In Class 8, we had gone through what is the United Production of America (UPA) and I was pretty amazed by their unique style and approaches. UPA was founded in 1943 by former Disney animators Steven Bosustow, Zachary Schwartz, and David Hilberman, after participating the Disney animators’ Strike against poor pay and conditions in 1941. UPA began as Industrial Film and Poster Service, breaking through Disney style which everyone was imitating at that time. Take the animation ‘Rooty Toot Toot’ as example, fully shown UPA’s experiment on minimal line drawing, use of movement and colors. The characters are created by flat, angular shapes with a loose connection between the colors and the lines, we can see paints actually spilling out over the borders. This unique figures and unreal use of color and backgrounds this is really a stylish thing done in animation. It is also impressing to use such a lively animation to criticize the judicial system.
Project 2 WIP
For our cut-out animation, we had decided to make an animation about cats at the very beginning since we are all cat lovers. We considered about plots like cats wearing formal suit to work or cats ruling human in office. And we finally decided to make a story of cat going to space as an explorer!
We used black and white as the main color scheme so that we don’t need to buy extra stuff for the project. Lily and Marissa are responsible for technical process like drawing backgrounds and photographing. I am in charge of character design and making puppets. I designed the cat to have black and white pattern formed like a formal suit since I really like the idea of cat wearing suit.
Our project was kind of disturbed by Hong Kong protest at SCAD was closed early at 5:30pm yesterday. After that we went to Lily’s home and started filming it. Her cat became our live model!
MTR service and HK government really sucks. I nearly couldn’t go home last night after filming. However, FIVE DEMANDS, NO ONE LESS!
Lily Lai
Marissa Tso
Hazel Wong
Major Post 7: Limited Animation
At one point, animation was an even more time consuming and tedious job than it appears to be now. Early animations required each frame to be painted and drawn by hand individually and for new backgrounds to painstakingly made with hyper realistic details and lighting. This mean that animations required a lot of time and money to be produced. As a result of increasing budget cuts and even greater time constraints this old way was abandoned and replaced with a new method, limited animation. Limited animation implements techniques like animation cycles, mirrored-images, symmetrical drawings, and still characters.
Many early commercials utilized these techniques. The earliest shows to implement them were Warner Brother cartoons. Specifically, Dover Boys and Merrier Melodies.
Due to the financial benefit of limited animations, many shows have used it over the years. One famous studio famous for it would be Hanna-Barbera Productions. Linked below is a clip from Scooby Doo, one of the studios most famous shows, and in it you can see the use of cycled running, reused backgrounds, and sparse character actions.
LeAnn Schmitt
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=A1evHuK7xUI
Project02: Cut-out Animation| W.I.P. 1 | Inspiration and Hot Chocolate
To start off our idea, we looked at some of our favourite concepts and vibes.
We decided to dive right in with a Deep Ocean concept, the protagonist being a girl with some typical Disney scenery and ‘magical girls’ vibes like in Bee and PuppyCat.
We used platforms like Pinterest and Instagram as well as They Drew as They Pleased – Volume Four Concept Art Book for inspiration and to create our desired mood-board for our scenery and character.
Having found a relaxed setting in a lush cafe near SCAD (:9) We brainstormed for our own possible scenes, actions, storyboard and character designs, accompanied by a sick spot of hot choco.
This is our very first rough sketch of a potential storyboard: Where it starts off with our protagonist’s point of view > cutting into a scene where she is sinking into the DEEP.
Major Post 5: Reason and Emotion
In our earlier classes, we started to look at animation’s use beyond entertainment.
Donald duck, the fuhrer’s face
The animation was made to express anger or mocking, and many other emotions. It reminded me of HK’s current situation, where some artists also expressed their feelings, reasoning and information through animation.
Reason and emotion – Bill Roberts
I loved this animation as it was unexpectedly educational. Serious and rather psychological information was presented in a way where it was light-hearted and comedic – easier for people to swallow or accept. Its ultimate goal is to educate people to be able to choose how they act.
We see in the present that business and companies carry on using animation as a source to explain information. The development in this area is that there are now many different illustrative styles to choose from to convey different emotions and levels of seriousness.
Class notes:
“Iwerke-Disney Commercial Artist” (1920)
With Ub Iwerks
Started 19, young, failed.
Friendship, same goal, support.
Disney Bros Studio = Roy Disney in Hollywood
Experimental animation
Alice in wonderland
Disney studio: 6 to 100 to ~1600 employees
Sammy Liu
Cut out animation WIP 1
Work in Progress Post- Project 2 : Pre-Production. Posted by Victoria Courchesne,
Team: Eunhae Mary Park & Victoria Courchesne
For the cut out animation assignment, Mary and I first began by planning the shots we would need. We discussed the original concept and our goal and then started sketching out what kind of camera angles we would have. Below you can see two pictures of my sketch book where we began drafting our idea.
We sought to have a more ambitious project than the first stop motion we did. As you can see we planned out 6 shots- some which included a mixture of camera pans and zooms. For the project’s efficiency we decided to make the film black and white, that way we could use simple backgrounds and silhouettes to create a compelling image. I then created a word document and wrote a shot list guide that described each shot, it’s camera angle, the assets included, and a short description of animation.
More images to come soon in the next post that will feature the production of the project.
Major Post 6: Ub Iwerk
When you think of the creator of Mickey Mouse I bet your brain doesn’t jump to the name, Ub Iwerks.
Ub Iwerks was born in Kansas City Missouri and shorten his full name, Ubbe Eert Iwwerks, for ease. He was known for his fast ability to draw and his quirky sense of humor. He was Walt Disney’s partner and helped create the face of Disney itself, Mickey Mouse. He also was the lead animators in many of Disney’s early films such as the Skeleton Dance and Steam Boat Willie. But early on into the creation of the Disney empire Ub split off to start his own animation company, Iwerks Studios. This studio brought forth its own line of characters, such as, Flip the Frog and Willie Whopper. The studio didn’t last long and eventually tanked.
However, Iwerks legacy didn’t end there for he snatched up two Oscars for his work. As well as got to work on many other classics like the Looney Tunes and The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock.
LeAnn Schmitt
Below I have linked one of my personal favorite cartons produced by his studio
Disney’s racist history; Fantasia, The Pastoral Symphony, and even today? Part two.
Major Post 5 By Victoria Courchesne
Previously I discussed the 1940 Disney film Fantasia
It is no shock to say the image of racial stereotypes can be seen in many of the early cartoons, such as Bosko from Looney Toons. Yet, today we can still these stereotypes in some of Disney’s recent films. Pocahontas, released in 1995,is one of the company’s most controversial films due to its stereotyping of Native Americans. Aladdin, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan, and more of Disney’s “classic” films have been called out and criticized for their orientalism, stereotypes, and other cultural insensitive factors.
But, does this mean we can’t enjoy these movies anymore?
No, no, you can still watch the films if you want and appreciate the artistry and hard work that went into them. Some of the professors at SCAD even worked on those films. But you should be aware of each film’s controversial past and acknowledge that Dinsey at a time thought that these films were suitable for release.
I will continue to watch Aladdin and annoy all of my neighbors as I burst out with all my heart the current lyrics to “Arabian Nights– But I will also acknowledge the original song’s original lyrics contained the orientalist stereotype line “Where they cut off your ear if they don’t like your face”.
Really Disney, really?
Sources :
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170714-the-aladdin-controversy-disney-cant-escape
https://medium.com/@nerdypoc/examining-racist-disney-tropes-continued-a5379acc5783
Disney’s racist history; Fantasia, The Pastoral Symphony, and even today? Part one
Major Post 4 By Victoria Courchesne
*To begin, watch the side by side comparison of The Pastoral Symphony on YouTube here.*
If you were to see the recent edition of the Disney film Fantasia, you would surely be marveled at the artistry of the film and leave pleasantly content. But, if you were to see the original edition of the film, I’m sure you would not come away from the film with the same feeling. This would be because the original film contained racial stereotypes, largely being in the short The Pastoral Symphony. The short features the character Sunflower, a young centaur who is the groomer to the older centaurs. Upon the films re-release for television in 1969 after the civil rights movement, the frame was cropped in the shots that had Sunflower in it. By sweeping the evidence of the stereotyped character under the rug, Disney has managed to pass the re-releases off as if the controversy never existed. In an Entertainment Weekly article in 1991, Disney editor John Carnochan said that he was appalled that the stereotypes were even in the film. Disney was re-releasing the film for its 50th anniversary for the first time on DVD, so Carnochan oversaw refurbishing the film. In conclusion, while some films might be viewed as masterpieces of their time, they could have dark pasts as such does Fantasia.
Part two in my major post 5
Sources:
https://ew.com/article/1991/11/29/changes-restored-version-fantasia/
Major Post 4 – Paper cutouts
We were able to learn about animating with cutouts for this class. Quirino Christiani was believed to have made the first feature-length animated feature. However, this was a lost film called El Apostol (1917) and Peludopolis (1983), which made use of cutouts. This was another fascinating way to animate and create films back then. It made use of different kinds of camera effects and it really helped create the atmosphere for the story.
One of the more interesting films we watched in class was, The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) by Lotte Reiniger. The art style of the cutouts really intrigued me. Despite using the same color for each character, you can still tell them apart because of each character’s unique silhouette. While watching the film, I did get reminded of the style from a Japanese animated TV show. Here are some of the stills from the anime, Yuri!!! On Ice (2016), which tells the story of the main character’s interpretation of a song. This is animated in a similar fashion since there are limited movements. Not only does it makes use of color and detail, it also shows a clear difference in the silhouette that helps tell the two characters apart.
Julia Reymundo
ANIM223 - HISTORY OF ANIMATION - FALL 2019 