It was just great to be nominated and at the show itself". The nominees for that category included fellow YouTubers Justine Ezarik, Charles Trippy, Lucas Cruikshank, best known for his Fred character, and singer Greyson Chance.

! Year	! Category	! Award	! Result
	Best Vlogger	The Streamy Awards
	Choice Web Star	Teen Choice Awards
	Choice Web Star	Teen Choice Awards

References

External links

Official Website

ShaneDawsonTV, Shane Dawson's YouTube channel

ShaneDawsonTV2, Shane Dawson's 2nd YouTube channel

Shane, Shane Dawson's iPhone YouTube channel

Category:American Internet personalities Category:Living people Category:1988 births Category:People from Long Beach, California

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name	Tim Minchin
birth name	Timothy David Minchin
birth date	October 07, 1975
birth place	Northampton, United Kingdom
nationality	Australian, British
active	2002–present
genre	Comedy music
spouse	Sarah Minchin 2001–present (2 children)
website
britishcomedyawards	}}

Timothy David "Tim" Minchin (born 7 October 1975 in Northampton, UK) is an Australian-British comedian, actor, and musician.

Tim Minchin is best known for his musical comedy, which has featured in six CDs, three DVDs and a number of live comedy shows which he has performed internationally. He has also appeared on television in Australia, Britain and the United States. After growing up in Perth, Western Australia, he attended the University of Western Australia and WAAPA before moving to Melbourne in 2002. His breakout show, "Dark Side", launched him into the public eye, achieving critical success at the 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Minchin has a background in theatre and has appeared in various stage productions, in addition to some small acting roles on Australian TV. A documentary film about Minchin, ''Rock N Roll Nerd'' (directed by Rhian Skirving), was released theatrically in 2008 and broadcast by ABC1 in 2009.

Personal life

Minchin was born in Northampton, UK, to Australian parents and raised in Perth, Western Australia. He was educated at Christ Church Grammar School and started learning piano at the age of eight, but gave it up after three years because he did not enjoy the discipline. He redeveloped an interest in the instrument after he started writing music with his brother Dan Minchin, a guitarist, but still describes himself as a "hack pianist... a 'more you practise, the better you get' kind of guy". Minchin graduated from the University of Western Australia in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Theatre, and in 1998 completed an Advanced Diploma in Contemporary Music at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

He currently lives in London with his wife, Sarah. They have two children: a daughter, Violet, and a son, Caspar. Minchin often refers to his relationships in his songs and stand-up routines.

Musical comedy

Minchin describes his act as a "funny cabaret show" and sees himself primarily as a musician and songwriter as opposed to a comedian; his songs, he says, "just happen to be funny." His reasoning for combining the disciplines of music and comedy was revealed in one interview when he said "I'm a good musician for a comedian and I'm a good comedian for a musician but if I had to do any of them in isolation I dunno."

He draws on his background in theatre for his distinctive onstage appearance and persona. In his performances, he typically goes barefoot with wild hair and heavy eye makeup, which is juxtaposed with a crisp suit and tails, and a grand piano. According to Minchin, he likes going barefoot in his shows because it makes him feel more comfortable. He considers the eye makeup important because while he is playing the piano he is not able to use his arms and relies on his face for expressions and gestures; the eyeliner makes his features more distinguishable for the audience. Much of his look and persona, he says, are about "treading that line between mocking yourself and wanting to be an iconic figure. Mocking the ridiculousness and completely unrealistic dream of being an iconic figure." The eccentric appearance removes Minchin from reality somewhat, allowing him to make outrageous statements onstage "without annoying (most) people."

The shows consist largely of Minchin's comedic songs and poetry, with subjects ranging from social satire to inflatable dolls, sex fetishes, and his own failed rock star ambitions. In between songs, he performs short stand-up routines. Several of his songs deal with religion, a subject with which Minchin—an atheist and a fan of Richard Dawkins—says he is "a bit obsessed." He argues that as one of the most powerful and influential forces in the world, religion should never be off-limits to satirists. He says that his favourite song to perform is "Peace Anthem for Palestine", which reflects his feelings about religious conflict. In October 2010 he was made a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association. His comedy also deals with taboos more broadly. A prime example of this is the song "Prejudice" which parodies the power awarded to something as simple as a word.

Early career (1998–2007)

After completing an Advanced Diploma in Contemporary Music in 1998, Minchin started out composing music for documentaries and theatre. In 2000 he wrote and starred in the musical ''Pop'' at the Blue Room Theatre in Perth. He released a CD titled ''Sit'' with his band Timmy the Dog in 2001, but achieved little success. In 2002, after only one professional acting job, he moved from Perth to Melbourne to pursue work. Minchin struggled initially; he could not get an agent for a year and had been unable to find any acting work. While several record companies gave him positive feedback, they were not sure how his music—a mixture of satirical songs and more serious pop songs—could be marketed. He decided to compile all of his humorous songs into a single live show to "get the comedy stuff off [his] chest" before going back to more serious music.

Minchin says he entered into comedy "naively", having never even attended a live comedy gig before performing one himself. His break-out show, ''Darkside'' (co-produced by Laughing Stock Productions), achieved critical success at the 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, where it won the inaugural Festival Directors' Award and attracted the notice of Karen Koren, the manager of the well-known Gilded Balloon venues. Koren backed the show's run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where Minchin received the Perrier Comedy Award for Best Newcomer. His 2006 show, ''So Rock'', was nominated for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's top prize, the Barry Award, and in 2007 he was given the award for Best Alternative Comedian at the HBO US Comedy Arts Festival.

Live recordings of his 2005 and 2006 shows, ''Darkside'' and ''So Rock'', have been released as CDs. In 2007, he released a DVD entitled ''So Live'', featuring a live recording in the Sydney Opera House Studio with material from both of his previous shows. As this DVD was only released in Australia, he released a DVD in 2008 entitled ''So F**king Rock Live'' in the UK, containing largely the same material as ''So Live.''

''Ready for This?'' (2008–2010)

In August 2008 Minchin debuted his third solo show, ''Ready for This?'', at the Edinburgh Fringe and subsequently took it on tour across the UK. During the Edinburgh run, he contributed to ''The Guardian'' newspaper's podcasts, despite his new show containing a song about a ''Guardian'' critic who once gave his show a negative review.

A recording of this show, recorded live at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London was released as an album for download via iTunes on 20 July 2009. An Australian recording was released on DVD, solely in Australia on 9 September 2009 and a UK release in the second half of 2010.

In December 2009, the track "White Wine in the Sun" was released as a downloadable single online. Fans on Minchin's official forum launched a campaign to get this festive track into the UK Christmas charts by purchasing it from various online download retailers. A Facebook group was also launched to support the campaign as well as a drive on Twitter in which celebrities were contacted about the campaign and a succession of e-mails to radio DJs in a bid to get them to play the song. It was later announced that 50% of the December profits from the song would be donated to The National Autistic Society. The bid was ultimately unsuccessful.

It was announced at the end of 2009 that one of Minchin's beat poems, ''Storm'', was to be made into a short animated movie to be released in 2010. A blog was launched to accompany the film-making process and a short trailer was released on 8 January 2010. The full movie was launched on Youtube on 7 April 2011.

He performed ''Ready for This?'' for what he envisages as the final time on 27 February 2010 in Sydney. He did however perform a set at The Big Libel Gig on 14 March 2010 in protest at Britain's libel laws, along with other performers including Dara Ó Briain, Marcus Brigstocke, Shappi Khorsandi, Robin Ince and Ed Byrne. As well as this, he performed at Camp Bestival as part of the Jestival Sessions in July 2010.

Minchin was the subject of the winning entry in the 2010 Archibald Prize, Australia's most important portraiture competition. The winning entry was painted by Sam Leach.

''Tim Minchin and the Heritage Orchestra'' (2010–2011)

Minchin embarked on a new arena tour starting with Birmingham on Wednesday 8 December, 2010. A departure from the structure of his previous live shows, his act has been scaled up to be performed with the Heritage Orchestra. It contains a mixture of material: there are new songs on the subject of prayer and of rationality — themes which often appear in his previous work. Minchin has stated that the aim of incorporating the orchestra into his act is to create a comedy show that would not be ruined by being performed in arenas, as stated in the special features of the DVD and Blu-ray. The show is touring the UK and Australia. It was filmed at the Royal Albert Hall in London for a Blu-ray and DVD that was released in November 2011.

Television and radio

Tim Minchin has made appearances on Australian TV shows, including the ABC's ''Spicks and Specks'', and ''The Sideshow'',. He has also made appearances on Network Ten's panel shows ''Good News Week'' (February 2010) and ''Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation'' (March 2010).

Minchin has also appeared on various British radio and television shows, including the BBC's ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' (four times, once as guest host), BBC Radio 4's ''Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better'' and two specials on BBC Radio 2. He often performs on his TV appearances, such as his spots on ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' in October 2009 and July 2010. He performed a specially-written song entitled "Five Poofs and Two Pianos", a parody of the show's house band, 4 Poofs and a Piano. Minchin also appeared as a special guest on the 2009 edition of ''The Big Fat Quiz of the Year'' performing a song written for the show ("It's Like 1984") in reference to a question regarding Google Street View. On Saturday 13 August 2011 Minchin hosted Prom 40: the first BBC Comedy Promenade Concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

A heavily cut-down version of the show released on DVD as ''So F**king Rock Live'' has aired several times on British TV channel E4, first on 23 July 2009. It aired at the turn of 2011, forming E4's New Year's coverage.

On 8 May 2010, Minchin's musical sitcom pilot ''Strings'' was broadcast on BBC Radio 2. Minchin plays the protagonist Jonny, who leaves Australia to live in the UK. Well received as it was by Radio 2, he decided against creating a full series.

In January 2011, Minchin made his American television debut on TBS's ''Conan'', where he performed "Inflatable You". On 12 May 2011, he performed "If I Didn't Have You" on the ''Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'', and on 7 June 2011 Minchin made his second appearance on ''Conan'', singing "Prejudice".

In December 2011 Minchin performed a specially written song called "Woody Allen Jesus" on ''The Jonathan Ross Show''. However, despite the show's producers and ITV's lawyers approving the composition for broadcast it was removed at the last minute. Responding on his blog, Minchin stated: "[...] Someone got nervous and sent the tape to ITV's director of television, Peter Fincham. And Peter Fincham demanded that I be cut from the show. He did this because he's scared of the ranty, shit-stirring, right-wing press, and of the small minority of Brits who believe they have a right to go through life protected from anything that challenges them in any way."

Acting and theatre

Minchin's background is in theatre and he has appeared in various stage productions. His most recent dramatic theatrical performance was in the title role for the 2006 Perth Theatre Company production of ''Amadeus'', a fictional play about the downfall of Mozart at the hands of the reigning court composer. His other stage acting roles have included the title role in the 2004 Perth Theatre Company / Hoopla production of ''Hamlet'', and The Writer in the original PTC production of Reg Cribb’s ''The Return''. He has also acted for The Australian Shakespeare Company (''Twelfth Night''), the Black Swan Theatre Company (''Cosi'', ''One Destiny'') and in various other plays, short films and TVC’s. Roles from his days in musical theatre include Don Quixote in ''Man of La Mancha'' and Pontius Pilate (and understudying Judas twice) in ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. He has also appeared playing small parts on the ABC telemovie ''Loot'' and on the show ''Comedy Inc.''.

Minchin also plays the role of Tom, in the contemporary family drama ''Two Fists, One Heart'', released 19 March 2009. He also wrote the song ''Drowned'' for the film's soundtrack.

He co-wrote a musical version of Roald Dahl's novel ''Matilda'' – entitled ''Matilda, A Musical'' – with Dennis Kelly and the Royal Shakespeare Company, which is produced by the RSC. It showed at The Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon running from 9 November 2010 to 30 January 2011 and began its West End run at the Cambridge Theatre on 25 October 2011 to great critical acclaim.

Atheism and skepticism

In an interview with IIG member John Rael, Minchin explains that what upsets him most about paranormal beliefs is "special pleading" by people who say vague things such as "there is no harm in it". Minchin states that there is very little harm in something like Reiki, but asks "where do you draw the line?" when it comes to needing real evidence if a therapy works or not. He states that he is an atheist as well as a skeptic, and cannot understand how someone can call themself a skeptic and still be religious. "If you apply doubt to anything...the whole religion thing is obviously a fantasy."

In his beat poem, ''Storm'', which centres on Minchin having an argument with a "hippie" who believes in various New Age alternatives in lieu of pharmaceutical medicine, he states: "Science adjusts its views based on what's observed. Faith is the denial of observation, so that belief can be preserved."

Discography

Albums

''Sit'' (with band Timmy the Dog) (2001)

''Darkside'' (2005)

''So Rock'' (2006)

''Ready For This?'' (2009)

''Live at the O2'' (2010)

''Tim Minchin and The Heritage Orchestra'' (2011)

Singles

"Drowned" (2008)

"White Wine in the Sun" (2009)

"The Pope Song" (2010) - As a free download from his website

"The Fence" (2011)

Compilations

''Laugh-a-poolooza'' (featured artist) (2005)

DVD

''So Live'' (2007) Australian DVD

''So F**king Rock Live'' (also known as ''So Fucking Rock Live'') (11 October 2008)

''So F**king Rock Live (Special Edition)'' (also known as ''So Fucking Rock Live (Special Edition'') (5 October 2009)

''Ready For This?'' (29 November 2010)

''Tim Minchin and the Heritage Orchestra'' (14 November 2011)

Filmography

Actor

2008 – ''Two Fists, One Heart'' – Tom 2010 – ''The Lost Thing'' – The Boy (Voice)

Awards

; 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Directors' Choice Award for ''Dark Side'' 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe Perrier Comedy Award, Best Newcomer 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, The Groggy Squirrel Critics' Award 2007 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, Best Alternative Act 2009 Helpmann Awards, Best Comedy Performer 2009 Green Room Awards, Cabaret: Best Original Songs 2009 Green Room Awards, Cabaret: Best Artiste 2010 Chortle Awards, Best Music or Variety Act

References

External links

Rock N Roll Nerd – The Tim Minchin Documentary website

YouTube Interview on Australian Sceptics vodcast, The TANK Vodcast, 2007

Tim Minchin's song 'If I Didn't Have You' (Secret Policeman's Ball)

Storm Movie Production Blog

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