Fight for the Dardanelles

1915
Silent
6m

Witness the birth of motion graphics in news reporting amid the ongoing Gallipoli campaign during WWI.

The Gallipoli campaign has gone down in history as a bloody scar of failure, or one of the last victories of the 600-year Ottoman Empire - depending which side you are on. This animated map brought events 1500 miles away to home front audiences while the outcome was still to be decided. It also shows how an abstract overview of troop losses communicates nothing of the reality of human sacrifice.

Early Animation

The dawn of a new celluloid art: Britain's animation pioneers at peace and war

When you're creating a new art form, everything is experimental. The pioneers of animation in Britain cast a range of subjects as the stars of their films - the toys of an Edwardian child; insects and animals; Kaiser Bill and John Bull. But even the richest of fantasies on display here offer a window into the turbulent era in which they were made. When the nation went to war, animation was conscripted to meet its propaganda needs. In peacetime, the industry sought success as an entertainer, but found a career in sales.