ALSO BY SHAMUS CULHANE

Talking Animals and Other People (an autobiography) From Script To Screen
Shamus Culhane

St. Martin’s Press, New York

 This book is dedicated to Winsor McCay, Walt Disney, Norman
McLaren, and the other bright minds who have brought the art of
animation this far.

ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN. Copyright © 1988 by Shamus Culhane. All rights
reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or
reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of
brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St.
Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Culhane, Shamus.
Animation from script to screen / Shamus Culhane.
p. cm.
“A Thomas Dunne book.”
ISBN 0-312-05052-6
1. Animation (Cinematography) 1. Title.
NCI765.C84 1990
79l.43'3 dc20 90-36128
CIP
Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Acknowledgments XV

Introduction and Book List 1

1. How an Animated Film Is Produced 11

2. Job Options in a Cel-System Studio 15

3. Tapping into Your Creativity 22

4. Life Quality Versus Stylized Animation 32

5. Writing for Animation 43

6. Character Design 71

The Director I: Story, Casting, Music, and Sound 77

8. The Director II: Preparing to Make Bar Sheets 97

9. The Director III: Bar Sheets and Track Analysis 106

10. The Assistant Director 113

11. Field Guides, Peg Bars, and Pan Moves 120

12. Layouts I 127

13. Layouts II: The Relationship of Scenes 133

14. Animating 146

15. Animating Dialogue 207

16. Production Tips 220

17. The Animator’s Assistant 234

18. Backgrounds 239

19. The Skilled Noncreative Jobs 248

20. Music Recording and Editing 256

21. Winding Up the Picture: The Mix 262

22. Photographing a Storyboard Reel 273

23. The Role of the Computer 278

vil
viii CONTENTS

24. Survival as an Artist 287

25. Schools 290 List of Illustrations
Appendices 299

1. Information 299 1
Norman McLaren
2. Suppliers 300 Action photograph of a cow walking by Edweard
3. Animation Photography 301 8
Muybridge
4. Film Editors 302 12
> Fax Company’s animator’s drafting table
5. Laboratories 302 Drawings from Peep and the Big Wide World by Kaj
6. Music and Sound Effects 303 17
Pindal
7. Recording 304 Character design of a camel by Shamus Culhane from The
8. Rentals 305 18
Night the Animals Talked
9. Running the Business 306 Character sketches of the psychiatrist in Think or Sink by
10. A Feature-Picture Budget 316 19
Dante Barbetta
Glossary 323 Two thieves from The Opera Caper by Gil Miret 20
Index 330 Example of rough animation of a fox by Shamus Culhane 25

Culhane’s quick sketch of kittens 26

Before and after drawings from Drawing on the Right Side

of the Brain 29

Gertie the Dinosaur by Winsor McKay 32

Lynx Robotics’ motion control system and stand 33

Elephant and hippo from Noah's Animals by Shamus

Culhane 34

Drawing from The Man in the Window by Shinji Seya 35

Stylized character design for a television spot by Shamus

Culhane 35

Model sheet of “Tiny,” showing line of action 38

Model sheet of “Fatty,” showing squash and stretch 40

Pencil test model sheet of “Skinny” 41

Partial storyboard for Why Me? by Janet Perlman 46

Storyboard for The Plumber, by Clilf Roberts 48

lx
X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS List of Illustrations xi

Jacques Drouin 94
Title drawing for the television series Mystery! by Derek
B0rge Ring 96
Lamb after Edward Gorey 61
Anna and Bella by B0rge Ring 96
Hair follicles and skin for educational film The Skin 65
Quick sketches of a dog by Chuck Jones 98
Scene from educational film Hemo the Magnificent 66

Character designs for The Opera Caper 72 Director’s roughs for The Last of the Red Hot Dragons by

Drawing from Nu Wa Patches the Sky by Quian Yun Da 73 Shamus Culhane 100

Drawing from The Fire Boy by Wang Baiyong 73 Exposure sheet for Noah's Animals 108

Sketches for The Stuck-Up Wolf by Cliff Roberts 73 Example of a bar sheet 115

Drawings from Blinkety Blank by Norman McLaren 74 Example of a production chart 118

Scene from 36 Characters, animated Chinese pictographs A 12-field chart 121

by A Da 76 Comparison of a 12-field chart and a 16-field chart 124

Scene from Doctor DeSoto by Michael Sporn 78 Layout sketch by Wayne Becker for Noah's Animals,

Frederic Back 79 showing the ark on Mt. Ararat and indicating a truck

Rendering on frosted cel for Crac! by Frederic Back 80 to a very small field 125

Caroline Leaf gj Title drawing for Mystery! 127

Sand animation from The Owl Who Married a Goose by Noah's Animals: tilting the field to give the effect of the

Caroline Leaf gj ship rocking 131

Ishu Patel g2 Layout drawing for Noah's Animals by Don Duga

Drawing from Paradise by Ishu Patel 83 showing woodgrain effect 133

Gene and Zdenka Deitch g6 Thumbnail sketches showing the action axis 135

Illustration from Where the Wild Things Are by Gene Camera movement on a room scene 137

Deitch after Maurice Sendak 86 Camera movement on a road scene 138

Drawing from The Boy and the Snow Goose by Gayle Exercise with a drawing of a couple by Honore Daumier 150

Thomas g9 Exercise with a drawing of officials by Daumier 151

Kaj Pindal 9I Static vs. dynamic pose 154

Drawing from / Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly Static vs. dynamic curves 155

by Kaj Pindal and Derek Lamb 91 “The Gemini Syndrome” 156

Illustration of pinscreen technique in Mindscape by Example of a spacing chart 157

Jacques Drouin 94 Michelangelo’s “Adam,” showing torque and line of action 158
xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS List of Illustrations xiii

Quick sketch of swans showing line-of-action principle 160 Sullivant: woman milking cow 198

Exercise: drawing eyes to denote expression 166 Sullivant: rabbits 198

Emotion as expressed in the body action of a fox 167 Sullivant: animals on the beach 199

Exposure sheet: “Tiny Steals Coin” 168 Sullivant: lion with crewcut mane and other animals 199

Brush drawings by Shamus Culhane of kittens showing Sketches of a dog by Shamus Culhane, showing use of

importance of silhouette in depicting action 171 sharp perspective 200

Diagram of a potential head vibration 172 Simulated child’s drawing for The Stubborn Cowboy by

How to lay out a vibration on the exposure sheet 173 Gil Miret 202

Staggered drawings showing extreme tension 174 Scratchboard drawing illustrating the importance of line

Two examples of staggered exposing 175 drawing by Shamus Culhane 203

Multiple images for a vibration effect 176 Mouth positions in speech sounds 213

Light values in a blurred image 176 Exposure sheet: “Shake Hands” 215

Exposure sheet, “Fatty’s Field’s Take” 178 Scene from / Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

Exposure sheet, “Skinny Pats Eagle” 179 showing stylized special effect 226

How body parts can express emotion: “Tiny’s” ears 180 The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai 227

Exercise for gesture drawings of “Fatty,” “Skinny,” and Wave scene from Pinocchio 228

“Tiny” 182 Exposure sheet: “Fatty Swims” 230

Exercise showing importance of distance between the three Scene from I Was a Thanksgiving Turkey by John

characters 182 Schnall 241

T. S. Sullivant drawing: elephant patient, monkey doctor 184 Drawing from Mongo Makongo by Michael Porsch 242

Translating poses into their skeletal patterns for animal Scene from What on Earth? by Kaj Patel and Les Drew 243

motion 184 Rendering of Paris Opera House for The Opera Caper by

Sullivant: hippo and monkey 185 Gil Miret 244

Study of horses by Shamus Culhane 186 Uncle Sam and the astronaut, from My Daddy the

Quick sketch by Culhane of dog, accentuating the planes Astronaut by Gil Miret 245

of the body 187 Grandma and bedroom design for The Stuck-Up Wolf by

Drawing from I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly 187 Cliff Roberts 246

Series of walks and runs of animals by Arthur Babbitt for Color model for top level cels 251

the Alice in Wonderland animators 188 Character of the child from My Daddy the Astronaut 252
xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

The Adventures of Andre and Wally B., the first fully

animated three-dimensional cartoon made entirely on

Acknowledgments--
a computer 280 With gratitude and thanks to the people who have helped and encour¬
aged me to write this book: A Da, Arthur Babbitt, Frederic Back,
Nickelodeon Brew, a computer-animated station logo 281
Edward Bakst, Dante Barbetta, Jeanine Basile, Cosmo Anzilotti, Dick
Scene from holograph movie, Oedipus at Colonus 282 Rauh, David Smith, Robert Edmonds, William Hurtz, Walter Lantz,
Phallacy, award-winning 360-degree animated integral Wayne Becker, Don Duga, Floward Beckerman, Frank Capra, Susan
Catmull of P-I-X-A-L, Gene Deitch, Les Drew, David Ehrlich, A1
hologram 283 Eugster, Elvena M. Green, Arthur Heineman, Faith Hubley, Leslie
A computer-based flow chart outlining production stages 283 Cabarga, Lou Bunin, Cliff Roberts, Emily Hubley, Derek Lamb, Janet
Perlman, The Fax Company, Paul Julian, John Lamb and Gary Bey-
Animation Control’s AC 112 System: camera, recorder,
dler of Animation Controls, Caroline Leaf, Norman McLaren, Gil
controller, and monitor 286 Miret, Cardie and Charles Mortimer of Westfall Productions, Inc., The
National Film Board of Canada, Michael Sporn, Takako Oshita and
Seinosuke Arata of Hiroshima 87, Ishu Patel, Jaques Drouin, Kaj
Color Insert
Pindal, Michael Porsch, B0rge Ring, Morton Schindel of Weston
Five computer-generated paintings showing possible Woods Studio, John Schnall, Alexander Schure, Chancellor of The
New York Institute of Technology, Louis Schure, head of Computer
techniques and textures
Graphics Laboratory, Senji Seya, Jim Lindner of The Fantastic Anima¬
Logo of Robbins Research Institute, made by technique of tion Machine, Yan M. Shanchung, Alvy Ray Smith, Gayle Thomas,
Environment Mapping Betty Edwards, author oi Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, my
editor Ruth Cavin, my publisher Tom Dunne, and my wife Juana, who,
Dimetradon, a computer-generated 3-D model
more than she realizes, was a great help in writing this book.
Creature, self-portrait by Lee Manovitch using a number
of computer techniques

XV
Introduction

Norman McLaren may very

well be the most innovative
animator ever. He was equally
at ease animating pixillation
(photographing live subjects as
one would an animation), and
creating special effects with an
optical printer, directly on film
or on hand-drawn sound
tracks. He was truly an
inspiration to animators all
over the world. Photo courtesy
the National Film Board of
Canada.

The purpose of this book is to furnish the reader with so much informa¬
tion that he or she will be able to produce animated films of professional
quality. Do you have enough talent as an artist or writer to enable
you to make use of this information? The answer may not be readily
apparent.
Sometimes talent for using certain media may be obscured for one
of a number of reasons. It may be simply because you are a beginner,
because certain negative habits are impeding your creative gifts; or
because you are going about your studies of animation or whatever the
medium is in a superficial way.
1
 Introduction 3
2 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

I hasten to add that I am not writing this book solely for cartoonists. Da Silva, Raul. Making Money in Film and Video. New York: Prentice
As you will find out, there are many filmmakers who are what is Hall Press, 1986.
_. The World of Animation. Rochester, New York: Eastman
snobbishly called “fine” artists. There is as much reason to call them
“animators” as there is to describe the makers of children’s television Kodak Co., 1979.
programs and theatrical short subjects that way. Edwards, Betty. Drawing on the Artist Within. New York: Simon &
This book is not a shortcut to proficiency. I see it as part of a Schuster, 1986.
curriculum. There is no way that I could, in a single book, encapsulate _. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Los Angeles. J. P.
the many facets of learning that must be examined and understood Tarcher, 1979.
before one can create a meaningful animated film. I consider this book Eisenstein, Sergei. Film Form. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovano-
to be the hub of a number of books, which I list here, and which will vitch, 1942.
not only give the student the methodology of animation but the history _. Film Sense. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovitch, 1942.
of the profession as well. _. Immoral Memories. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1983.
Graham, Donald W. Composing Pictures. New York: Van Nostrand
Reinhold, 1970.
Book List Muybridge, Edweard. Complete Human and Animal Motion. New
History York: Dover Books, 1987.
Nicolaides, Kimon. The Natural Way to Draw. Boston: Houghton
Adamson, Joe. Tex Avery: King of Cartoons. Teaneck, New Jersey:
Mifflin Co., 1941.
Film Fan Monthly, 1975. Nizhny, Vladimir. Lessons with Eisenstein. New York: De Capo Press,
Cabarga, Leslie. The Fleischer Story. New York: Nostalgia Press, 1976.
1979.
Canemaker, John. The Animated Raggedy Ann & Andy. New York:
Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1970.
Culhane, Shamus. Talking Animals and Other People. New York: St. Books on Writing
Martin’s Press, 1986. Field, Syd. The Screen Writer's Workbook. New York: Dell Publishing
Finch, Christopher. The Art of Walt Disney. New York: Harry N.
Co., 1984.
Abrams, Inc., 1973. Nash & Oakey. The Screen Writer's Handbook. New York: Barnes &
Maltin, Leonard. Of Mice and Magic. New York: McGraw-Hill Book
Noble, 1974.
Company, 1980. Ziegler, Isabelle. The Creative Writer's Handbook. New York: Barnes
Peary, Gerald and Danny. The American Animated Cartoon. New & Noble, 1974.
York: E. P. Dutton, 1980.
Russett, Robert and Starr, Cecile. Experimental Animation. New York:
Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1976. Art Analysis
Schickel, Richard. The Disney Version. New York: Simon & Schuster, Culhane, John. Fantasia. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1983.
1968. Malraux, Andre. The Psychology of Art: Museum Without Walls. The
Thomas, Frank and Johnston, Ollie. Disney Animation: The Illusion of Creative Act, and Twilight of the Absolute (3 volumes). Princeton:
Life. New York: Abbeville Press, 1981. Princeton University Press, 1978.

Instructional
Computer Animation
Blair, Preston. Animation. Tustin, California: Foster Art Service.
Culhane, John. Special Effects in the Movies. New York: Ballantine Kerlow & Rosebush, Computer Graphics. New York: Van Nostrand
Books, 1981. Reinhold, 1986.
 4 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Introduction 5

Evaluating the Bibliography my heart is. I want to have us all experience the bacchantic joy of
drawing with the right side of the brain.
Some books on the list are a necessary part of your learning process. It may surprise you that in this book I use a number of very old
Others are on the list because, I believe, they give you a well-rounded animated films to illustrate ideas. This is done for several reasons. One,
picture of the art form and of animation as a business. for the most part, the pictures are readily available in 16 mm film and
These are the books you should have:
video cassettes. This is not true of very modern animated films. Two,
many of these pictures are the best possible examples because they were
The World of Animation, because it contains much valuable informa¬ made at a time when there was a lavish use of drawings to attain life
tion, including how to build your own camera stand. quality in the animation. Three, fine animation does not get dated.
The Natural Way to Draw. This may be the best book on drawing ever It is difficult to realize that by present-day standards, Walt Disney
written. You will learn how to do accurate quick sketches, but best of was a primitive in that his films were made using the cel system. It is
all is the writer s personal attitude about being an artist. true he did switch from inking cels to using cels produced on a copier
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is a real breakthrough on the made especially for the purpose by Xerox, but his painting department
subject of creativity. It puts into succinct English the theories of creativ¬ still has to compile several sets of color charts, one for each cel level.
ity that have been taught since ancient times but never put into scientific It is easy for the painters to make mistakes and paint a character with
terms. the wrong cel level. This results in a vexatious color jump on the screen.
Using computerized equipment, the colorist has no such problem
Animation, by Preston Blair, is a wonderful exercise book by a top¬
flight animator. because no cels are involved. Not only that, computer coloring is at
least five times faster than using a paintbrush.
Composing Pictures is invaluable for the novice layout or background Even with these advantages, it will be a long time before the use of
artist. It was written by one of the greatest art teachers of our country.
cels dies out—probably many years. So in this book, we are going to
Even animators and directors should possess it.
have to parallel instructions, both for cel animation and the computer.
Complete Human and Animal Motion is a book every animator should
have and study assiduously. Long before you have completed reading the books and finishing the
The Screen Writer s Workbook is full of practical information for the exercises that are involved, you will have made some experimental
novice writer, but should also be read by those who plan to become films. I promise that they are not going to be the usual fumbling
directors. attempts of amateurs, with the lack of pace and the helter-skelter
editing that is common among beginners. I am a teacher, not an instruc¬
Computer Graphics will sprain your head because it is full of words that
tor. Therefore, you will not learn how to do something before you have
cannot be found in the dictionary, at least not yet. Try to read it
anyway. understood why you are doing it.
There are many ways of using the curriculum I am offering you. It
Special Effects in the Movies will give you some ideas about the use of
depends on your maturity, your intelligence, and the intensity of your
the optical printer and other processes.
drive to become a skilled filmmaker. The length of time it takes doesn’t
really matter. You can only learn up to your capacity at the moment.
The rest of the books, while not really necessary to the curriculum, are
A few years from now, your personality will be more mature and you
all fascinating and provocative. In addition, I have a few divertisements
probably will be able to cull more information from these same books
of my own, which I will unfold in subsequent chapters.
than you did the first go-round.
Some of these books will be read once; others will be your lifelong
A great deal in these books and the others I have mentioned will be
companions, to be read and used again and again for the rest of your
useful to even the most conservative artist, but the reader knows where
professional life. What is exciting to me as a teacher is the possibility
 6 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Introduction 7

that I may teach somebody who will take the animation medium into worked in New York, Miami, Hollywood, Toronto, Montreal, London,
a great leap forward. Notice that I do not mention studios. Groups of and Milan. I can guarantee that you will never be bored. There is one
people do not form the van of a new movement. New movements are proviso: You will not be bored if you are one of the leaders of the
led by individuals who have passions and ideas of which their fellow profession. As in any other business, there is plenty of hackwork, dreary
workers aren’t even aware until they are finally revealed. So compelling beyond belief. Luckily, there are plenty of hack artists available who
are these new vistas that old methods and customs learned by painful can do this kind of work without suffering a qualm.
study are happily abandoned in favor of new points of view. This brings me to the problem of competition. It is my observation i
The process of self-education should be a richly rewarding experi¬ (hat over 90 percent of any group of workers are unwilling to improve
ence. It is not some Herculean task, no Augean stables to clean out. You their abilities by study—unless it happens during working hours and
learn at your own speed; no need to stuff yourself like a Strasbourg the boss supplies the means.
goose to meet a test. Some of these books will interest you more than When I worked for Walter Lantz, directing his films, we had about
others. Realize that this will change as the years go by because your fifty people on the staff. Three of us were studying after work; I was
tastes will undergo many modifications. going to Chouinard’s Art Institute one night a week and poring over
I hope this form of self-education will make you resilient and full of The Natural Way to Draw several other nights.
intellectual curiosity, ready to drop hard-won knowledge if the art of Two of the studio’s best animators, Emery Hawkins and Pat Mat¬
animation takes on new forms, new theories. Don’t prize what you thews were also studying Nicolaides. We were the only people on the
already know; prize your capacity to take in and use new information. entire staff who were students! Lack of interest in the profession, lack
There is nothing more pathetic than an artist whose work habits are so of energy both physical and psychic, and laziness left forty-seven people
constricting that a new school of thought leaves him or her stranded out of the competition. I believe this was also about the average in the
like a beached whale. Age is not a factor. Grim Natwick, creator of other studios.
Betty Boop, did some fine animation at eighty-six. I have scolded The exception was the Disney studio, where most of the creative
animators in their thirties for being old-fashioned. members of the staff studied at night and on weekends. This was ironi¬
The best insurance for a long, happy, and successful career is not a cal because they were already the best-educated artists in the profes¬
set of cast-iron work habits. It is a sound knowledge of the principles sion.
of animation, which enable the artist to rise to any new mode of think¬ So, for the ambitious neophyte, these figures should be reassuring:
ing or new process, mechanical or aesthetic, of filmmaking. The competition consists of less than 10 percent of the entire animation
If you, the reader, are a talented person, I hope you bow in thankful¬ profession.
ness to whatever forces of nature you worship, because you are one of I had a brief stint of teaching at The School of Visual Arts. Here I
the chosen. Think of the incredible number of people who are born, live, encountered some youngsters who rebelled at the idea of producing a
and die without ever experiencing the exaltation of a creative act. film in an orderly fashion, that is, making a storyboard, model sheets,
Respect your good fortune and nurture your talent. bar sheets, and so on. They stared me impatiently. “Look man, like, I
One thing I can guarantee, if you enter the animation profession, you don’t need all that crap about exposure sheets and all that. Just lemme
will not have a prosaic life. Just imagine the millions of people who get fool around with the camera. I wanna be, you know, like, free.”
up in the morning and spend all day typing invoices, turning nuts, I finally realized that what these young people were rejecting was
waiting on tables, directing traffic, and drudging through hundreds of really the cutey-cute characters of the 1930s, the violence in the anima¬
other commonplace jobs.
tion of the 1940s and 1950s, and the adulation of the superhero in the
You, on the other hand, will enter an enchanted world every morn¬ 1970s and 1980s. I can see why these themes are not acceptable to the
ing, a world of the imagination, where bad-tempered ducks squawk at young people of our time, but production methods should not be
mice, crazy woodpeckers cavort, and elephants will fly if you want them dumped along with the content. It’s throwing out the baby with the
to.
bathwater.
If you like to travel and work in different countries, you may. I have We, in our time, after a faltering start, are beginning to use what may
 8 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Introduction 9

(o expand your talent to its maximum over a period of many years, not
in a haphazard way but with good tools, sound advice, and, above all,
liard work.
The more you know about every aspect of filmmaking, the more you
are equipped to go forward, “Like, you know man . . . free.”

Note: At the back of the book is a glossary of terms particular to

animated filmmaking. The first time each of these terms is used in the
text, it is italicized, as a signal that the definition may be found in the
glossary.

Although Edweard Muybridge compiled his action photographs of animals and

humans more than a century ago, they are still the best source of information for
the animation of various walks and runs.

be the greatest medium for artists ever devised, computerized anima¬

tion. No other medium for creativity has such a sublime admixture of
controlled time, movement, drawing, painting, speech, and music.
Join me in the excitement of knowing that we are part of a select
group of people whose membership goes back into prehistory. We are
one with the artists who drew the bison in the caves of Altamira,
designed the patterns of the rocks at Stonehenge, made the wondrous
sculptures in the portals of the cathedral at Chartres, and created the
portraits and religious paintings of the Renaissance.
Let me give you a tip, the result of long observation and much
practice. You are about to get an education in a very emotional and
complex profession. Don’t go about the learning process as if it were
your Wednesday-night bridge game. Bring some passion into it; feel
how exciting it is to be an artist, and how marvelous that you are going
How an Animated Film
Is Produced

Atiimaliiig a film is very much like making a flip book, where you flip
I lie pages and the figures on them seem to move. The closer the various
pai ls of the character are to the position in the previous drawing, the
slower (he action will appear to be; the wider the spacing between parts,
(he lasler (he action.
Hie pages of a flip book are bound, to ensure registry. The animator
niatiilaiiis registry by working on paper that has punched holes, de¬
signed lo 111 on pegs fastened to a drawing board. In the center of the
I ion III is a pane of glass, and under it is a light box. The paper is thin
i iioiigh so (hat when the bottom light is on, the animator can see the
iiiiiiiialion on four or five sheets of paper. That way, the position of the
iiiiimiilion on the next drawing can be gauged.
I o save unnecessary work, very often the various parts of a character
iiic splil up. For example, if the figure stands in one place for a long
(lino, I he animator may elect to make a separate drawing of the feet,
iiiNlead of (racing them on drawing after drawing.
riic same is true of other areas. If at one point only the head is
moving, (he body may be drawn separately. So now there are two
levels, (he feet and the body, which the camera operator will not

II
12 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN How an Animated Film Is Produced 13

rcshot and screened once again. If the work is approved, all the draw¬
ings are transferred to punched acetate sheets the same size as the
drawing paper. The transfer is made either by tracing each drawing in
ink, or by a Xerox machine especially designed for this purpose.
The acetates, called “cels, ” are then colored, using opaque paint.
Otie complication is that while the transparent cels themselves seem
to be colorless, they actually have a slight tone. Very often as many as
four or five cels are used to make up a single exposure, so the paint
has to be carefully graded to offset the color built up in the cels as the
sheets accumulate. A character that was on the bottom level of a
live-cel scene, and for technical reasons has to be moved to the top
level, cannot be colored with the same palette for both sets of draw-
Fax Company’s animator’s drafting table, with disc cutout; 12- and 16-field ings. The cels on the bottom level have to be painted with lighter
animation disc, Acme or Oxberry pegs.
values than the ones on the top level, otherwise there will be a very
perceptible color jump.
change. If the arms are moving, the animator may draw the feet and While this painting is going on, backgrounds are made for every
the body on one drawing, leaving the head on one level and the arms scene, according to the sketches of the layout artist. The paper used is
on another. (he same size as the cels and, like them, is equipped with peg holes. The
When one drawing of a part of the body is held for a time while other backgrounds may be done in any medium—oil, watercolor, colored
parts are moving on different levels, the camera operator needs careful pencil, pastels, cutout bits of colored paper. Since the cels are transpar¬
instructions from the animator. A form called an exposure sheet has ent, when they are combined with a background, the whole assemblage
been developed over the years. (See illustration on page 108.) looks like one complete picture.
In commercial animation studios the animator draws the key move¬ Ilefore photographing, the camera operator fastens the background
ments of a given action, numbers the drawings, and annotates them on art securely to the camera’s table, because it is not going to be removed
the exposure sheet. The work then goes to the assistant animator, who until the scene is finished. Then, following the animator’s instructions
follows the instructions on the exposure sheet, adding more drawings. on the exposure sheet, the first combination of cels is placed on the
The scene is then passed to the second assistant. At this point there will Irackground, and the indicated number of exposures are made.
be only one or two drawings to be made in between those that have been This group of cels is then stripped off the pegs and another set placed
made by the other two artists. For this reason the second assistant is tiown. This operation continues until all the cels have been photo¬
called an “inbetweener.” graphed.
The next step is called a pencil test. The drawings are photographed At this point, the sound track may consist of as many as a dozen
under an animation camera. (See illustration above.) The table under separate reels. Perhaps several have music that was recorded prior to
the camera is equipped with the same kind of pegs and bottom light that I he start of production; others may be sound effects. Dialogue may be
the animation crew works with. oti several tracks. After the color photography has been done and
The camera is rigged to shoot one exposure at a time, and can slide ajiproved by the director, all these sound tracks are combined on one
up and down the column to make long shots, close-ups, and trucks. t rack.
The resulting footage is shown in a projection room, and reviewed The sound track and the color negative are sent to a laboratory and
by the animator, the story crew, and the director. It is at this point that a combined track and animation print is struck off. If this print is
major corrections or additions are made. The revised animation is satisfactory, the production is complete.
14 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

That, in a nutshell is how an animated film is produced. Of course,

2
I have omitted many of the less-important stages, such as checking,
because I want to make this explanation easy for the novice to grasp.
We’ll deal with the details as we go from one department to the next
in the following text. _

Job Options in a Col-Systom

Studio

I'ol lowing is a compendium of the various kinds of jobs in a studio that

is si ill using the cel system:

itiKi'.c roR He or she works with the story department on new ideas;
supervises the development of the stories; approves character
sketches; directs recording of dialogue and music; creates the bar
sheets; works with the layout person; hands out work to the anima¬
tors; supervises the pencil test and orders retakes; oversees the
painting of the backgrounds; checks the rushes; and okays the final
photography and the answer print. The director also has the power
lo suggest hiring and firing to the producer.

ASSIS I ANT DIRECTOR The assistant director keeps all records of the
filmmaking process; writes up exposure sheets from the bar sheets;
keeps the tally of good and bad takes at recordings; handles the
tape recorder in sweatbox sessions; and lightens the director’s load
by taking on as many details of the directorial process as possible.

WRi'i'i'.R He or she creates plots and gags for established characters

and devises new characters; works closely with the director and

15
16 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Job Options in a Cel-System Studio 17

storyboard artists; confers with director during sweatbox sessions,

looking for additional gags; and stands ready to make revisions if
the original material isn’t working in animation. Some writers can
write lyrics for original music written by the studio music com¬
poser.

STORYBOARD ARTIST The storyboard artist works with story depart¬

ment, drawing essential sketches for an interpretation of the story
in graphic terms. He or she must be a good cartoonist with the
ability to make funny poses; and has to have some knowledge of
basic background material such as landscapes and architecture.

CHARACTER DESIGNER He or she must have a large vocabulary of

proportions for characters and many different drawing styles. It is
vital that the designs must lend themselves to good acting and are
capable of being animated. In most cases, the characters must look
good in more than one view.

LAYOUT ARTIST The layout artist must be an excellent cartoonist,

capable of following the basic designs of established characters and
making humorous poses of them. He or she needs the ability to do
research on costumes, architecture, and landscapes. It is essential
to have a sound knowledge of perspective and composition; and
also to be conversant with the technical needs of the animator and OiiiwiiiK IVom Peep and the Big Wide World, a National Film Board of Canada

the camera operator. lniuliK'tioii. Animated and directed by Kaj Pindal. The drawings are pasted
li>t|i-ilirr and put on a reel-like film, then recorded directly on videotape. The
I iiliMN arc added by computer.
ANIMATOR He or she must have versatility in animating various
styles of characters, especially in a studio where the product is
television spots. The animator needs to know a great deal about iiHsisliint cleans up the roughs and checks the exposure sheets for er-
acting theory and practice; fine draftsmanship is essential, as is the I ors; and computes pan moves before turning the work over to the
ability to make funny drawings and actions. He or she must have iiibclweener. As the assistant gains expertise, the animator gives
total knowledge of the camera in order to write comprehensive liim or her small bits of animation to do. Gradually this amount
camera instructions. The animator should have some executive is increased, until the assistant animates small scenes, then more
ability in order to supervise the assistant animator and inbe- important shots, finally graduating into a full-fledged animator.
tweener.
iNiiE'i wiCENER The assistant animator’s assistant is given simple
ASSISTANT ANIMATOR His or her chief function is to add to the rough (asks, usually doing single inbetweens, gradually working up to
drawings made by the animator, leaving one or two inbetweens lliree, then five inbetweens. There are very few artists who have
throughout for the inbetweener (see below), and to prepare the cliosen to make inbetweening a profession; they usually aspire to
scenes for pencil testing. After approval by the director, the liccome assistants and eventually animators.
18 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Job Options in a Cel-System Studio 19

PLANNER This job is in effect one where each scene, after it is cleaned INKEK It is not necessary to be a talented artist to become an inker.
up, is subject to a scrutiny to see whether it is possible to combine Neatness and a firm, careful hand are the main requirements. The
drawings on the same cel when the scene is being inked or work is normally done by women who make inking a career; very
Xeroxed, thus saving the expense of superfluous cels and making few men elect to become inkers because the job, under present
the scene easier and quicker to photograph. The work needs a conditions, is a blind alley.
person with a strong sense of order and a sound knowledge of the
camera. XEUox OPERATOR Again, this is not a job requiring any artistic abil¬
ity. It is the same kind of work that is performed in any office—in
BACKGROUND ARTIST A great facility in many kinds of media is effect, another dead end.
needed for this work. Watercolor, acrylics, oils, pastel, and cutout
papers are the materials usually used to make backgrounds. Many
ciiECKKR Some inkers may qualify for this job, but there are few
layout artists draw with very few details, expecting the background
checkers needed in a studio. What the work entails is a complete
artist to supply them, and he or she must be ready to do so. Most
ilry run on the cels and background to see whether there are any
background artists are satisfied to make this job a permanent one.
mistakes in the painting; the animation must be matched to the
Very often the artist is not a cartoonist but a person with an
background to see if it is in registry; if, for example, a part of a
extensive classical art education.
character goes behind an object. Checkers have to be painstakingly
neat and tidy, to the point of obsessiveness, because missing a

Character design for The Night the Animals Talked. Drawings by Shamus
Culhane.
20 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Job Options in a Cel-System Studio 21

mistake means that the scene will be photographed in color, and kinds of work, and, except for the job of assistant director, no way for
a work print ordered at considerable expense, before the error is a skilled worker to cross over into the more creative functions. In that
caught by the editor or the director in sweatbox. one position, it is possible for a person untalented as an artist but gifted
in other ways, to go from a skilled but relatively dull job in the studio
CAMERA OPERATOR The camera operator must have a sound knowl¬ to work as a director’s assistant.
edge of all aspects of animation-camera photography, as well as a Directors have to work at a very intense pace. They have only so
grasp of all the intricacies of laboratory work, both black-and- much energy to expend every day, and naturally they do not want to
white and color. It is necessary to know how to keep the equipment expend it on record keeping or any other noncreative work. The more
in good running order. Above all, consummate patience is needed, the assistant can take over responsibilities, the more valuable he or she
because a good part of photographing animation is by rote, just like becomes. The job can be fascinating—listening to the creative people
any other machine work. solving problems by talking and drawing; watching a picture emerge
from the first stammered conjecture in a preliminary story meeting to
EDITOR Unlike this editor’s live-action counterpart, the animation I lie laughter and applause at the sneak preview; knowing better than

editor is robbed of the opportunity to select shots and put together anybody else how all the aspects of the filmmaking process were shep¬
a film. Instead, the main function is to assemble tracks and reels herded by the director, and the small victories and defeats along the
according to the bar sheet, attend recording sessions, and keep all way.
the reels in sync. Compared to live-action editing, it is an unre¬
warding job.

Moving from Creative to Technical Work

As you can see, there are a number of jobs in a studio that require skill
rather than talent. There is a sharp line of demarcation between the two

Gil Miret’s design for the two

thieves in The Opera Caper.
© 1967 by Famous Studio.
 Tapping into Your Creativity 23

The value of being able to draw high-speed roughs was brought home
to me when I began my research into creativity.
As soon as I started to become an animator,.! was puzzled by a
si range phenomenon. I would go to work in the morning and have a
marvelous few hours drawing with almost no effort. Then I would go
10 lunch and return to find that the magic touch was gone. All after¬
noon, I plied my eraser as often as my pencil, only to throw out the
whole afternoon’s work at five o’clock.

Tapping into Your Creativity Sometimes the reverse was true: After hours of struggling, I would
seem to shift into gear and drawing was fun and games again. It worried
me because there was such a vast difference between my bad drawings
and my good ones.
I was working at Fleischer studio at the time, and I seemed to be the
only person who worried about these wild swings between mediocrity
11 nd expertise. After my contract expired, I worked as a director for
several years, first at Iwerks studio, then at Van Beuren’s. But I still was
inlerested in animation, and I realized that there was much to learn
beyond the rudiments I had picked up at Fleischer’s, so I applied for
imd got a job at Disney’s.
The standards of drawing there were so high that, even at my best,
I fell I wasn’t good enough—and I was right. So I was in a panic when
There are several books in the bibliography that are going to be required I hil a streak of bad drawings. Poor work was a sure way to end up out
reading. I expect that at some point you will want to own them all, but ol a job. What to do?
a few will be worth studying over a period of many years. I was convinced that animator’s block was something psychological,
First and most important is Nicolaides’s book, The Natural Way to so I started looking for books about creativity. Most of them were
Draw, which is probably the best book on drawing that was ever pompons bits of jargonese. Then I questioned my fellow workers at the
written. The series of exercises he has created are ideal for learning how •ilndio lo the point of becoming a nuisance, all to no avail. Everyone
to draw an accurate rough sketch. Without this facility, it will be very I talked lo, even stars such as Tytla and Ferguson, freely admitted that
difficult to learn to make high-speed roughs, which means that some of Ibeie were limes when they couldn’t draw without incredible effort.
my teaching methods will be impossible to absorb. A nd I here were other times when the drawings seem to flow from their
Perhaps you think that you draw a pretty fair rough and do not need pencils with no struggle.
practice. I would like you to begin a course of exercises on drawing I be remedies they suggested were unsatisfactory. Freddie Moore
one-minute roughs for one hour every day. Keep all your drawings, lecommended switching from pencil to crayon. Tytla just bulled his
date them, and at the end of a month compare your latest drawings with way through the day, then threw the results away the next morning.
the first ones. You will be amazed! I'vei ybody agreed that animator’s block existed, but nobody had the
By the end of the second month of daily exercises, you should be able remotest explanation for it. Yet I was sure that if it was such a universal
to sketch a working drawing in twenty to thirty seconds. Ignore the allliction, there must be some principle that was being used or abused.
contour drawings and the drawings made without looking at the paper. I stumbled into the answer quite by accident, or unconscious intui¬
Later, for your own education, this kind of exercise can be added to tion, as a result of doing all this thinking and reading about creativity.
your schedule. But concentrate on these lightning-fast sketches for the I had been at Disney’s almost two years and I always was on the verge
next few years. of being fired. Instead, Disney shifted me from animation to drawing

22
 Tapping into Your Creativity
24 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

storyboards, which I detested. Finally, I was assigned to work with Bill

Roberts, one of three Pluto specialists. The others were Norman Fergu¬
son and Fred Moore. Under Roberts’s strict guidance, my drawing
improved.
Eventually, I got my big chance. There was a sequence about Pluto
and a crab in Hawaiian Holiday, which would normally have gone to
one of the Pluto specialists, but they were all busy on Snow White. So
I was given the assignment.
Instead of starting to work on the animation as soon as I was given An example of rough
the storyboard sketches and the layouts, I fell into a languid mood. It animation by Shamus
Culhane. The drawing took
felt like a kind of daydream, not thinking about the work at all. This
approximately six seconds.
was in sharp contrast to the intense anxiety I had felt when I heard
about the assignment.
1 wasted a whole day in this fashion. By five o’clock, all I had to show Little additional actions, not on the storyboard, began to appear of
for my time was a page of inch-high sketches of Pluto in poses that were their own volition. The crab became a personality instead of just a
pfop—a kind of crustacean Eddie G. Robinson. I had the sensation that
an improvement on the storyboard drawings—about a dozen drawings
I was at once the performer and the audience, watching with objectivity
in all.
Even these were not made with any concentration. They were more the antics of a baffled Pluto and a belligerent crab, yet feeling their
like doodles. The next day was a repeat performance, or the lack of it. emotions as I drew.
Once again, I scrawled a few inch-high drawings of Pluto and some In less than a week, the entire sequence was roughed out . . . about
sketches of the crab. By the third day, I should have become anxious. seven hundred drawings. I realized that I had one strict rule: I never
If Ben Sharpsteen, the director, happened to drop into my room to see stopped drawing for any of the usual reasons for interrupting the work,
what I was doing, he would have been appalled. I had three pages of that is, studying the exposure sheets, erasing mistakes, or checking the
tiny drawings. That was all. But it was as if I was waiting for some inner model sheets.
message, some resolution in my psyche that would start me off. I never even stopped to see why a drawing was discarded. The
Midmorning of the fourth day, I was suddenly galvanized. I was used important thing was to keep going on my pell-mell roughing out. I
to drawing rather quickly, except when I was suffering from animator’s never once used an eraser. A drawing was either right or I threw it
block, but I never drew with this speed. I never stopped to number away, even though it may have needed only a minor correction. Noth¬
drawings; gave only a cursory glance at the exposure sheets; and forgot ing must stop this rush of drawings and ideas. Somehow I recognized
unconsciously that these mechanical things—fiddling with drawings,
about spacing charts.
My only purpose was to pour out this information about the action, stopping to write numbers, even looking closely at the exposure
and it was like a giant flood. I made no effort to control it. If a drawing sheets—were all factors that would break this miraculous flow of infor¬
didn’t suit me, I ripped it off the pegs and threw it on the floor as I mation.
That’s what the roughs were—not so much sketches as information.
reached for a fresh sheet.
None of the roughs were completed drawings. Some were just an Nobody else could have possibly used them to make cleaned-up draw¬
eyeball; others were finished bodies, except for the head. It was a kind ings because they were mostly reminders that at a certain point in the
of shorthand. Thanks to Bill Roberts’s rigorous training, no matter how roughing-out process, I felt a certain way. I was feeling the action of
fast I drew, the drawings did not lose proportion or size. That first day, Pluto as he snarled at the crab, or the crab as he shoved his hat forward,
I must have drawn over a hundred sketches. The next day was the same. preparing to stalk over to the dog. So these doodles of snarling mouths,
I seemed to be able to retain this relaxed but intense mood even when scurrying claws, and drooping tails were more memory joggers than
it was interrupted by lunchtime or the end of the business day. drawings.
 Tapping into Your Creativity 27
26 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

had created a superior cartoon. This was affirmed at the Venice Film
Festival the following year. Hawaiian Holiday won an award as the best
short subject of the year.
Looking back over this astonishing experience (unlike anything that
had ever happened to me as an artist), I began to analyze the details
of the whole event.

Drawing with the Right Side of the Brain

It seemed that I had divided my animation into two very separate

stages. The first was this daydream stage, which had culminated m a
burst of energy. It was obvious that the most important feature of
drawing at top speed at this stage was that I was purposely not allowing
myself time to think. Contemplation and introspection had no place in
this stage of creativity.
In the second stage, there were no impulsive moves; conscious think¬
ing was my main effort. I was now totally involved in interpreting those
drawings I had dashed out. I looked long and hard at each scribble,
trying to recall the sensation I was having at the time I drew that
A group of kittens are an ideal subject for quick sketch. Drawings by Shamus particular pose.
Culhane. So I had stumbled on a method of creativity, completely divided into
two separate and distinct functions, and, like oil and water, they didn t
I had been such an unknown quantity as a neophyte animator that mix.
I had not been given an assistant, so I was going to do all my own I was anxious to try this exhilarating experience on my next picture,
cleanups. Now that the entire sequence was roughed out, I started the but it turned out to be impossible. I was given the “Heigh-ho” sequence
process of numbering the drawings and going about the prosaic busi¬ in Snow White, where the dwarfs march home. The work was loaded
ness of making out the exposure sheets. It took me over six weeks to with technicalities. Each dwarf had his own style of walking, yet they
clean up what had gushed forth like a geyser in five days. all had to march in unison without gaining or losing ground—all this
As the various scenes began to appear in the pencil-test reel, Walt and in perspective shots, back views, scenes with giant shadows of the
the story men realized that I had added a new dimension to the crab, dwarfs. There was no place for breakneck drawing in any of these shots.
so they added little touches of their own. In the interim, I went back to my obsessional reading about creativ¬
Whenever I made these additions, I went back to my original scrib¬ ity. Oddly enough, I found hints about the separation of thinking and
bles, and, using a few drawings just before the new action, I would feeling in the creative act in the writings of such diverse personages as
resume drawing at top speed. I did even new actions that involved a few Dr. Sam Johnson, Joan Miro, Aldous Huxley, Pablo Picasso, and Rollo
feet in this way. Then I would go through the clean-up process and May. I can’t recall the title of one interesting book, a book devoted to
revise the exposure sheet. theories about the function of the brain. In it, the author wrote dryly,
AI luigsler’s version of Minnie, Mickey, and Donald Duck, Woolie “Contrary to our puritan ethos, the brain functions most efficiently
Rt‘ilherman and Frenchy de Tremaudan’s animation of Goofy, and my when it is in, what we call disparagingly, a daydream.”
Pluto and tlie crab sequence had such vitality that it was obvious we Of course, in my enthusiasm, I wanted to tell everybody about my
 Tapping into Your Creativity
28 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

wonderful discovery. I met instant resistance. Norman Ferguson came

in one day to congratulate me on my Seven Dwarfs marching. He called
it “a real nifty piece of work.” I started to tell him about this high-speed
technique, but Fergie froze up and left abruptly. Suddenly I realized
that I had been talking to the one man in the studio who had been using
this technique all along.
He was doing the high-speed scribbles but he had John Lounsbery
to clean them up. He rarely ventured out of the “feeling” stage except
for writing numbers on the drawings and filling out exposure sheets. So
when I started talking to Ferguson about high-speed drawings, it was
like telling a golfer that I noticed that he always wagged his club three
times before taking a swing. People have been killed for less.
I did notice that from time to time, while I watched, an animator
would begin to pour out drawings with no effort, but at some point he
would interrupt himself to erase a drawing. I restrained myself from
telling him that he had just cut off his flow of creativity. I was right,
but he probably would have thought that I was mad.
Unfortunately for my zeal, the rest of my friends reacted pretty much
like Fergie. Nobody wanted to discuss their work habits. However, I
am stubborn, so since 1938 I have expounded on this technique to new
assistants, animators, audiences at lectures, and new pupils—with no
luck whatsoever.
Rollo May thinks that this is because people have an aversion to
getting into what seems to be a mild trance, where there is a heightening
of the senses. People want to feel that they are in control, so they avoid
the experience. Whatever the reason, the fact is that for all these years,
I have yet to get a disciple.

The Two Sides of the Brain The best argument for the use of the theory that the right side of the brain is the
creative side is seen in these four drawings, with their incredible improvement
within the space of a few weeks. © Betty Edwards, Dramng on the Right Side of
Suddenly I came upon a book written by a drawing teacher. Drawing
the Brain, courtesy of the author.
on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. We have a lot in
common. We both have been intensely curious about the fact that some
birth dates, arithmetic, and the location of one’s hat rack. It is the strict
people easily learn to draw, while others struggle with at best a very
enforcer. Given a chance, it will shut down the function of the right side
poor result.
and take over. When creativity is called for, the right side, in effect, has
Edwards’s research led to studies that were carried out at the Califor¬
to fool the left side into backing off and stop from trying to take charge.
nia Institute of Technology by Roger W. Sperry and a group of fellow
The high-speed drawing technique is going at such a pace that there
scientists. In brief, they were finding that, unlike Gaul, the brain is
is no time for reflection and contemplation. As long as there is no
divided into two parts.
stopping, the right side of the brain is in charge, but one bit of thinking
The left side of the brain is logical. It remembers phone numbers.
 Tapping into Your Creativity 31
30 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN
Now that I am aware that I have this facility, it amuses me to catch
about an eraser, or the need for a number on a drawing, and the left myself storing information. This man laughs like a donkey brays; loo
side grabs the opportunity and shunts the right side out of the way.
at the movement on the fat arse of that ® °
Now to a nice clean-cut young artist armed with a Pink Pearl eraser, machinery; what a funny way to hold a cigarette, the lighted end
a quire of paper, and an exposure sheet, it must seem like the height
pointed toward the palm. I am convinced that this kind
of folly to give up these controls and allow something to happen with¬ storing goes on all day, unless one is doing what we call think g.
out restrictions or “control.”
In reality, by hanging on stubbornly to that eraser, the chance to be I consider Betty Edwards’s book a must for any student of animation.
most creative is lost. The left side of the brain is so orderly and resistant The most astonishing feature of her findings is the fact that there seems
to flights of fancy that, in comparison to the right side, it is a great bore. to be no prolonged struggle for proficiency. On the other hand, does this
It is only on the right side that two or more wild fancies meet and form not parallel my own jump from crowd-shot mavm to Pluto specmlis ^
a synthesis—some incredible result that would never come about by Walt Disney put it succinctly when he was talking to me about my
conscious effort. work- “I never saw anybody improve so goddamn fast.’
Understand me, it is possible to be an artist all your life, operate with I heartily recommend that the reader buy not only Drawing on the
the left side of your brain with only minimal use of the right, and, if Right Side of the Brain but also Edwards’s newest book on the subject.
you have enough latent talent, manage to turn out acceptable work. My Drawing on the Artist Within. Kimon Nicolaides and Betty Edwards
guess is that what we call hack work is often achieved that way. have a lot in common. I suggest that you use his high-speed drawing
I realize that there are two kinds of personalities. One, like mine, has exercises in conjunction with her approach to using the right side of th
the mischevious curiosity of a monkey, wants to know how everything
works and why. The other personality is less secure, doesn’t want to ^ Let me stress that I am not aiming these books solely at the anima¬
know how the mind works, because, like the golfer’s need to make three tors. I feel that anybody in the creative area of filmmaking should do
little strokes, it’s more comfortable to play the game by rote. these exercises. The Natural Way to Draw can be useful for character
designers, storyboard artists, and even writers. How much easier it is
for a writer to explain an idea to the director with even a crude rough
Seeing Instead of Looking sketch, instead of trying to do it all verbally.
For the moment, use your own hand as a model; later you will be
The right side is strictly intuitive, willing to forgo reason and logic, and, drawing characters. Start right now with the exercises, and please note
unlike the left side, able to tap into what I call, for want of a better term, that sixty minutes of drawing every day is better than a seven-hour
the memory bank. The memory bank is a part of the process of seeing, session once a week-far better. Working one day a week gives your
rather than looking. For example, two people are idly watching a very unconscious a chance to build up a resistance to new work habits; a
old man walk down the street. One watches the man, regards him as once-a-week schedule leads to falling back on your old ways of think¬
a symbol of decrepitude, and dismisses him with no further need for
ing, just as surely as with a patient going to psychotherapy.
information. The other person sees the painful straining of the pelvis,
the panting mouth, and the dragging feet shuffling along the pavement.
The man is not a beggar; he is wearing what used to be a fine coat, and
rising from the collar is a worldly wise face. A battered Borsalino is
slanted over a pair of merry eyes. So much for seeing as opposed to
looking.
I am convinced that all great artists, including animators, have the
ability to see, and it is being exercised every waking minute. Not that
any of this information is stored on a conscious level, but it is there
when it is needed.
 Life Quality Versus Stylized Animation 33

so lifelike that he took her into vaudeville, making his appearance

dressed as an animal trainer. Seemingly in response to his commands,

4
accented by the cracking of his whip, the dinosaur would do various
tricks. Gertie looked so real that many people thought McCay must
have traced a movie of a large lizard.
_ McCay had done nothing of the kind. He merely used his skill as a
draftsman with a well-developed sense of showmanship.
The other exception to the comic-strip point of view was Max
Fleischer. He and his brother Dave invented a machine called a roto-
Life Quality Versus Stylized scope, which made it possible to trace a live-action movie exposure by
exposure. With these tracings as a base, an animator could develop very
Animation lifelike actions. a v \
The Fleischer brothers created a rotoscoped character called Koko
the Clown, who popped out of Max’s inkwell at the start of every film,
made a pest of himself in Max’s office, and dove into the inkwell to
finish the film. , u i
While McCay had only one assistant, a fellow who traced the back¬
grounds on each drawing, leaving the creative work for McCay, the
Fleischers had no such scruples. They hired a staff of artists who, by
guess and by God, taught themselves animation. They learned the
rudiments very quickly because they had the help of the tracings of the
The pioneer producers of animated films, Bray, Barre, Nolan, Lantz,
Terry, and La Cava all thought of the animated cartoon as a moving live actor, usually Dave Fleischer.
comic strip. Even Disney’s early films, including Mickey Mouse, were
no better. The drawings had no weight, sag, or squash. None of them
made any effort to conceal the fact that these were moving drawings.
A notable exception to this particular point of view was the anima¬
tion by Winsor McCay, who created Gertie the Dinosaur. Gertie was

Winsor McKay’s Gertie the

Dinosaur became a vaudeville
star. This drawing is from Lynx Robotics’ motion control
McKay’s first film, made in system. Fax Company’s senior
1909. The Museum of Modern
stand.
Art Film Archive.

32
 Life Quality Versus Stylized Animation 35
34 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

Disney Introduces Cartoon Characters Who Act

So McCay and the Fleischers were the only people who tried to get
away from the comic-strip influence, until Disney started a quiet revo¬
lution in his studio. He began to point out that the audience would
really like some acting, instead of pie-in-the-face humor. The storymen The Man in the Window by
Shinji Seya. A man in prison
came up with Three Little Pigs and The Grasshopper and the Ants in
finds that freedom can be
the early 1930s, and by the time The Country Cousin was produced in
found within.
1936, the Disney studio had no rivals. Warners and MGM set off in
pursuit, but it was a long chase.
Max Fleischer dismissed the Disney approach as “too arty,” and
settled for Betty Boop and Popeye. Van Beuren and Terry just added
sound to the dreary cartoons they had been making, and Screen Gems
followed their lead rather than Disney’s.
Animators were notoriously peripatetic, gaily hopping from Holly¬
wood to New York as the mood seized them. Not, however, the Disney
animators. So the technical methods of drawing lifelike action remained
pretty much a trade secret until the Disney strike in 1941. Then many
of the younger but highly talented youngsters left Disney’s, never to
return. And in leaving Disney, they also brashly departed from the
Disney standard of life quality in their Aims. Two veteran directors,
Frank Tashlin and Chuck Jones, urged them on.
The result was that the youngsters came full circle, back to the days
when it was no secret that animated cartoons consisted of drawings. Character design for a
UFA, which started with a hard core of young ex-Disney artists, star¬ television spot. An example of
tled and delighted the public with high-style design and animation and a stylized figure. Shamus
Culhane Productions, Inc.
offbeat stories to match.

How the Two Styles Differ

So, from the middle 1940s to the present time, the two points of view
have maintained themselves on fairly equal terms. In this book, I am
going to stress the necessity of learning both forms of animation, with
the accent on the technical aspects of life-quality animation not that
it is a better technique or point of view, but merely because the technical
problems of producing this kind of animation are more difficult than
making stylized cartoons, which have no need to maintain the same
Noah’s Animals, a Shamus volume in the characters: Nobody cares in stylized cartoons whether
Culhane production for
the characters have weight or not; squashing and stretching may or may
Westfall Productions, Inc.
not be used. Everything is more casual, yet more imaginative, because
Backgrounds by Irra Duga.
36 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Life Quality Versus Stylized Animation 37

of the lack of a set of rules about physics, the laws of mass, and gravity Most of us who have gone through the mill at Disney’s are never
and momentum. satisfied with our work. One can be intellectually very pleased with
Simulated or not, these same laws do apply to life-quality animation oneself about an outstanding piece of work ... at least people may say
and are, therefore, restrictive, to an extent. it is outstanding. You will find, however, as you look at the work on
We will concentrate on life-quality animation for the same reason the screen or in the cutting room that you have a vague sense that it
that it is better first to learn to drive a manual-shift car. Then you can might have been better. The smug feeling of accomplishment will never
easily find out how to drive an automatic within a few minutes. On the be yours.
other hand, a driver who has learned first on an automatic shift will Animating the way I am going to teach you is an emotionally drain¬
experience some trouble in switching. So it is that a good animator of ing process, seemingly all work and no play. That is not strictly true.
life-quality animation can adjust easily to high-style drawing and action There is a fierce joy in the quick-sketch process, exhausting as it is; and
in a few minutes. However, the opposite is not true. Very few of the during the cleaning up, it is amusing to try to solve the mystery of some
principles of high-style animation would help an animator struggling of the shorthand that happened during that violent outburst of energy.
with his first scene of life-quality action. You will undoubtedly suffer; learning is no happy experience in the
beginning, but in time, one finds that creativity evokes exhilaration.

The Learning Plan

Your Actors
This is how we are going to go about your education: Throughout this i
book, you will find a series of exercises—in animation, writing, or I feel that it is wiser to have you learn to draw three characters very
layout drawing. Don’t skip an exercise because it may not interest you. well, instead of feeding you a multitude of drawing styles. The impor¬
In a studio, you do not get choices about what you will or will not do. tant factor is that you learn how to put the characters through their
Get used to the idea. Do not do exercises out of context, either. They paces, solving animation problems and becoming facile in the quick-
have been designed to add to your information in a methodical way. sketch process.
The chapters have been designed to take you through every phase of So here are three characters, very different from each other in size,
production. Even if you believe that your sole ambition is to do layouts, weight, and proportion. Their temperaments are different, too, which
pay attention to all the phases of filmmaking. When you understand the will influence the way they are animated.
difficulties of all the other jobs in a studio, you will be better prepared Fatty is the muscle man of the group. He is slow-witted, cheerful, and
to work as a part of a production team. The tunnel vision of a rabid willing to help. He moves with a kind of ponderous agility, so there is
specialist is no asset to the group; besides, what a good feeling to be a good deal of stretch and squash in his animation.
multiskilled, able to step in and help in departments other than your i Skinny is a high-strung, jerky, awkward guy who is a mass of nerves.
own when an emergency arises. He is uncoordinated and walks with a kind of shamble, elbows out,
One thing I want you to learn is the fact that the wastebasket is your pigeon-toed, head stuck out in front, so that he resembles a stork or ibis.
best friend; to do something over because you are not satisfied is not I Usually cheerful, he is easily frightened.
a defeat, but a victory. Be your own harshest critic, unsparing in your i| Tiny is the pet, and he knows that he is cute, but not to the point
analysis of your work and ready to junk it at the slightest suspicion that of being obnoxious. He realizes that much of the time he is the most
you could do better. entertaining person in the group. He has a bouncy walk, bursting with
That way, you are competing with less than 10 percent of the profes¬ energy and well-being.
sion, whatever your category. You will have a never-ending battle with These are your actors, and you will have to learn to draw them so
yourself to keep on improving your results. It will never stop, but well that their proportions are second nature; any pose you think of,
gradually as you gain some recognition, the process will have some I you must draw with facility, so that it isn’t what the pose is so much
rewards. 1 as why is it being drawn—what emotion is being expressed.
38 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Life Quality Versus Stylized Animation 39

Exercise: Quick Sketches

Right now the most important task ahead of you is the quick-sketch
exercises. I expect you to draw for one hour at least five days a week.
Buy lots of paper and pencils because you are going to draw a complete
character each minute of the hour. Use a soft pencil and have a handful
of sharpened pencils ready to substitute when the first pencil’s point is
worn down.
In order to avoid doing an exercise in scribbling pointlessly, take one
character a day and use a theme, such as fright, hearty laughter, run¬
ning, walking, jumping. At first, you will be hard put to dream up more
than a few poses, and I don’t say that you will ever be able to think of
sixty, but don’t confine yourself to full-face sketches. There is the rear
view, profile, and three-quarter to consider, also the sitting instead of
standing.
Work at top speed. Above all, never stop to erase! Work with a big
stack of paper on the pegs, as much as they will hold. Do two or three
drawings on the same sheet of paper, rip it off, and dispose of the
drawing rapidly. This is no time to try to put each piece of paper in
some neat niche. Try drawing the figure in what seems to be a medium
shot, about four inches high for Fatty, and the others in proportion.
Do not be tempted to stop drawing or to slow down in order to toy
with some interesting view of a hand. If you want to correct or improve
some aspect of a drawing, do it on your own time, after the quick-sketch
session is over.
At first, you probably will not make any drawings of value. After a
time you will want to save some particular sketches. Build up a morgue,
and after a few months, as your skills improve, you will start weeding
out many of the drawings. What looked good at the end of the first
month will seem pretty poor stuff at the end of six months of sketching.
Just to vary the tactile senses, try switching to red or blue crayon
pencils. Sometimes this will enable you to suddenly draw much better,
which means that you have eluded that left side of the brain and its need
to control.
What will happen is that as you grow accustomed to rapid sketching,
you will find you will be able to put in more detail. Try very hard to
confine yourself to that one-minute-per-sketch routine. If possible, buy
a stopwatch, or if that is too expensive, use your wristwatch. Place it
where you can see it on your drawing table, not on your wrist because
A model sheet of Tiny. Even the hat has to carry out the line of action. that will make you stop drawing to look.
40 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Life Quality Versus Stylized Animation 41

In this model sheet of Fatty, note that there is squash and stretch in the mass of
the face, just as there is in the body.

Don’t be discouraged by your first efforts if they are clumsy and out
of proportion. If you have tried one pose and it was a failure, try it again
and again. It is not necessary to make a new pose for each sketch. Before A model sheet of Skinny. This is what a pencil test looks like. Notice that fine
you start drawing, set yourself some problems: What is the theme going details can be read very easily in negative form.
to be? Which character this time? Are you drawing one character more
often than the others? Which one have you been avoiding? Make a point
of drawing him for the next three days.
42 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

Overcoming Bad Habits

There is a psychological factor to overcome. People have a tendency to

do whatever comes easiest, avoiding difficult problems. It is going to be
your role to understand this tendency and to circumvent it as often as
it crops up. You cannot learn if all you do is what you have already
mastered.
If you are having trouble with concepts, use comic strips, comic
magazines, and books as sources of poses. Then translate the pose into Writing for Animation
one of our three characters. But don’t use part of our sketch hour
poring over this kind of material. Do it on your own time.
I have no objection to you first reading this book, as well as The
Natural Way to Draw and Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, in
its entirety. Just don’t start doing any of the exercises out of context.
What we are working up to is a portfolio of drawings and a pencil-test
reel of short bits of animation.
!

The power of the animation medium is never more impressively re¬

vealed than in contemplating the many kinds of scripts that can be
written for it.
Aside from the films that come readily to mind—the short subject
made for the motion picture audience, the half-hour special, and Satur¬
day-morning kid shows—there is animation used in medical films,
physics, arithmetic, history, and biology, as well as many animated
explanations of processes of machinery and chemistry. The medium is
also useful for expounding abstract ideas, and was widely used in
propaganda films during World War II.

What Animation Can’t Do

A professional writer for animation has to be able to think in graphic

terms. However, there are definite limitations. While animation seems
to be limited only by the imagination of the writer, there are barriers.
Acting in animation is still on a very crude level. We have no Oliviers
or Chaplins among our cartoon characters, so there would be no point
in writing an animated film that places the burden of subtle acting on

43
44 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Writing for Animation 45

the animator. This goal may never be reached; in spite of the efforts of So if believability in the characters is one of the components of your
the staff at the Disney studio (and they have included some of the best story line, it will be necessary to equip them with certain attributes in
draftsmen in the profession), very subtle acting may never be possible emotional structure, as well as definite physical appearance. If a pro¬
to attain in this medium. The sequence that stirred the most empathy posed gag goes beyond these peripheries, it should be junked. Save it
in the audience of Snow White was the grief of the Seven Dwarfs as they for another film.
stood around the bier of Snow White. That was animated in 1937, and
no sequence in subsequent pictures has come even close, so I am in¬
clined to think that animators trying to stir an audience by emulating The Rise of the Cartoon Writer
our top live actors are chasing a will-o’-the-wisp.
In my opinion, the best use of animation is when it caricatures, not In the early days of commercial animation, story discussions were held
imitates, real life. The dance of the Chinese mushrooms in Fantasia, after work in an atmosphere redolent of cheap cigars, cigarette smoke,
Pinocchio’s stumbling efforts in Stromboli’s puppet show, Pluto’s pan¬ and bootleg whiskey. After a few hours of discussion, the three or four
tomime as animated by Norman Ferguson, Mr. Magoo’s nearsighted animators involved had pieced together a series of roughly outlined
fumbling, the explosive tempers of Donald Duck and Yosemite Sam, situations and several gags, enough for a story. There was no attempt
and the crisp insolence of the unflappable Bugs Bunny are all near to draw any of the ideas. The story conference was strictly on a verbal
enough to real people to delight the audience. Nothing could be gained level. Nor were there any professional story writers. The animators
by painfully rotoscoping some actors to attempt to simulate live-action were expected to create their own stories.
versions of these characters. Every art form has its peripheries, and I Each animator was assigned a part of the story, with the understand¬
believe that animation has a definite limitation in its exploitation of ing that he would start his sequence in such a way that it would hook
animals and human beings. up with the previous and following sequences. In between these two
When the animator, as performer, is allowed to put his own interpre¬ specifications, he was free to animate whatever he pleased, as long as
tation on a given character, it is a personal artistic effort. When he or the action was vaguely related to whatever theme they had chosen in
she is saddled with a rotoscope version of the animation, the issues are the story meeting.
muddled. It is two artistic efforts in an unhappy marriage of very It wasn’t until the early 1930s that Disney, Fleischer, and Iwerks set
distinctly different art forms. up groups of men (usually ex-animators) whose sole function was to
write stories. Then there was an attempt to create cartoons with real
plots, with definite beginnings, middles, and endings, rather than a
Staying True to Character barely related string of gags.

Disregarding educational films and other categories, and focusing on

entertainment animation, when working with established characters, Graphic “Scripts”: The Storyboard
that is, personalities well known to the public, it is imperative to find
out the confines of the character structure. For a time, scripts were typed live-action style, but soon it was obvious
For example, according to Chuck Jones, there are definite house rules that this produced complications. For example, the script might indi¬
for even so loose a story structure as the Road Runner series. The cate that a character entered a scene in a funny way. What kind of
Coyote never hurts the Road Runner; usually the Coyote’s schemes to funny way? Often a written description of a gag proved to be unfunny
catch the Road Runner blow up in his face. These situations are never when it was translated into animation.
reversed. So the storymen (there were no women in the story departments in
Pluto was never depicted as having more intelligence than the aver¬ those days) began to draw rough sketches of the salient scenes and gags,
age dog, and Mr. Magoo, the nearsighted star at UP A, never saw gradually adding more and more drawings, until it became customary
anything clearly, no matter how big it was. to draw the entire story. In order to have them easily seen by the whole
 Writing for Animation 47
46 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN
sketches with thumbtacks and the entire board and drawings could be
moved to another room for a full-scale presentation.
Written descriptions were held to a minimum. They usually con¬
sisted of the dialogue that applied to a particular drawing or some basic
Footsteps OV&C TITLE camera instruction, such as fade in or out, or dissolve. If any idea
couldn’t hold up graphically, it was promptly discarded; this was a lot
cheaper than waiting until it was unsuccessfully animated.
Now making a storyboard is such a universal practice in filmmaking
that it has become customary in live-action pictures, as well. In anima¬
tion it doesn’t matter whether the subject is a ten-second television spot
C uT To mR. spooM lOftLKifJG or a half-hour special; a storyboard should be drawn. Never work solely
Ib/oM FftLLiOflv, from a written script.
Unless there is some business reason, such as having to impress the
VOICE (VSq name |t,
client, it is not necessary to draw a background for each sketch. When
NesBVTT sfboM. Too might
sttv I'ivi AM Average there is a change of locale, it is advisable to draw it, and even to indicate
(ciMD OF A PtRSoM. a color scheme. Then, for subsequent sketches, merely draw the charac¬
ters quite roughly.

-Tooat iajas am
Two Kinds of Stories
A\/6eAGe iciND OF a
Oat,
Of course, the $64,000 question is: Where and how do you start to
create a story? Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of stories; the kind
that have a beginning, middle, and end, and pictures such as the Road
Runner, which are merely strings of gags.
Naturally, the latter are by far the easier pictures to create because
EXCEPT X LEFT THE of the absence of plot. Some writers specialize in gag writing; others
OFFICE ejARlt To concentrate on situations that generate humor. Themes can be found
V\S\T (MH UOCTOIR. in current news. A gag in a current magazine, a joke you hear, some
offbeat conversation with a very drunken person you meet at a cocktail
(PRESSES e0E2:ER^
party, or a scene you witness on the street may spark an idea. If you
want to be a writer, start thinking as a writer; begin to see rather than
look. Once you have made this adjustment to being a seeing person, the
ideas will pour in. File them in your memory bank; also get into the
<S> Oflice habit of keeping a log of gags or themes that seem to be useful, even
li if they don’t apply to anything you are working on at present.
A storyboard for Why Me? by Janet Perlman. This National Film Board of
Canada cartoon was unusual in that the subject was death.
Developing Your Story
writing team, the sketches were tacked or pasted on a wall. Then
It is rare that an idea for a story springs full-blown like Athena from
someone got the bright idea of putting them up on large pieces of
[Link]’s forehead. Usually, the story starts with some gag that is set up
beaverboard. This had several advantages: It was easy to mount the
 48 Writing for Animation 49

(hiss of sreAM)

^ P(/a PACK- .
Key) (TAFs poor AS »€ mm ro mi)

(sqOBAK) (music CoMT/WUBJ)

(^cooL jAll. THem 0€6m)

The Plumber. Script and storyboard by ClifT Roberts. Layouts by Gil Miret and
Dante Barbetta. Direction by Shamus Culhane. © 1966 by Famous Studio. Do the hands move? Does it have bells? Do figures come out and strike
the hour? What about height gags?
in a specific locale, such as Fatty working as a clock cleaner. Then the Who is working with him ... Skinny, Tiny, perhaps both? What kind
props are examined for possible gags. Fatty is going to have a mop and of running gags? Can Skinny keep spilling water on Fatty? What does
a pail of water . . . what else? A rag? A squeegee? How about the clock? the other do to retaliate? Suppose Tiny is out on the end of a flagpole;
50 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Writing for Animation 51

what can happen? Is there a flag? Can he become enmeshed in it? Does tell yourself that you can’t draw, I say nonsense. Keep trying. A writer
the pole start to break? Who saves him—Fatty or Skinny? How? What who can draw even the most primitive figures is more valuable in a
available prop or props can be used to rescue him? Does the face of the studio than somebody who cannot draw at all.
clock open, revealing the works? Does a large spring snap out, ensnar¬ How do all these zany ideas come about? We know that “thinking
ing Skinny in its coils? Does a pail fall on Fatty s head so that he hard’’ is an invitation for the left side of the brain to take over, in which
staggers on the brink of falling into the street? case you will only think of gags that have been done before. What you
Can Skinny have a fight with a figure that emerges from a door in need to do now is try to become an audience for your brain’s right side.
the clock tower, ready to strike the hour? Does the figure strike Skinny Remember, there are eventually going to be many audiences for your
instead? Do they have a duel, with Skinny wielding his mop like a sword film. Try to think of yourself in a lazy, relaxed way as part of such an
against the other figure equipped with a mace, a halberd, a gigantic club audience. What would you love to see on the screen? Which character
. what other weapon? Is the figure a knight in armor, a friar? What appeals to you most? What would you have him do? Without straining,
other bizarre kind of character? Does another character join in from let him do it. Keep yourself loose the rest of the day, inviting vagrant
a door on the other side of the clock? Do Tiny and Fatty come to thoughts about the clock cleaning. Don’t try to sweat it out. It may be
Skinny’s rescue? If not, why not? If they do, can they win? How? several days before you come up with your first gag using this method.
How does this script end? Does the trio win? How does the film start? I can only tell you that it works.
Go over in your mind the list of possible props, and the environment,
the architecture, the clothes the characters are wearing. What’s the
Exercise: Write a Story
most screwy character that comes to mind as the bell ringer? Just let
Draw and write this kind of story for a five-minute short subject for it come without straining. Start writing a list and keep a file of graphics
theatrical release. Start oflF with a premise. I have given the locale and as you accumulate them.
the possible characters. Now flesh out these factors into a story. Don’t Remember always to consider the personality structure of every
start until you have figured out the ending. You may change it later, character. How he or she reacts to a given situation is what your story
but I want you to be able to write down the story idea in three sentences is about. Aristotle in his Poetics was wrong when he said that character
at most. Don’t think up a limp idea for the ending so that you can go is subsidiary to the action. Every personality lives in a private world,
on to write the meat of the picture because it sounds like more fun than which is shared with nobody. The set of values that comprise this
thinking up an ending. Don’t cheat and disregard it in favor of thinking character is what interests the audience. The nearer they are to real life,
up some juicy gags. the more the audience is entertained. Characters react to a situation,
Remember that you wouldn’t be allowed to do that in a studio, and not the other way around. So much for Aristotle.
I want to have you work as if you were working in a very strict story
department. You’re going to be working on this project a long time,
probably more than six months. Work hard. This is one of your sam¬ Legal Protection for Your Work
ples, so sweat and stew until you have done the best possible job. Don t
forget the daily quick-sketch hour. Now you can make them fruitful Since this story is going to be an important part of your samples, it is
hours by drawing the characters in a clock-cleaning situation. going to go through many hands before you land a job or an assignment.
One of the factors in creating a story is research. So go to your local How do you protect it? It is no longer necessary to go through the
library and find different styles of clocks, old and modern. Are you business of copyrighting.
going to use gargoyles? Look at some medieval types and make Photo¬ One approach is to make a copy and send it to yourself registered
stats to take home. Get stats of figures that strike the hour on clocks, mail. Leave it unopened against a time when you have to prove that you
such as the famous ones on the tower in Prague. Look over books on drew the script before a certain date. Another method is to register it
medieval weapons. Think graphically. If you want to be a writer and at the Writers Guild of America, West, 9038 Melrose Avenue, Los
52 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Writing for Animation 53

Angeles, CA 90069. They will register scripts for television, and plays, entertainment you are trying to enter. If the baby spilled strawberry jam
treatments, and concepts for television series. on the first page, even if you manage to wipe most of it off, do it over.
If you can’t get an agent, realize that you are in hot water. Many
studios will not even look at a seript unless it goes through channels,
Selling Your Story: Agents that is, a registered agent. Of course, if you are in Hollywood, you could
take a chance and drop in on Hanna-Barbera, or some other studio, and
It is almost a hopeless idea to send a script directly to a prospective try for an appointment to show your wares. But it’s a long shot.
client. Get an agent; an agent is a professional door opener. Try to get It might be better to look over your material and start improving it.
a Hollywood or Beverly Hills agent; they are right on the firing line Remember that every agent is looking for some new talent to augment
every day. It doesn’t matter whether you live in Chillicothe or Scabrous his or her income. If you were turned down many times, it means that
Hills, Oklahoma, because you are not the one doing the selling. in the opinion of the sales part of the business, you wouldn’t be profit¬
Agents are a lot more than salesmen; they are also advisors and able. Take heed. Either quit altogether or buckle down to the grim
counselors. Remember, they have their fingers on the pulse of the business of sharpening your skills.
market. If your agent suggests revisions in your property, pay attention.
Take the advice, even if you are inclined to like your own version better.
We all do that, but the professional is willing to change material when The Writers Guild
it is expedient to do so. That doesn’t mean that you have to be a
Milquetoast about it. Defend your reasons for writing what you did, but If you have sold a television or movie script or a story line, or have had
realize that if your arguments do not sway your agent, you would be thirteen weeks of employment as a writer for a signatory to the Writers
wise to do it over, and do it without sulking. Guild contract, you have to make application to join the Guild. It is
Get used to the fact that you will spend a good deal of your working not a matter of your choice; the applieation is mandatory. But you ean’t
life making revisions. That is the nature of the writing business, so just walk into the front office of the Writers Guild and tell them you
accept it without rancor. You will have to do it anyhow, so why not want to be a member. You must have done one of the preceding things
take it in good spirits? Nobody is deliberately trying to put you through in order to qualify.
the wringer out of malice, so don’t get paranoid. There are too many
other more important things to do, such as earning a living from your
writing skills. If You’re Not a Writer
It is perfectly permissible to approach a number of agents at the same
time. Write a resume giving your background as a writer. Include such So far it is obvious that this whole chapter has been devoted to people
facts as having won prizes when you were still in school. Prepare a list who want to become professional writers. How about the rest of you?
of the material you have to show, whether completed or not, and ask Most of the very best directors can also animate very well, or they can
for the agent’s release form. Sign it and return it with the material you lay out a film, paint a background, or write a entire script unassisted.
want to show. Some ean do all of these things. The more you all are aware of the
Thomas Wolfe took his first book to Max Perkins in a small steamer problems of everybody else’s job, the better you’ll be in your own. So
trunk. In these days when most publishing houses are unimportant whether your goal is to be a character designer or whatever, struggle
minions of gigantic conglomerates, Mr. Wolfe would probably not be through this five-minute seript, and don’t skimp on the storyboard.
allowed in the freight elevator with his burden. Be sure your material You will be surprised at the amount you will learn. It may take you
is clean, neat, and professional-looking. Mail it flat, not folded or rolled several months to complete a story. What of it? If you were in school
up. Put scripts in covers but do not have the pages stapled into a trying for a Ph.D., you’d be glad to put in the time. Don’t stint on these
permanent binding. Observe the margin requirements for the area of exercises. Remember you are assembling a portfolio. A number of
 Writing for Animation 55
54 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN
the lines of copy that are the salient facts about a product. For a
associated projects will be more impressive than a dozen attempts at
twenty-second spot—you probably will not have screen time for more
one branch of filmmaking.
than that—your graphics are going to be little more than a demonstra¬
For prospective writers, the only solution to your problems is writ¬
tion of the product. Use one or more of the three characters.
ing, writing, writing. At this point in your career, in addition to your
You will be surprised how the extra ten seconds in a thirty-second
one hour of quick-sketch exercise and this five-minute short, you might
spot make such a difference in your story approach. Now you can add
consider writing about a dozen television spots. Start with a twenty-
a line of copy that may not be directly hard sell.
second, then a thirty-second, finally a full minute.
It is possible to order story sketch pads from a local art store or send
away for them at F&B Ceco or Arthur Brown (their addresses, and
others, are in the Appendix of this book). If you prefer to make your
Professionalism
own, use typing paper and draw a five-by-seven-inch field. Type “scene
Allow me to digress for a moment. Does this sound like a lot of work? no.” and “drawing no.” under the field. Leave space for copy and,
It is, but your future is in the balance. For youngsters just starting to where necessary, a description of the action not covered in the drawing,
think of a career, who probably have full-time work, I consider that such as “sink glitters.”
fifteen hours a week is the absolute minimum for preparing to pursue After having to cram action and dialogue into twenty and thirty
any job in an animation studio. There is the problem of energy, both seconds, a one-minute spot is going to seem interminable. There is time
physical and psychic. You cannot hope to do all this work and have the for fairly complicated acting. However, don’t forget that the purpose
same social life as your peers. You will need enough rest so that you of a television spot is to sell, so don’t stray from the subject matter.
do not approach your studies in a state of exhaustion. There are spots on the air so self-consciously clever that one wonders
Sometimes when I was interviewing people for a job, I would ask how what they are selling.
much study they were doing on a regular basis. A surprising number While an offstage voice is perfectly acceptable, having the characters
said none. When asked how they expected to learn, the answer was speak carries more impact. Having more than one character talking
usually that they expected to pick up experience on company time. gives the sound track more color.
They had other interests—bowling, movies and television, and, of Speaking of color, do add color to the drawings, either crayon or
course, the opposite sex. Magic Marker. The drawing does not have to be meticulous, and it is
I would then launch into my favorite lecture about the cost of fritter¬ not necessary to use a complicated color scheme. Don’t try to use
ing away these precious formative years in idle entertainment while the watercolor because it will wrinkle the paper.
competition was going to art school or reading a book similar to this Most animated television commercials are designed to move along at
one. The point is that it is not enough to have talent; it has to be a brisk pace. Fifteen scenes in a one-minute spot would not be unusual.
exercised, which means that it must be pushed beyond its comfortable Unlike films made for the theatrical screen, television specials and
limits—not just once in a while but on a steady basis. That is the commercials should use extreme long shots sparingly. The small size
meaning of this book. It is not for dilettantes. of the screen makes for a poor result. The scenes often appear weak,
I have mentioned physical energy being frittered away. There is also whereas on a big screen in a theater, the long shot often gives a feeling
psychic energy to be considered. Are you cultivating intellectual curios¬ of grandeur and vast space.
ity? Are you glad when you find some information about your subject
that you had not known? Or does it frighten you that you didn t know?
Can you plunge into this fairly long film with enthusiasm? A Story Is Made Up of Sequences

Exercise: Television Commercials In creating stories for motion pictures think in terms of the film being
To get back to the writing of television commercials: Give yourself a composed of sequences that, put together, make a story. You will find
problem by examining newspaper or magazine advertisements. Pick out that your plot for the five-minute film will fall naturally into sequences.
56 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Writing for Animation 57

The figures emerging from the clock tower to toll the time and the ground artist. The team of Hanna and Barbera directed many beauti¬
subsequent involvement with one or more of the main characters would fully paced Tom and Jerry cartoons at MGM.
be a sequence. Another sequence might be one of the characters on a Any layouts and backgrounds from Disney’s are fine examples of
flagpole. Realize that each sequence must have a high point, something filmmaking. The work of the Kinney brothers. Jack as director and
funny has to happen either in the dialogue or graphically. If the story Dick as writer, in a series of how-to-do-it films featuring Goofy was far
goes along too long without some humor, the audience’s attention span removed from the usual Disney mode because it was satirical.
will not endure. Look for ways to embellish a gag. Remember you are Three Disney animators, Babbitt, Tytla, and Ferguson should be
dealing with actors, not just figures who are walking through a story. studied carefully because they were the men responsible for the switch
Suppose you have a problem of having to lift a very heavy safe, and in animation from slapstick to modern comedy.
it is up to the elves to do it. You decide that Fatty is eventually going Tedd Pierce, Bugs Hardaway, Mike Maltese, and Tex Avery created
to pick it up, and his weight, combined with the safe, makes the floor some of the funniest characters in animation history. They worked at
give way. Now he could just grab the safe, lift it up, and go through Warner Brothers. Avery was a director, as well, and his zany style of
the floor . . . end of gag. humor gave the Disney staff some stiff competition. He was more
Instead, how about the other elves? Suppose Tiny eagerly puts his restless than the other Warner directors. Tex worked at Walter Lantz’s
arms around the safe and tugs futilely. Skinny then picks him up by the and MGM, too, but his best work in my opinion was done at Warner’s.
collar and puts him to one side. Then he tugs and hauls at the safe but His brash version of Bugs Bunny with his saucy “What’s up. Doc?’’
doesn’t get anywhere either. Fatty steps up and taps him on the shoul¬ became world-famous. The Warner writers had a breezy style that was
der, motions for him to get out of the way. He does, and Fatty pushes far removed from Disney’s more restrained brand of humor. Then, too,
up his sleeves to the elbow, stretches his arms to flex his muscles, bends the directors at the Disney Studio were under the close supervision of
over, and with a mighty heave picks up the safe. He is wearing a broad Walt himself, while the Warner directors had complete freedom of
grin of triumph that changes to a look of dismay as the floor starts to expression.
creak. Then he suddenly vanishes with the safe through a hole in the Aspiring writers should study the way the Warner characters were
floor. handled in comparison to the way the writers in MGM and Disney
Quite a difference in viewpoint, isn’t it? The characters are doing wrote for their characters. Animation should be studied by running
some acting instead of walking through the situation in a perfunctory various isolated actions over and over until the principles of animation
manner. that were used are understood, that is, stretch and squash, anticipation,
secondary action, gestures during dialogue, and mouth action.
Another source of education for the writer are the works of humor¬
Building an Animation Library ists from Rabelais to Mark Twain and Anatole France, right down to
Russell Baker and George Herriman.
Everybody in the animation business should make it a practice to tape Study the story situations and acting of great comics such as Charlie
animated cartoons and eventually to have a morgue of pictures taken Chaplin, Harry Langdon, and deadpan Buster Keaton and Harold
from the air. One devotee I know got up at six o’clock every morning Lloyd for their individualistic treatment of kinetic gags. Try to see
to tape a series of cartoons that were not appearing later in the day. animation film festivals for the very latest approaches to story; Caroline
Whatever your goal, these films are worth your study, and the work Leafs Eskimo myths, Bprge Ring’s Anna and Bella, Faith Hubley’s
of several writers, directors, and layout people are going to be especially Cosmic Eye. They are all on subjects that would never have been
valuable. Frank Tashlin, a gifted writer/director, worked at the Schles- attempted a few decades ago.
inger Studio and Screen Gems. Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, and Bob Layout and background artists should weigh the difference between
Clampett directed at Warner’s. Maurice Noble, an outstanding layout the academic approach to composition and painting as exemplified by
artist, worked with Jones for years. Paul Julian was Freleng’s back¬ MGM, Disney, and most of the Warner shorts and the adventurous
 Writing for Animation 59
58 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

freewheeling designing of John Hubley and the other artists at UPA. A Lesson for Scriptwriters
Do not accept the work of these people as gospel. Examine the films
Another film worthy of study for its mistakes Raggedy Ann and Andy,
critically. What could you have done to improve some aspect of the
a feature animated cartoon that was a $4 million bomb. In this case,
pictures? Jot down your opinions in a notebook, or make sketches of
some superb animation of the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees by
ideas that you consider to be improvements on what you have been
veteran animator Art Babbitt, the Greedy by Emery Hawkins, and
studying.
Raggedy Ann by Tissa David could not lift this film from the doldrums.
The writers, unacquainted with the medium, fell victim to the fallacy
that is shared by the public, that is, animated cartoons are written for
Bakshi’s Fritz the Cat: A Breakthrough
the children in the audience. Quite the opposite is true. I have never
known a group producing films for theatrical release who wrote any¬
One filmmaker worth studying in a negative sense is Ralph Bakshi. In
thing but films for adults. This film, however, was designed for the age
a profession full of colorful characters, Bakshi is almost in a class by
level of children who would be cajoled after seeing the film into buying
himself A New York street kid with a minimum of formal education,
the Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. The result is a mechanically coy,
he succeeded in making the first X-rated animated cartoon, Fritz the
self-conscious script that was deadly dull, in spite of the charm of the
Cat.
characters that Johnny Gruelle had designed for his books.
While the bulk of the film has been taken from three stories in Robert
Some of the sequences seem to have remained overlength because of
Crumb’s underground comic strip, it is Bakshi’s interpretation of the
the fact that they were so well animated. The Greedy sequence could
material that supplies the shocker. Nobody had previously dared to
have been cut by half because the plot was not developing after the
veer from the Victorian primness of the standards set at the very
character and his appetites were explained.
beginnings of the profession.
To compound the errors, Joe Raposo, a very gifted composer under
More than any other studio, Disney’s was a model of the Victorian
normal conditions, created sixteen (count them, 16!!!) songs, wall-to-
mode. Nobody, by any stretch of the imagination, could see Snow
wall music, so that if any adults in the audience were awake after the
White going off into the sunset with her Prince and visualize them
first five minutes of blearily watching the action, the soporific effect of
making “the beast with two backs.’’
all these songs was bound to put them into Slumberland.
Bakshi defied the Victorian restrictions. His sexual themes were raw,
Dick Williams, whose track record on short subjects, titles, and
crude, and casual as a quick lay in the back room of a Brownsville
television spots is unsurpassed, proved to be unable to handle such a
poolroom. As the picture progressed, it seemed to have become autobi¬
potpourri of mistakes of judgment. As a director on feature films, he
ographical, and Bakshi in various interviews has admitted that it was
has yet to prove himself, because on Raggedy Ann he made his own
a form of catharsis. Even that phase of the picture is a first.
The negative aspects just about cover every aspect of filmmaking. share of errors.
This film shows that the best talent and $4 million does not guarantee
Bakshi has no real sense of continuity or pace, so there are big holes
success. Sound judgment and the ability of the director to handle the
in his story line and the picture progresses in fits and starts. His dia¬
talent are more important.
logue tracks are often muffled and inaudible. His composition of crowd
To confound their critics, both Bakshi and Williams recently turned
shots must have Sergei Eisenstein turning over in his grave, as if he were
their talents to new ventures with remarkable results. Bakshi has
on a barbecue spit.
managed to circumvent the horde of ad agency mavins, broadcast
Look long and hard. You are watching the work of a man who had
superbrains, and toy-making retardates who have turned most of Satur¬
a message but lacked the intellectual means to put it on film. Even so,
day morning television into a morass of half-hour-long commercials.
Fritz The Cat, because of its content, is a powerhouse of a film, and
He has created a series of animated shows called Mighty Mouse; the
Ralph Bakshi has earned himself a place in animation history.
 Writing for Animation 61
60 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN
Edwardian style. Tape that and study Lamb’s sensitive use of stylized
New Adventures. The new Mighty Mouse is a parody of the original
animation, which conforms to Gorey’s manner of drawing. The title is
character, and the films are, in a self-conscious way, similar to the
a combination of two extraordinary talents, which makes the film a
Warner Brothers’ cartoons of the fifties. The frenzied action and inside
small but important masterpiece.
jokes are an echo of the work of directors like Bob Clampett and Tex
The forerunner of this kind of animation was directed by Chuck
Avery.
Jones at Warner Brothers in 1942. The Dover Boys was a definite break
Naturally Bakshi’s detractors among the television and advertising
with the Disney tradition of making the characters look like little live
executives wish he would go away, because he certainly has steadfastly
people. It was simply a film of high-style drawings that were spoofing
refused to go along with the soporific pap that has been served up on
a series of books about the Rover Boys. These were a trio of unbelieva¬
children’s Saturday morning programs these many years. In this
bly goody-goody youths, and the series was aimed at improving the
venture Bakshi commands the attention of every serious student of
minds and manners of the eight- to 12-year-old readers by relating the
animation.
adventures of these unbelievably noble teenagers, Dick, Tom, and Sam,
After the Raggedy Ann debacle, Dick Williams returned to his dual
who were continually being harassed by an unbelievably wicked Dan
role as director/producer of some of the most acclaimed television spots
Baxter. The conduct of the three boys was in the classic Victorian mode
being produced, and as part-time director of the feature cartoon he has
and made hilarious material for the movie audiences of the more cyni¬
been working on for about sixteen years. The film, currently called The
cal and anti-Victorian 1940s.
Cobbler and the Thief, has been solely financed by the profits from
Although there is a span of about forty years between The Dover Boys
Williams’s television spots.
When he was offered the opportunity to direct the animation in Who
Framed Roger Rabbit, Williams jumped at it. The result is that this
feature is easily the best use of combined animation and live action to
date. By using turning edges instead of the conventional flat color areas,
Williams achieved a more satisfactory visual amalgam of the two
media. It may be a long time before the high standards of this film are
surpassed. The picture should be seen four or five times in order to
study and understand the various effects Williams has produced.
I believe the lesson that can be learned from these two men is that
one should never be daunted by failures, great or small. Have faith in
your talents.

Cassettes and Films

In addition to taping cartoons from the air, there are an increasing

number of cassettes for sale that are exclusively animated cartoons.
Even the Disney Studio is selling cassettes of some of its most important
pictures.
Unfortunately, the films of our younger stars in the profession are
not so easily accessible. One exception is the title film of Mystery!
hosted by Vincent Price. This television title was animated by Derek Derek Lamb created the basic idea for the title, then looked through all the books
that Gorey had illustrated and selected a cast of characters from them.
Lamb from a series of drawings done by Edward Gorey in his psuedo-
 Writing for Animation 63
62 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

and Mystery!’^ title art, it would be worthwhile to acquire both car¬ conventional in subject matter and drawing style. This is not true of
toons in order to study the use of satire, not only in the stories but in foreign animation. The pictures there are much more individualistic.
the animation of the characters. Both Derek Lamb and Chuck Jones Study the work of Alexandre Alexieff, Peter Foldes, Bruno Bozzetto, Jifi
were very aware of the comic possibilities in the action, as well as the Trnka, Emile Cohl, Gene Deitch, George Dunning, Oskar Fischinger,
Bob Godfrey, Yoji Kuri, Len Lye, Norman McLaren, B0rge Ring, Dick
design of the films.
In addition to cassettes, there are 16 mm films, and many firms are Williams, Derek Lamb, Caroline Leaf, Frederic Back, and Kaj Pindal.
in the business of renting them. In most cases, their catalogues seem to To get back to our clock cleaners. Have you thought about the
specialize in some era of animation and usually concentrate on the weather as a factor—snow, ice, a lightning bolt, wind? How is the
theatrical animation of a few studios. However, a few rent the work of mechanism of the clock wound up? Does it have weights on chains like
independent filmmakers and should not be ignored. a grandfather’s clock? Is there an enormous key? Don’t strain to think
A professional animation writer must be conversant with all manner of your film, rather let some of it come to you in reveries, right before
of styles, from Gene Deitch’s Tom Terrific (which was a line drawing you go to sleep. In effect, let it catch you unawares.
with no color, working over a plain-colored card background) to Caro¬ Above all, do not go around enthusiastically telling all who will listen
line Leafs sand animation. some gags from your proposed plot. You can talk yourself right out of
your story. Keep it to yourself until you have a completed storyboard.
Maybe this sounds like strange advice. What happens is that every time
Graphic Suggestions for the Written Script you recount a part of your story, you expend some of your psychic
energy. After a while, the gags sound rather tired. If you keep it up,
The first tentative steps in creating an animated film should at the same suddenly you will be bored by the whole subject. You will have ex¬
time start to zero in on the appearance of the picture. This can’t be done hausted your psychic energy in looking for compliments from your
without a wide knowledge of the possibilities. The writer should have friends and family. Wait for the kudos until you can proudly show a
some suggestions for the storyboard artist, and between them they completed job. Then you will have earned the praise. Even in a studio,
should have some ideas to present to the director before the story has it is better to confine your discussions of a picture to other writers, the
progressed very far. storyboard artist, and the director. They are directly involved in your
What about our clock cleaners? Would a light airy treatment, like a work. Animators who run into you in the hall are not.
Dufy rendering, do the best possible job on the clock tower? Would
Dubuffet’s childlike but sophisticated style suit the film better? Should
the colors stay within the linear area or spill over slightly? What about Rules and Restrictions
cutout paper instead of painting the backgrounds?
While the choices seem endless, it isn’t so. The drawing of the three In these parlous times, the only area of free thinking in commercial
characters quickly narrows down the style selection. They are not animation is feature films. Everywhere else, in television specials, the
highly stylized, so the backgrounds are going to have to be somewhat Saturday-morning shows, and commercials, the advertising agencies
conventional. and the networks lay a heavy hand on the creative processes. They have
When you see a film for the first time, you are a part of the audience. more constrictions and restrictions than the Inquisitorial rack and these
The second time, you are a professional writer looking at somebody are no less painful. So be prepared to have to cope with mindless rules
else’s material; by the third and fourth times, you are in a position to and even more mindless people. If anybody claims that an advertising
really evaluate the structure of the work. After that, you can afford to agency is a font of creativity, I have only to point out that, from the
start thinking of better ways to have written certain parts of the film. very beginning, radio, for example, has been organized and managed
In the United States, commercial animation, that is, animated by agencies. During this entire time not one important American writer
films for motion pictures and television, are, for the most part, fairly of radio programs has appeared on the scene!
 Writing for Animation 65
64 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

Where are the Faulkners, the Hemingways, or the Updikes of the

airwaves? Believe me, if they started to write for radio, they soon

A cross-section of hair follicles and skin for an eighteen-minute educational film, The Skin, written and animated by Gil Miret.
removed themselves. Unfortunately, if you want to be an animation
writer, you probably will have to endure some of the frustrations of
working with Madison Avenue and the network executives.

The Educational Animation Field

There is one escape . . . educational animation—not that it is a field

replete with opportunities. Still there are some. Sesame Street uses a
good deal of animation on its programs, and it is one place where an
unknown filmmaker can get a hearing. Study the program until you are
familiar with the requirements before submitting storyboards. Inciden¬
tally, they do not pay for storyboards, which have to be submitted on
speculation.
There are some production houses, such as The Learning Company
of America, 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York
10036, who might be interested in a writer for a definite project.
Ever since professional filmmakers invaded the sacred halls of aca¬
demia, there has been a battle between educators and the motion pic¬
ture makers about the best way to use film as a teaching tool.
Many of the educators feel that learning is a serious business and
should not be delivered in a light manner. On the other side, there are
the extremists among the filmmakers who want to make the educational
process as painless as possible, so they want every subject to be pre¬
sented in an entertaining mode. Both are wrong, of course.
My studio, working conjointly with Frank Capra’s production orga¬
nization, produced three hour-long television specials for the Bell Tele¬
phone Company. Produced in the late 1950s, at last report they have
been shown to well over 100 million school children.
The films are a mulligatawny stew of animation, live action, and
microscope shots. The first of these films, Hemo the Magnificent, sets
about to explain the workings of the bloodstream in a highly dramatic
manner. Hemo, an animated cartoon character, is surrounded by a
retinue of animals. He scornfully rejects the efforts of a live writer and
a scientist to explain how the heart and kidneys work. The actors finally
manage to convince Hemo that they are not all that stupid.
Instead of supplying the audience with a dry-as-dust mass of infor¬
mation, it is contained in the acid exchanges between the live actors and
Hemo. The mechanics of the heart, which are complicated in actuality.
 Writing for Animation 67
66 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN
desperadoes. The film was an outstanding example of the ability of good
designers to present the most complex theories in visual form.
The third film. The Unchained Goddess, featured a little sexpot
goddess who flirted with the scientist-writer team. The subject was the
weather, and the film explained the workings of weather maps, cold
fronts and how they develop, tornadoes, lightning, and other phenom¬
ena. Again, animation took care of the more complex information,
using colorful characters such as the god Thor to give what were in
reality little lectures, but these were couched in such humorous terms
that they were never dull or boring.
Frank Capra did manage to confound the educators, who believe that
learning is a serious affair, because even though his films were fun to
look at, they were crammed with information. More important was the
fact that the ideas were presented in a memorable manner. Capra has
shown the way, yet in spite of the enormous success of his educational
films, it has not encouraged makers of similar pictures to follow in his
footsteps. It may be that animation seems too expensive, and few film¬
makers are truly familiar with the medium.
It would seem that an enterprising young writer could find great
satisfaction in the educational field.

A scene from Memo the Magnificent, one of a series of films on scientific subjects
made for the Bell Telephone Company. Frank Capra produced and directed the Developing the Story
live action, Bill Hurtz of Shamus Culhane Productions directed the animation.
Hemo and several other films from the series are still being shown to the
It is a good idea always to have a small pad and a pen on your person.
schoolchildren of America, even though the pictures were made in the 1950s.
I mean small enough to fit in your pocket. Ideas do not come on a
schedule, and what a pity to find you have just had a great thought and
are skillfully explained by a cartoon character with a decidedly Russian have no way to make notes. Don’t keep your pad in a briefcase, either.
accent, and so neatly illustrated by a little group of workers under the
Put it in your pocket so that you have it handy at all times.
leadership of a raucous-voiced drill master, that even small children To return to your clock-cleaner script. One good method of develop¬
were able to understand how the heart works after one screening.
ing a story is to make a list of details. For example, what architectural
The second Bell special was called The Strange Case of the Cosmic features come to mind—steeples, bells, windows, gargoyles? What
Rays. This film was even more of a potpourri of techniques because it
props would the elves use—Brushes, pails, mops, sponges ... what else?
included puppets, as well as animation, live-action, and micro shots. Keep on compiling lists without stopping to think about them. Let your
The puppets were caricatures of Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, and
mind flow effortlessly, and don’t try to be neat or orderly. Scribble as
Fedor Dostoevski. These three great writers formed a jury to judge the
fast as you can until you run out of ideas.
mystery of the Cosmic Rays. One important thing is to be sure you know how your props work.
The case was presented by the same writer-scientist team that had
You may think you know how a scaffold is built, but do you really?
appeared in the Hemo film. In the exchange between the jury and the
What about the pulleys? What do they really do with the ropes when
protagonists, animation was again called upon to depict the more ab¬ the scaffold has reached a desired height? If you are not fully familiar
stract ideas. For example, uranium was shown as a band of Wild West
68 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Writing for Animation 69

with the mechanics of a prop, you may be missing a chance for a great THE SEVEN DORFS

gag- . u •
Let me stress once again that only the right side of your brain is
creative. It doesn’t work when you are doing what we call “thinking.” Snow White LEANS OVER to Prince looking FLIRTATIOUS.
That’s a left-side function. For example, after you have made your
scribbled lists, you may want to put them into some kind of order, that Snow White
is, all architectural features together, all cleaning materials grouped.
The left side is very expert at making this kind of comparison; the right NOW, HOW ABOUT THAT THERE BIG SE¬
side is probably incapable of doing such a job. Keep the two functions CRET?
separate. Remember that you cannot be creative while being critical of
the results. Prince

WELL, IT’S ABOUT YOU AN’ THE WICKET—

Typing the Script

They are PETRIFIED as the Queen calls OFFSTAGE. Then the
Prince DUCKS BEHIND the mirror, and Snow White starts
When it is time to type a script, remember that there is an accepted
form for the spacing of the top and bottom of the pages, and where to DUSTING FURIOUSLY.
use upper and lower case. Put the title at the top of each page on a line
with the page number. All dialogue and camera instructions should be Queen
in upper case for easy reading. The name of the character involved must
SNOW WHITE, IS YOU ALL FINISHED UP?
be at the head of every bit of dialogue, even if it consists of one word.
(See the following sample page.)
Snow White
Don’t try to become a surrogate director. Keep your camera instruc¬
tions sparse, and be sure you know what you are asking for. Don t call YES MA’AM, WICKET QUEEN. IT’S ALL
for an OVER-THE-SHOULDER SHOT OF THE ENTIRE BRITISH DUSTED.
FLEET IN A C.U.
Make your set descriptions succinct. The same is true for details such
as clothes. If it is sunset, and time is important to the story, spell it out, The Queen RUNS HER FINGER across the mirror and looks
but don’t load your script with verbiage.
SATISFIED.
As soon as possible get your script photocopied and put the copy in
a safe place, preferably not under the same roof as the original. Scripts
Queen
get lost or burned up. T. E. Lawrence left his original manuscript for
The Seven Pillars of Wisdom in a London taxi. It was never found and THAT’S BETTER. NOW GO OFF AND CLEAN
there was no copy. UP THE GOLD AND SILVER DISHES AND
It may look fancy, but do not use a permanent binder on your script. STUFF.
Use a cover that does not need holes in the paper for rings, either.
The pages of your script are going to be subject to a lot of wear and Snow White
tear. Notes will be scribbled, pages omitted, and lines excised. Keep it
loose! AFTER THAT COULD I GO? . . .
70 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

Queen (INTERRUPTS)

NO, YOU CAN’T. AFTER THAT GO TO YOUR

COLD BED WHICH IS IN THE ATTIC.

Snow White walks OFFSTAGE dragging her mop dolefully. The

Queen SHAKES HER HEAD.

Queen Character Design

HONESTLY, I DON’T KNOW WHAT ONE-IN¬
HELP IS COMIN’ TO THESE DAYS. ESPE¬
CIALLY STEP-DAUGHTERS.

FADE OUT.

We have been involved mostly with writing so far. Now we are going
on to other functions. However, even if you want only to write for a
living, do go on and find out about the work of other people in the
hierarchy of an animation staff. You will work better with them if you In the average-sized studio, this job does not exist. Characters are
understand the part they play and the problems they face in production, designed by the layout person, or by one of the animators. However,
especially if you try to draw and think about the various precepts I am in a large organization—the Disney studio, for example—a designer is
teaching rather than just reading the text. a very important member of the crew. On a feature-length cartoon the
It doesn’t matter if you have never drawn in your life. The result may main characters undergo extensive changes and improvements at the
be crude but at least you are starting to think like an animation writer. same time that the storyboard is being developed.
There is no way to become a successful writer in this field unless you In a way, being a character designer is very similar to working as a
can create and evaluate stories and gags from a graphic point of view. casting director on a live-action film. A cast has to be created that will
So use stick figures or whatever mode of drawing you can manage, make a plausible combination of shapes and proportions that can house
but draw a story sketch for everything you work on in this book. the personalities in the story. There has to be a feeling that there is a
single point of view that has selected these particular components, a
oneness that permeates each drawing.
For example, a cast that consisted of Herriman’s Offissa Pup and
Krazy Kat, Felix the Cat, and Disney’s Pluto simply would be rejected
by a motion-picture audience. The drawing styles are too disparate.

Reference Material

Normally, an artist has favorite combinations of sizes, shapes, and

proportions, which he or she will probably use all during working life.

71
 Character Design 73
72 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

Nu Wa Patches the Sky, by

Quian Yun Da. Goddess Nu is
a figure in ancient Chinese
mythology believed to have
created the first human beings.

designing, ignoring natural feelings.

So it imperative that early on such a designer begins to gather a
morgue and never stops collecting good material. From time to time,
the morgue must be examined and outdated material weeded out.
Newspapers, comic books, magazines, and coffee-table books contain The Fire Boy, by Wang
Baiyong. A boy seizes back
such an enormous quantity of material for the character designer that
the source of life from a
it is important to begin collecting with a very high standard of accept¬ demon, but gives his life to his
ance. The morgue is not necessarily used for copying somebody else’s nation’s happiness.
ideas; rather, it is a springboard, a guide to combinations of proportions
that are not native to this particular designer’s mind.

Stylized or Life-Quality?

Attention must be paid to the use of the characters. Are they going to
be in a high-style unconventional film? If so, they are not going to be
called upon to accomplish acting with life-quality as in a typical Disney
fii™- ....
If the film is going to use very stylized animation, it is possible to
design characters who are only drawn to look good in one view. Other¬
wise, be sure that the model sheet has all of the necessary views of the
character. Don’t stymie the animator with a three-quarter rear view
that is not shown on the model sheet.
The Yellow Submarine is a good example of very high-style designing
of characters who could not be used except in very limited camera
angles. There is nothing wrong with this approach as long as all the Sketches by Cliff Roberts of Red Riding Hood for The Stuck-Up Wolf. © 1967 by
people involved realize that there are limitations to the animation and Famous Studio.
do not attempt to draw life-quality movements with high-style figures.
 Character Design 75
74 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN
life. Therefore, the morgue should contain as many photographs and
What Is Good Design?
drawings of various animals as possible.
What good designing amounts to is the selection of unexpected and,
therefore, humorous combinations of shapes. After looking at a series
of cartoons featuring animals in the Disney style (which was imitated The Model Sheet
by almost all the other animation studios), it is refreshing to see Sulliv-
A model sheet should first contain a number of views of a character in
ant’s approach. Like all great cartoonists, he has his own private brand
a neutral pose, and cover all aspects of the action in the storyboard. If
of humor.
time and the budget permit, it is useful to draw a number of poses
One of the paradoxes of drawing cartoons of animals is that in order
depicting various emotions. But more valuable to the animator is the
to be able to omit, exaggerate, or diminish the proportions of an animal,
information about what the character looks like in a relaxed state. He
it is vital that the artist know what the structure of the animal is in real
or she can take it from there.

Sensible Use of Color

Some designers have a carefree attitude about the number of colors they
assign to their characters. Opaquing cels can be an expensive operation;
the more different colors the painter has to use, the greater the possibil¬
ity of making mistakes. A good strong statement with a few colors is
a big help to the background painter because it is easier to control the
color perspective of the set so that the characters do not merge with the
backgrounds.
It is important to remember that the style of drawings used by the
designer, to a large extent, will govern the appearance of the whole
picture because the drawings of the layouts for the various scenes will
have to reflect that style.
Some of the larger animation studios not only have character design¬
ers, they also have artists who specialize in creating props (such as the
dwarfs organ in the entertainment sequence in Snow White), and other
artists who paint atmosphere sketches. This work has no relation to the
kind of drawings used in story sketches, which are inspirational rather
than utilitarian.

Will It Animate?

Blinkety Blank, animated by A character may have gone through many major changes during the
Norman McLaren in 1954.
course of its development, but the final judgment of the character’s
Courtesy of the National Film
Board of Canada.
usefulness has to come from the animation department.
76 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

7 _

A scene from 36 Characters, a film in which Chinese pictograph characters come

to life. Conceived by A Da and produced at the Shanghai Animation Studio in The Director I:
1984.
Story, Casting, Music, and Sound
During the production of Pinocchio, Norman Ferguson and I ani¬
mated about a hundred feet of the Fox before we realized that his nose
was too long. Every time his head turned, his nose seemed to sweep
across the screen. Ferguson redesigned him with a much shorter snout;
we junked all the first attempts to animate him, and there were no more
problems. Here the Fox had been under the scrutiny of Walt Disney,
the directors, and many other artists, yet it wasn’t until the Fox was
actually animated that a serious flaw was discovered. After he was
corrected, the Fox proved to be one of the most successful characters For an aspiring student of animation who has an image of a director
in the film. It doesn’t matter how talented the designer is, or how as a heroic figure, such as the captain of a great ship, standing on the
attractive the character seems to be, there is only one acid test—will bridge issuing calm and measured commands to a scurrying crew, I
it animate? reluctantly erase this noble dream.
The reality is that it is a hectic position. In a large studio, the image
might be more akin to a stagecoach driver handling a six-horse team,
with each animal trying to pull away from its neighbor. Writers, design¬
ers, layout artists, animators, and background renderers all jockey for
the director’s attention in order to gain the approval of some idea within
their particular function in the filmmaking process. Camera operators
have been known to call the director at three in the morning to ask for
an opinion about some problem on a rush job.
The difficulty is that each personality must be handled with care,
whether it involves the acceptance or rejection of an idea, because one
of the most important aspects of directing is guiding the crew into
making a good film while at the same time sustaining the morale.
Psychologically the director is a parental figure. Whether or not this
role is accepted might easily be the difference between a well-run crew
and a group split by personality problems. From the director all bless¬
ings flow, be it a compliment for a job well done, a recommendation

77
 The Director I 79
78 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

An absentminded hello in the hall may easily be construed as a frosty

greeting. A seemingly perfunctory acceptance of someone’s finished
work, instead of the expected compliment, might just mean that you
were in a hurry to get to a story meeting, but to the person involved,
it might look as if even his or her best efforts are regarded as pedestrian.
It is difBcult to keep in mind that you are “onstage” at all times, but
it is a psychological fact, and the cornerstone of your relationship to
your crew. Don’t dismiss these observations as my personal foibles.
Accepting them as sound precepts may make the difference between
enjoying the relationship with the crew or working with a sullen or
indifferent group that barely meets your requirements.
Of course it is possible to work as a director in a very small studio,
even a one-man operation, doing all the functions of filmmaking on
your own; but for most of us, such a luxury is beyond our experience
or expectations.
The director directing television commercials, half-hour specials, or
feature pictures needs a nimble mind. One time, one of my best anima¬
tors asked for a chance to direct. He was doing very well on his first
assignment until I interrupted him. It was time to start conferring with
the writers about the next picture. He found it confusing to be handing
out work to his animators one moment and then suddenly having to
Doctor and Mrs. DeSoto pull the tooth of a rather testy patient. From Doctor adjust to thinking about the complexities of a new story plot.
DeSoto, a film by Michael Sporn, adapted from a book by William Steig. I reminded him that normally he would not only be working with

for a raise, or a shift into a position with more responsibility.

Like children in a family, the crew rarely see the director as a person
with strengths and weaknesses. So if you are suffering from the tensions
of the director’s job, don’t expect sympathy from your crew. If you need
to cry on somebody’s shoulder, do it at home. Any attempt to pour out
your complaints to a member of the crew will result in one of two
things: That person, or any other member of the group who hears about
it, will resent your attempt to shift some of your burden; or if he or she
accepts the role of Father Confessor, you will find that you have usually
created a kind of Cardinal Richelieu who will try to manipulate you
In the last seventeen years,
from this advantageous position. Frederic Back has made seven
If all this sounds cynical, I can only say that it is an analysis based short films of ten minutes or
on observation and evaluation. less. After trying a number of
One of the nerve-racking aspects of directing is the fact that the techniques, he has finally
relationship between director and crew is constantly being tested, and settled on using frosted cels
and color pencils.
sometimes accidentally skewed.
80 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN The Director I 81

Schaffer at the Walt Lantz studio. A more unlikely amalgam of talents

can scarcely be imagined. Bugs Hardaway was an expatriate Kansan
with the earthy barnyard humor of his background. Schaffer came from
the more sophisticated story department of the Walt Disney studio.
Milt tried manfully to present me with stories that made sense ac¬
cordingly to the tenets of the Disney organization, an approach that
Bugs rejected with a derisive stream of tobacco juice.
To him a gag was a gag. The fact that it was out of character, or did
A rendering by Frederic Back
not advance the plot, he dismissed with impatience as too scientific and
on a frosted cel for his spirited technical for an animated cartoon—this at a time when I was deep in
dance film Cmc! the writings of Sergei Eisenstein! I was discreet enough not to advertise
this fact.
his animators and talking with his writers at the same time but he would I believe both Hardaway and Schaffer were at first rather appalled
also have a picture in the ink-and-paint department, and another being by my experiments in frenetic cutting a la Eisenstein. Hardaway re¬
readied for a final recording. At that point, he just gave up and went marked after looking at my pencil test of The Barber of Seville, “It looks
back to animation. His mind wasn’t equipped to handle such constant like a Chinese goulash.”
juggling. After we made a few pictures together, we managed a truce. I recog¬
Yet there are some of us who actually enjoy the tension, the need to nized that Bugs did have a raw kind of humor, and Milt could manage
make quick but accurate decisions; who are able to leap from a back¬ to eke out a story line most of the time; and both accepted the fact that
ground problem to the intricacies of a multireel sound track and still my fast cutting was being enjoyed by the audience. We managed to put
give each situation its full measure of attention. These people are not together several better-than-average cartoons.
intimidated or pressured by the fact that a myriad of similar problems
are waiting to be solved. Caroline Leaf, one of the
What is exhilarating to one mind is an impossible burden to another; outstanding filmmakers of the
National Film Board of
so if you need to work without interruption, don’t look for a job as an
Canada, was the last person to
animation director in a studio. Look for an abandoned lighthouse. be hired by the Board from
the United States, more than a
decade ago. Photo courtesy of
What’s So Funny About That? the National Film Board of
Canada.

As a director, you may find yourself with a writing staff whose humor
is very different from your own. This can be a liability or an asset,
depending on how you handle the situation. Obviously, there is little
point in trying to wrench the crew around to your brand of humor. A
style cannot be discarded like shucking off a jacket.
It will be useful to point out in a casual way that you have a rather The Owl Who Married a
different view of humor, which is no indictment of theirs. Indeed, you Goose is an Eskimo folktale. It
might suggest that it will be interesting to mesh them together and see was made by Caroline Leaf,
and is a classic example of
what happens. While this might sound like blandishment, there is a
sand animation. Courtesy of
possibility of truth in the statement. the National Film Board of
I am reminded of my association with Bugs Hardaway and Milt Canada.
82 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN The Director 1 83

In the preliminary thinking about a new story, do not be swept away

by one very funny gag. Directors have to be thinking about the whole
story. After the one great gag has been submitted, wait, but not too
long, for the premise. What is the story? Do not accept the possibility
of getting a story structure later. Insist on the development of a com¬
plete story that can be told in two short sentences, and it should wrap
up. The idea of thinking up an ending later should set off gongs in your
head. Don’t allow it, ever!
It is important, too, that the writers understand that you are a
creative person. The storyboard is not going to be put on the screen in
its original shape. Gags are going to be added; dead material (at least
dead in your estimation) is going to be cut; and the whole structure of
the picture is going to stay malleable, subject to the ideas of every
creative person who works on the film, right down to the final screening
in sweatbox. A director is a receptacle for ideas, not some kind of
ambulatory copy machine for the storyboard.
We’ve said there are two basic story structures—there’s a third that
is really a variation of the first. One type is just a series of gags, such
as Chuck Jones’s Road Runner pictures and the Kinney brothers’
how-to-do-it cartoons featuring Goofy. Another is the kind of story

Paradise, designed and animated by Ishu Patel. It is a story about two birds, each
envious of the other. This is his fifteenth film for the National Film Board of
Canada.

that develops situation by situation from a beginning: Three Little Pigs,

for example, or Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. A third type was
something that developed in the Disney studios, where their story
department became really adept at milking a funny situation. They
Ishu Patel is an animator found that having four or five sequences built around comic situations
known for his sensitive made for a very satisfactory picture, and thus the variation was born.
approach to music, which is Hawaiian Holiday is such a film. It opens with Minnie doing a hula
always intimately bonded to
while Mickey plays the guitar. Then Donald Duck essays a hula, which
the rhythm of his films. Photo
courtesy of the National Film
ends when his grass skirt catches fire. Then the action cuts to Pluto and
Board of Canada. a starfish. After a chase that ends in the surf. Goofy and a surfboard
84 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN I'he Director I 85

take up a sequence. The story then goes back to Pluto, who encounters a great need for some unifying factor. The picture seemed fragmented.
a belligerent crab. Goofy and the surfboard follow, ending with Goofy The writers were not able to solve the problem within the framework
buried in the sand, with his surfboard acting as a headstone. Mickey, of the plot they had created. It followed the original book fairly closely.
Minnie, and Donald gather around the “grave,” laughing as the film Disney pressured them to go beyond the book and create a brand new
ends with an Iris out. character, the practical, conscientious Jiminy Cricket. Not only did
What is important to remember is that at no time in the entire picture he pull the plot together but Jiminy almost stole the picture from
were all the principals together. It was clearly just a string of funny Pinocchio.
sequences, just as Road Runner cartoons are a string of funny gags. If there is a block in the writing, look beyond the plot structure that
It is better to direct the story toward one type of story construction. has led to the cul-de-sac and find a breakthrough as Disney did.
Above all else, the picture must have a satisfactory ending. After a poor Don’t accept a story as completed unless you are satisfied that there
start, a story can be rescued with a funny ending; but conversely, there are no weak spots in the picture as far as you know at that point. If there
is no way to leave an audience with a good feeling if the ending is poor. are, don’t accept the story; make the crew work until the plot is
strengthened. Remember that the director is solely responsible for the
finished film. After a screening of the picture, nobody wants to hear that
The Story Session the writers did a poor job. It is up to the director to wring a good story
out of them in the first place.
At the first session for a new picture, have the ears of a lynx for the
half-formed sentence, a murmured suggestion almost lost in the ex¬
change of thoughts. That might very well be the springboard for a great The Casting Session
cartoon. So don’t pay attention to the loudest voices to the exclusion
of more timid ideas. When the storyboard is finished and the script typed, it is time for a
Don’t take over the meeting. Be more the observer. You will have casting session. There are formidable do’s and don’ts in handling the
ample time later to put forth your own thoughts. Give the writers free actors. First, bear in mind that, contrary to Alfred Hithcock’s dismissal
rein, and stay unobtrusive, unless there is a reason to reject an idea out of actors as “talking furniture,” they are people looking for work. I
of hand—a gag that is out of character, objectionable material, such as think a casting session must be the most difficult part of an actor’s life.
poking fun at ethnic groups or religions, or something too pornographic Naturally, there are going to be rejections for one reason or another,
for this particular studio. If the group runs into a block and the meeting even when the actors are all seasoned veterans. When it is necessary to
stalls, come to the rescue. It is expected of you. Revive the enthusiasm weed out, do it gently. A small compliment and your regrets will go a
by prodding the group about the material they have put forth so far. long way to keep an actor’s spirits up.
What else could they have done with a given situation? Have they been Selecting voices for a picture is something like creating orchestration.
thinking of a gag for the wrong character? Put them back on the rails Get into the habit of not looking at the people while they are working.
with a series of ideas of your own. They are not going to appear on the screen, so concentrate on the voice
quality. Avoid like a plague any similarity among the voices you
choose. I remember one horrendous piece of miscasting in a film star¬
Disney Saves Pinocchio ring Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda. For the entire film, each one
tried to outstumble and outstutter the other. It was like watching a taffy
Not every director is a good writer but most usually have a good sense pull.
of structure. Walt Disney had, among his other talents, a very keen nose At the start of a recording, do not sit in the control booth like Zeus,
for the solution to writer’s block. When Pinocchio got off to a flounder¬ ready to hurl thunderbolts. Whether it is a television spot, a half-hour
ing start, it was apparent as the rushes started to come in that there was special, or a feature picture, before the actual recording starts, go down
86 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN The Director I 87

and mingle with the actors. I usually have some Xeroxed drawings of
the various characters, which I show to the actors so they can get a
better mental picture of their roles.
In the beginning, I warn everybody that during this first reading I
am going to interrupt anytime I feel that I am not getting what I need.
I stay on the floor, where I can talk directly to an actor and explain why
the reading is not quite what I had in mind. This is the time to listen
Gene and Zdenka Deitch. In to suggestions and try out different approaches, so the reading will go
thirty years of filmmaking, along by fits and starts.
Deitch has won one Oscar and Be patient. The actors have only had a script to read for a few days,
has been nominated for an but you may have been brooding over the picture for a month or more.
award five times. Zdenka is a
Let them get the feel of it. Don’t stop correcting and changing until you
talented production manager.
They work together in their
are sure that everybody is confident and ready to make a serious at¬
studio in Prague. Photo tempt at a recording.
courtesy of Weston Woods I have one eccentricity, that is, from this point on I am always
Studios, Weston, Connecticut. recording. Tape is cheap, and you never know when some inspired
performance will go a-glimmering if the tape isn’t rolling, never to be
achieved again. I have seen actors lose all their enthusiasm because they
were rehearsed to the point of tedium before the director was willing
to try for a recording.
Avoid dull recitation by having the scripts placed on stands to keep
both hands free. Never allow an actor to hold the script in one hand
and cup the other hand behind his ear. It may enable the actor to hear
his own voice better but there is no way to use body English when the
hands are not free. The results are bound to be as restrained as the
hands.
To understand the importance of the body in acting, try this experi¬
ment: Turn off" the sound on your television and watch something where
the action and speech are exaggerated, a game show, for example. See
how the whole body, especially the head and hands, is involved. Then
you will realized how important it is not to restrain the hands during
a recording. The lack of body English is bound to result in the lines
being read aloud rather than the actor becoming emotionally involved.
Actors who are new to animation are usually inclined to be a little
bit self-conscious and it may take them a while to loosen up and have
some fun with the dialogue.
Never read a line for an actor who is not interpreting the role the way
An illustration from Where the Wild Things Are. It took Gene Deitch five years of
experimenting before he found a way to transfer Maurice Sendak s complex
you see it even though it may be exasperating. Try making your needs
technique to the screen. Photo courtesy of Weston Woods Studios, Weston, known in a different way. Make it as clear as possible. That is why you
Connecticut. are the director. Then try again. If you give a line reading, it is a
 The Director I 89
88 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

confession that you weren’t reaching the actor or that you need to do
a better casting job. Don’t necessarily blame the actor.
Never staple or bind scripts. The pages should be loose to enable the
actor to turn them quietly. Stapled or bound scripts are almost sure to
rustle as they are being handled, spoiling what may have been a good
take.
During the recording, the assistant director or some one else able to
take neat notes should be keeping track of good and bad takes. Each
recording should have an oral identification and an evaluation by the
director. Sometimes the sound operator will add ideas as well, and these
should be noted. The director should never get involved in these me¬
chanics. Your function is to listen to the track and weigh every word,
every phrase.
At times, when a section of the recording has been going very well
and suddenly there is a bobble of some kind, it is good for the director
to call into the mike and instruct the actors to go back a few sentences
and resume the dialogue. That way, the momentum, which made for
a good track so far, is not lost. ne Boy and the Snow Goose. 1984 by Gayle Thomas. This award-winning artist
When a given line doesn’t sound right, make a recording of it any¬ has worked as assistant animator, background artist, and project coordinator as
way; then make a version that seems to be an improvement. That way, well as animator and director at the National Film Board of Canada.
when the track is assembled, you have a choice. If your judgment was
wrong, you can always go back to the original dialogue. carefully maim “luxury” into “luggzury.” The list is endless. Cultivate
a sharp ear for odd pronunciations. They may be quite acceptable on
a local level but I think they have no place in a sound track that is going
Regional Speech to be used nationally.
Again, during recording, retain the habit of not watching the actors.
Unless you are using an accent in the track for a purpose, watch out You are making a sound track, so your function is to listen, not to look.
for local interpretations of words. Middle westerners have several pro¬ Usually I close my eyes, that way, I can really focus on listening.
nunciations that are native to the region. They say “mirrr instead of Watch out for speech patterns such as the habit some actors have of
“mirror,” “Hairy” instead of “Harry,” “watter” for “water,” and dropping their volume near the end of a sentence. It can be corrected
“Mery” for “Mary.” New Yorkers drop a “g” at the end of a word and during the final recording but why have to contend with it? Make the
have a habit of hooking a hard “g” to the word following, as in Long- actor aware of the problem by running an example from the tape; don’t
Island. just tell him or her. Many people are completely unaware of this habit.
Canadians can be distinguished by their saying “rufF’ for roof, The reader will probably have become aware of one of my techniques:
“aboot,” not “about.” People all over the United States say “blesshoo” I try to break down every operation into separate steps. It is amazing
instead of “bless you,” and there is a whole school of what I call Grunt how people can make things difficult for themselves by overlapping
English. They say “buh-hind,” “tuh-day,” and “buh-low.” functions or trying to do several things at once. I notice that some
There is a group that is conspiring to obliterate the letter “t.” They workers will want to do this in spite of the fact that step-by-step is
say things such as, “I had an innerview with a denis.” Weather forecast¬ obviously more efficient. I am convinced that there is a type of person
ers use phrases such as, “There is a frunnel system . . .” Other people
 The Director I 91
90 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

who likes to struggle and suffer—a vestige of our puritanical back¬

ground.

Collecting Actors

When the recording is finished, go down on the floor and take the time
to say good-bye to each person. Plan to use the most outstanding actors
again. Over the years, you should build up a stable of talent. There are
some directors and producers who are always looking for new talent,
ignoring actors they have used before. I think this is a misplaced feeling
of power, or a case of the grass looking greener on the other side of the
fence. . • . i
If you use the same actor many times, a fine relationship develops.
You can both explore the possibilities of this particular talent in ways
that would have been impossible during a casual relationship.

Casting for Rotoscope

Since Snow White, a very different type of recording has developed at

the Disney studios. Ever since that time, the company has leaned
heavily on the use of rotoscope. In this procedure, the live actors go
r IJ/hn (1 Flv.
through the motion of the action and their images are traced as a guide
for the animators. So in the search for specific characters during a
casting session, there is an emphasis on the physical appearance of the
actor, as well as the voice quality. He or she must conform in general
to the design of the cartoon character because not only is the voice
going to be recorded but the action is going to be photographed.
The action and voice for the particular sequence are then shot and
reshot until it satisfies not only the director but the story people and
even the animator. If it doesn’t, the call goes out for another actor.
Although the sequence may very well be one side of a two-character I Know an Old Lady Who
Swallowed a Fly, by Kaj
conversation, the other character is often not even present; indeed, at
Pindal and Derek Lamb; a
this point, what is shot may only be a fragment of the role. Months may
National Film Board of
go by before additional dialogue and action are recorded and photo¬ Canada picture. Lamb and
graphed. Pindal often worked together,
The theory, as propounded by its adherents, is that the rotoscope and Lamb said that working

tracings of the live action are a guide for the animators and help them with Pindal was like
collaborating with a great
make better cartoons. The detractors say that the idea of giving anima¬
pantomimist.
tors tracings of the actors’ interpretations of the roles is similar in
92 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN The Director I 93

principle to giving the actor a line reading. They feel it hobbles the working together than in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. At no time
animator in much the same way. during the entire film does one feel that the picture has stalled during
I take this view. I think that after a certain amount of animation of a song.
Snow White was finished, Walt and his directors should have seen that One thing I insist on in the singing is good diction. What good are
it was quite possible to create very fine animation without the laborious lyrics if the audience cannot understand them? One time I was direct¬
photography of the actors and the subsequent tracing of their actions. ing a singing group and they were having difficulty with the word
According to Grim Natwick, he animated about a hundred scenes of “doesn’t.” It kept sounding like “dozen.” Finally, we hit on the device
Snow White, and most of them were done without the aid of the of having one girl lean into the mike at the appropriate time and instead
rotoscoped drawings. He merely used the first and last tracings to be of singing, just utter a distinct “t.” It worked, too.
sure that he hooked up to the scenes before and after the one on which Often, it is necessary to prerecord bits of music before the score is
he was working. He then flipped through the tracings a few times but written because the animation is going to follow the music note for note.
he never referred to them while he was animating. It is doubtful that A good example of this approach is the opening sequence of Disney’s
Walt Disney ever became aware that his safeguard against poor anima¬ Hawaiian Holiday. Minnie does a hula while Mickey plays the guitar.
tion was being flouted this way. His fingers are in sync with every note in the music. Later, Pluto has
As for recording piecemeal, those opposed to the method say that the an encounter with a crab and his chase of the Crab is a note-for-note
whole system is similar to shooting out of context on a live-action film. interpretation of the score.
Recording bits and pieces of a role, often months apart, has been the Darrell Calker, music composer at the Lantz studio, used this tech¬
bane of any actor who has had enough experience in the theater to nique on all his scores for Lantz’s Swing Symphonies. He would hire
realize that there is a power and scope in acting on the stage that is some virtuoso such as Nat King Cole, Bob Zurke, or Meade Lux Lewis
rarely realized on film because of the loss of momentum when working to record a sequence of one or two minutes. The remainder of the score
out of context. However, this modus operandi has become standard was written after the animation was finished.
procedure at the Disney studios. It is fairly easy to detect prerecorded track; usually you can see the
animation following the music note for note. The track reading must
be very accurate since the musician is not wearing headphones to follow
Recording Music a click track. Because of that, the beat may vary one or two exposures
in accordance with the performer’s modulation. It is this subtle change
In addition to recording the dialogue, in certain types of pictures it is of pace that is reflected in the animation and makes the coupling of the
necessary to record sections of the music track before the annotation action and music so satisfying to the audience. This is unlike the use
of the bar sheets can begin. And here is a place where a lot of care must of a click track, which is bound to give the music a somewhat mechani¬
be taken. cal feeling.
As a director, I have learned to hate songs that are often written into
a script with scant regard for the fact that they interrupt both the pace
of the film and the plot development. No audience wants to watch a Fast Music; Fast Cutting
sequence in which the characters stand around mouthing lyrics while
the action grinds to a screeching halt. In the Lantz cartoon The Barber of Seville, we used a preproduction
Yet with proper awareness of this danger, the story can be so con¬ recording of Woody singing an aria, the “Largo al Factotum.” The
structed that the singer or singers can perform and have interesting storymen, Hardaway and Schaffer, had ignored the possibilities in the
action as well, and then the plot moves forward. The action can include fact that in the reprise the tempo of the aria doubled. To me, it was an
other characters who are acting out parts of the story as they listen. opportunity to try out some of the principles of fast cutting that Sergei
There is no better example of masterful handling of plot and song Eisenstein had expounded. Fortunately, it worked. This technique can
 The Director I 95
94 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN
It wasn’t until Disney’s Tortoise and the Hare, made in 1935, that
a more creative approach to sound effects was devised. When the Hare
dashed all over the court playing tennis with himself, there was a
realistic ping as the racket struck the net, but when he slid to a stop
in the opposite court, there was a loud automobile-brake screech. The
audience reaction was so great that Disney set up a department special¬
izing in sound effects. Directors should always be looking for creative
sound effects. A good example happened when I was directing The
Night the Animals Talked, a special being made at Gamma Film m
Milan. The Italians were not very well versed in the technique of using
sound effects, and I found their sound library to be very sparse.
In the film I had two pigs who lived in a mud wallow. They made
some very acid remarks about the animals who lived in the barn. After
each statement, they settled into the mud with a soggy splash. Gamma
had nothing remotely like such an effect in the library. I was going to
Mindscape, by Jacques Drouin, is one of a series of films he animated using the have to create it myself ... but how?
Alexander Alexieff pinscreen technique. This painstaking method involves a quarter I was still musing about it when we went to the commissary for
of a million replaceable headless pins. They are inserted at various depths, lunch. This day, they happened to serve polenta, a kind of cornmeal
producing an image on both sides of the screen. The illumination shapes the mush. While I was stirring it up, I realized that the answer to my
contours and allows for a full range of gray. The film is photographed in
problem was literally under my nose.
continuity from one frame to the next, and the animator is free to make his
manipulation of the pins according to his creativity. Courtesy of the National Film
After lunch, I went to the sound stage and ordered a bowl of polenta
Board of Canada. and a straw, to the mystification of the sound crew. When the food
arrived, I placed the straw in the polenta and blew into it. A gurgling,
be a source of great satisfaction to the audience because the listener has sloppy burble emerged. I proceeded to make a series of short splashes,
been taken on a kind of audio-visual steeplechase. big blasts of mushy plops, and half a dozen sounds in between. We soon
In spite of the advantages, the more timid directors, in fact whole had enough of a library to take care of every pig movement the anima¬
studios, never tried fast cutting. There are no such sequences in the tors might conceive.
films of the Fleischers, Iwerks, or the early cartoons by Terry toons. Keep your eyes open, even when you are not working on a specific
Famous, or Columbia. problem. One night in a poker game, I realized that when a pack of
As a pioneer in the field of animated television commercials, I intro¬ cards was riffled briskly, it made a terrific snap, like the jaws of an
duced this technique in some of my earliest films. Now fast cutting is animal. Years later I used the idea for the alligator in Noah's Animals.
commonplace in both live-action and animated television spots. In fact, Again, here is the idea of the memory bank in action.
often there is such a bewildering succession of shots that the viewer is It is better for everything but the most common sounds to be prere¬
left wondering about the nature of the product being advertised.
corded because usually there is a tendency to underestimate the time
it takes for an unusual sound. There is nothing more frustrating than
Sound Effects to find, when the editor is assembling sound effects, that one particu¬
larly good effect has to be discarded because of insufficient footage in
One area of filmmaking that is often given short shrift is the art (and
the animation.
it is an art) of creating sound effects. In the early days of sound films,
Realistic sounds such as dogs barking, hens clucking, cats meowing,
there was a tendency to use only natural sounds to embellish the action,
loud crashes, different engine sounds, rain, birds, doors closing, and so
even in animated cartoons.
96 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

8 _

The Director II:

Preparing to Make Bar Sheets

B0rge Ring created Anna and

Bella in its entirety; he even
played the music for the
sound track.

While even live-action-film directors now use storyboards as a matter

Anna and Bella by B0rge of course, the idea of preediting is what separates them from their
Ring. Two aged sisters’ animation counterparts. It is not unusual for a live-action film to be shot
memories are stirred by
with a ratio of ten to one. In other words, ten minutes of film are shot
looking at an old photograph
album. This film won an in order to make one minute of finished film.
Academy Award in 1985, and The director makes key shots, close-ups, medium shots, and other
other prizes. diverse camera efforts of a given sequence. The editor is given all these
elements and has the responsibility of constructing picture from them.
on all can be bought from sound-effects libraries, either on tape or
In animation, the director makes the final decisions on every se¬
record albums. quence. There is no multitude of shots from which to choose. There are
In addition, be on the lookout for toys with odd sounds. There are
only the single shots, which the director has created. The editor is
musical toys such as slide whistles, kazoos, marimbas, drums, toy
reduced from a creative person to a splicer and librarian. The film has
pianos, and pull-toys. Then there is the possibility of changing the
been preedited.
character of sounds by slowing them up or speeding them. There are
This is not sheer exhibitionism on the part of the animation director.
sound-effect libraries that have the machinery to do this kind of work.
It is a matter of a limited budget. So, in a five-minute cartoon, the
There is no way to learn to create sound effects except by trial and
director is expected to keep excess footage down to perhaps fifteen feet
error. It can be a fascinating area of filmmaking. or less, as contrasted to the ten-to-one ratio of the live-action director.
After all the recording is finished, the sound editor assembles the
Bar sheets are not used in live action. In animation, they are the
good takes. Often the beginning of one good take is spliced to the latter
director’s blueprint of the entire picture. While at first glance they may
part of another. At this point, there is no need to try to cut the sound
seem to be formidable documents, taken one element at a time, they are
track into a finished form. The end result will be compiled from the
soon quite understandable.
director’s bar sheets.
97
 The Director II 99
98 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

checker. I even had a short and disastrous essay at animation photogra¬

phy. In other words, I have held all the creative jobs and most of the
skilled positions at one time or another.
These days, talented artists are not wasted on the skilled jobs; they
are put to work in areas that are more creative. Still, I am not sorry
that I have this quite different background because I know the problems
of inking, painting, and photography from personal experience. It has
a lot to do with the way I approach directing.

Sentence Measurement

While the editor is putting together the good takes, I prepare my

personal script for sentence measurements. This is not to be confused
with the word analysis, which the editor will do later. I need these
measurements to compile my bar sheets.
Each sentence in the script is bracketed at the start and finish. Some¬
times, certain key words within a sentence are also bracketed. These
measurements are not accumulative. Each sentence is measured start¬
ing from one. I also need to know the number of blank exposures
between each sentence. With this information, each sentence becomes
an independent entity. I can place it on the bar sheets the way it was
recorded, or I can put any number of feet between the end of the
sentence and the beginning of the next. I always have perfect control
because I know exactly the amount of footage with which I am dealing.
Of course, it is most important that the editor has been very careful
to compute the dialogue footage to the exact exposure. Incorrect infor¬
mation would make for a number of technical difficulties, including a
Chuck Jones is a master of quick sketch. He studied the Nicolaides book The furious director.
Natural Way to Draw for many years. These drawings show a sparkle and humor
in just a few lines. They must be an inspiration for any animator. Warner Bros.
The Director’s Rough Sketches

However, before the bar sheets can be worked on, I perform my most
There are many ways for a director to work on a film. Much depends creative act as a director. As soon as I have the track measurements,
on a person’s background, the skills he or she has in addition to direct¬ I start making rough sketches of my conception of the action.
ing. For example, I studied the violin for fifteen years, so I have a better It would be very tidy to start working on sequence A, scene one, but
than average knowledge of music. I also have worked as an animator believe me that is not going to give you control over the pace of the
and layout artist, painted backgrounds, and written scripts. picture. You must establish parameters. Since the final sequence is the
In my early years in the profession, I worked as a painter, inker, and most important section of the film, it is best to start there. Because it
100 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

Director’s roughs by Shamus Culhane for The Last of the Red Hot Dragons,
Westfall Productions, Inc. Written by John Culhane, Charles Mortimer, and
Shamus Culhane. Animated by Erredia 70.
 1
The Director II 103
102 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

is the culmination of the story, it should be the funniest, the most certain scenes, I try very hard to cut them out entirely. This is directly
dramatic and compelling sequence in the picture. So I start sketching the obverse of my work on the last sequence, where, even if I know the
picture’s overall length is too great, I never skimp. I even add footage
the action as I see it.
I use my drawing skills to enable me to visualize the action and when I think of some action that was not on the storyboard.
stimulate my creativity. I draw at top speed, roughing out the poses When you have finished this pruning process, you now have estab¬
with very little indication of a background, and no indication of the field lished the parameters for the entire picture. No other sequence will be
size. No scene numbers or drawing numbers, either. All that material as slow as this section, or as fast-moving and dynamic as the previous
is sheer bookkeeping and has no place in my creative mood. one.
Very often, I do this work at night or on weekends because I want
total focus on the problem of directing. If it is done during the workday,
my assistant has strict orders that I am not to be interrupted for any Nuts and Bolts
reason. The right side of my brain must have an unimpeded session
because in many ways the fate of the picture is being decided at this At this point, it might be a good idea to go back to the finished work
and indicate field sizes, camera moves, and scene numbers. Do each
time.
This is the most exciting phase of the director’s work. You must try operation separately; don’t do all three at once. If you are doing fields,
to put yourself into that ruminative mood where you are at once the for example, that is all you are thinking about.
audience and the performer. The drawings that are being created are Note that every sequence starts with scene one. I do that so I don’t
for your pleasure as the spectator. Draw whatever comes into your have to wait until the entire picture is on the bar sheets before I can
mind; keep it open to the most vagrant possibility. Discard it only when begin to number each shot.
it so far from the story line that it is not feasible. Otherwise, explore Take on the problem of the remaining sequences in order of their
every idea. After all, you are making drawings that at most take two importance, paying strict attention to the tempo of cutting that has been
minutes; throwing them away is no great hardship. set up by your two initial sequences. Now I know that there are many
Do not stop for an instant until you have roughed out the key poses other ways of directing a film but I have never come across a method
for the entire sequence. You will find that some scenes have required that can control the pace of a picture as well as this. However, directing
a single drawing to express your concept; others will have as many as is such a personal experience, that I am sure each of you will find some
ten or fifteen sketches. Put them in a folder and go to the next sequence. variation of my methods.
Realize that in making the rough sketches, I have not kept the layout
artist from having a better camera angle than the one I have indicated.
Pruning the Roughs But it’s then that person’s job to convince me that the new camera angle
is better. Often a discussion will result in still a third camera angle being
Choose the slowest one in terms of action; it, therefore, probably will chosen. The main point is that my sketches do not represent some
be the slowest in terms of cutting. ironclad concept. They will help the layout artist just as the storyboard
Again, draw at top speed. Never stop to think. “Think” with your drawings do. They provide a springboard for his or her ideas just as they
pencil. If you have arrived at some impasse, throw the drawings out and did for mine.
start at the point where the material was still good. Never correct a The theory behind my choice of a camera angle is twofold. As soon
drawing. Throw it away instead the instant you see that it is unwork¬ as possible after establishing a long shot to set the locale, I want to move
able. Erasing is using the left side of your brain, and you cannot be in and omit all extraneous detail. Next, I intend to give the audience
judgmental and creative at the same time. a series of optical shocks. I want to make the eyes work to adjust to
This is the sequence that should undergo the most rigorous pruning. , the procession of compositions from one shot to the next. I’ll explain
I have a rule of thumb; if I think that I would be bored by animating | more about that in the following chapter.

I
104 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN The Director II 105

There are a few basic approaches to scene cuts that are important. a very vigorous action, contrasting it with the quiet scene preceding.
When setting up the cuts during dialogue, one can start the dialogue One psychological block to watch out for concerns the fact that
ofFscene or cut to a reaction shot before the end of a sentence. When storyboard paper usually has a printed field. These printed fields should
you have two or more characters talking, overlapping the sentences and not influence your choice of camera moves.
the scene cuts prevents a mechanical feeling in the editing. The camera plotting should be fluid, guided only by the need to keep
Be careful about seeing to it that long stretches of dialogue are made the action framed in a good composition, which is why I rough out the
interesting by some action germane to the plot. Once, during the pro¬ action for myself without any attempt to circumscribe the movement
duction of a live-action film, I began to realize that a sequence between of the characters with a previously determined field. Later, when I go
a boss and his salesman was going to be dull because of a lack of action. back and add the field, I am giving this important function my full and
The salesman was getting orders to go out west but he was apprehensive undivided attention. For the most part, camera moves should be unob¬
because the last three salesmen before him had been shot dead. trusive. Sometimes, a fairly subtle move can readjust a composition and
The information was important to the plot but I didn’t want to show save an action from being uncomfortably near the edge of the field.
two talking heads in an office. Suddenly, I got a brainstorm. We had As you do this work, preliminary to compiling the bar sheets, keep
not considered dressing the salesman while the men talked. Now we in mind that it is sharply divided between highly creative effort and
used it to embellish the dialogue. bookkeeping. Never make the mistake of trying to do work in both
The salesman, Orson Bean, really milked the dressing action. He was categories simultaneously.
given a racoon cap and fringed buckskin jacket that had belonged to
the last salesman. He did things such as poking a finger dubiously
through a bullet hole in the jacket just as the boss was assuring him with
false heartiness that it was a wonderful job opportunity for a young
man. So the sequence, which might have been a pedestrian part of the
picture, was one of the funniest.
The problem of providing enough interesting action often occurs in
singing sequences. Study any Disney feature to see how the songs are
always linked to the plot so that the story progresses even while the
song goes on.
Do not always finish an action in the scene where it started. For
example, in a scene of a character getting out of a chair, it is better to
have the action start in that shot and finish in the following scene—
making sure that the action matches, of course.
It isn’t necessary to have connecting shots when going from one
locale to another. For example, we see a person about to leave his house.
Before we cut, somebody else’s voice can be heard. In the next scene,
we see another person who has been talking. Truck back and reveal our
first character already seated in a chair, listening.
The more conventional approach would be to dissolve from the first
shot to show a change of locale. A fade out would indicate the finish
of a sequence. Sometimes for shock value, I fade out on a quiet scene,
and instead of fading in on the succeeding shot, I cut. This is a good
device if I want to jolt the audience with a very noisy sound track or
 The Director III 107

The “x” you see at the beginning marks a beat. In this case, it
indicates where Noah’s foot hits the deck. Twelve exposures later, there
is another step, and so on. We see that the fourth step is shorter, only
eight exposures. Then Noah turns around, which takes sixteen expo¬
sures, going into a take that lasts another sixteen exposures.
There is a cut to scene fifteen. What has horrified Noah is a giant
wave building up throughout this scene.
Cut to scene sixteen. On the nineteenth exposure, the wave crashes
down on the ark.
The Director III: Cut to scene seventeen. The ark eomes into a shot of a whirlpool and
starts spinning in the last twelve exposures of the shot.
Bar Sheets and Track Analysis Dissolve to scene eighteen, which is in the ship’s interior. The ele¬
phant starts to spin with the momentum of the ark. On the twenty-fifth
exposure, he hits a large group of animals and they all start to revolve.
At this point, note that the music has gone into a waltz tempo, three-
eight.
Cut to scene nineteen as the ark, still spinning, starts to approach the
lip of a waterfall.
Cut to scene twenty as Noah grabs the wheel and starts to turn it at
the rate of six exposures for each complete revolution.
First, you will note that the bar sheet is laid out in bars, similar to a
sheet of music. This is because the music composer is going to write a
score that will often closely interpret the action indicated in the bars. Indicating Dialogue

Returning to the beginning of the page, dialogue is indicated after six

exposures of scene fourteen. The sentence is exactly thirty-three expo¬
Following the Sample Bar Sheet
sures long. I think you now understand why the track measurements
have to be so accurate.
Aside from the job number, picture title, sequence letter, and page
There is another sentence that starts eleven exposures after the begin¬
number, all of which are self-explanatory, there is a small box on the
ning of scene fifteen, ending fourteen exposures into scene sixteen. A
left labeled “beat.” This fixes the tempo of this particular section of the
new sentence starts eight exposures before the end of the shot, continues
film. It indicates that each bar is made up of two twelve-exposure beats.
through scene seventeen, and ends eighteen exposures into scene eigh¬
I have chosen this tempo at random. It could have been a three-eight
teen. There is a space of twenty-four exposures before a new sentence
tempo, four-seven, or whatever tempo seems to best suit the action. The
starts. This runs two exposures into scene nineteen.
tempo is arrived at by a discussion with the composer if the score is
going to be original. If the score is going to be library music, the choice
is up to the director.
The scene numbers are circled for visibility. Next to them are short
Camera Instructions
scene descriptions. The top two lines are marked “action.” Because the
Going back to the beginning again, there are camera instructions. Scene
action may be complicated, with several things happening at once,
fourteen has a truck back to a long shot, which starts on the twelfth
having two lines makes it easier to write the timing of the action more
exposure and ends thirty-seven exposures later.
clearly.

106
 The Director III 109
108 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

SHEETO/6

uj o

5c/>
3 z
Oo
</> tr

Sample bar sheet, with all relevant information filled in.

JOB
110 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN The Director III 111

There is a three-foot dissolve between scenes seventeen and eighteen, Scene twenty has the music retard, then a triumphant fanfare as
which is indicated by crossed lines. The scene number is always placed Noah begins to control the ark.
in the middle of the dissolve. A pan starts on the thirty-seventh expo¬
sure and is thirty-two exposures long. You can see how a bar sheet is the blueprint for the whole picture,
Another pan starts at the beginning of scene nineteen and continues covering, as it does, all aspects of production. Taken one element at a
throughout the shot. time, it is not the formidable document it probably seemed to be before
There is a fade-out twelve exposures long, indicated by the arrow’s this explanation of each function.
head in scene twenty. Making the rough sketches and annotating the bar sheets would
probably take three weeks to a month for a half-hour special, and as
little as a day for a thirty-second television commercial.
Sound Effects

Sound effects are next. Noah’s footsteps are heard on the deck and a Why Use Bar Sheets?
wind effect starts fourteen exposures before the end of scene fourteen.
The wind effect continues throughout scene fifteen and sixteen. There There are directors who do not use bar sheets at all. Usually, they are
is a splash effect as the wave comes down on the ark, starting nineteen directors who have risen from the ranks of the layout artists and design¬
exposures after the start of scene sixteen. ers without ever having done animation. So they write very general
Seventeen continues the wind but now adds the sound of rapids; then instructions in the action column of the exposure sheet, trusting that
both fade out at the beginning of scene eighteen. There is a crash as the the animators will supply the detailed actions without further instruc¬
elephant hits the other animals twenty-five exposures after the start of tion. While it certainly is possible to produce and direct animation using
the shot. this method, it has obvious disadvantages.
The wind effect is heard again at the beginning of scene nineteen and The musical structure is going to be by guess and by God, unlike the
continues through scene twenty. well-ordered suggestions indicated in the sample exposure sheet. Dur¬
All the music notes are nonspecific but the effect called for is definite ing sweatbox sessions, a director who has been an animator can order
and certainly provides a composer with a sound structure on which to the addition of three exposures here and five there with confidence in
build the score. the resulting retake. Without the bar sheets, nobody can “read” the
For scene fourteen, I am suggesting a feeling of agitation, then a entire picture with a clear understanding of every department’s contri¬
chord to emphasize Noah’s horrified take. bution. It is doubtful whether a person who has not been an animator
Since the wave is building up in scene fifteen, I have a notation for can ever develop and hone a sense of timing so keen that a twenty-
an ascending phrase, which continues into sixteen, ending with a chord fourth of a second is a distinct unit of measurement.
that coincides with the sound effect of the wave hitting the ark. In the
final recording, I intend to mix the sound effect and music in such a
way that the effect is dominant. Dialogue Track Analysis
In scene seventeen, I suggest a descending theme opposing the as¬
cending phrase in scene fifteen. While the director has been compiling the bar sheets, the editor has
I indicate the possible use of strings to interpret the elephant’s spins been analyzing the dialogue track. Each word is being broken down to
in scene eighteen; then a timpani beat to reinforce the effect as the its combination of vowels and consonants.
elephant hits the group; and then resuming strings for the waltz. Editors unfamiliar with the proper analysis of a dialogue track, and
In scene nineteen, the waltz continues but an ominous theme begins who do not understand the way an animator goes about using this
to overshadow it. information, will often try to annotate the breakdown of the words by
 112 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

their actual spelling, instead of an analysis of the sound being made.

An animator would be very perplexed to find the word straight
spelled out in the dialogue column of an exposure sheet. Of course, the
proper way to set down the analysis would be strait. The word enough
would become enuff, sight would be site, and so on. The English
language is loaded with such incongruities between spelling and pro¬
nunciation. The only answer is to use phonetics exclusively for track
analysis.
Once again, here is a situation where the editor cannot be incorrect
by so much as one exposure. Any mistake will cause the animator to
The Assistant Director
draw mouth action out of sync.
Unfortunately there is no way that track analysis can be taught.
There are no firm rules to which one can adhere other than the fact that
consonants are short and vowels are usually much longer. There is
never a “t,” a “g,” or a “b” that lasts longer than one or two exposures.
While in a hog-calling contest it would be possible to hold a vowel
sound until the caller was out of breath, nobody could manage to hold
a consonant that long. It is physically impossible.
So if you look at the track analysis on an exposure sheet and the
editor has indicated that “k” is five exposures long, you can be sure that
you are looking at the work of a novice. The job of assistant director provides an opportunity to learn at first¬
The actual application of the track analysis to the animation will be hand all the complexities of filmmaking. It would seem that it is only
explained in a later chapter. an easy jump away from becoming a director. But this is misleading,
because the very character structure that makes for a good assistant is
the direct antithesis of those qualities usually found in the kind of
highly creative personality associated with the best directors.

What Makes a Good Assistant Director

An effective assistant is a person blessed with a fabulous memory that

is backed up by an instinctive ability to make accurate and intelligible
notes. Gifted with a sense of order bordering on the obsessive, he or she
meticulously records without special effort the numerous changes that
are made in the bar sheets during the course of production.
Smaller, less important details are seen to. Sharpened pencils and
crayons are always available on the director’s desk; so are blank bar
sheets and animation paper.
The average director has no such attributes. Often the qualities that
make for an outstanding director—easy access to the right side of the

113
114 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN The Assistant Director 115

brain and intuition about working with other creative people—are

accompanied by a lack of interest in details of production, with a
tendency to make mistakes on the bar sheets as a result. SHAMUS CULHANE PROD. INC.

Correcting Bar Sheet Errors

It is up to the assistant to study the director and find out where there
is a possibility of frequent error; for example, locating sentences on the
bar sheets that are in the wrong place because the director has added
up the number of exposures in the beats erroneously. This is a common
mistake in the heat of creativity. When such an error occurs, the
assistant calls it to the attention of the director. This can be corrected,
assuming the assistant catches it. If it is just a question of one or two
exposures short, the director can move the track at the beginning or end
of the sentence to make up the deficit.
A longer mistake—perhaps ten exposures—is harder to correct, even
when a sharp-eyed assistant finds it. The end of the sentence has an
extra beat added and the bar sheet is marked accordingly. There is no
way to add or cut out exposures that do not make a full beat if there
is going to be an original score. One cannot omit or add eight exposures
to a two-twelve beat, or five exposures to a three-eight waltz tempo. The
correction would have to be an addition or deletion of twelve exposures
in the former situation and eight in the latter.
It would be wrong to become smug about the fact that the director
makes mistakes in details that have to be corrected. The kind of mind
that has easy association with flights of fancy just usually does not have
a tendency to be neat and orderly. Neither do sprinters make good
weight lifters.

Exposure Sheets

The assistant has the job of compiling the exposure sheets from the bar
sheets and the editor’s analysis of the dialogue. Of course, this transfer
of information has to be correct to the last exposure. If the director has
marked a sixteen-exposure-held pose on the bar sheets, he would not
want to see it indicated as fourteen exposures on the exposure sheets.
The picture’s title, animator, background number, sequence, scene,
footage, and sheet numbers are self-explanatory, as is the start mark,
field size, and position. Sample exposure sheet.
 I
116 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN The Assistant Director 117

In the action column, the beats are indicated—the first beat by an It is a good idea to make the necessary changes on the bar sheets right
encircled cross; the second by a plain cross. Of course, the beats are after a sweatbox session while the material is still fresh in the mind of
numbered the same as the bar sheets. the assistant.
The next column of numbers marked DIAL is solely for the use of If a correction adds one beat, the assistant writes in the music line
the camera operator. Do not be confused by the fact that there is a line THREE BEAT MEASURE. If the change is two beats, a new bar is
called DIALOGUE on the bar sheets and one called DIAL on the written marked “A” and the number of the previous bar. If the change
exposure sheets. The two have nothing to do with each other. is extensive and a number of bars are involved, it is best to extend the
On the exposure sheets, dialogue is always written in the TRACK bars on the back of the previous page.
column. The dial numbers are always matched to the footage counter
of the camera.
Very often during the course of the photography, the telephone must Production Charts
be answered or the errand boy brings in more new scenes. After the
interruption, the camera operator returns to his work. There is a set of Another important function is keeping the production chart up-to-date.
cels under the platen. The question is whether the work has been When a given piece of work is started, the box is given a diagonal stroke,
photographed before the interruption or not. as indicated. This changes to a cross when the work is finished.
By checking the footage counter against the dial numbers on the The assistant has to keep in daily touch with all department heads
exposure sheets, the camera operator can tell exactly what happened. in order to keep the chart accurate. That way, the director can see at
Nobody else uses these numbers but they are important because they a glance whether the crew is on schedule. It is a good idea for the
make it almost impossible to omit shooting a setup or inadvertently assistant to make daily rounds of the departments at the same time
shooting it twice. every day, either early in the morning or toward the late afternoon.
Dial numbers do not always start with #1. Sometimes, the cut Never underestimate the value of the production chart, because in
occurs in the middle of a beat, so the starting number might be #7 or addition to showing the progress of the picture, it is a record of the reuse
8. It just depends on where the previous scene stopped. Wherever it is, of cels and backgrounds in other than the original scenes.
the camera operator sets the footage counter accordingly before starting One time I was directing a half-hour special in a studio that had never
photography. before done a film longer than a one-minute spot. To my annoyance and
Another chore for the assistant director is the scheduling of meetings anxiety, the assistant director was taking a very slipshod approach to
between the layout and background artists, animators, and the director. the production chart.
The assistant also sets up the pencil-test screening and the projection When all the work had been given out to the animators, I made the
of the dailies. mistake of taking a two-week vacation. My assistant promptly aban¬
doned the production chart as an irritating and useless bit of red tape.
By the time I returned, the studio was in a state of pandemonium.
Revising the Bar Sheet Backgrounds and cels that had to be reused in several future scenes had
already been rephotographed and stored. But where? There were more
During discussion between the animators and the director about the than two hundred scenes already completed and stored in bins!
pencil-test reel, the assistant is expected to make notes about the various It took me and the crestfallen assistant more than a week of reorgani¬
changes, deletions, and additions that are going to be made. Later they zation before we found the missing material and the production chart
are typed and each animator is sent a copy. During the next sweatbox was once more up-to-date. In the interim, the studio was wasting pre¬
session, the assistant refers to the notes to see to it that all changes have cious hours looking through piles of scenes for cels and backgrounds
been made. All such notes are carefully stowed away and not thrown that were holding up production. I would recommend that a production
out until the answer print is approved. chart be made up for even a thirty-second spot.
 The Assistant Director 119

^1
118 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN
Obviously, the major function of the assistant is to see to it that the
1 1 director is spared all paperwork and any other details of the production
/"A i' 1/61 tr. that are not creative. A good assistant will study the work habits of the
director (they are all different) to see where the director’s job can be
ri'C-ike
;cec layout ■>r,rd ninator a ssistant '
caruera canera

lightened.
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It can be seen from this production chart that all the layouts are completed, one
background painted, all animation given out. Only D2 remains unfinished. The
assistants have completed thirteen shots; eleven scenes have been approved in
pencil test after three retakes had been completed. The planners have done eight
scenes; five have been Xeroxed, four painted, three checked, two photographed and
their retakes approved.
A chart like this should be brought up to date daily. It gives the director
complete information about the flow of production in every department.

Casting-Session Notes

During a casting session, the assistant should keep notes regarding the
various comments made about the contenders, as well as the proper
spelling of each name, and the address, telephone number, and Social
Security number of the people selected for the picture. It is up to the
assistant to find out whether the actors have any conflicts, such as work
on a series that limits their available time. Then a schedule is set up for
a recording, and, of course, each actor is notified.
 Field Guides, Peg Bars, and Pan Moves 121

in machinery. Yet everyone concerned must become thoroughly famil¬

iar with the workings of a camera stand and the peg bars.
While the director has to be conversant with the process, he rarely
has to do any of the mathematics because he deals in thumbnail sketches
and rough drawings that have no indication of the camera area. No¬
body else on the staff has such a luxury. Starting with the layouts,
every drawing has to be assigned to an exact position in the camera
field.
It would be almost a hopeless task to try to understand the following
Field 6uides, Peg Bars, text by just reading it. It has to be a hands-on experience, using an
animation board equipped with both still and traveling peg bars, 3-field
and Pan Moves paper, and both 12 and 16 fields. So, if you are just leafing through the
book and do not have the equipment, skip this chapter.
Most of the time, animated films are produced using a 12 field, a
camera area 9 X 12 inches. We use a grid called a 12 F guide. When
the field guide is placed on the pegs, it makes it possible to compute
an exact position for the animation camera within the periphery of the
12 field.

When animated films were first produced, the equipment was very
simple. The animator worked with a set of pegs screwed to a wooden ^
drawing board. He had only one camera area in which to animate t
because the camera was immovable. i
It was mounted on a camera stand made of strips of angle iron. The '
animation was placed on a table underneath the camera, and a rude
framed glass, which was pressed down by hand, was the platen. The 1
general effect of this rickety contrivance was as if somebody had been I
interrupted while building a rabbit hutch. ,
The first improvements on this jerry-built rig were made by John
Oxberry, a very talented engineer and designer. Even his first camera 1
stand was a big improvement because the camera could truck up and
down. Oxberry kept improving his designs until he was building mon¬
ster stands weighing thousands of pounds and operated by computers.
Other designers followed suit and now camera stands are fully auto¬
mated.
All these improvements did pose a problem for the studio staff be¬
cause everybody from the director down had to be able to use all the i
facilities of the camera stand. '
Temperamentally, creative people for the most part are not interested I
120
122 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Field Guides, Peg Bars, and Pan Moves 123

Notice that all the field sizes have a common center. A simple com¬ south edge of 5 F. Trace the field at that position and add the usual
mand would be for the camera to come from a 12 F center to a 3 F production number, and so on.
center. The camera would be made to slide down the supporting col¬
umns. The nearer it got to the art work, the bigger the close-up. Finally,
Exercise: Tracings of Various Field Positions
it would reach the 3 FC position and the photography would be
resumed. The animator’s command on the exposure sheet would be
placed in the camera column and would read: Cut from 12 F to 3 FC Do the following exercises:
An arrow in the camera column would indicate the exposure where 6F2W6Noto9F3So3E
the cut would occur. The animator must include with the drawings in 3F7W6Noto7F5E2So
the scene a tracing of the #FC with the production name or number 9 F 4 So to 4 F 3 No
and the scene number. If there are a number of field sizes in a scene, 10 F 2 W 1 No to 8 F 2 W 3 No
they should be lettered “A,” “B,” “C,” and so on. Make a rough
drawing on a 12 F. Make a tracing of a 3 FC on it just to see how big I hope you caught the erronious 9 F!
a close-up you have made.
If, instead of a cut, we wanted to make a truck from a 12 F to a 3 Normally no animation is photographed on an area smaller than a
FC, an arrow in the camera column would indicate the exact exposure 3 F. Even on a 3 F, the inked or Xeroxed lines of the artwork should
for the start of the truck. The command would read: Start 48 exp. truck be rendered very thin; otherwise, the magnification of tlie lines will
to 3 FC. cause the drawing to appear too coarse.
The animator does not decide on the length of the truck. That is the In addition to the 12 F, there is a 16 F. The center of the 16 F is not
function of the director. The layout artist draws a field size. However, the same as the center on the 12 F. Because the bottom edge of both
the animator may decide that it not quite accurate for the animation fields are the same, the center of the 16 F is north of the center of the
and needs an adjustment. This is often where sizes like 414 and 314 are 12 F. When this field is used, the 12 F platen has to be removed and
used. a 16 F platen installed. All camera moves must be computed from this
When the instructions call for a field size off center, the procedure new center. The method of arriving at field positions is exactly the same
becomes more complex. Suppose the cut is from a 12 F to a 4 F 8 East. as it is on a 12 F.
First make a tracing of a 4 FC, carefully indicating the center. Now take Besides the mobility of the camera, there is still another movement
the tracing off the pegs, slide the center along the horizontal line that in that the peg bars can slide east and west. They can be combined with
bisects the center of the 12 F until it arrives at the eastern edge of the trucks to make very complex action.
8 F. Now make another tracing of the 8 F in this new position. Write For example, we have a pan background on top pegs going to screen
on it the field size and position, the picture name or number, and the right at 1 inch per exposure. On the bottom pegs, we have a move to
scene number. If it was correctly computed, the east edge of the 4 F screen left at 14 inch per exposure. If the pan on the top pegs were
will be on the eastern edge of the 12 F on the guide. railroad tracks and the bottom pegs held a train, the effect would be
Realize that one could not call for a 4 F 9 E. Try it. You will find that the train would be gaining on the camera.
that part of the 4 F would be outside of the 12 F guide. A quick check While these two actions are going on, the camera could be trucking
is made by adding the 4 and 9. Whenever the field size and any number from a 16 F to a 3 F 13 W 7 So. Make these drawings and a tracing
for an off-center position add up to more than 12, it is incorrect. of the final field position, and, in effect, make a dry run as if the material
Now for an even more complex move, from a 12 F to 6 F 3 West was being shot.
and 5 South, usually written as 6 F 3 W 5 So. Draw a 6 F at center. The animator does not devise scenes of this complexity. The director
Slide the tracing along the center line as before to the west edge of 3 and the layout artist would be responsible.
F. Now slide the tracing down south until the center is resting on the It is very important to be fully conversant with every aspect of the
124 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Field Guides, Peg Bars, and Pan Moves 125

field guides and the peg movements. Make up your own exercises and
practice until you are familiar with these tools.
A word of caution about still pegs. Both top and bottom pegs must
have their centers lined up exactly with the center of the field guide you
are using. Be sure never to allow a set of pegs to be inadvertently moved
off center.
The start position of traveling pegs is always measured from the
middle peg of the drawing to the middle of the field guide. For example, A layout sketch by Wayne Becker for Noah’s Animals. Note the indication of a
if the train in the exercise started offscreen and went through the scene truck to a very small field. © 1975 by Westfall Productions, Inc.
and out of screen left, the animator would draw on 3-field paper. The
first position of the paper would be with the extreme left set of peg holes
at center. The drawing of the train would be made so that it was just Pan paper and cels can be bought in an animation-supply house,
outside of the field. The start mark is a vertical line that would be under punched or unpunched. If you want to buy your own punch, be sure
the center peg hole. START would be added. that it is capable of punching 3 or more field paper and cels. It is
Now the drawing would be slid along the peg-bar groove until the surprising that some expensive punches are only designed to punch for
train has cleared the field. Another vertical mark corresponding to the a 9 X 12 field.
center of the field guide would be marked STOP. One can tell at a glance whether or not a punch is going to be
In order to compute the speed of the peg move, the animator first adequate. To the right of the right-hand die, there will be an auxiliary
checks on the screen time the director has indicated. Suppose it is 50 center peg very accurately placed, because after punching the first set
exposures. Now the length of the space between the start and stop of peg holes, the paper or cel is moved to the right and the middle hole
marks is measured. Say this is 20 inches. Divide the 50 exposures into placed on the auxiliary peg. When the punch is pressed down to make
20.00. The train will move to the left at .40 per exposure. Notice that the next set of peg holes, the right-hand die must go smoothly into the
we use the metric system, not inches. The 20 inches would be written hole that has already been punched. The die must not enlarge the hole
as 20.00. The camera moves can be as slow as .01. by so much as a hair’s breadth.
Three-field paper and cels are 1014 by 3714 inches. If you sketch this When the story calls for a violent impact caused by an earthquake
exercise and make the peg moves, you will see why the paper has to be or an explosion that seems to jar the camera, this effect is obtained by
3 fields long. A shorter length would allow the edge of the paper or cel making a series of field sizes that jump from one position to the next,
to show on the screen. and may even tilt.
126 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

An example: We are on an 11 FC. The shake starts hy calling for a

12
9 F 2 W 3 No. Then a 12 F, followed by 9 F, 2 No 3 So. Next a 12
F again, then 9 F 3 No 3 E, and so on. The shake can come to an abrupt
halt, or it can gradually become a series of fields that are only one field
size away from each other. The effect can be shot on ones or twos
_
depending on the violence of the shake.
In making tilted fields, be sure that they still are confined to the field
guide. This field position must be drawn, and if several are used, they
must be identified by letters. For example, the camera column might
read like this:
Layouts I
9 F 2 W 3 So
12 F
Tilt A

A swish pan coming to an abrupt halt can be accented by having the

art go past the STOP mark, come back to a position before the STOP,
go past it again, and so on. This would give an effect of a vibrating stop.
While most artists find all these measurements and grids a boring
business, still, a sound knowledge of this aspect is as necessary as being
able to draw well. The camera operator must have a set of readable and
workable instructions. Exposure sheets have to be read and understood
by every department in the production process. Take some pride in the
fact that you are careful not to make 5 look like 8, or 7 resemble 1, and
that your printed instructions are not like sandpiper tracks. Don’t write
instructions in longhand. Print everything. Over the years it has been
established that the printed word is less likely to suffer from the kind
Eugene Fedorenko, who
of eccentricities that handwriting produces. worked with Derek Lamb on
Every Child, the Academy
Award winner in 1980, was
one of his assistants on this
title for Mystery! The other
was Rose Newlove.

Before going into the problems of laying out advertising spots, half-
hour specials, and feature films, there are two productions that do not
fall into any of these categories: titles and animatics.
Before Saul Bass was called upon to design the titles for Around the
World in Eighty Days, the credits for motion pictures were usually a
fairly pedestrian chore. Bass solved Mike Todd’s predicament about the
pecking order of all the stars involved by making a series of caricatures.

127
 Layouts I 129
128 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

The drawings delighted the audience; mollified the paranoic feelings of title instead. Maybe you can start a trend back to the real function of
the actors and actresses; and a new field was opened to the animation titles. The audience will be thankful.
profession.
Over the years, some very interesting combinations of live action,
animation, rotoscope, and computer animation have been used for the Animatics
creation of titles. Probably the most successful ereations after Around
the World in Eighty Days were the titles for the James Bond series. The other diversion from the mainstream of production is the animatic,
Of course, there are many other films that are enhanced by titles that a brainchild of the ad agencies. It originated because of the blind faith
show a great deal of artistic talent. In fact, so many that it is not agencies have in testing their handiwork before spending the entire sum
necessary to discuss them. It is probably more informative to bear down allocated to a project. It is a film that is little more than photography
on the negative aspects of titles for films and channel signatures— of a storyboard, except that if there are pan backgrounds, they move,
aspects to be avoided. and trucks, fades, and dissolves are shot. The backgrounds are rendered
and the characters are on cels in most cases. A dialogue track is made
and sometimes music and sound effects are added.
When the Title Art Overwhelms the Type An animatic can be so well done that one wonders why it cannot be
used as is, instead of going on with additional work. One time, I made
Many designers seem to have forgotten that the primary purpose of an animatic of a cereal that featured a zany rabbit. It had a number of
titles and signatures is to provide information to the audience. This pans, cuts, and zooms, which propelled the material along at a break¬
information is in the form of lettering and is meant to be read without neck pace. When it was shown to the client, he announced that he was
the reader having to run a gauntlet of artful devices that only make it very well satisfied with the result. When could he start ordering prints?
difficult to absorb the text. The panic-stricken account executive finally talked him into making a
Currently, the television channels are given to what is possibly the completely animated film, but it took some doing!
worst use of computer animation. The artwork would not embellish the I equate the rather pathetic agency belief in the results of screening
cover of a primary-school program celebrating Arbor Day. The cascade animatics for a selected audience with faith in the divine right of kings,
of sparks, waves of colored lights, soaring rectangles flying into the and about as useful.
distance, and lettering—first offered upside down for some occult rea¬ It is obvious that a selected audience is psychologically skewed, it is
son—are all devices designed to defeat the primary purpose of signa¬ bound to be swayed in the direction of approving the production being
tures, that is, readable printed information. shown. It has nothing in common with Joe Zilch, sitting with his shoes
The audience is unable to get at this information until it has endured and shirt off, scratching his belly while swilling down a can of beer. He
a number of optical insults. cannot possibly be looking at a finished television spot in the same mood
The theatrical films do not fare much better. A conservative estimate as a member of a selected audience. This group is bound to be imbued
would be that one out of four main and credit titles are illegible because with a sense of self-importance, and grateful to the agency for the
the lettering is superimposed over a background that is not suitable. We privilege. Joe, on the other hand, is probably waiting with mounting
have white lettering over cloud formations, and red text over lurid red impatience for the avalanche of ads to be over so that he can get back
sunsets. In many cases, the choice of type is poor. Either the lettering to his wrestling match or baseball game.
is too small or the choice is a spidery type with serifs, utterly unsuitable
for viewing on television. (And what film does not end up on the tube?)
If you are given a title to produce, keep in mind that the basic reading Handling the Agency People
speed of an audience is one foot a word. Any graphic embellishments
should not stretch this reading time to the point of tedium. Try to talk Don’t try to talk the agency out of it. At least the animatic does provide
your client out of a surfeit of artwork and design a neat, easy-to-read a chance to establish the style of the finished film and to give some
130 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

indication of the directorial approach. So it isn’t totally a waste of

money, although it is not the insurance of success the agency thinks it
has achieved.
Unlike in the early days of television, the agencies now usually create
their own storyboards long before they have selected a producer; thus,
both the layout artist and the director are effectively tethered. Sugges¬
tions from either should be offered to the agency producer with infinite
tact because somebody’s toes are going to be stepped on, no matter how
discreetly the change is suggested. So the director should weigh the
value of a new idea very carefully, in terms of a cloud-free relationship
with the agency crew, and consider whether this could provoke a
vendetta with the art director, a writer perhaps, or God forbid, the
account executive!
It is not necessarily the fault of the agency people. Perhaps they have
had weeks of trial and rejection with a demanding passel of the client’s
personnel. A change might mean another nerve-racking conference in
order to get approval of the new idea. In turn, who knows, the whole
story structure might come under reexamination by a group absolutely
ignorant of the most primary principles of picture making. With these
factors to contend with, it is obvious that the average suggestion is
going to get a short shrift from the agency. Tread carefully.

A “Don’t” for the Layout Artist

The first duty of a layout artist is to listen as the director presents ideas
about the storyboard sketches, rough drawings of the action, and the
cassette of the dialogue track. Unfortunately, many creative people
have about as long an attention span as a kangaroo with its tail on fire.
I find nothing so exasperating as a layout artist who, immediately on
hearing about the first few scenes slowly takes on a blank look, with
eyes focused faraway. I finally fired such a person. He would happily
interrupt me as I was talking about scene twenty with an enthusiastic
Tilting the field back
idea that would change scene three. Had he waited until I was finished
and forth gave the effect
talking, he might have found that there was a reason in scene thirty for of the ship rocking.
using the composition I had created for scene three. Drawings by Wayne
Becker for Noah’s
Animals. Produced by
Control of the Audience Shamus Culhane
Productions, Inc., for
Theatrical set designers and directors have very little in common with Westfall Productions,
Inc
animation layout people and cartoon directors, in that they have very
132 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

tenuous control over the audience. They can attract the audience’s
attention to certain actors at various times, at least in theory. However,
there is nothing to prevent some members of the audience from straying
away from the designated action to turn a speculative eye toward the
luscious figure of a secondary character.
This can’t happen in motion pictures because the director gives the
audience no choice but to look at the shot that has been preselected.
In addition, the director decides on the amount of time that the audi¬
ence will be allowed to look at a scene. So there is very tight control.
There are advantages and disadvantages to this situation. If the Layouts II:
director stays too long on a camera angle, the audience will be bored.
If the scene is cut too short, the audience will be irritated because the
The Relationship of Scenes
action was not comprehensible. In addition, it is up to the layout artist
to design the sets so that their complexity, or the lack of it, is related
to the screen time involved. This needs good judgment and an instinct
for the amount of time the average person needs to absorb the details
of a scene. Since there are no rules to govern these decisions, each new
picture and every scene in it presents new problems, never ending.
However, if there is a good combination of screen time, interesting
changes in composition, and just enough detail to embellish every
scene, the director and layout artist will have proved to be a good team. A good way to start making layouts might be to draw thumbnail
One can understand how important it is that the layout artist pay sketches covering a part of a sequence, such as all the shots in a certain
attention to the production chart, not only to find out how much interior or exterior on one piece of paper. That way, the chain of shots
footage there is in every scene but also to make it possible to look ahead can be scanned to see to it that the camera angles conform to the
and see where animation and backgrounds are going to be reused, and principles of screen editing.
to design the work accordingly. Often, a sequence starts with an explanatory long shot. To save
money on background rendering, a director on a tight budget will go

In this layout drawing for

Noah's Animals, Don Duga
has carefully indicated the
grain of the wood, instead of
leaving it up to the
background artist. A Shamus
Culhane production for
Westfall Productions, Inc.
134 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Layouts II 135

on from there to a series of closer shots using the same background.

While this is economical, it may not be the best camera angle for a given
action. A better way might be to create several different angles, and to
add some shots using the original long-shot background but with
smaller field sizes.

Screen Direction

These days, when there is a tendency to use many scenes in a sequence,

these multiple cuts must be planned carefully to guard against an error
in screen direction. There is a kind of unwritten set of rules that both
the audience and the filmmakers follow. For example, if there is a shot
of one character riding toward screen right and the following shot
shows another horseman riding toward screen left, the audience will
infer that the two will finally meet. Also if, as we alternate scenes of
the two riders, we use closer and closer shots, the audience will see this
as an indication that the meeting is imminent.
It would not do to start a character going screen right for a number
of shots, then suddenly intersperse a scene where the character is going
left. The inference there would be that the action has reversed itself
One rider has turned back.
An incidental tip on screen psychology is that if a character is doing
something difficult, say a sequence of a man struggling through deep
snowdrifts, it is better to show him going toward screen left because we
in the Western world read from left to right. Thus, this action going
screen left is against our natural mode of making our eyes travel and
therefore it makes the action seem more difficult.
Head-on or tail-away shots are neutral in that they do not indicate
a specific screen direction. Neutral, that is, as long as they show the
character in the center of the screen. But if the character exits to screen
These thumbnail sketches illustrate the principle of
left or right, that sets up a definite pattern of screen direction that must
the action axis. Make a sketch of any scene in
be followed. reverse and see how the action becomes distorted.
When showing a menacing figure—a rhino attacking a group, for
example—the action will not be dramatic enough if the charging rhino
is only seen on a horizontal pan. A head-on shot would be much more The Action Axis
effective because it puts the audience in the position of the hunters;
whereas in the side view, the audience is in effect safely behind the In a sequence showing two or more actors, the action axis must be
camera. observed. This is an imaginary horizontal line that runs through the
 Layouts II 137
136 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN
anything outside of a nine-field shot will stand a good chance of not
actors. As long as the camera operates on one side of the line, any
appearing on the television screen. So in composing layouts, there are
camera angle is permissible. However, if a shot strays over the action
really two working areas: the full field and the television field, which
axis it will look as if the position of the actors has been reversed.
is always figured at three-fourths of the motion picture field. Whatever
There is no way to ignore these covenants between the audience and
size the field is, the television cutoff must always be computed from the
the filmmakers. Any transgression will be considered an unacceptable
center of that field. There are no exceptions to this fact. All important
mistake.
action and all lettering must stay within the television field; otherwise,
At this point, it would be a good idea to take the thumbnail sketches
to the director to discuss any possible changes in the layouts, revisions i( will not appear on the tube.
in the camera angle or character sketches.

Using Overlays and Underlays

Let the Action Guide the Scene
An overlay is a drawing of a portion of a background that is going to
After that, I would start by drawing the characters throughout a scene, be rendered separately and pasted on a cel. It often is used over a
then the set. The reason for that is to prevent a common mistake: character instead of having the inker match a complicated area so that
drawing a character whose nose rests on the vertical line of a door in I he character seems to be behind it. A good example would be a person
the distance; or placing the head in such a position that it looks as if walking behind a picket fence. To have the fence a part of the back¬
it is wearing a flowerpot or some other object in the background on its ground and to have to match each picket to the body so that this
head. particular area is not painted would be a monumental job. It is so much
When a character is doing something that is directly related to the easier to paint the whole body and place the picket fence on an overlay,
background—reaching into a basket on the floor, for example—the saving the inker from a tedious matching job and the possibility of
character who is reaching should be drawn first, then the basket is making a mistake.
sketched in its proper position on the layout; never the other way Another use of overlays is to make them function as wild walls on
around. The action of reaching is restricted by the physical proportions a movie set. For a scene where the camera is going to have to pan into
of the character (unless the style of the pictures allows for distortion
in the stretching), so the movement has to be within a certain area. The
position of the basket is governed by this restriction.
In other words, the action guides the layout artist into composing a
scene rather than a background being drawn and the action of the
characters superimposed on it.
Do not struggle to keep the camera still. Sometimes a slight pan will
give the action a freedom and grace that would not be possible without
the camera move. Do not think of the screen as a box in which the
characters perform. Rather, see the edges of the screen as a kind of
peephole through which one is looking at boundless space, north and
south, as well as east and west.

Television’s Restricted Field

The camera trucks in past the window frame in A. This overlay is then removed,
One nuisance is the fact that there is a cutoff area on television that and the camera trucks back to a full 12 field as the artwork B pans to the left,
revealing the other end of the room.
pares down a twelve-field shot to a nine-field centered. In other words.
138 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Layouts II 139

a window and along the interior of a room, the exterior wall and ends of the pan paper have exactly the same composition. When the
window are an overlay. When the camera has trucked down so far that camera operator comes to one end of the pan, he returns to the other.
it has gone past the window frame, the camera operator will remove the This cycled pan can go on indefinitely. The middle portion can be any
overlay wall, revealing the interior of the room, and pan along. length.
Another example would be a mountain road as seen by the driver of
an automobile. It is rough and precipitous, with a big drop on the left
and a steep vertical cliff rising next to the shoulder on the right. The
camera trucks down as if the car was traveling along. When it reaches Designing the Film
a point where the cliff edge is out of the field, the camera operator can
remove the overlay, revealing another section of the road, perhaps a Usually the director has sketched out little more than a horizon line to
hairpin curve, which makes the camera truck back to a wide field. go with the roughs of the action, leaving it up to the layout artist to
style the picture. This is not a solo decision. It calls for a conference
with the background artist and the director after a few exploratory
The camera trucks in past the overlay, A. The layouts have been made. Now the layout artist is in a position to suggest
camera operator removes it and starts a pan Ihe kind of medium that should be used.
moving to the right with background B. The
Of course, the director has the final approval but very often follows
camera could open up to a 12 field by the end of
(he layout artist’s advice. After all, that’s the person who is going to
the pan, then start a truck along the curves of
the road with a still background, ending on a 3 design the film, and the choice of medium is going to influence the way
field in the distance. Ihe layouts are drawn. Art Heineman, one of the all-time great layout
artists, liked to design his pictures for colored-paper backgrounds. This
meant that all color areas were going to be flat surfaces with no grada¬
tions of value. As I recall, one of Heineman’s best results was a bril¬
liantly colored Walter Lantz cartoon. The Greatest Man in Siam.
In another musical film. Boogie Woogie Man, we even related the
colors on the screen to the orchestration. The picture was designed with
cold colors until the music reached a riff, then for that short time, we
3. used backgrounds that were vivid orange, red, or yellow, then back to
An underlay also can be useful. On a horizontal pan, a section of the Ihe cold blues, violets, and blacks, repeating the process on each riff.
distant countryside and the sky are on an underlay, and the middle The artists at UFA made no effort to give their films a feeling of
distance and foreground on an overlay. In between them is a train realism. They did not attempt to hide the fact that their layouts, back¬
whose tracks are hidden by a depression in the ground. If the train grounds, and characters were all very stylized drawings and paintings,
enters at a speed that is faster than the overlay pan, and the underlay Ihe direct opposite of the Disney approach.
is going at a lesser speed, the result will be a three-dimensional effect. “Tom Terrific,’’ a television series designed by Gene Deitch, had no
Both layout paper and background paper come in a number of backgrounds at all. The characters were inked or Xeroxed in a heavy
lengths, from one field to five or six fields. If, for some reason, long black line and the action was played against colored paper, often with¬
paper is not available, an overlay can be used to mask the join of the out even a horizon line.
background paper. This seam is not necessarily a straight vertical line. Whatever the medium that is going to be used to color the back¬
It can be neatly curved to go behind any object as long as it is tall grounds, it should be decided upon before the layout drawings are very
enough to hide every part of the seam: a tree, a well with a roof, a tall far along. The relationship between the layout artist and the back¬
bush, or for the interior, a floor lamp, a chest of drawers, and so on. ground artist varies from team to team. There is no set rule about the
Another type of pan is called a hook-up. As the name implies, both division of work. Some layout artists will draw everything in meticulous
140 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Layouts II 141

detail; others will barely sketch in the salient features of the set. What On the other hand, there are films such as Max Fleischer’s Mr. Bug
is important is that each artist feel that his or her creative ability is not Goes to Town where the use of low-angle and aerial shots were an
being curtailed or encroached upon. The director usually allows the two absolute necessity. The difference in size between the humans and the
people to settle the peripheries of their work between them. insects made for very tricky perspective shots, but they were germane
I would suggest that both the layout artist and the background artist to the story. They were necessary in order to establish and bring home
study set design; so, for that matter, should the director. A good rule forcefully to the audience how tiny and helpless the insects were and
of thumb is that the composition of a shot should look unbalanced or liow precarious their existence was, living in such close proximity to
empty until the characters are added. They are the hub of the composi¬ human beings.
tion, around which all the other components revolve. If a scene looks I hate to use a layout artist who draws characters badly. I don’t want
like a complete and finished entity without the characters, be wary. The to have to tell an animator during a handout to ignore this or that
composition may be so busy that the characters may not play easily in drawing of the characters because it does not conform to the model
the space allotted to them. slieet. Nothing is more dismaying to an animator than having to start
Watch out for sequences of scenes that follow each other and have working on a scene with a poor set of drawings that are a clumsy
very similar compositions. The audience may find the film boring with¬ inlerpretation of the key poses. I think it often results in the animator
out knowing why. The human eye likes to work. It is a pleasure to have no( doing his or her best work.
to keep making adjustments to variations of camera positions, different Designing the sets may be the primary function of the layout artist,
horizon placements, sudden moves from long shots to close-ups. All bill character size, pose, and placement are important sources of infor¬
these visual exercises are a delight to the eye, completely separate from mation for the animator. Therefore, they should not be skimmed over.
the plot or the acting ability of the players. Dull compositions can take 11 is not a waste of time for the layout artist to practice drawing the
the fine edge off a good story. characters in order to gain enough control over them to be able to draw
A montage with a good deal of fast cutting can be an exciting, a good key pose.
thrilling visual experience. Sergei Eisenstein was an expert at creating
them. In effect, he gave the audience an optical roller-coaster ride, and
the people loved it. A study of his films reveals that the sequence of his Making Drawings for the Animator
compositions was always an important tool in his filmmaking.
I have nothing against unusual camera angles, providing they are Wliich drawings to make for the animator? The layout artist should be
doing a job, showing some important piece of business in the best guided by a few simple rules. Obviously, it’s necessary to draw the first
possible composition. But I do not want an artful shot just as an and last pose of a scene in order to show the hookup between the
extension of the layout artist’s ego. My theory about the use of very connecting shots, if any.
unusual camera angles is that they are like condiments to be used Using my mode of directing, I come up with a pile of rough sketches
sparingly. I liave made. If I have drawn them, it is because I feel that they are
I have seen a crane shot used to show a group of children leaving important factors in interpreting the action. They should be cleaned up
school when a closer shot at eye-level would have been infinitely more against a very rough sketch of the set, which is going to be subject to
interesting. Camera operators shooting films for television seem to like many small changes as the various poses are finished. A very rough field
aerial shots; yet who needs to be watching from overhead while three size has been indicated on my sketches, but now is the time to zero in
detectives break down a door? on the exact position and size of the field. Here is where one must not
Sometimes I reject an odd point of view in a layout, to the artistN be restricted by the lines of the field. They are flexible parameters, not
vexation. I explain that I try never to remind the audience that it is insurmountable barricades. A small, almost imperceptible camera
being manipulated, forced to look at the action from a point of view that move might provide a more comfortable feeling of space for the action.
we choose. So the gnat’s-eye view in a shot is rejected in favor of a more Remember your audience. You are dealing with the human eye, an
normal and less obtrusive camera angle. exquisite instrument for gauging space and mass.
 Layouts II 143
142 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

Throughout the picture, you are trying to manipulate the eye by swift same thing. In Julian’s case, he wasn’t. But he did leave details for
changes in composition, providing adequate space for action, and giv¬ Julian to add, and embellish the backgrounds.
ing satisfaction to the eye by the mix of long shots, close-ups, pans, and
trucks that you and the director are using to interpret the story. The
eye is quick to discern a shot where the action seems crowded by the 'I'he Morgue: A Visual Resource
set, hemmed in by the boundaries of the field. It is not a comfortable
This brings us to an important tool for the layout artist—the morgue.
feeling.
It is the difference between trying to fall back on one’s memory all the
lime and leafing through dozens of ideas that might span ages of a
particular culture.
Layouts
I remember a story I wrote and directed about three kittens who lived
The layout artist’s job is very important because of the responsibility in a house. I decided that the furniture should be Early American. We
for the appearance, the graphic style of the film. Remember it is not found some catalogues and magazines about antiques and proceeded to
your sole concern. A triad—the director, layout artist, and background tiraw a series of tables, chairs, and other objects in this style. It made
artist—are all equally concerned. So be sure that right from the first a very interesting-looking picture.
handout of the picture there is a clear understanding of what the There is no background so prosaic that it offers nothing to to the
director wants as a final result, and that this feeling is shared by the layout artist’s imagination—even so ordinary a subject as the front of
a brick wall. Why not a wall that has been damaged and repaired with
background artist, as well.
During the first layouts, do not be hesitant about going to the director a different-sized brick? How about crowning the top with broken glass?
for approval of some aspect of the work that seems to be an improve¬ What about a six-foot return at some point in that wall so that it is not
ment on the original concept but does deviate slightly. A good director just running parallel to the picture plane? Perhaps a cast-iron gate
will welcome the discussion; this kind of improvement keeps a film would enliven the shot.
malleable, improving the original idea at every stage of production. In all cases, these embellishments should never impede or compete
Above all, don’t sulk if one of your ideas has been rejected. Remem¬ with the animation. When in doubt, leave it out.
ber that the director is responsible for every part of the picture. It s true Putting together a morgue should be fun. There is such a profusion
he may have made a mistake in rejecting your suggestion, but like an of material that in no time one should have amassed a fairly large
umpire, he has to call them as he sees them. Be philosophical; if you collection of information.
still think it’s a good idea, put it away in a file. Maybe it will be more The trick is to have it properly catalogued. It has been said that a
morgue is a collection of great material that happens to be of no use
applicable in another picture.
A whole spate of live-action pictures have been produced recently on the present assignment.
that feature wet streets at night. It took all this time for the live-action One of the chores is to have annual weeding-out projects so that the
people to learn what a background artist such as Paul Julian was doing morgue is up-to-date and reflects your burgeoning knowledge of the
in Friz Freleng’s Warner Brothers cartoons thirty years ago. layout business. Don’t delegate this task to a subordinate. It is impor¬
The streaks of varicolored lights from store windows and traffic lights tant that you do it and absorb information about the contents of your
reflected in the puddles make for most intriguing patterns, much more morgue. Then when you need a picture of an Eskimo snow knife, you
interesting than the same street when there has been no rain and the pretty much know whether you have such a thing.
It is amazing how the memory can be honed to remember so much
various lights are not reflecting in anything.
What it indicates is again a certain kind of thinking. Paul Julian was about the many pieces of information in a morgue. I remember once
not painting a stereotype of a street. He was looking for a chance to I hat I needed a shot of a pack of hounds. I immediately knew that I
depict one special street. The layout artist should have been doing the had such a shot. It was from the cover of a magazine and had one corner
144 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Layouts II 145

torn off. I cut that cover out forty years before but I remembered that Crusades Egypt
it had a torn corner! This was because I examined it about once a year World War I Asia
in my annual spring cleaning of the morgue. China
World War II
Japan
Here is the way I catalogued my morgue.
Boston Africa
Adams Landscapes New York Greece
Jefferson Seascapes Philadelphia Russia
T. Roosevelt Landscapes, fantastic Other American cities Roman
F. D. Roosevelt England, medieval
Ships, ancient
Jeff Davis Interiors, ancient France, medieval
Ships, modern
Lincoln Interiors, modern
Weapons, ancient Space equipment
Truman Exteriors, ancient
Weapons, modern Machinery, ancient
Washington Exteriors, modern
Airplanes Machinery, modern
Wilson
Automobiles
Napoleon Prehistoric Paris
Other famous men Birds Assyria London
Insects Babylonia Moscow
Curie
Animals, wild This is my version of a morgue. Of course, layout artists will collect
Carry Nation
Animals, domestic file material according to their personal interests. In addition, watch for
E. Roosevelt
Fish books and magazines on furniture, architecture, uniforms, weapons,
Joan of Arc and so on. Over the years one should amass an impressive library
Reptiles
Thatcher covering a variety of subjects. That way, if one is called upon to design
Western Indians
Other famous women a house, whether it is a New England saltbox or a hacienda with six-foot
Plains Indians
walls, you will have the information. Also, always remember, if you
Cartoon men Eastern Indians don’t have it, the public library probably will.
Cartoon women Aztec Study every aspect of the physical world. If you don’t know what a
Cartoon children Maya monadnock is, or scree, alluvial plains, schist, deltas, and buttes and
mesas, you don’t know much about landscapes. It will take years before
Realistic men Inca
you become a well-informed artist, so start today to equip yourself. You
Realistic women Eskimos
will end up with a unique form of art education.
Realistic children South Pacific

Occupations American Revolution

Uniforms, army American Civil War
Uniforms, navy Korean War
Uniforms other than war Vietnam War
 Animating 147

camera operator and find out how much footage can be shot in an hour.
Ilslimates will differ.
Do not think that it would be time-saving to do the inbetweening and
tlic animation simultaneously. Do it by steps. First the quick sketch,
(lien the rough animation, numbering, spacing charts, and exposure
slicets. Then the inbetweens. That is the way it will be done in the
studio, so get used to the proper procedure.
This may seem to be an odd admonition but it is valid: Never forget
your audience! The question might be put, “Which audience?” because
Animating American cartoons play all over the world.
Of course, there is no such thing as a typical audience. Even in the
United States, we have vast ethnic differences. A canoe builder in Maine
lias very little in common with the lady owner of a dude ranch in
Arizona, and even less with a fur cutter in New York City.
The audience of which you should be aware when you are animating
is yourself.
You are being trained to make funny drawings, to caricature normal
human situations and animal behavior so that you can appeal to the
basic emotion shared by the whole of mankind—laughter.
This is why when you are animating, you must surrender to the tug
One of the most important factors in animating is a good work space. of your emotions and draw from your feelings. You do not share your
There should be a place to pin up model sheets so that they are always thinking processes with others, because you have a unique life experi¬
visible. You need a number of shelves for stacks of animation paper, ence. What you do share are feelings, sense of humor, a wry apprecia¬
rough sketches, and finished animation. Your desk should be broad tion that we are an odd species, that working for a living and marriages
enough to have room for a good pencil sharpener, a jar full of freshly have built-in problems that are universal, as do other relationships,
sharpened pencils and colored crayon pencils, another jar for pencils such as children and parents.
with worn points, a small box full of erasers. So, as you animate, let yourself without reservation be both the
Your animation board should be large enough to contain the disk and entertainer and the entertained.
your working set of exposure sheets. There should be a piece of beaver- I am sure that by this time you have started to grumble about all this
board or similar compressed board. Your current section of the story¬ chatter about right side and left side of the brain. It is true that these
board should be thumbtacked to it. It is to be hoped that you can leave (heories are being proselytized by a drawing teacher who is not in the
all this set up so that it is instantly available at all times. Nothing is less animation profession, but works in a California university, by an anima¬
conducive to enthusiastic work than having to drag the whole ensemble tor who is so old that he remembers when a hot dog cost a nickel, and
out of a closet and set it up before a drawing can be done. also by a bevy of pointy-headed scientists who are as far removed from
The ideal components would include a tripod and a 16 mm camera animated cartoons as they are from the Bushmen’s circumcision rites.
rigged to shoot one exposure at a time. Of course, what’s best to do, Let us say that you are right. We just don’t have the clout to convince
if you can afford it, is to run, do not walk, to your favorite photographer you that the way we are trying to have you work and think is better
every time you have accumulated an hour’s camera work, so that you than good old American common sense and a Pink Pearl eraser. Would
can see your film as soon as possible, while the animation is still fresh you settle for Joan Miro, who said that “Creativity lies below the level
in your mind. It would be a good idea to discuss your venture with the of consciousness”? How about Gustave Moreau, Matisse’s teacher:

146
 Animating 149
148 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

“Art is the pursuit, by plastic means, of the expression of inner feel¬ It is surprising how many people go through life looking but not
seeing. They have no interest in the activities around them, operating
ings”?
Matisse was aware of the need to divest himself of the restraints of in a kind of limited consciousness. For an artist, and especially an
painting and drawing with the left side of his brain. He just didn’t know animator, this self-imposed stupor is not acceptable.
about the function of the left and right hemispheres, so he called them Are you in a bus? How do old people sit down? How do the pelvis
conscious and unconscious. But his words were true. He told his pupils and shoulders work in a creaky body? What angles do they take in an
that when they were drawing a tree, they should feel the growth, not elfort to shift from a sitting to a standing position? What kind of
get bogged down with the texture of the bark and the pattern of the expressions do the passengers have? Happy, dour, saturnine, vulpine,
limbs. It was more important to record the feelings that the tree morbid, weary, hostile?
See the world around you. Even the most common activities are
aroused.
How about Samuel Johnson’s version of my high-speed technique? amazingly interesting. Here is a crowded market. See the tentative
I quote him loosely: “If I want to find out how good a sermon a squeezing of fruit, the suspicious expression. The judgmental smelling
churchman can write, I would have him write one as quickly as he can. of a melon. Is it fresh? The thoughtful rejection or the satisfied accept¬
Then go back and correct it.” After he had designed one of the windows ance as it is placed carefully in the shopping cart.
in the chapel at Vence and it had been installed, Matisse remembered Did you ever think how often humans can act like chickens? Watch
that the motif was from a cloak that he had seen in a museum some people at a counter where clothing is on sale. The hands dart out and
thirty years before! Obviously, he had a memory bank. pluck at the material, give it a little shake, drop it and peck at some
Jean Chariot, the French artist and essayist, wrote in Artist on Art: Ollier piece, just like chickens scratching around a barnyard.
“We know by the letters of Van Gogh, that the great master of his type Eating is such an atavistic pursuit that a restaurant is a happy hunt¬
works with his mind at such a pitch that would be exhausting to sustain. ing ground for the observing artist. Here one can see gluttony, naked
Such exaltation is made fruitful only through long years of emotional and unadorned. Repulsion to food, being acted out by the anorexic. The
experience and study. To such a master, the moment of work is what poor girl eating with her boyfriend, trying to ape the manners of a
to the saint is the moment of ecstacy ... to attempt a slowing down duchess, with her little finger cocked away from the handle of her coffee
of his painting technique would result for the artist in a distinct loss, cup. The slob, head bent almost into his plate, grease trickling down
a muddling and an obscuring of the unmarred mental image that he his stubbled chin, shoveling food down his maw without stopping to
envisions as a start.” taste it. Who can tell when one of these characters will be recalled from
It has been suggested that the reason our approach to creativity has your memory bank twenty years from now to become a superb piece
been rejected so firmly is that people are frightened by the experience. of animation?
The senses are heightened, very much as they are during a sexual
encounter, and this seems almost sacrilegious during work hours. One
is, according to our puritan ethos, suppose to suffer during the creative learning to See
process, not have the equivalent of an orgasm.
The more I read about the process of creativity among famous artists Observing the world around you with the keen eye of an animator
in any medium, the more I am sure that their happy acceptance of this should become second nature to you. But it will not happen overnight.
trancelike state is the reason for their greatness. For some time you will have to practice seeing instead of looking on
The human being can be very selective. During a day in the country, a conscious level, asking yourself what is unique about the actions of
after the first few moments of awareness, the drone of the locusts can some particular person, as if you were about to animate them. Later,
be edited out of the consciousness. I have heard that workers in garbage I he whole process will go on day after day and it will take an effort to
dumps soon learn to stop reacting to the stench. realize consciously just what you are doing. Then one day, after you
People can also edit out other people. have just roughed out a sequence using the high-speed technique, you
150 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Animating 151

Not that you should try to specialize very early in your career. Still,
wliy not not concentrate to a degree on that with which you feel most
comfortable?

Draftsmanship

Tlicre is no other factor as important to an animator as good draftsman¬

ship. What good is it to have exciting ideas about your animation but
litid you are not able to put them on paper because of poor drawing

Exercise: a drawing by Honore Daumier. The slight tilt to the woman’s head gives
the feeling that she is leaning over to look at her husband, while the husband’s
uptilted nose makes one feel he is snoring. How else could this situation be
composed? How about a reversal of the roles? Do gesture drawings of these
situations.

will suddenly realize that you have incorporated into the animation an
incident you observed many years before.
Honore Daumier, had he lived in modern times, would have been a
great animator because he was a great observer of the human condition.
He understood that for every mood there is a gesture, a pose that is the
essence of the feeling translated into kinetics. Looking at his drawings,
the nature of Daumier is revealed. He was a man who hated corruption
in high places, loved the poor, but enjoyed depicting their frailities with
a mixture of sympathy and irony. His drawings are worth intensive
study.
If you are just starting to learn animation, pay attention to your point
of view about the pictures you are working on. Norman Ferguson once
made the observation that fat animators like to draw fat people, and
thin animators animated thin characters very well. That may very well
be. One thing that is even more obvious is that animators who like to I'.xercise: Nobody ever drew corrupt authority with more venom than Daumier.
draw pantomime are not usually as interested in fast comic action, such This composition is almost like something we’d find on opening a photo album.
as slapstick. See if you have a tendency in one direction or the other. Make several compositions of the same scene, but from different camera angles.
152 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Animating 153

ability? Improving your drawing is going to be a lifelong chore, without rumination, a leisurely examination of the story line, the layouts, and
limit. There is no way one can make a projection and say, “Five years exposure sheets.
from now, I will be able to draw as well as Tytla, Babbitt, or B0rge Benny Washam used to tell this story about me: When I went to
Ring.” One improves by plateaus, not by some steady ascension to Warner Brothers, Benny was curious about the way an ex-Disney
perfection, as being on a ski lift. Some artists are late bloomers, others animator would approach his work. We were supposed to animate
reach the apogee of their talent early in life. twenty-five feet a week but to Washam’s amazement, for three days I
sat at my drawing board immobile, looking as if I was taking a catnap.
Suddenly, in the last two days, I roughed out twenty-five feet. He
Starting Animation decided to ask me why I did nothing for three days. I answered, “First
I had to think about it.”
When the animator is called into the director’s office to pick up a In truth, I wasn’t just thinking about the twenty-five feet. Chuck
sequence, it is understandably an exciting moment. Then you are a Jones had given me one half of a picture to animate, so I was thinking
performer being called upon to interpret the ideas of several other about the entire project. In no way would I consider those three days
people. The responsibility is yours alone, not to be shared with anybody a waste of time.
else. The only drawing I had done during that time were some little
This feeling may make you impatient to start drawing as soon as doodles of various key poses, about one and a half inches high. These
possible. Instead, it is vitally important to listen very carefully as the I had roughed out without looking at the layout artist’s drawings of the
director goes through the storyboard, layout drawings, and exposure same action. When it came time to actually start animating, I discarded
sheets. There are dozens of details to absorb, so it is important to be I lie sketches. They were all well fixed in my mind, and since I intended
sure that you understand them all. Better to ask questions now than to lo animate straight ahead, I didn’t need them.
have to reanimate later.
Especially check the directions for specific actions as annotated on
the exposure sheets. Does there seem to be enough screen time for a Symmetrical Is Dull
particular action? Perhaps the director’s explanation has been too per¬
functory. Question it. There is a common fallacy in drawing animation that I call the Gem¬
It is not a bad idea for the animator to repeat the whole sequence ini Syndrome ... the twins. Some artists, under the mistaken supposi¬
back to the director, so that they will both be satisfied that everything tion that it looks neater, will draw a character standing with its
is well understood. weight evenly distributed on both feet, both hands in the same position,
If there are strange characters in the material, time must be taken to shoulders exactly horizontal, feet together, head and neck perfectly
learn to draw them very well so that there is no need to keep checking perpendicular.
with the model sheets. Not that the sheets should be filed out of sight; What’s wrong with this concept is that besides being the epitome of
they should be plainly in sight at all times. dullness, it doesn’t exist in real life. The rare exception might be a West
Learning to draw the characters may take anywhere from a few Pointer standing at attention in what they call a “brace.”
hours to several weeks. I spent a week just drawing the Fox’s hands for Normally, a body has a number of points of imbalance, or what looks
my animation in Pinocchio. Unless the construction of the characters like imbalance. In truth, it is a system of easing tension by leveraging
is well understood, there is the danger that the proportions will go the balances along the spine and pelvis. A dropped shoulder on one side
astray during the heat of drawing the rough animation and all the is answered by a drop in the pelvis on the opposite side; or, in an even
animation will have to be redrawn. Why risk it? more extreme way, which Michelangelo favored, balance is achieved by
When the character-drawing period is over and it is time to start dropping both the shoulder and the pelvis on the same side.
animation, it is better not to rush into it. There should be a time of Either position sets up a torsion in the body that makes it look alive.
154 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Animating 155

(Fig- 1) Twin curves are static

and do not indicate masses or
line of action.
(Fig. 2) This drawing has a
definite line of action, and the
variation of the curves and
straight lines indicate form
2. and movement.

Study the works of Michelangelo, Rodin, and Rubens. See how they
A. The weight distributed evenly on both feet makes a static pose.
B. Both shoulder and pelvis dropped on the same side makes it look as if he is twist forearms in opposition to biceps, and do the same with the mus¬
going to move forward with his right side. cles of the legs, and even to the torque of one finger against the next.
C. The most dynamic action occurs when the angle of the shoulders and pelvis I’orque builds tension and tension means life-quality.
oppose each other. Torque is a form of distortion in that the artist has created a drawing
I hat cannot be matched in real life without running the risk of dislocat-

whereas the Gemini Syndrome makes the figure look like a tailor’s iiig a joint. There is, however, a limit to the amount of torque that can
dummy, with no life-quality whatsoever. be achieved by the artist without going beyond the boundaries of believ-
This principle of asymmetry should be carried into details such as the ability. Don’t make a drawing that has so much torque it looks like a
placing of the eyes, the curve of the mouth, the angle of the cuffs, and victim of Torquemada’s kindly ministrations.
alignment of the feet. In fact, one can say that the more the various Notice how twin curves of the leg have no motion, nothing for the
elements in a drawing are asymmetrical, the more lifelike it will appear. eye to traverse; then see how curves not exactly juxtaposed allow the
The principle of asymmetry even extends to actions. In the drawings eye to move from one area to the next. Let me say again, in art, twins
of Fatty one can see that the hands in the first illustration are twins and are a negation of life.
therefore look stiff. In the second illustration, one sees that every effort
has been made to avoid twin actions, and the result is infinitely more
interesting. Basic Procedures

In order to keep perfect control of the composition of a shot, the layout

Torque sketch of the background should be the bottom drawing on the pegs at
all times, with the television area clearly marked in colored pencil. All
A feeling of tension can be created by torque—the twisting of parts of important action should be confined to this area. Unfortunately, when
the body in contrast to each other; For example, making the head the animation is being done to television specifications, you lose that
almost a profile, the chest less so, the pelvis a front view, the feet taut feeling in the relationship between the action and the edges of the
pigeon-toed. screen.
156 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Animating 157

S'

In the lower right-hand corner of every drawing is

the drawing number, and when necessary, a spacing
chart. This information is always written outside the
/c 0 field.

Testing the Action

When I first went to work with Erredia 70, the best animation group
in Milan, I picked up a stack of animated drawings and flipped them.
The animators gasped in astonishment and implored me to show them
liow to do it.
Then I found out that these animators were all self-taught. They had
The Gemini Syndrome can take all the interest out of an action, as seen in the learned the principles of animation by renting Disney short subjects and
upper row of figures, whereas using variation can result in more lifelike action. running the scenes over and over on a Moviola, so they had never
learned about flipping drawings.
The layout artist, when drawing the key poses, can only give a rough It is really quite simple. Stack the papers with the lowest numbers
estimate of the field positions and sizes. It is really up to the animator on the bottom. Remember to slide them so that there is an angle of
to make the final decision, so the layout artist’s fields should always be forty-five degrees to the edge of the stack. Then the thumb slowly
open to close scrutiny. Is this the best field size, or should it be a little travels across the bevel, flipping the drawings. With practice, one can
larger—or smaller? Would a little off center be better? These questions Hip a scene containing several hundred drawings and view the action
should be asked after the animation is all finished. quite clearly.
When drawing the rough animation, always work on the bottom When doing high-speed roughs, it is not a good idea to stop working
pegs. If the drawings are on top pegs, one has to use both hands to flip to flip the drawings. Do it at lunchtime or at the end of the day.
two drawings; whereas on bottom pegs, the drawings can be tucked Remember that one cannot be creative and critical at the same time.
between each finger, making it possible, using a rolling motion, to see
how five drawings animate.
Of course, when the animation is being cleaned up, the assistant will The Two Approaches
put all held cels on top pegs, making it easy for the camera operator
to strip off in one swift motion from the bottom pegs the cels that have There are two main approaches to doing animation. One is called
been photographed. “pose-to-pose.” Progress through a scene, drawing the key poses until
158 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Animating 159

they are all completed. Then go back to add incidental drawings, and Iiaving solved in his mind the basic geometry of each important pose.
spacing charts for the inbetweens. Thus, he had the advantage of exploring his key poses first, then arriv¬
The second method is called “animating straight ahead.” As the ing at some variation on them when he was animating straight ahead.
name implies, the animator starts on the first drawing and keeps on This seems to me to be the best of the two worlds.
going, not stopping to make key drawings. Instead, the main poses Of course there are some scenes that by their very nature must be
come about because the previous action leads into them. They are not animated pose-to-pose. A good example are the shots of the dwarfs
predetermined. returning home, singing “Heigh-Ho.”
Straight-ahead animation has advantages. There is spontaneity, and The main problem here was that each dwarf had his own characteris-
the method will probably lead to more complex and lifelike action. (ic manner of walking. Yet no dwarf could be allowed to lose ground
However, this method may not achieve the solid poses that are possible and leave a gap in the line or speed up and start treading on the heels
in pose-to-pose animation. of the dwarf in front of him.
Many animators work with a combination of both methods in one It often took a whole day or more to map out the positioning of all
scene, drawing key poses where they are uncertain of the action, and fourteen feet in a given scene, so there was no possibility of working
plunging straight ahead where the overall movement is more important straight ahead.
than single poses would be. It is hard to believe that any real spon¬ Another example of pose-to-pose animation was my stint in Pi-
taneity can be possible by this kind of mishmash. nocchio, where the Fox, Cat, and Coachman are plotting in the Red
There is another compromise, introduced by Norm Ferguson. He [Link] Inn. Here I needed to gauge the amount of restraint I would
would initially sketch a number of key poses in rough drawings about have to use in the secondary action of the Cat so that he would not
an inch and a half high. Then he would start to animate straight ahead. interfere with the main action between the Fox and the Coachman.
Therefore, I chose, and I think rightly, to abandon my usual high-speed
technique, and to draw slowly and carefully.
Several good examples of the use of high-speed straight-ahead anima¬
tion are my Pluto and the Crab sequence in Hawaiian Holiday; the first
half of Inki and the Mynah Bird (Warners); and the soldiers in Faith
and John Hubley’s The Hat.
Normally, I am reluctant to abandon straight-ahead animation be¬
cause then there is no possibility of creating those happy accidents that
come about when the right side of the brain is functioning without
interference.
If I have decided that I am going to animate straight ahead, I get
ready for the onslaught by seeing to it that there is a large supply of
sharpened soft pencils and a huge stack of paper. The eraser is conspic¬
uous by its absence. My assistant is warned not to talk and not to allow
any kind of interruption. Classical music, not too bombastic, is usually
(he way in which I arrive at that dreamy state of mind that signals that
(he left side of my brain has been lured into a state of somnolence.
While the exposure sheet is kept just a quick glance away, I have no
intention of stopping to write on it. I am not even going to stop drawing
to number the drawings.
Michelangelo’s “Adam” in the Sistine Chapel. Note the torque in the outstretched
Many animators make the mistake of starting a pose by drawing the
arm and the extended leg. The line of action is clearly apparent. head. A Renaissance artist put it very succinctly when he said that the

I
 160 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Animating 161

in Steamboat Willie show no hint that he understood the line-of-action

principle.
Often in the silent days, the characters were drawn using a nickel for
tracing a circle for the head, and a half-dollar for the body. The real
arljustment toward more sophisticated body construction was led by
Fred Moore. He redesigned Mickey, giving him a pear-shaped body
instead of one made of two separate parts.
The impetus for the direction of the line of action can come only from
feeling what happens to a body when it is expressing a particular
emotion. It is really the idea behind a gesture drawing. Every human
being while growing up begins to become an expert at reading the
(|uality of other people’s emotions from overall posture, as well as facial
expressions. We animators have to become superexperts.
Unlike in real life, we can carry the line-of-action principle one step
further. We can invest the clothing of a character with the capacity to
rellect the character’s mood. This idea was also unknown in the early
days of animation, even at the Disney studio. It probably developed
with experiments in carrying the line of action to its ultimate. Once
arrived at, however, it has become a valuable tool. Always remember
Quick sketch by Shamus
Culhane. In these swans, the that clothing can “act,” too.
line-of-action principle is
obvious.

Perspective
only time you start with the head when drawing a figure is when the
person has been hanged! There is a way of drawing that will inevitably result in an uninteresting
pose. That is when perspective is avoided. Very often, it happens be¬
cause the animator started to draw an arm or a leg from the torso
The Line of Action outward. A hand can express emotion; an elbow or forearm cannot. So
why place these parts in a prominent place in the drawing?
Every drawing should have a very clear line of action. The principle of The best way to avoid these boring parts is to start by first drawing
torque is only going to work if it is following a definite line of action (he hand where you want it in the pose, then attaching the arm to it.
right down to the fingertips, the tilt of a hat, the curve of a tail. The Very often, it will be in such acute perspective that it is not noticeable.
eye derives enormous satisfaction in following this line. When there is One time, while I was working on a drawing of the Fox in Pinocchio,
no planned line of action, the drawing will probably look disjointed, as the pose was giving me trouble. The character’s head just didn’t seem
if the parts do not fit together. to be resting in his palm. Norman Ferguson came along and redrew it.
For many years at the beginning of animation, one can see that this He first drew the head at the angle that was needed. Then he sketched
principle was not understood. Even in the early Mickey Mouse car¬ the hand cradling the head. Then he made an arm and finally the body.
toons, he and the other characters were obviously made up of separate In other words, all the elements that made up that drawing were done
parts. Ub Iwerks, creator of Mickey, was considered at the beginning in the order of their importance. That was one of the most important
of sound films to be the best animator in the business, yet his drawings things I learned at Disney’s.
 162 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN
Animating 163
to characters glaring at each other eyeball Anticipation
to eyeba L With Fergie’s lesson in mind, I would begin by drawing the
jes not by laying in the two bodies and finally getting down to the
Another important principle overlooked by the early animators was
details such as eyes. In this case, the eyes are the most important anticipation. Nobody thought that an action meant a shift in the center
tn If they are not in exactly the right position, the of gravity, which had to be started by a countershift. The most obvious
rest of the drawing is meaningless. Now I think you can see why
example would be the windup of a baseball pitcher before he throws the
automatically starting a drawing with the head shows a lack of feeling
ball.
for the pose. Begin with the most important element no matter what
Nobody could throw a ball very hard if the throw started with the
It is or where it is going to be in the gesture.
pitcher in a standing position, both feet on the ground, with his arms
This method of drawing will almost force perspective into the draw¬ dangling at his sides. It is a principle that the more violent the action
ing, making it much more interesting.
is going to be, the more violent the anticipation. This is why a pitcher
goes through all those contortions in order to throw a baseball ninety
miles an hour.
Even the most subtle action needs anticipation. For example, a slow,
Stretch and Squash
lazy person is going to start a shambling walk from a standing position
in which his weight is equally distributed on both feet. There is no way
The early animators had not thought of another principle, which also
I hat this character can animate with life-quality without dropping the
came from the Disney animators: stretch and squash. If they had thev
whole weight of his body on one leg so that the other leg can clear the
certainly would not have used coins to construct their characters There
ground and start a step. Besides this shift, the body may lean back
were distortions m the animation in the early cartoons. Very often
slightly at the same time, then thrust forward into the beginning of the
there was an increase in the volume of the figure.
lirst step.
There is no way that life-quality can be animated when there is a
A study of anticipation leads naturally into the principle of overlap¬
change in the volume of the character. The principle of stretch and
ping action. In nature, there is no such thing as all the elements of a
squash IS like pressing down on a balloon, or pulling and stretching it.
body arriving at the apex of an action at the same time. Even in a simple
The shape will be different but the volume of the balloon will remain
action such as coming to a stop, certain parts of the body will slow to
e same. Such distortions will be accepted by the audience as being in
a stop; others will go past the final point and settle back into the pose.
the realm of possibility, but an increase or decrease in volume will not
It IS astonishing how much stretch and squash there is in nature We i'xercise: Anticipation and Overlapping Action
have all seen photos of fighters being punched in the jaw. The amount
For an example, do a scene of Skinny doing a standing broad jump.
of dislocation and distortion in the face is incredible. Often the amateur
First try it yourself to find out how it feels. You will find that the arms
photographer will take a shot of somebody talking. The picture is

™
are doing actions much different from the rest of the body. First the
« S11 '''' “"J"-
at the nstant that the subject made a sound such as “oo” or “ch ”
body rises as the arms are coming up to an overhead position. Then the
arms arc back behind the body after the body squats. Next the arms
Normally, the various distortions used to make human speech are
lly out and the body follows their momentum, arriving at a high point.
unnoticed because they are so common, so such a picture is rejected.
The legs follow, then lead the descent. The arms remain high, but after
Yet the distortion of the mouth in talking is an essential movement
the legs impact, the body follows. After that, the arms descend. This
If animal motion is a classic example of the various parts of the body acting indepen¬
will reveal just how important squash and stretch is in every kind of
dently of each other, yet all obeying the laws of anticipating and over¬
lapping action.
 164 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Animating 165

Now make Fatty and Tiny broad jump, too, keeping in mind that However, using a big anticipation involving the whole face, the
Fatty is going to make a ponderous effort and not cover much ground; dropped jaw and raised eyebrows signal to the audience that an action
Skinny is going to jump the farthest because of his long legs and agility; is about to occur. Thus, what might have been an undetected movement
Tiny will be able to leap like a little animal because he is so close to is seen because it is done with a broad scope.
the ground. Remember the principle of overlapping action; no part of Do your own version of Fatty winking, then draw Skinny and Tiny
a body is going to work in concert with any other area. Feel the doing the same. Realize that both Skinny and Tiny have much less meat
difference in the efforts of each character, using very fast sketches. Let oil their faces than Fatty. Animate the winks accordingly. Can you find
the drawings happen and see just what comes about as a result. a way to bring their caps into the action?
Now go back and this time use the pose-to-pose technique. Remem¬ Always think of eyes and eyebrows as one unit. The eyebrow is not
ber to avoid the Gemini Syndrome; use torque where possible; and something pasted on the forehead, independent of the eye. Feel how the
maintain the line of action, which should be easy to analyze in this type eyebrow going into a frown is pressing down on the eye and changing
of action. Don t avoid using perspective. Make these particular jumps its shape. When the eyebrows go up in surprise, the shape of the eyes
from a front view.
should change accordingly.
Now that you are familiar with successful broad jumps, try three Make frowns and raised eyebrows using all three characters in a
unsuccessful attempts. Fatty falls on his rump; Skinny ends on his face; three-quarter front view.
and Tiny lands on his stomach. All in high-speed technique. Now do While we are on the subject of eyes, never have a scene go by without
the same action in pose-to-pose style, but this time have Fatty fall on blinks. A dark-colored character like Pluto could blink very quickly.
his stomach. Tiny land on his rump, and Skinny end up with his rear One drawing of the lid almost closed, a closed eye, and a lid halfway
in the air and his face on the ground. Do not look at your previous back up will do the job very well because the white of the eyeball is so
drawings for inspiration, and certainly do not copy them. Try to draw
conspicious.
from your feelings. If you were in a movie house watching these three When a character has normal skin tones, the contrast between the
characters animate, what would make you laugh? white of the eyeball and the skin is not enough to do a satisfactory blink
If you started making them jump from left to right, reverse them with the speed of Pluto’s eyes; it will take more drawings. However long
when switching from the straight-ahead to the pose-to-pose technique. you take to make a blink, be sure that it happens. A character that does
That way, you will not tend to copy the former action. Remember that not blink suddenly becomes a lifeless dummy, all the life-quality gone.
these are comics—make the action funny! Don’t forget the secondary Sometimes when there is a radical change of gaze, I use a blink to
action of the clothing and be sure that it fits the movement of the make it memorable. For example, Pluto is looking straight ahead,
characters, violent when the action is violent, and restrained where it thinking. He blinks and when his eye reopens, he is now looking up at
isn t. Look for the clothing to react to the movement rather than
the ceiling.
animating with the action. It always happens later. Clothing doesn’t It is amazing how the spacing of the pupils and the angle of the axis
instigate action; it is a victim of it.
will change an expression. Draw a head-on view of Fatty. On a separate
paper draw eyes and pupils. See what happens when you sketch a series
of eyes whose pupils range from walleyed to cross-eyed.
Eye Movements
Now keep one pupil looking straight ahead and start changing the
axis of the other pupil in a series of drawings. Then draw eyes that are
Sometimes it is necessary to animate such a small action that it seems different shapes. Remember when the audience looks at a character, the
impossible to have the audience notice it. This is where the principle first place they look is the eyes, then the rest of the face. Skillful
of anticipation comes to the rescue. If we made Fatty wink without placement of the pupils and the shape of the eyes will give a wide range
anticipation, there would be very little movement between an open eye of possibilities in making your characters act.
and a closed one.
Even the size of the pupils can be important. Draw a front view of
 166 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Animating 167

Exercise: To see how the

placement of the pupils and
eyelids dominate the
expression, trace these
drawings with blank eyes.
Over a lightboard, on a
separate sheet of paper, draw
various eyes and eylids.

Skinny with an expression of horror. Draw the pupils on a separate

paper at their normal size. Now make another sketch of them almost
as pinpoints and slightly crossed. See how the look of horror has been mistake is to make the ears stop swinging too soon. That will certainly
intensified? make the audience examine the ears to see why they defied the laws of
momentum. After a two-foot hold, the dog turns back to a side view.
The same principle holds for all kinds of attachments, such as skirts,
Reaction Is Important tails, long coats, and so on. The tendency is to make them stop reacting
loo soon.
One common error in animating secondary action is to stop the reaction
too soon. For example, if a long-eared dog comes to a stop after a fast
run, his ears will continue to travel at the same speed that he was going Action: Shape and Pace
because they are only fastened to his head on one end. Therefore, the
ears are like a pendulum. When they reach the end of the arc, they In analyzing action, if you have been really animating from your feel¬
swing back. If the dog isn’t moving, the ears will continue to swing back ings, you will find that all the actions you have drawn describe arcs,
and forth, each time with a lesser arc. Finally, if the dog stays still long some shallow, some deep. There are rarely actions that move in straight
enough, they will come to a stop, but it will take a long time. Probably lines—it is no accident. There are no straight lines in the natural
they will still be swinging when the dog elects to start moving again. movements of any living creature—man, animal, bird, or fish. They all
Make a dog turn his head from side to front view. Now it is better to move by arcs, whether it is the action of a fishtail, the sweep of a bird’s
err on the side of continuing the swinging, because as long as it is wing, the lope of a wolf, or a man and woman doing a tango.
happening, the audience will pay no attention to their action. The real In addition, there is another precept: Most actions tend to start
168 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Animating 169

'V'^N -“i c;’ i /V slowly, accelerate in the middle, and slow down to a stop. This is the
«ciio» j Di«i men
main reason that spacing charts were developed. Do make a practice
of indicating the position of inbetweens by using spacing charts, even
r.>\13 if you are doing all your own drawings.
While on the subject of inbetweens, it is a good idea to indicate the
curve of an arc on one of your key drawings so that the inbetweener
TWIiTi'- does not decide that the shortest line between two points makes the best
W ^
Tumi \ inbetween, thus giving you a series of septagons or octagons.
Again, it is a good idea to go back to Muybridge to see how this
important principle is carried out in live action.
ft'w It would be impossible to animate with life-quality if the action
consisted of straight lines and movement that maintained a constant
speed.

-PVUi
COIN.
Timing

When drawing pantomime, the timing of an action is probably the main

pioblem for the animator. Timing, that is the passage from one pose
--tj- . CD\N , 6
r. lo the other, is the way in which the mental and emotional attitudes of
* ■ the actor are revealed. Pantomime is choreographed as strictly as a
ballet. While the poses tell the story, it is the timing that intrigues the
-j-i amlience. In a way, it is more important than the poses because it gives
ns such specific information about the personality of the actor. If one
141^
_2 4
■I — were to give the same set of key drawings to two animators and ask
-l4
them to create spacing charts, I am sure that they would end up with
I wo entirely different interpretations because of the fact that each
TaiN. M
animator would sense the character’s emotional structure differently
and would indicate the timing accordingly.
TIW" The eye delights in sudden changes from slow movement, or no
1/1 Al' hnj animation at all, to frenzied action. This unexpected change of pace
0 t/T
captivates audiences the world over because it is part of the universal
language of mankind.
Every great animator is a master of change of pace. The characters
fi they drew became stars because of it. Norman Ferguson’s Pluto, Art
Habbitt’s Goofy, Fred Moore’s Mickey, Bill Tytla’s Dumbo, and Dick
i.0.(Tf Lundy’s Donald Duck are all classic examples of incredibly talented
pacing.
Exposure sheet for
All their films should be studied. In addition, I recommend films by
an action showing
Tiny stealing a coin I he greatest live pantomimist ever—Charlie Chaplin—as well as those
from Fatty. of Huster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, Harpo Marx, Harold Lloyd, and
 170 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Animating 171

t^he modern master, Marcel Marceau. Animators and live pantomimists

have a problem in common: They all have to edit the timing of their
movements, so they are all valuable to the student of animation.

Staging

Another lesson that can be learned from a study of these stars, both
graphm and live, is staging. Of all the people I have mentioned, again
Charlie Chaplin is the master. Remember that in most cases the audi¬
ence IS seeing the material for the first time. Thus, it is necessary that
It be presented and displayed in such a manner that the action can be
easily “read.”
Chaplin usually prefaced a gag by presenting a preliminary stage. If
he opened a door with a key, he first flourished it briefly as he took it
out of his pocket, instead of shoving it right into the keyhole without
any audience preparation.
Disney animators and directors learned this principle very well
After 1934, it was one of the tools that was used regularly in making
their films. ®
Brush drawing by Shamus Culhane showing the importance of the silhouette in
depicting various stances of an animal.
Exercise: Action in Silhouette

One way to find out whether your key drawing is really working is to
Looking back, was it the correct one? Did the hand and coin clear the
inake a silhouette out of it. The action should be understood in spite
mass of Fatty’s body to make a clean silhouette, easy to read?
of the fact that there is no detail. Now try this exercise: In a waist-high
There are two extreme methods of reacting to a situation. Suppose
shot Fatty puts his hand in his pocket (remember about the anticipa¬ we have an elephant walking along with that grandly ponderous stride
tion), fumbles around, and comes up with a single coin, which he shows indicative of the fact that this elephant knows he is lord of all he
to Tiny very proudly. Remember to have Tiny react to all of Fatty’s surveys. Suddenly, a mouse confronts him. Now we all know that the
movements in a restrained manner.
elephant is going to be running away, but how will this particular
Suddenly, Tiny snatches the coin and runs out. Fatty stands still for
animal do it?
a moment with his fingers still together, as if he was still holding the One, he could let out a bellow and run back where he came from,
com. Suddenly, he realizes that it is gone. He opens his hand and looks so fast that his exit is just a blur and some small clouds of dust. Two,
at the palm, then goes into a frenzied attempt to run, but spins in place he could be paralyzed with fright, unable to move, just standing there
tor a second until he gets traction. Then he runs out. trembling. Then slowly, never losing sight of the mouse, he could start
This action has been right to left. Now reverse the action and do the to sneak olf, then suddenly run off.
same action pose to pose, not copying any of the poses you arrived at Here we have two different kinds of timing. Both, in effect, doing the
m animating straight ahead. Make Fatty take the coin from a different same action yet different in interpretation. Look for these possible
pocket.
extremes from slow to fast or vice versa in all pantomime situations.
Draw these two exercises before going on to read the following text. Remember that a funny situation and good poses are only part of
You made a choice of the hand that Fatty used for his action. filmmaking; timing is the other essential ingredient.
 172 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

Fast Action: Blurring

Using fast action reminds me that we have not explained the use of
blurred action, usually called speed lines.
If very fast action is photographed and the shutter speed is not fast
enough to stop the action in focus, there will be a blur on the trailing
edge, where details of several images will be seen. This indicates that
the object traveled some distance across the camera field before the
shutter closed.
We have copied that principle in animating very fast action. Our
multiple images, as the live-action ones, are distinguished by having a
hard outline on the leading edge of the last image. In fact, except for
some blur on the trailing edge, the last image is almost in focus.
The animator has to keep these principles in mind when he animates.
He must not only draw the outlines of details such as the eyes, nose,
mouth, hat, and so on but has to show the painter how the color is going
to trail off. The blur effect is more than just a scribble of lines. The
principles must be followed.
A good way to animate a vibration that starts vigorously and dies
down is to make a set of drawings for the left side of the action and a
group for the right. The vibration is caused by the way the action is
notated on the exposure sheet. Make an action of Skinny with his finger
in a light socket, vibrating. Remember to draw a leading and a trailing
edge, more blur at the start and almost none at the finish.
Staggered drawings show tension. In this case, make a series of
drawings with regular inbetweens. The staggered effect is made by the
way the drawings are notated on the exposure sheet.

This is a diagram of a
potential head vibration as an
example of the
juxtapositioning of the two
sides of the action. The
inbetweens, 2 to 8 and 11 to
17, can be slowed in and out
or evenly spaced. The blurring
is going to be more extensive
on the early numbers, and
practically nonexistent as the
heads come close.
174 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

/I
,V

Staggered drawings are the best way to show extreme tension. Note the two
examples of spacing charts. The one on the right as it is exposed will show a sharp
pull ending with great effort. The chart on the left will start with tension already
established. The pulling action could be repeated by exposing the drawings in
reverse, going back to drawing # 1 and repeating the action.

Double Takes

As you probably know, in acting parlance a “take” is a start of surprise.

A double take is a bit more complicated. The character looks at or hears
something and has no reaction. Then the full import of what the charac¬
ter has seen will penetrate and there will be a reaction. The interval
between the two—no reaction and realization—may be long or short
depending on the mentality of the character. A quite long interval gives
the audience a chance to savor the fact that the character has not
understood what has been seen or heard.
I have purposely made that passage pedantic because I want to
explain the very basic underlying mechanics before we get into the
technique of double takes. The numerous variations are something else
again.
The double take was first brought to perfection by such masters as
Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harry Langdon, and W. C. Fields.
Fields, a master juggler, used this skill in depicting a frightened or
surprised take. When he reacted, his hands flew up to his hat as if to
keep it from flying off. His fumbling fingers in fact did make the hat
rise well into the air, and he would end the take by stopping the
fumbling and cramming the hat solidly on his head.
176 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

In making a vibration, it is not necessary to have the correct number of eyes

versus noses or caps. The vibration might extend to more multiple images than I
have indicated, and they need not follow numerically. A random selection of
images will give a feeling of confusion. The order of numbering on the sheets can
even include the first drawing at times, even though it has no multiple images.

Dimelradon, a computer-generated 3-D model by Dick Lundin, © Computer

(irapliics Laboratories, Inc.

Flesh tints, the whites of the eyes, and other light values will be more conspicuous
in a blurred image than darker values like the cap, shoes, or clothes. Therefore, it
is very important that the light values follow through.

The Disney animators, when they turned away from slapstick to

more complex acting, were quick to realize the comic possibilities of the
double take—particularly W. C. Fields’s version.
Creature, a self-portrait by computer artist Lee Manovitch. He used a number of
computer techniques.
 T r

^ V
'W
' - L.

. ,

i- Q
A twenty-two second logo for Robbins Research Institute, produced by Jim
Lindner’s company, the Fantastic Animation Machine. The head was first modeled
in clay by art director Eileen O’Neill, then, using a three-dimensional digitizer, the
information from the model was input into the computer. The head was rendered
as highly reflective chrome surfaces, using a technique called environment
U V

mapping.

Six computer-generated paintings by Paul Xander, Sr., showing some of the

possible techniques and textures.
 Animating 177

Exercise: Double Take I

Do an exercise in which Fatty is sitting in a beach chair, sprawled out
reading a newspaper. A lion enters the scene behind him and stands
there looking menacing. Fatty turns a page and goes on to reading.
After tilling his straw hat, he turns his head and looks the lion in the
eye for fourteen exposures, then turns back to read. (This is a waist-high
closc-ni).) . r. •
Suddenly, his eyes widen. Fatty holds this expression for sixteen
.•xposiircs, then slowly, in fright, turns around into a pose exactly where
he hail been looking at the lion before, except that this time he is scared
slilf. Then he goes into a Fields’s hat routine with his own hat
Next he makes a big anticipation and whisks off the screen in two
di'awings, leaving a puff of smoke to mark his exit. The lion s reaction
is one of surprise at the take and then puzzlement after Fatty has run
out. Me might look at the audience blinking. Do the whole scene two
exposures per drawing.

livercise: Double Take II

In this next exercise. Skinny is climbing a cliff. In a niche in the rock
If,a nest. In the nest is a large eagle. Skinny is climbing hand over hand.
Seeking a hold, without thinking he puts one hand on the top of the
eagle’s head and pushes himself up. Suddenly, he realizes that his hand
is on something soft. His pose is such that he has one hand still on the
rock, the other pressing the eagle down. He has a horrified expression.
Slowly, he takes away the restraining hand and looks into the nest. The
eagle slams into a nose-to-nose pose.
Skinny anticipates and pushes himself away from the cliff in a big
lake. He thrashes wildly for fourteen exposures, then plummets out of
sight. The eagle stretches his neck to look down after him with a big
smile.

Animating Thought

For a long time, the only character who seemed to do any thinking on
the screen was Felix the Cat. It was pretty crude stuff. Felix would stop
in a pose and a light bulb would appear over his head. This indicated
to the audience that he had an idea. Norman Ferguson, the Pluto

i
178 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Animating

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180 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Animating 181

iillain a pose of the hands that would impede high-speed drawing. Keep
ill mind that the line of action of a hand runs into the forearm; it does
not stop at the wrist. Of course, the same thing holds for the feet. As
tlic hands, they are not separate attachments. The line of action flows
into the legs.
In order to “read” the emotions of a character, the audience first
looks at the face, then the hands, after that, the body, starting with the
upper torso.
I lands are very important in revealing attitudes. I remember making
ilozcns and dozens of the Fox’s hands before I started animating my
llrsl scene in Pinocchio. I wanted his hands to appear elegant but to
Look for every part of the body as well as the clothes for an opportunity to overact. When he was posturing around with his cigar, I wanted the
express an emotion. In this case, the ears prove to be useful.
midience to realize that this nimble manipulation of the cigar was his
idea of how a gentleman would handle it; but, in keeping with his con
iiiim flamboyance, it was overdone.
expert, was the Disney animator who began to extrapolate humor from When I first started to direct live-action television spots, I decided
thought processes. To make this subtle form of acting enjoyable, the lo go to an acting class to see whether there was any difference between
movement has to be kept to a minimum. For example, if Pluto was tlirecling animators and live actors. I found that there wasn’t but did
walking along and his paw suddenly became stuck on flypaper, he li-arn that both animators and actors had the same difficulty in dealing
would come to a complete stop. Then his eyebrows would go into a with hands.
frown. He would go from that to a slow blink. When his eyelids came Dave Pressman, the director, had to struggle with the student actors
back up, the audience would see that Pluto was now looking skyward— lo make them use their hands. The youngsters usually would keep them
thinking. liniiging stiffly, put them behind their backs, or in their pockets. If they
The only movement on the screen would have been Pluto’s eyes and did manage to use them in accenting speech, they often kept their
eyebrows. There is not much chance of putting over acting such as that lingers together in what I began to call “mittens.” It was all remarkably
while the character is moving around. An exception is when Snow similar to the efforts of a novice or untalented animator.
White kisses Grumpy good-bye. He turns brusquely and starts walking I cannot stress enough the importance of being able to draw hands
toward the door. His steps get slower and slower because he cannot wilh ease, because they are such an important factor in staging. When
maintain his pretense of being such a curmudgeon, and his heart melts. animating a scene in which one hand is going to be directly engaged
While Tytla did change the dwarfs expression as he walked. Grumpy’s in some activity, make sure that you pick the correct hand to do the
change of pace really did most of the acting. job. There is always one best choice, whether it is because of the staging
But, as a general rule, since the thinking process is usually only or because there is going to be a complication in the following action
reflected in the face, the elements there—the eyes and mouth—are too if I he wrong hand is used.
small to compete with large parts of the body, if those are in motion,
as well.
Relation Between Characters

Hands A common error by novice animators when handling a scene with two
characters is to animate one figure right through the scene, then go back
It is vitally important to learn how to draw hands very well so that and do the other. Nothing could be less advantageous to the composi-
animating them becomes second nature and there is no struggle to lion of the shot, and also lo the feeling that the two characters make
182 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Animating 183

Now start by placing the two characters at opposite sides of the screen.
(inuhially push the two elves nearer and nearer. Finally, you will reach
II point where there is an optimum amount of space between them. A
little more and you start to find that they are uncomfortably close. A
movement of an eighth of an inch this way or that makes a decided
ilid'erence. This is very true in drawing groups. Snow White contains
many scenes that are superb examples of controlling composition in
I rowel shots.
Another source of study are the reactions of the other dwarfs when
Exercise: Make gesture one of them speaks. These reactions are very subtle and in no instance
drawings of the three Nleal the scene, yet the emotional tension between the speaker and the
characters in tight gionp never slackens or stops.
compositions like this. See In response to the import of the dialogue, the characters blink, their
how important it is to gauge
laws drop, they look at one another in dismay, draw back in consterna¬
the proper distance between
the forms. tion. liach dwarf reacts according to his character. The one thing they
don’t do is just stand there. This is why Snow White should be seen
many times. The secondary action is so well done, it is worthwhile to
Ignore the main actors and concentrate on the reactions of the group,
riiis is also true of the animals and birds.

Exercise: Make a tracing

Animals
of each character on
separate pieces of paper.
Over the lightboard, file superb animation of the birds and animals in Snow White is far
take them off the pegs snpei ior to the standards of any other studio existing at that time. The
and shift them back and reason for it was that Walt Disney believed in the value of observation.
forth to understand how Insicad of stereotyped action, he wanted a version of movement that
delicate the balance is
was based on the real thing.
between the forms, how
easy it is to make too I’hat was the reason he had hired Don Graham to run art classes for
much space between I he study of the movement of humans, and also to take groups to the
them, or to give a Eos Angeles zoo for three-hour sessions. The artists were urged not
crowded feeling. only to draw but to make notes about behavior, as well. If they felt like
it, the entire session was devoted to observation and note taking, instead
of sketching.
one entity. There is the danger that at some point the space between
For Bambi, Disney hired Rico LeBrun, an internationally famous
the characters will be too great, or conversely, too small. animal draftsman, to teach his artists the finer points of animal anat¬
omy. The result was that Bambi reached new heights in animal anima¬
Exercise: Relation Between Characters
tion, even surpassing the fine animation in Snow White.
Do the following experiment: Make a drawing of Tiny in an attitude There is no doubt that animal animation is a specialty that has to be
of terror. On another sheet of paper, draw Fatty in a menacing pose. studied quite separately from other types of animation. There were only
 Animating 185

iilionl lour animators at Disney’s who were acknowledged to be Pluto

upccialisls, and the figure never increased. Eric Larson led a small group
I hill liandled all the animals and birds in Snow White; and later a very
Niniill group of animals specialists did the main animation in Bambi.
II is necessary to know the skeletal structure and the construction of
(he muscles in order to caricature an animal’s movements. This takes
long hours of observation and sketching. I became very interested in
( Ills, so I collected a group of twenty-four of them, ranging from small
kIIlens to rheumatic old tabbys. None of them were allowed in my
house, I hasten to add, but when I went out into the yard with a sketch
pud, there were always a number of cats around.
Don Graham had some interesting comments about animals. One
was t hal predator’s eyes are in the front of the skull. The eyes of animals
NiK'h as lions, tigers, or wolves were good for stalking. Their prey,
herbivorous animals such as deer, antelope, cows, and bulls, all had
(heir eyes on the sides of the head, enabling them to keep an efficient
walch for predators.
< iraham likened the spine of a four-legged animal to a bridge, with
Sullivant had the kind of draftsmanship one associates with preliminary sketches
I hr legs serving as abutments. I found this concept very useful in my
made for sculpture. His forms were solid, rounded shapes.
iiimiial drawing. (It also gave me a greater appreciation of the miracle

T.S. Sullivant’s animals are never made up of graceful curves like animation
i haraclcrs. While this style would not be difficult to animate, oddly enough
Snllivanl never influenced Disney’s, or any other studio.
 Animating 187
186 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

that let human beings upend the bridge and walk upright on two of the
abutments.)
One of the big dilFerences between humans and animals is that one
can see very subtle emotions in the human face. Emotions in animals A quick sketch by Shamus
are not so easily recognized. A bear has no expression at all. There is Culhane. Note that this
drawing accentuates the planes
no way to tell from his “face” whether he is going to walk away amiably
of the dog.
or rear up and crush your rib cage.
Other animals signal their emotions by reactions and movements that
involve the whole body in ways that humans cannot match. Hair bris¬
huNincss decided to copy his style of animal drawings. So for forty years
tles into a ruff, claws are unsheathed, tails fluff out, whiskers fan back.
wi- have had a surfeit of cute squirrels, cuddly bunnies, and dear little
An enraged elephant can bring its ears forward so that they look like
sails. Each species has its own way to express emotion with parts of the baby birds, ad nauseam.
Ycl, Gtirfield the Cat, the animals of Sullivant, Krazy Kat (the comic
body.
Nliip Kat, not the animated abomination), and a few other characters
There is only one way to learn this body language—observation and
nIiow that we need not be bogged down in a style that seems just too
drawing. One of the dead ends in animation came about after Disney’s
success with his animals in feature films; just about every studio in the Nai t liarine for the Atomic Age.

A study by Shamus Culhane.

t)rawing from I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. Kaj Pindal has a very
It is only by thoroughly
pci'sonal approach to drawing animals, far removed from the conventional style
understanding the skeleton
used in many studios at the time this cartoon was made. A National Film Board
and musculature of an animal
of Canada production, 1963.
that one can caricature it.
Arthur Babbitt, one of the all-time great animators,
drew these various walks and runs as a guide for the
puppeteers who worked on Lou Bunin’s Alice in
Wonderland.
 Animating 193
192 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

Researching Animals llolli walking and running are in effect stopping one’s self from
litlling face forward by interposing a leg. We call it taking a step. Make
A really serious student of animal animation, besides spending a lot of II11 111 wing of Skinny with only one leg, standing at attention. Now make
time at the zoo, will also study at places like the American Museum III III lean forward as if he was starting to walk. As his body tips, the

of Natural History in New York City. It is difficult to draw an animal I ruler of gravity changes. If the action continues, it is obvious that he
in the zoo because, more often than not, halfway through your drawing will fall flat. It is only when one’s off leg is brought into play that a fall
In prevented. It is important to get the feel of that movement so that
the animal will change its pose.
So I suggest that before tackling the drawing of a particular live I lie jirinciple of the walk can be well understood. The only difference
III Ihe run is that the runner is taking a series of leaps, which if not
animal, it would be best to concentrate on a study of the skeleton and
to try making simple drawings of it. Before you work on the large, most slopped by the off leg, would end with the runner face forward on the
important muscles, make sure that you are so familiar with the skeleton ground.
that you can make high-speed sketches easily. Remember one large Overlapping occurs in the action of the arms and hands. They do not
difference between the primates, including humans, and other mam¬ reach their extreme positions at the same time as the legs. The slower
mals—the shoulder blades lie across the back in the former and are I he walk, the more time elapses between the foot striking the ground
Mild the drawing of the extreme of action of the arms and hands. In a
upright along the sides of the rib cage in four-footed beasts.
When a man or monkey crouches on all fours, the shoulder blades fast run, the overlap between the leg and arm/hand action may be only
slide along the back. In four-footed animals, the shoulder blades, being one exposure.
upright, jut out from the silhouette. Armed with information about the Animation in which there is no overlapping action will look mechani¬
bones and muscles, one can go to the zoo and quickly sketch in the main cal. You can see it in early cartoons. Because the principle of overlap¬
muscles and planes before the animal starts to move into another pose. ping was unknown, none of the characters walked or ran in a lifelike
Pencil is the best medium for this work, although litho crayon can also way. The animators drew the extreme position of the arm/hand action
be used. on the same drawing as the extreme foot/leg movement, and the char¬
It is only when you are equipped with a sound knowledge of the acters moved like windup toys.
construction of an animal and its characteristic movements that you In discussing early animation, it must be understood that we always
can start to caricature it in a personal way and not just ape the tradi¬ have to make one exception: Winsor McCay. He never fell into these
tional Disney approach. traps. Intuitively, he used every one of the principles I have been
teaching. That is almost as amazing as the fact that he had no disciples.
Nobody tried to learn to animate by studying McCay’s pictures. Thirty
Walking and Running years went by before the Disney animators started to grope towards
life-quality animation, and they didn’t learn from McCay. His work
Heretofore, I have made no mention of the mechanics of walking and had been almost forgotten.
running. The reason is that I consider them too difficult for the average
student to handle. One must be aware of the principles of anticipation,
overlapping action, the line of action, slowing in and out, and squash
and stretch before learning the principles of locomotion. Styles of Walking
First, let it be understood that just standing still is a tremendous feat
of balancing. Watching a baby try to stand is a way to appreciate just It is astounding how mankind, with everybody equipped with the same
how difficult it is. Yet, as we grow up, we learn to balance uncon¬ system of skeleton and musculature, manages to create so many diverse
sciously, even though at all times the muscles along the spine are having types and styles of walking. A slight twist of the ankles and we have
a tug-of-war to maintain the balance around the center of gravity. a splayfooted duck walk; a twist in the other direction and we have a
 Animating 195
194 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

pigeon-toed walk. With a maladjusted tibia, a shambling knock-kneed (Iniwings and follow the same pattern of spacing charts. Failure to fol¬
trudge is created. low lliese rules will result in an uneven run or walk. It is a good practice
There are people who walk leaning backward at such an acute angle (o draw one full step of a leg, then go back and draw the other, matching
that they look as if they are climbing invisible stairs; others walk head till the positions of the first leg and, of course, allowing for perspective
In the far leg. This will give you a perfectly smooth walk or run.
bent as if they are searching for lost dimes. Some walkers swing their
arms sideways instead of back and forth, giving the elfect of marching
to inaudible music. All these variations are a visual feast for the observ¬
ing animator. One should never go down the street without automati¬ Using Drawings in Cycles
cally checking the pedestrians for an unusual walk. When you find one,
take the time to study the mechanics so that you go off with a complete In the very early days of animation. Bill Nolan, a brilliant animator,
understanding of the reason why this particular walk is unusual. conceived the idea of making walks and runs with the body animating
in one place and the feet moving as if on a treadmill. Not only that, he
thought of the use of drawings in cycles so that they could be repeated
Styles of Running indefinitely. In other words, if a walk is twelve exposures to a step, then
drawing number twenty-three is followed by drawing number one.
Now that jogging has become such an integral part of the street scene, Measurements are now computed in hundredths of an inch. Anima¬
it affords the animator a golden opportunity to store different types of tors used to use fractions; imagine trying to find the total length of a
runs in the memory bank. The ideal movement is a kind of pumping pan by adding one-sixteenth, one-quarter, five-eighths, nine-sixteenths,
action, with the hands going well ahead of the chest, then going back and so on. Numbers such as .10, .15, .25, .45, .60, .75, 1.00 are much
to slightly past the middle of the chest. The hands should be clenched easier.
in a semifist, but loosely. What we see on the street is often a parody
of this action. Some joggers scarcely pump at all; others move their
Background Speeds
arms across their chests; others allow the hands to dangle off the wrists,
flopping like limp rags with every step. One important feature of a pan walk or run is the fact that once the
The legs should be covering a normal distance, carrying the feet well foot is on the ground, it must follow a steady progression. It must go
out in front of the body, and as much as two feet behind the body at back in exactly the same amount of travel as the background or the
the end of a stride. In a very fast run, the feet are lifted high off the character will appear to be sliding.
ground; in a jog, they barely skim along. The speed of the background is determined by the amount of travel
What we often see is a kind of baby toddle, with such a short stride the foot makes on the ground. This can be arrived at before the inbe-
that the runner scarcely appears to be moving, or the legs are carried (weens are made by measuring the distance between the feet of the two
so far apart that the jogger seems to be playing a constricted type of extreme drawings of the step that is on the ground, then dividing the
hopscotch. distance by the number of exposures per step.
A fat person will have overlapping action in the breasts and stomach, It is rarely a good idea to animate pan walks or runs on two exposures
the mass coming down after the foot strikes the ground, then dragging a drawing because the action will appear to be jerky, unless the pan
as the torso lifts into the next stride. Thin people usually have more speed is around . 10 per exposure.
bounce when running or walking than fat people.
Old people with stiff joints, or others who have severe physical handi¬ Exercises: Walking and Running
caps, should be studied to see how they manage to maintain a precari¬
ous balance. Do the following exercises:
In order to make a smooth walk or run, both legs have to measure Fatty is exhausted, walking twenty-four exposures to the step. In
the same stride; right and left legs must use the same number of other words, a cycle in which drawing one follows drawing forty-seven.
 196 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Animating 197

Explore the pose in a gesture drawing, where you feel the drag of wiilk and the run. Keep in mind that all clothes are subject to overlap¬
gravitation. Feel the emotion of tiredness in the little fat guy. Is his head ping. Since you are drawing cycles of each character, be sure that the
down, never rising with the movement of the torso, or does it come up innnialion of the clothing hooks up smoothly and that the clothing is
and flop down shortly after the foot hits the ground? Do his arms barely being motivated by the momentum of the body. Study the problem
swing? Has his back become bowed so that his hands hang listlessly in eaicrully and don’t just fake the movement, because it is a part of the
front of him? Do his eyes close and half-open as he trudges along? Is enercise.
the mouth open in breathlessness, or is it grimly closed with the corners II' any walk or run is uneven in that one leg is working differently
down? Are his feet barely skimming the ground, or is he in a kind of Irom the other, you have not matched the leg action properly. Remem¬
stumble where his feet come up high and slam down? Does the toe of ber I hat the spacing of the action and the pattern of the spacing charts
the back foot drag along the ground for a few exposures before Fatty have to be exactly the same for both legs. Do not read further until these
can lift it? Are his clothes expressing his exhaustion? Make this action encicises are mastered.
a side view going left to right. Be sure to photograph about five feet of Fatty has a huge bandage on his leg, as if he had the gout. Make him
the animation so that it can be a loop on the editing machine. Because hobble along, fourteen exposures to the step. The bandaged foot is going
this will be a very slow walk, use two exposures per drawing. to drag along, barely lifting off the ground, and there is going to have
Tiny is very happy, bouncing along in a walk, sixteen exposures to to be much more side sway than in a normal walk. His expression
the step. Is his hat cocked and are his other clothes expressing his state should be one of great pain.
of mind? What are his hands doing to look cocky? Are they stuck in Make a front view of Skinny. He is walking Indian style in that his
his belt? Are his thumbs tucked into his armpits? Are his arms describ¬ leading foot lands right in front of the one behind. This makes the arc
ing big arcs as he bounds along? of his foot curve outward in the middle of a stride as it goes past the
Skinny is part of a parade, marching along to a twelve beat. Is he oilier leg. It is like a Charlie Chaplin walk, with his feet splayed out.
stiff-legged as the English at the changing of the guard, or is he ramrod Tiny skips along on twelve exposures each skip. He is very bouncy
straight, strutting like a West Pointer? What can you incorporate about aiul happy. Make sure that the action of his cap and clothing reflect the
his attitude into his clothing? Make this scene a head-on shot. lei k as he leaps up, and the squash as he lands. Be sure that the
Tiny is very tired, walking along at twenty exposures to the step. movements are caused by the momentum and direction of the body’s
What have you learned from Fatty’s walk that will help the audience iiclion.
to read the emotion in this scene, even if it is a rear view? Use two Animate Skinny in a sneak. Try out the action yourself and you will
exposures per drawing. lind that as the leading foot goes forward, the body rears back to keep
Fatty is jogging left to right at eight exposures per step. Show him in balance. After the foot is planted, there is a fast move forward, which
running with one of the faulty techniques I have described. Remember ends in a semicrouch as the weight is transferred to that foot. This is
that his belly is going to overlap his main body action, not only when a good opportunity to study the shifting of weight, which is basic to a
he is coming down on one foot but as he lifts ofiT again. walk or run, but never so obvious as in a sneak.
Tiny is running left to right, four exposures to the step. He is looking
back in horror. Remember that during a fast run, there is scarcely any
bounce in the body because he is skimming along the ground. Do you Animal Movement
need speed lines? If so, do you remember the principle of the leading
edge being less blurred than the trailing edge? I think you will agree that walking and running demand all your
Skinny in a front view is loping along at seven exposures to the step. drafting skill and a sound knowledge of the principles of movement.
He is running with great confidence, and it is justified because he is Animal walking and running are more complex.
using his arms and hands properly. Sullivant, especially, has a very strong approach to animal drawing.
You will see how the difference in height and weight affect both the Mis style is more of a caricature, a reverse of the normal proportions
are
 Animating 201
200 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

Be sure that each model sheet has a set of positions giving enough
of the heads and bodies. The huge heads that he gives his animals
information to enable an animator to draw any pose from any point of
would, in fact, be ideal for animation. Instead of being cute, I would
view—front, profile, or back.
classify his characters as droll.
Draw a model sheet of each animal, just the heads, depicting the
Ibllowing emotions: small smile; looking coy; a big laugh; astonishment;
Exercise: Animals
perplexity; peevishness; furious anger; fright. Pick any view that will
Using Sullivant’s point of view, do the following exercises; lies! illustrate the emotion, but draw all the heads the same size.
Draw a model sheet of a pig with a very large head, little pushed-in Draw a model sheet of each animal acting out the above set of
snout, and a small body. emotions, but this time draw the entire body. Do not use the same
Draw a model sheet of a moose with a huge head and antlers, and expression and view of the animals that you made for the previous
a small body with fairly large feet. model sheet.
Draw a model sheet of an alligator with a very large head, a long Remember that a basic model sheet shows the character in a normal
snout with big teeth, and a very small body and tail. pose with a placid expression. Save the violent gestures and expressions
Draw an elephant with a large head and a very small body. It has for the other types of model sheets.
a short but thick trunk. Remember how important the eyes are, and the fact that the mouth
Draw a cobra with its hood extended, and a big split tongue. The is next in importance. When the audience is “reading” a pose the eyes
body is very small. are examined first, then the mouth, the attitude of the head, the shoul¬
Now reverse all the proportions and make all these animals with very ders, the hands, and finally the entire body, in that order.
small heads and huge bodies, but with very short legs and large feet. Remember that the size of the pupils and their position are most
important, and the eyeballs should not be drawn like twins. Nor does
I he axis of both eyes have to be the same. In a smile, the mouth may
very well curve up more on one side than the other. Teeth are not
always neatly proportioned; they may be widely spaced or even missing,
riic poses should include some showing the character lying down,
slanding on its hind legs, or on all fours.
Push your proportions in a series of very rough sketches until you
have exaggerated as far as you think possible. Then do your cleanups.
After that, animate a cycle walk and a run of each character, walking
on twelve exposures and running on five exposures.
This is an enormous amount of work. Do not expect to do it in a few
ilays or even weeks.

The Importance of Content

I am not deprecating the Disney achievements in the animating of

animals, or any other type of animation for that matter. The studio has
set a very high standard in every branch of filmmaking and is responsi¬
When doing quick sketches, look for the opportunity to draw views in sharp ble for discovering practically every principle we use in full animation.
perspective. Good animation requires the ability to draw action from any angle.
It seems to me that the fault in animation at the present time is in
Drawings by Shamus Culhane.
202 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Animating 203

siiniilification of the complex shapes that make up the human figure.

Happily, the method is rarely taught now, just as animators have
slopped using nickels and half-dollars to draw animation.
Way back in 1938, the Disney animators. Grim Natwick especially,
Icl'l no doubt that the human figure could be animated. After Snow
White, the door was open. The problem was that very few studios took
advantage of it, with the exception of Ralph Bakshi.
One of my frustrations is that while I was producer at Famous
Nindios, I wanted to make a Sholem Aleichem story, in somewhat the
•.lyle of Chagall, and I wasn’t allowed to do it on the grounds that the
lloartl of Directors at Paramount (most members of which were Jewish)
might take offense. That was more than twenty years ago but I still fret
A simulated child’s drawing for The Stubborn Cowboy. Drawn by Gil Miret. when I think about it because this is the general direction in which
© 1967 by Famous Studio. imimation should be going. There is so much world literature that is
just waiting to be interpreted by animation—the most modern, most
the choice of subject matter. Writers such as Teddy Sears, Mike Mal¬ innovative graphic art.
tese, Tedd Pierce, Tex Avery, Cliff Roberts, and Frank Tashlin turned Instead, animation of the human figure in the commercial studios is
out films that showed by their content that the creators knew their being used in Saturday-morning children’s television programs and in
contemporary public. They created films that to this day remain mile¬
stones of the art form. This in spite of the fact that they were working
in commercial studios.
Except for Ralph Bakshi, the choice of subject matter in commercial
film production is pedestrian and unimaginative. It remains for artists
such as Derek Lamb, Norman McLaren, Frederic Back, Bprge Ring,
and Caroline Leaf, who are not connected to commercial studios, to
produce films that by their content, style, and overall approach are
directed to the current film audience. It is dismal to see just how far
behind the commercial film studios have fallen.

Animating Humans

You may wonder to what this diatribe is leading up. The subject is the
human figure.
There was a time in the 1920s when it was considered that Bridge-
An animator or layout artist
man’s books on anatomy were the immutable answer to learning to
should get used to visualizing
animate humans. Bridgeman approached the musculature as if the body in line, rather than seeing the
were made up of a series of cigar boxes. figure in light and shade. A
I believe that Bridgeman’s methodology is very valuable if you are scratch-board drawing by
thinking of going into the cigar business. Otherwise, it is a ponderous Shamus Culhane.
204 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Animating 205

feature films that are based on fantasy so banal that it churns the nIiiiII pass. We have to look to the independent filmmakers to lead us
stomach. The drawing style is obviously spawned by comic-book illus¬ Dill ol' this graphic and literary wilderness.
tration.
I would say that it is important for the animator to learn how to draw Iwrcise: Cleanup Drawings
the human figure in line. Forget painting and shading. The obvious
I or an exercise, reach into a stack of your quick-sketch exercises and
commercial approach would be to copy the artwork in comic books
Hclccl a drawing at random. I stipulate random because I don’t want
until you have developed a style that is similar. Not all of the drawing
von to pick out an easy one. Whatever the subject matter—your hand,
in those magazines is poor, but most of it is a bag of tricks—masses of
(Icai old mother, or the house cat—make a cleanup of the drawing,
muscles and vacuous faces. But I am urging the student to learn how
lii-ing sure that you are using the contours to delineate form.
to animate the human figure. Someday a producer might come along
I )i aw steadily not quickly so that the final result isn’t sketchy. Every
with a really worthwhile script about people, real people. You would
I loseil area should be just that . . . closed, just as one would clean up
not want to be caught without experience and lose your chance at a film
II I III of rough animation so that the color areas were contained. Don’t
with literary quality.
You can be sure that all the principles I have been expounding are iliaw slowly, either, because your lines will lose their crispness. If you
a necessary part of learning how to animate the human figure. iloii’l like a particular line, rub it out. This may sound like heresy in
view of my earlier insistence on not correcting your roughs. But now
Voii aic working with the left side of your brain, using the drawing skills

Adapting Human Movement for Animation voii have acquired in the past, so it is proper to be critical and wholly
Inlellcctual.
The big problem that one has to face is the fact that everybody in the You are, of course, doing this on your animation board with the
audience is going to be an expert on how humans move. This makes iiiidcrneath light on. Now discard the rough after you have compared
IhiIIi drawings to see whether you have maintained the vigor that you
it pointless to attempt to use rotoscope or any other device in order to
imitate human action. I believe the answer lies somewhere in working have in the rough. If you have not, perhaps it would be better to do
out a mode of movement that is edited action, just the way that the I he cleanup again from scratch. If it meets with your approval, take a
animals in Bambi and the dwarfs in Snow White were. An audience will licsli sheet of paper and this time work with your cleaned-up drawing
accept any convention, any point of view, as long as it is earned out underneath.
consistently. I think there is less chance of rejection by this approach Make a new drawing, not a tracing. The object is to make this
than by that of stupidly trying to draw animation with all the complex¬ illIIwing somewhat stylized. Think of it as a drawing that is going to
ity of live action. In the first place, it can’t be done; and in the second he animated. When you have completed this exercise, choose another
place, why try to recreate the approach of the Hudson River School of I oiigh of the same subject at random. Clean this up on one drawing and
painting? It fizzled out like a soggy firecracker. After the viewers mar¬ Nlylizc it on another.
veled at a match head that looked as if it could be picked off the canvas Using the stylized drawings as extremes, animate seven inbetweens
or a torn envelope that uncannily simulated real life, they got bored I hill start with a slow out and slow in to a stop. If you need it, rough
with it. Dili Ihe main inbetweens with a light-blue pencil before you draw the

Imitation of real life is not art, and art is what we are involved with, cleanup.
despite mutters to the contrary from Madison Avenue and the net¬ l ake another gesture drawing of a different subject and see whether
works. At present, except for television spots, almost all of the commer¬ you can possibly make a stylized drawing without doing the prelimi¬
cial animation being produced is aimed at kids, but I doubt that this nary cleanup. Do a seeond drawing of another gesture, then seven
situation will last very long. It just happens that many of the production inbetweens. Do one set of drawings every day. In these exercises did you
markets are controlled by toy manufacturers, but patience! This too remember not to make the movement in a straight line? Did some parts
206 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

go beyond the stopping point and settle back into the final position?

15
Did you think of torque, the line of action?
While you must never consciously think of these rules while you are
making gesture drawings, use them as a checklist for cleanups.
_

Animating Dialogue

I he advent of sound films threw the entire profession of animation into

iider confusion. In the first place, the film speed per second went from
Nixicen exposures to twenty-four, ruining the animator’s sense of tim¬
ing, It had to be learned all over again.
Ihil that was nothing compared to the perplexities of making the
i liaractcrs speak. There were various theories, some absolutely absurd
now tliat we can look back. One, a Fleischer idea, was that the mouth
I'loscd after every word! Imagine the mess that made of the dialogue!
Another, more prevalent theory was that when there was a loud
voice, the character’s mouth should be opened so wide it looked as if
111C jaw was dislocated. Some of the early Betty Boops not only had
huge open mouths for loud vowels but a kind of Ubangi-like protrusion
lor “oo” sounds.

I Indy Movement in Speech

Despite attempts to get along with these misconceptions, there was no

Niilisfuctory interpretation of dialogue until it was discovered at Dis¬
ney’s that there was a definite need for body English. The louder the
208 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Animating Dialogue 209

volume, the more violent the elFort of the body to produce it. The size icsiill of long practice. Thus, these physical accents occurred at pre¬
of the mouth was a very minor contribution to the end result. cisely the same time as the accents in his speech.
Long after this principle was understood at the Disney studio, the Diiforlunately for Nixon, nobody talks that way. Accented gestures
rest of the business was still trying to interpret loud sounds by making always precede emphasized words or phrases by anywhere from three
wide-open mouths with no particular body movement. It wasn’t until or four exposures to fifteen or twenty. They are never in exact sync with
some animators left Disney and worked in other studios that the princi¬ (he words.
ples of dialogue were diffused throughout the industry. So watch for ex-presidents of companies or ex-presidents of the
As late as 1939, the Fleischer animators had not gotten the message. I Iniled States who try to reach the public via television. It’s your chance
Ex-Disney animator A1 Eugster roughed out a scene for Gulliver’s to sec some very bad animation in live action.
Travels and, following the Disney technique, omitted the mouths. They What is probably the very best piece of dialogue animation was done
would be added later if the body movements were in sync. Dave by Bill Tytla in Pinocchio. Stromboli’s struggle to pronounce English
Fleischer, the producer, commented on the accuracy of the mouth words when he is talking to Pinocchio in his caravan is a fabulous
action during a sweatbox session. When he was told that there were no interpretation. Tytla had to have observed many foreigners to be able
mouths, he couldn’t believe it. The sync was perfect. He was mystified to create the body English, the futile hand gestures, and the frustrated
when the scene was projected again and he saw that indeed there were head shakes as Stromboli tortures his mouth into unfamiliar shapes to
no mouths. pronounce those strange sounds that are English.
Before we go into the mechanics of dialogue, I want you to look at Watch for old Jimmy Cagney movies to see a very odd style, a very
a game show and watch it with the sound off. Look at the bobbing and personal quirk in mouth action. Often when Cagney was about to
weaving heads, the waving hands and body movements. Don’t observe speak, he would purse his mouth up into the position long before the
newscasters. They are reading copy, not talking naturally. However, Noinid emerged. If he was about to start a sentence with “You . . .” his
you might note that some of them have developed mannerisms, con¬ mouth would assume the “oo” position as much as ten or twenty
sciously doing a little bobbing and weaving to avoid looking like a static esposures in advance. I wouldn’t recommend this as a normal speech
talking head. pat tern, but it is good to recognize all the possibilities.
A great deal of negative information can be learned by studying All the Disney feature films have superlative dialogue animation in
television spots where the announcer is a company officer, not a trained that the acting that goes along with the speech is always the result of
actor. Most of them are frightened by the camera, so they have to be much analysis, a searching examination of the motivation, the speaker’s
coached to make natural body movements as they speak. Often they character, and the story situation. Disney animation of life-quality
overdo it and end up looking like somebody trying to flag down a dialogue is unrivaled.
steamboat.
I have been very amused, now that Madison Avenue has entered
politics, at the attempts to liven up the images of various politicians— Mouth Action
both famous and infamous—on television, using what I call “artificial
gesticulation.” AI UPA and subsequently at the Hubley studio, we find that meticulous
I found ex-President Nixon especially hilarious on television. He mouth action is ignored completely. The characters may start a sen¬
must have been an assiduous student of his Madison Avenue mentors, tence in sync but the resulting conglomeration of mouth drawings bear
because it was obvious that he had learned, by diligent rehearsal, to only a vague resemblance to the sounds that are being interpreted.
make a series of gestures to fit each speech, right down to the diffident I .uckily, they usually end in sync, too. This approach is in line with the
wave to the audience at the finish. The only problem was that he was informal approach to animation, which emphasized the fact that the
always out of sync. His key words were emphasized by very strong hand audience was watching drawings, not little live animals or people.
gestures. But they were made without conviction; every move was the Eslhetically, it would be pointless to animate the bodies in this fashion
210 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Animating Dialogue 211

but have the mouths in perfect sync. The movement of both the bodies A Iso, some of the sounds are more outstanding than others because of
and mouths in these stylized films accurately reflect a specific point of an increase in the volume. I am no longer listening to English; the track
view. lias become an abstraction.
Bill Melendez’s Charlie Brown half-hour specials have a style of When I can hear it in my head and understand the pattern of the
mouth action that falls somewhere in the cusp. His animators pay sound, as a musical composition, I start to make some very small
slightly more attention to major vowel sounds than the UFA animators sketches of the salient poses—a very few. Then I discard them and
did, but they still use a very stylized approach compared to the intricate begin to animate high-speed roughs, not stopping until I have com¬
Disney interpretation of dialogue. pleted the scene.
This is not always my technique. When there is a need to animate
very small, subtle movements, I switch to pose-to-pose animation. My
Synchronizing Speech sequence in Pinocchio where the Fox, Cat, and Coachman plot in the
Red Lobster Inn is a good example. Even so, I still play my cassette
In the Disney technique, all the body action is animated first and the until the dialogue has become an abstraction. I can still think in terms
accents in the gestures are hit right on the exposure throughout the of cadence, as well as the literal meaning of the speech, so that the
scene. Then with the help of the editor, the film is run through an movement can be made into a form of choreography in which the body
editing machine and the action is first shown the way it was photo¬ is moving to the cadence as well as the meaning. I find that this
graphed. Then the action reel is put back exposure by exposure, one approach effectively blocks the possibility of making gestures that are
accent at a time, until the relationship between the accent in the gesture loo profuse and do not fit the dialogue.
and the accent in the dialogue look correct. Having made notes in the cutting room about the various shifts in the
Unfortunately, there is no rule that governs the number of exposures animation, I usually have my assistant rewrite the exposure sheets with
by which the action should precede the dialogue. Usually, I put back (he corrections, and sometimes even animate these adjustments. This
the action reel three or four exposures, and that ordinarily will do the is a good way to start to expand your assistant’s skills. I usually go on
job. However, sometimes it will go to five or six. from there to allowing him or her to make small corrections in other
To a large extent, it depends on the style of the speaker. A drawl will areas; finally branching out to animating small scenes and eventually
usually look best with the body’s accent happening quite a bit before lo becoming a full-fledged animator. This is much the best way to learn
the speech accent. A very staccato delivery will need less time. not only the fundamentals but a particular animator’s point of view.
If the delivery style is consistent, very often one readjustment of the
animation reel will put the whole scene in sync, but I wouldn’t rely on
it. Try each major gesture to see whether the sync can be improved by Keeping Your Standards High
readjusting it still more. It is surprising how even a move of one expo¬
sure can improve the sync. I worked as a kind of assistant to Bill Roberts at Disney’s, doing
nothing but reanimating his sweatbox changes for almost six months.
When I think of Roberts, I think of Van Gogh. They both drew pain¬
Animating Speech fully; theirs was no God-given facility, but it was scrupulously honest.
I equate some of Van Gogh’s drawings of the potato eaters with Bill
How does one go about animating a character talking without having Roberts’s animation. Awkward, searching for truth, they suffered in the
it end up with a piece of acting that makes it look like a semaphore? cause of honesty.
The way I go about it is to start running my cassette over and over Working so intimately with Roberts, I changed from an artist who
until the fact that it is English seems to fade away and be replaced by lacked a real dedication to the craft to the zealot I have become. I
the knowledge that the track is also a series of sounds with a cadence. recently was reading about one of my favorite characters in history.
 Animating Dialogue 213
212 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

Samuel Johnson. I have often marveled at his struggle to exist as a

writer. Often he was forced to accept the most banal and commercial¬
ized forms of writing in order to make a bare living. Yet, no matter if
it was a job as a ghostwriter for a member of Parliament or one of
research for his famous dictionary, Sam Johnson gave each project his
best efforts.
Here is a lesson for all of you. In the course of your career in this
profession, you will no doubt have to work on material that is commer¬
cial trash. Ignore the lack of artistic value and work on it according to
your own standards, and I hope you keep them high. If it is limited
animation, concentrate on the line of action you can create for a pose.
Or, as I did, learn to become a layout artist while working on very cheap
bits of animation.
I realize that it is a constant struggle against commercialism. I never
heard of a businessman who implored the artists he hired to do better
work. Therefore, you will have to maintain your own integrity. Some¬
times it will cost you money, but you can always make money. What
I is the position for the sounds of M, B, or P. This position works when the
you cannot very easily repair is the loss of the honesty that makes you
pieceding sound is made with a wide mouth. When the preceding mouth was an
do your best possible work at all times. Many people still in the anima¬ on or OO sound, the closed mouth is more pursed, as in 2.
tion business who worked in what we call The Golden Age of Anima¬ .1 or 4 will make the sounds for C as in center, D, J, R, S, Z, and X. However, if
tion could not rise to the pain of meeting those standards again. They an OH or OO sound precedes it, again the mouth will be pursed.
have succumbed to the quasi-bookkeeping techniques of limited anima¬ 5 is used to make E or K if the dialogue is fairly slow, otherwise position 3 will do
(he job.
tion, which have robbed them of their artistic moral fiber. Guard your
() is used for the TH sound if the dialogue is slow. Otherwise use a mouth like 4.
integrity! I see that I have wandered far afield, but in a good cause. 7 is used for N and L when the speech is rapid; if it is deliberate, 8 is called for.
9 makes sounds like E, K, hard C as in cat, and U as in hug.
10 is used for the wide-open vowels like AH, AY
How Sounds Are Made II is the OH sound or the start of OO.
12 makes the end of the OH or OO sound. It need not be very distorted, especially
if the speech is fast.
To get back to the problem of mouth action ... it is not a good idea
to pick up a pencil and start drawing mouths throughout a scene,
starting with drawing one. A much better control can be attained with be pursed up. If the preceding word was “the,” the first “b” will be wide
a little more analytical approach, but first one must learn all the posi¬ and the second one pursed.
tions that the mouth takes to make English sounds. We will go through When studying mouth action in a mirror, don’t start exaggerating the
them starting with the sounds one makes with the lips closed. They will mouth positions. Talk normally at regular speed. Do it over and over
be either “m,” “b,” or “p.” The lips may be their normal width, or they if you have to, just don’t slow down and start looking like somebody
may be pursed closed. That width is going to be determined by the whose bubble gum got caught in a filling.
sounds directly before and after the word. The next position to study is the case of the exposed clenched teeth
I would suggest that a good-sized mirror is going to be a big help until as in “c,” “d,” “g,” “j,” “r,” “s,” “t,” “z,” and “x.” This is not so
you understand the principle of mouth sizes. Try to say “boob” with simple, either. All these sounds can also be made with the teeth slightly
the same “b” sizes at the beginning and end. You will find that if the apart, particularly in fast talking. Usually the top and bottom rows of
preceding sound is the “oo” for “you,” the two “b’”s in “boob” will teeth are visible, but it depends on the size of the teeth. A character with
214 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

buckteeth might not show the bottom row at all. It’s a matter of the
animator’s interpretation.
For “f ’ and “v,” in the early days of sound, the animators carefully
tucked the lower lip under the top teeth, but I believe this is a conven¬
tion that would only be useful in saying a heavily emphasized word such
as an emphatic ‘‘very!” The tip of the tongue showing between the teeth
makes “th.”
Partially opened teeth, wide enough to see that the tip of the tongue
is behind the upper front teeth, is the basic position for “n,” and “1.”
In rapid speech, this tongue position can be ignored, but the teeth still
have to be partially opened.
The same degree of slightly parted teeth, this time with the tongue
lying flat, will take care of “e,” “k,” and “u” when it is pronounced
“uh” as in “luxury.”
The widest open mouths are used for vowel sounds such as “ah,”
“ay,” “aw,” “eye,” and “h,” when it is used as an aspirate, as in the
word hurry.
The sound “oh” is really two mouth positions, a wide, rounded, open
mouth, then a pursed mouth in the “oo” position for the finish of the
sound. The letter “w” uses the same position as “oo”; so does “q.”
Keep talking in the mirror, or have other people talk and watch
them. There are fascinating variations in speech habits. Some people
make a crooked mouth when they start to speak. Mae West’s jaw made
a semicircle when she said, “Come up and see me some time.” People
with bulldog jaws look very different from those with an overbite.

Select Key Sounds

When animating mouth action, be careful not to overdo it. It is not

necessary to make a drawing for every consonant. People slur over
consonants. When they don’t, the effect is very irritating to watch. So,
when in doubt, underplay the action and you probably will be right.

The Sequence of Drawing

If you start with drawing one and go forward, I doubt that the anima¬
tion will be correct, because there is no control. The approach I have
devised is almost foolproof. The first thing that I do is to draw all the
216 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Animating Dialogue 217

closed mouths, paying attention to the sound before and after this sliould give you a clue as to when he bobs up and down. Have Skinny
particular position, to be sure that I am drawing a proper width for the lend to the words but be very restrained so that he does not take the
mouth in each case. luulicnce’s attention away from Tiny.
Next, I do all the mouths with closed teeth showing. After that, I I n exercise 3, we have a medium shot of the three elves playing cards,
listen to my cassette very carefully and pick out the loudest vowel in lie sure that the elves react to each other’s dialogue. Have their eyes
the sentence. Having drawn that, I do the next-loudest vowel, and on lollow the action precisely. When the scene opens. Fatty and Tiny are
through the sentence, until they are all drawn. Of course, the loudest looking at their hands and reacting. Fatty becomes mournful while
vowel is going to have the widest open mouth, and the mouths are less I iny gets happier. Keep these actions well under control because the
wide as the volume diminishes. main action is Skinny’s. When he says, “I pass,” he addresses Tiny, but
After that, you can see that the remaining animation is a simple iiH soon as he finishes “pass,” he looks to Fatty for confirmation.
matter of inbetweens. With this system, there is no way that a secon¬ As Fatty talks. Tiny goes into a wondering look, then a big happy
dary vowel will have a bigger mouth than the louder vowels. gi in as he shouts, “Not me!” Be sure everybody keeps reacting to the
Of course, this careful approach only pertains to animation with dialogue. I don’t mean that they have to move around a lot; this is
life-quality. For more abstract animation a la UFA, forget the whole mostly a facial reaction. Don’t make too many changes of expression,
system and just follow your instincts. In any event, you won’t be able lust let it come the way it feels. Do draw all three characters at the same
to animate exact mouth actions because the editor will not supply you lime, not one and then the other. Keep in mind the need for tension
with a detailed analysis of the track. tielween one body and the other, and an overall composition. For that
In these next exercises, you will note that I have not written exact leason, I suggest that you draw a very small table so that the elves are
directions for the various movements because they are so dependent on iilmosi cramped. That way, the composition will be somewhat easier to
the manner in which the animator handles the relationship between the work out.
dialogue and the action. Remember to draw the most important parts first. In this case, I
If you have the facilities, by all means do a recording and get a track would draw the position of the cards for all three before I did anything
analysis word by word. Then animate the action, have it photographed; else, then the heads. Keep in mind the exercise of Fatty menacing Tiny,
then after making whatever adjustments are necessary to obtain good imd the way he changed his tension as you moved the drawings back
sync, animate the mouths. imd forth. Those heads should set up a tension. Put Skinny in the
If you have no way of getting a recording, I suggest that you still do middle, with a rather hopeless expression as he reaches for the card—
the animation in two stages, action first and then the mouths after all Fatly to the left. Tiny to the right. It will not be necessary to show the
the inbetweens are done. denomination of Tiny’s cards, although in the normal course of events,
the next shot would be a close-up of his hand.
This chapter on mouth action is difficult, but if you take it in stages,
Exercise: Dialogue
you will find it easier. I would say that at first it will be hard to create
First is a waist-high shot with Skinny already in position, but Fatty has good poses without overacting. On the other hand, each pose should
to take one step as he extends his hand. be a well-worked-out drawing, using perspective where it applies, a
Rough out the animation. “How do you do?” from Fatty. Skinny’s St rong line of action, and so clear a presentation that it would make a
rejoinder, “I’m very well.” Fatty is hearty and vigorous in contrast to good silhouette.
Skinny’s more reserved manner. They are both smiling and friendly. Do What I have mentioned about the sequence of drawing the parts of
the cleanups, then the mouths. II drawing is one of the most important aspects of building a rough. At
In exercise 2, we have a mystified Skinny watching Tiny as he runs first, you may have to be vaguely conscious of the rule as you draw.
in with excitement. After he skids in. Tiny never stands still, but there 1 ,aler, it will be second nature because you will feel the pose, and that
is a pattern of steps in the cadence and meaning of the words that feeling will urge you to start where the emotion is strongest.
218 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Animating Dialogue 219

Would it surprise you to know that the very last thing I would draw, Homeone else to give you a sentence to animate. Even if they answer,
if I were animating this card-playing shot, would be the table? When ••( Ice, I wouldn’t be able to think of any,” use that as a line to animate.
you think about it, everything else is more important. The table should Accept it as an assignment, whatever it is. The basic trouble with
be the result of the positioning of the bodies, not the other way around. woi kiiig by yourself is that you are not really being commanded to do
Yet I believe that most artists, even professionals, would start by draw¬ II certain exercise. It is very easy to dream up an assignment and then
ing the table. dioji it if it doesn’t come easily. Avoid that by asking somebody else
It is this attention to principles that made the Disney animators the l or an idea for a scene, then do it as if it were an assignment in a studio.
best in the business year after year. No other group was ever so analyti¬
cal; and it paid off. I hope as a result of reading this book, and doing
the exercises honestly, you will become a thoughtful artist.

Beware Overgesticulation

Keep in mind the pitfall of overgesticulating along with the dialogue.

You can always add a gesture if you find that the figure seems not to
be properly interpreting the dialogue. It is more difficult to excise a
gesture, because the remaining material may not hook up very well. If
you run the silent animation on a projector, usually it will look jerky.
If it doesn’t, you probably have not accented the gestures enough. You
can always modify a too-violent accent, but it is difficult to invigorate
a movement without changing the whole concept.

The Secondary Players

Pay attention to the reactions of secondary players in a scene. They

always should be reacting to the situation. This may be entirely a facial
reaction, but what with blinks, eyes widening in astonishment, jaws
dropping, or closing mouths, there are plenty of subtle ways to keep the
tension between the secondary and major characters.
The audience will probably pay no attention to the secondary charac¬
ters, but, if by chance they do, there should be some interesting acting
going on to reinforce the scene, not just a figure staring into space in
the general direction of the major action. Nothing will kill a scene
faster.

Further Exercises

Obviously doing three exercises of mouth action is not going to make

you an expert. Devise your own exercises. Just to make it less easy, ask
 Production Tips 221

iitid Ihree-quarter views but we soon realized that it was going to be a

ililliciill job. However, one of the animators was a skillful sculptor. He
Itiok the drawing home and came back two days later with a large clay
nindol of the beast. We made photographs of various views of it and
giive each animator a set. What would have been a horrendous struggle
lo animate became no problem at all.
I ,ikc making out time cards, writing up exposure sheets can be a
piofound bore, but think of the camera operator and don’t scribble the
numbers so that they look like a Linear B granary list.
Production Tips When the scene is using cels from another shot, it is a good idea to
wrile those numbers in red pencil. If the scene uses a second group of
cels from still another shot, use a blue pencil. Avoid light blue because
It will be difficult to read under the camera lights. You can see from

I licsc admonishments that, contrary to popular belief, I think of camera

operators as human beings.
I like to letter the drawings in addition to numbering them, because
I believe it cuts down the number of errors the painters make. The most
eommon error is to use a set of colors designated for another cel level.
I his will cause a flash on the screen because the character will suddenly
become lighter or darker. It is a difficult mistake to catch in the check¬
ing department. Even the expert checkers at Disney’s have allowed
Now that there are Xerox machines that can enlarge or reduce draw¬
I'olor flashes to appear in many of the studio’s short subjects.
ings, use them and avoid having to animate very small figures. Instead,
By affixing a letter after the drawing number, one can tell without
animate them at a comfortable size and have them reduced. Remember,
looking at the exposure sheet which level this drawing is using. I use
too, that one can take the reduced copies and run them through again,
A Ibi- the lowest level, B for the next, and so on. Nobody uses more than
making them even smaller. We once made figures one-fourth as large
live levels because, although the cels seem to be transparent, they are
as the original drawings. Imagine the problems in trying to animate
not. 'I'hey are a definite shade of light gray. This is why we have this
characters five-eighths of an inch high!
complicated system of painting with Cartoon Colors, which compen-
Another good idea is the use of models. In Disney’s Beach Picnic,
salcs for the gray tint of the cel whenever we move a character to a
I had to animate a rubber inflatable horse that was working with Pluto.
To my astonishment, I couldn’t do it. No matter how I animated it, the difl'erent level.
It sometimes happens that a group of cels are going to be reused in
subtle inaccuracies in the perspective made the toy look alive. We
another scene. However, for technical reasons, they are going to be on
solved that problem by making a mock-up of a rubber horse exactly like
a difl'erent level. If they are going to work with other cels in the shot,
the drawing on the model sheet. Then it was photographed from all the
angles I needed for my animation. I was given prints of all these shots you have three choices.
and it was a simple matter to trace them very carefully and draw the
1. Use them with the wrong color on them and risk a color jump.
inbetweens meticulously. The end result was a perfectly lifeless rubber
2. ReXerox and paint new cels with the adjusted color. In this case,
horse bobbing around in the water.
half the possible profit is lost in the extra wages, taxes, and union
Another time, I was directing a television spot at Erredia in Milan.
In lieu of a proper model sheet, the agency sent us just one drawing of fees.
.1. If it is possible when the reused cels are being shot, cut to a different
a very complex dragon, and a side view at that. We began to make front

220
 Production Tips 223
222 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

deletions with no particular impatience. However, there are exceptions.

field. When they have all been photographed, cut back to the
Ben Sharpsteen at Disney’s would instruct the hapless animator about
original field. The color jump is now contained in a separate scene,
his changes with obvious irritation. This would be compounded by the
which can be corrected in the lab. What cannot be corrected is a
fact that, as the reel was run back and the same material screened again,
scene were the old cels are used with the new.
Sharpsteen would grow more petulant, as if the poor animator should
somehow have fixed the offending animation and transported it by
If you are trying to establish a reputation as a great animator, you
magic to the pencil-test reel before Sharpsteen had to look at the
are going to be living under two standards of quality, yours, and the
incorrect action again.
studios. Yours should be much higher. Above all, do not send a scene
But for the most part, good directors do not have such psychological
into the pencil-test reel if it is not your best effort. If it is rejected by
hang-ups. If your work is being criticized, it is normal to defend your
the director, you have accomplished two negative things. First, you can
point of view. However, having stated your case, do not become argu¬
animate shots with poor quality. More important, you do not seem to
mentative to the point where there is a wrangle. After all, the director
have the judgment to differentiate between good and bad work.
has this huge advantage: He knows what the pace, the form, and the
A few scenes like that and you are pegged as an animator whose work
flowering of the humor should be, and the animator only knows about
is uneven, when your real goal is to be known in your unit as an artist
his own percentage of the picture. So don’t become a forecastle lawyer
who never deviates from top-quality work. A good reputation makes
and engage in long polemics.
you eligible for all the vital sequences, no matter how difficult. With a
What you are doing then, unwittingly perhaps, is wrestling the direc¬
reputation for instability, you are going to be passed over for many
tor for a piece of his authority, his empery.
interesting segments of your unit’s films.
When the storyboards are moved into the director’s room, I see
nothing wrong in viewing the material and asking for a particular
Handling Retakes
sequence that appeals to you. The director may not give it to you, but
at least you have indicated the type of animation that excites your
There are usually two kinds of retakes: One is adding to the shot, a
creativity. process that may involve a few exposures or a few feet. The other is
If the director is an ex-animator, the exposure sheets probably will
where a section of the film is excised altogether. For the latter, simply
be planned to the last exposure. If this is so, then it follows that you
draw a large X over the section involved on the exposure sheet. For
animate the various actions as they are indicated. Occasionally, you
additions, cut the exposure sheet where the new action starts and paste
may not be able to animate an action in the amount of screen time the
on enough footage to take care of the retake. Be sure that your assistant
director has specified. It is not a good idea to steal a few exposures from
changes all the dial numbers right to the end of the scene. The result
the following action. You may be throwing the action and music
is that you will end up with at least one exposure sheet that is longer
slightly out of sync. Why do it? Go to the director and explain your
than the others. What of it? It certainly is better than wasting time
problem. It may be that you had not understood his approach to the
rewriting old exposure sheets to take care of the new material. Be sure
action. If it is his mistake, he will accept it and add exposures to your
your assistant shows the assistant director where you have added or cut
scene to take care of the complete action. The change will be recorded
footage so that the bar sheets can be kept up-to-date.
in the bar sheets and no harm done.
If the animation to be changed was initially done in pose-to-pose
There are two high points in an animator’s life. One is standing in
technique, make your changes in that mode. If the work was drawn at
front of an editing machine right before your newest animation is going
high-speed, make your changes the same way, even if the retake is only
to be run, fresh from the lab. The other is seeing the same material now
a few feet.
spliced into a pencil reel, knowing it is going to have to run the gauntlet
When some parts of the body are not moving for long periods of time,
of story people, the director and even your fellow animators.
avoid making them separate drawings, because you want to see the
Now, most directors are able to ask for changes, additions, or
 Production Tips 225
224 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

of errors that we Junked the whole scene and gave it to an animator who
entire figure’s line of action. Of course, there will be a point where this
was aware of the principles of the line of action and who drew the
is not feasible, but make it a general rule. Doing cleanups, the assistant
will, of course, use held cels, unless it is a matter of making a few complete lion on each drawing.
So don’t get into the habit of turning your characters into fragments.
tracings.
You heighten the odds that you will make mistakes in matching, and
By 1932, the veteran animators of Fleischer studio had all heard the
the opaquer has more opportunity to create further errors in color
siren call of the west coast, leaving a group of novices who averaged
less than two years of experience. With nobody to teach them, they levels.
Animation studios never take the time to order a positive print of a
came up with a number of amateurish concepts that oddly enough
pencil test, so novice animators have to learn to read their drawings in
continue to plague this group to the present day.
white line. Bewildering at first, it soon becomes second nature. One
I have already mentioned that some of them thought the mouth
must also get adjusted to the fact that linear drawings will look faster
closed after every word; they did not use the body to express dialogue.
than viewing the same action when it is linked and painted. Some of
As a group, they were unable to analyze what they were looking at, so
my eight and twelve exposure scenes in a montage have given story
in spite of the fact that Disney short subjects were being animated in
people the vapors, because in a pencil test they were little more than
perfect sync about 1933, the Fleischer animators would have continued
with their mistaken theories indefinitely except for the fact that a series of flickers.
Since the drawings are usually shot with underneath lighting, it is
Fleischer hired a number of ex-Disney animators in 1939. Then the
better to cut down the number of paper levels as much as possible.
others grudgingly learned the new techniques.
Where it is feasible, have the assistant ink a held cel, cutting down the
paper level by one. If the character resumes animation, I simply accept
the dilference in density, unlike the final photography, where, if the
The Use and Misuse of Cel Levels
scenes in the film are predominently five-cel levels, I always have blank
cels added to the rest of the scenes so that the entire film has the same
What they did not rid themselves of was the custom of breaking down
a character into as many cel levels as possible. With a cavalier disregard number of cel levels throughout.
for the principle of the line of action, to this day an ex-Fleischer
animator will start by dismembering a character on several cel levels.
Now a certain amount of this approach can be used by the assistant. Special Effects
For example, shoes that should not move can be put on a bottom cel.
As animation developed in the Disney studio during the 1930s, it
This is certainly better than tracing them on drawing after drawing,
became necessary to pay more attention io special effects such as smoke,
because making tracings of tracings will inevitably make the drawings
fire, water, and shadows. Until then, special effects, considered a nui¬
start to crawl.
sance by the average animator, were done very crudely along with the
But fragmenting characters can be carried to the point of absurdity.
Once, I used an ex-Fleischer animator to draw a scene of a lion doing rest of the animation.
Walt Disney recognized that special effects were a complicated speci¬
a tap dance. He was manipulating a straw hat in one hand and a
ality. If the effects were going to be equal to the character animation,
bamboo cane in the other. When the resulting mess was brought to my
a whole new approach was called for. So he set up a separate depart¬
attention, the animator had placed the lion’s head on a separate level
ment under Cy Young, who up to that time had been a rather indiffer¬
because he was singing; the body and legs were another level, and each
hand had its own level. ent character animator.
Cy ran his animators with an iron hand. He made them study effects
He had scarcely started the scene when he inadvertently matched a
with the same intensity that the other animators were putting into
head to the wrong body, so every head was mismatched right through
character animation. The result was evident in Snow White and the
the rest of the scene. He did the same for both hands. It was such a mass

1
226 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Production Tips 227

the gamut between 30-to-75-percent exposure. After the shadows have

been exposed in the test at a selected percentage, the shadows are
removed and the scene reshot to make the exposure 100 percent. In
It is important that special
effects follow the drawing style
other words, if the shadows were shot at 70-percent exposure, the
of the picture. In this case, reshoot without them would be 30 percent. From this test, the best
realistic-looking sparks would percentage of shadow exposure is selected. Then the entire scene is
have been a mistake. / Know photographed using this percentage.
an Old Lady Who Swallowed a
Be very sure that the background artist is aware of the direction that
Fly, a film made for the
the shadows fall, so that the light source on the background corre¬
National Film Board of
Canada by Derek Lamb and sponds to the shadows.
Kaj Pindal. The animation of water can range from complex realism to stylized
simplicity. Hiroshige and Hokusai, Japanese printmakers, have created
Seven Dwarfs. Before the film was completed, it was necessary to go some interesting effects; even Rembrandt tried his hand at etching rain.
back to the effects that had been animated at the beginning of work on Obviously, rain cannot be animated as a collection of separate drops.
the picture and do them over. They were too primitive in comparison To the eye, it looks like a series of diagonal lines. Start with a group
to the more complex approach the department was developing. of these lines and animate them through the field. When they are
Unless you are willing to spend the rest of your creative life doing halfway through the scene, start another group entering the field. Make
special effects to the exclusion of any other form of animation, there is several levels of rain in this fashion, using various values of gray, not
no way to compete with the masterful handling of effects by the Disney black. Have the lighter values in the background for a perspective effect.
staff. Fire can be anything from the flickering light of a candle to a ranging
The alternative is to study pictures like The Old Mill, a Disney short
subject, and features such as Snow White, Pinocchio, and Bambi. At the
same time, start to look at special effects—wind, ripples, rain, smoke,
fire, and the like—and try to analyze the shapes you are seeing, as if
you were going to draw them. You will have to start thinking in terms
other than pencil drawings. Often, effects are drawn or painted directly
on cels because there is no other way to delineate some of the rendering.
For example, most of the spray and splashing occurring in the scenes
of Monstro the Whale in Pinocchio were painted in oils right on the cels.
White or light-colored smoke can be done in pastels on black paper
and double-exposed in a scene if the area where the smoke appears is
a fairly dark value. Another approach would be to airbrush the smoke
directly onto cels. You will notice that even in such a simple effect as
smoke, there are a myriad of different shapes it can assume, from the
simple spiraling in a small fire to the fierce billowing shapes in a big
blaze.
Since wind is invisible in itself, one can only assume its presence by
its affect on objects such as leaves whirling by, clothes reacting, charac¬
ters leaning forward to keep in balance, and, of course, sound effects.
Shadows are usually done by painting the areas in black on separate The Great Wave Off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai, printed in the 1820s, is an
cels. Then a few frames of the scene involved are shot in a test running example of Hokusai's preoccupation with various forms of waves.
228 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Production Tips 229

Exercises: Special Effects

Do the following exercises:

Fatty is on the bank of a pond in a bathing suit. He does a couple
of knee bends and dives frog-fashion into the water. There is a big
splash; his head bobs up; then he swims to the bank and climbs out very
awkwardly. This shot should take five feet.
Tiny crouches at a fireplace in a close-up. He strikes a match and
lights the fire. Flames run across the top of the logs as he watches with
satisfaction. Suddenly, one flame jumps out of the fireplace and con¬
fronts him. Tiny leaps up in alarm; the flame runs at him; and he, in
a long shot, runs around frantically with the flame in pursuit. The
running action should be a repeated section. The shot should start as
a still scene in a close up, then truck back to a twelve field on a pan.
Tiny is in a running cycle that is broken up by two leaps as the flame
almost burns his backside. The flame should have simulated legs, very
short, and be half as tall as Tiny.
Skinny is carrying an umbrella and walking on, sixteen exposures to
the step, in a pouring rain. He is leaning forward. Suddenly, a bolt of
Note the similarity between Hokusai’s Great Wave and this rendering of foam and lightning hits the tip of his umbrella and sizzles there for sixteen expo¬
water by the special elfects department of the Disney Studio in this scene from
sures; during that time. Skinny is being shocked. When it is over, the
Pinocchio. © 1940 by Walt Disney Productions, Inc.
umbrella is just a couple of twisted spokes.

inferno. The candlelight can be achieved by drawing a number of

differently shaped flames and doing very short dissolves between them. Check Your Storyboard
Large fires, to the average eye, are just a confusion of shapes; but the
trained observer will, after a time, see that there are characteristic By this time, your clock-tower story should be beginning to take form.
shapes in every fire. It depends on what material is burning and the A five-minute film will contain anywhere from 100 to 150 scenes,
intensity of the blaze. depending on the graphic style of the story and the storyboard artist’s
One approach is to make a series of flame drawings at random, then, ability to go into detail. The storyboard will have at least 300 to 500
taking each drawing separately, add another drawing that brings some drawings, ranging from detailed key sketches that explain the locale to
of the flames upward. Shooting the two drawing combinations on two roughly sketched close-ups of heads.
exposures apiece, and varying the sequence of each combination, the This is a good time to look over your storyboard very objectively.
general effect will be that the flames are going up, but not in obvious Have you conceived your film as a series of sequences rather than as
pattern. a rambling account of the action? Within each sequence is there a high
Lightning can be a distant flash that will animate from a point in the point, a gag that is the reason for the sequence in the first place?
sky to the ground in a few exposures, or it can be animated as a nearby Have you just presented it without preparing the audience with a
bolt, which makes the entire screen white for several exposures. Re¬ preliminary action or actions? Just think of the lack of audience reac¬
member that the sound effect is not thunder. It is the preceding sheet¬ tion if Dopey, getting ready to leave the mine, had just picked up the
tearing sound. The farther away the bolt, the longer the interval bag, reared back, and throw it toward the mine door but had forgotten
between the lightning and the sound of thunder. to let go. It might have gotten a mild titter. Instead, it was set up by
232 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Production Tips 233

Dopey swinging the bag back and forth a few times before throwing it. This film will be all pantomime, unless there is some very important
This gave the audience a chance to examine the situation and under¬ gag or gags involving dialogue. Remember in a picture such as this, the
stand his intention. factor of height should call for some interesting camera angles. If you
What they had not anticipated was that he would forget to let go. have little or no experience with perspective, try anyhow. In produc¬
Since the audience was fooled, the gag got a big laugh. If he had just tion, if you just give the layout artist the general idea, it will be enough.
thrown it in, there would have been no time for the audience to analyze Remember that these elves are people with the ability to think, so use
the situation and decide on the action they expected to happen. Thus, their thinking processes when they are in a precarious situation. This
the element of surprise would have been missing. is better than just showing that they are scared.
Are the elves working together? Be sure that you really need all three Don’t make drawings with faint gray lines. After the storyboard is
on the screen at once. Could you do the same gag with just two? Or finished, the project will be made into the equivalent of an animatic.
are you working on a situation with one elf, when the gag might be
better with two?
Do you have sequences that now seem to be uninteresting compared
to other parts of the picture? Can you cut them out? Can you use the
situation you now have as the preliminary for a funnier gag? If it
depends on a prop, are you sure you are using the right one?
Are you using the character structure of each elf to enhance his gags?
Are you using situations where one elf is able to do something better
than another because of his personality or his physique?
Suppose Fatty was trying to clean a portion of the clock, and couldn’t
really get at it because of his bulk. What if Tiny sized up the situation
and dived into the gears? One hand emerges and presses a button or
pulls a switch. The gears start and Tiny is propelled through the ma¬
chinery, ending up where he can easily clean the area Fatty could not
manage.
What might top this situation if Fatty pressed the button or reversed
the switch after he saw that Tiny was finished?
Do not create gags that have no preliminary action, and look for gags
that can be topped, maybe more than once, such as Norman Ferguson’s
famous sequence of Pluto and the flypaper, in which Ferguson took
Pluto from one sticky situation to the next.
When an audience sees this sequence, it laughs harder and harder,
almost without stopping, as Pluto gets more and more entangled in the
flypaper.
If you started off with a list of props that might be used in the picture,
I am sure that list has expanded as you have done more research. Keep
searching for props, situations, and characters that might be a natural
part of this ambience. Let your mind rove over all the possibilities, not
only the ones you have yet to use. Keep going back to your storyboard,
looking for a clue to additional gags.
 The Animator’s Assistant 235

in the handling of star characters. The drawings of Pluto by Norman

Ferguson, Freddy Moore and Bill Roberts were all very personal, and
none of their assistants tried to make them look like the model sheet.
It would have taken a lot of redrawing, ending up in a very sterile
rendition of the character.
When the animator first picks up an assignment, there should be a
briefing of the assistant, as well. If they are working on a new character,
both animator and assistant should go through a period of practice
drawings. Both should end up being fully conversant with the structure
The Animator’s Assistant of the figure. The clean-up period is no time to learn the fine points of
a model sheet.

Analyzing the Exposure Sheet

It is up to the assistant to make an analysis of the animator’s exposure
sheet to see where the animation can be modified or made simpler for
the remainder of the production operations. Held cels should be called
for when some portion of the figure does not move for a long time.
There is no point in calling for trace backs ad infinitum. Combining cel
levels when the exposure sheet shows them to be running in tandem
There is no better way to learn animation than to become the assistant saves shooting time. It also diminishes the possibility of the painter
of an outstanding animator. The standard approach to animation when making an error in painting by using the palette for the wrong cel level.
the business was more stable was to start as an inbetweener, advance
to assistant, and then to animator.
These days, the inbetweener is practically a vanished species. The Pan Moves
starting position has become assistant animator, but it is not unusual
to learn of animators such as Gil Miret, who entered the field as a The assistant should learn how to compile pan moves. Not only is it
designer-layoutman at Paramount-Famous studio. When it was closed a part of the educational process, but it saves the animator’s time for
down by Gulf & Western, Miret decided to teach himself animation. more creative work.
The list of films he has produced and animated in the commercial field
show that he succeeded.
Preparing for Xerox

The Assistant’s Job Cleaning up drawings for Xerox is not the same as working on drawings
that are going to be inked. In the first place, for Xerox only the lightest
The role of a good assistant is to interpret the animator’s rough. This blue pencil, which won’t reproduce, can be used to sketch construction
does not mean a slavish rendition of the model sheet. There is a fine line lines or make notes for dialogue that explain which areas in a mouth
between adjusting the animator’s drawings to conform to the model are teeth and which are tongue. Sometimes they are difficult to differ¬
sheet to an extent and losing the individuality of the work in the entiate on the pencil drawing.
process. If a color area isn’t quite closed on the cleanup, an experienced inker
Of course, the audience does not recognize that there were differences will complete it, but a Xerox machine will only reproduce what is on

234
236 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN The Animator’s Assistant 237

the drawing. Therefore, the cleanup has to be meticulous if the scene Sometimes, when there have been a lot of sweatbox changes, the
is going to be Xeroxed. exposure sheets have become a shambles of sections crossed out, areas
Drawing cleanups is not a matter of omitting extra lines and putting cut, and additional beats inserted. There comes a point when the expo¬
the result on a clean sheet of paper. The final result should not look like sure sheets are too battered to be useful. An efficient assistant does not
a pallid tracing. Very often a drawing is poor because the assistant liave to be told to rewrite the whole mess, making sure that the end
works very slowly. The line is without snap or strength. On the other result is a set of neat, legible exposure sheets that will go through the
hand, working too quickly may result in a slipshod drawing. Every remainder of production without a hitch.
artist has a tempo of drawing that allows for subtle, exact transition Be very sure to correct the dial numbers even if only one beat has
from the rough, yet at the same time gives complete control of the been removed or added. The numbers will have to be changed through¬
pencil so that curves are graceful and the details, such as wrinkles, are out the rest of the scene.
in proportion to the rest of the figure.
The assistant should be trying at all times to understand the anima¬
tor’s point of view. Why this particular drawing or action instead of Working Up to Animator
another? Only then can an intelligent cleanup be achieved. Batting out
cleanups mechanically will never give the assistant the insight into the The best way to start the gradual switch from assistant to animator is
emotions of an animator, which in turn should sharpen the perceptions to take a short scene that has already been animated, and, using the
enough to enable the assistant to start doing small bits of animation in same exposure sheets, draw your own version of the action. Get a
a professional way. critique from your animator, clean it up, and do the inbetweens. Have
(he pencil test shot and compare the result with your animator’s scene.
Completing the Exposure Sheet After a time, you will be allowed to animate very short scenes, then
longer ones, until you finally are ready to be promoted to full-fledged
animator.
It is difficult for the average animator to come down from the high that
one has when animating roughs to the prosaic task of filling out expo¬ Remember that pushing your endurance to its limits with an all-out
sure sheets, writing down the drawing numbers and camera instruc¬ burst of energy is the best way to improve your work. A year of learning
tions. It is up to the assistant to see to it that the scenes go for the pencil how to animate five nights a week is certainly a tremendous outlay of
test without errors or omissions. exertion, not only physically, but mentally, as well. Yet, at the end of
tliat time, you might become an animator, whereas the same amount
of study spread over a couple of years might not get the same happy
Some Common Errors result.
The reason for this is psychological. Working every day to change
Certain errors are so common that they should be caught automati¬ your work habits and your thinking processes does not allow your mind
cally. Animators working on twos will often write down a drawing to build up a resistance. Working a night here and there will not let you
number on the last exposure of an exposure sheet and forget to add make these changes so readily. In fact, depending on how stubbornly
another exposure at the start of the next page. your personality resists change, you may end up getting nowhere.
Instructions for field sizes may be incorrect, as well as the placement
of the field. A drawing may be left out of a sequence, and a whole line
of drawings will have to be moved down two exposures on the exposure Drawing Speed
sheet to accommodate it. Notes may have been so scribbled that they
are illegible, or they may have been written in such a manner that the One final admonition, this about drawing speed: There is one good
camera operator will not understand them. Without bothering the speed for you when drawing cleanups. Too fast will make for a sloppy
animator about them, these problems should be corrected. drawing. Too slow will end up a dull collection of lines without snap.
238 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

Somewhere in the middle is your ideal speed, where you are accurate
but your line has dash and verve. Practice cleanups of your roughs until
you find what this ideal speed is, until it is your normal speed without
thinking about i(. This is a most important exercise, not to be ignored
or done superficially.

The Path of Action Drawing

Since the background artist does not have the animation drawings Backgrounds
available when rendering the backgrounds, the assistant makes a rough
sketch of the layout, and on this drawing indicates the areas where the
action occurs.
For example, if a character enters screen left, goes to center screen,
delivers a line of dialogue, then exits screen right foreground, the assist¬
ant would draw three positions on the layout sketch. One would be the
size and position of the character entering, another would indicate
where the figure was during the dialogue, a third would show the
increase in size during the exit. Thus on one piece of paper the back¬
ground artist has all the information needed to control the contrast
between the animation and the background. Very often when producing television commercials, there is a need to
Every scene must have a path-of-action drawing. On a long project, display the product—a box, can, or jar—in conjunction with the anima¬
the finished scenes are returned to the camera department and reshot. tion. This may involve dozens of cels with a character handling the
When they come back from the lab they replace the rough animation product. Usually, it is too complicated to attempt a drawn replica, so
in the pencil-test reel. it must be reproduced by some other process.
In television spot production, this step is often omitted, or the anima¬ One widely used method is by making C prints. These are photo¬
tion may have been done originally in the cleaned up mode. graphic prints whose main virtue is that they are fairly inexpensive.
However, the color often only vaguely resembles the colors used on the
product container. There is very little possibility of good color correc¬
Tape or Film tion. Still, if the commercial has a restricted budget, C prints will have
to suffice.
While many studios are still photographing pencil tests on film, some A better method is by the use of silk screen. The colors can be
studios are taking advantage of shooting on tape. completely controlled with this process. Even very small lettering is
The greatest gain with tape is the fact that the picture can be seen sharp. Silk-screen prints are much more expensive than C prints.
immediately. Film at best has to be processed overnight in the lab.
Often an animator may be undecided about the speed of an action.
With tape the section of animation in question can be seen in a few Economizing on Cutouts
minutes, and a decision made quickly.
In order to keep the cost down, one does not order a print for every
drawing of the character. For example, if there are going to be 130

239
240 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN I Backgrounds 241

drawings of a character carrying the product, a print order of two dozen j

prints should do the job.
The product container is cut out with an X-acto knife or other very |
sharp blade. Running a soft pencil around the edges dulls down the
white of the paper. Then the cutouts are affixed to the first twenty-four \
cels in the scene by four dabs of two-way tape. These are small squares j
of tape placed at each of the four corners. The cels have to be handled ^
gingerly after that because the tape is very lightly pressed down. ,
Each cel has an inked area indicating exactly where the cutout is to f
be put. During photography, as soon as the first cel has been shot, an
assistant removes the cutout and places it on cel 25, continuing to ^
remove and press on to other cels during the entire shooting session.
Thus 24 cutouts do the work of 130.
Placing the cutouts under several levels of cels will change the colors,
making them darker and less brilliant. As a rule, one has to use one
level, which has a hand of the character holding the product, over the
cutout. Even that will dull the colors somewhat.

What Style Background?

The design, animation and artwork for I Was a Thanksgiving Turkey were all by
Over the years, every conceivable medium has been used for the back¬ John Schnall. The sound track, except for minor additions, was an actual recording
grounds of animated films, from children’s crayons to oil paint, pastels, of his family’s Thanksgiving dinner. Distribution is by Direct Cinema, Ltd.
and bits of colored paper a la Matisse. By the time the picture is ready © 1987 by John Schnall.

for backgrounds, the style has been set a long time ago, not only by the
initial ideas of the layout artist and director but by the animation style might decorate a blank area in a shot, or a flowering jacaranda tree
itself, which will also have some weight in the final decision about the instead of the usual nondescript leaves and limbs of no particular
approach to the backgrounds. variety of tree, perhaps a fieldstone wall instead of the usual red brick.
For example, highly stylized animation may not need a light source, Too many background people acquire a set of graphic cliches—a
whereas very realistic movement will need a strong pattern of light and certain kind of rounded white cloud, one particular shade of blue for
shade. water, a specific brown for earth. There should be some research done
Even after much of the animation drawing has been completed, there for every film to avoid dull habits such as these.
is still time for some new ideas to add to the film. Maybe up to the Gradually over the years, the background artist should acquire
moment the background artist is given his first layout to work with, knowledge about everything, from rock formations to bits of architec¬
nobody had thought of the possibility of making this a night picture. tural detail, and always have the willingness to do some research for
What about making it a definite season, such as autumn? What if it has new material on every picture.
just rained and there are still puddles glistening in the streetlights? How The background artist and the layout artist have a close relationship,
about early spring, when there are still patches of melting snow? but there is no hard-and-fast rule about their joint operation. Some
Would a stormy sky, highly charged with black storm clouds, en¬ layout people like to work very roughly because they know that the
hance a sequence? Perhaps a dramatic sunset? A bank of wild flowers background artist is ready and able to supply any missing details. Other
242 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Backgrounds 243

What on Earth?, a National

Film Board of Canada
production. Story and design
by Kaj Pindal, animation by
Les Drew and Kaj Pindal.

Just as the composition is subservient to the animation, the back¬

ground artist should also recognize that this area of production must
Mongo Makongo (1987) was written, designed, animated, and directed by Michael play a secondary role in the filmmaking process. Nothing must be
Porsch and narrated by Paul Springle.
allowed to attract the attention of the audience away from the action.

artists like to do very detailed layouts, which leave very little leeway
for the background department. Time: A Determining Factor

One of the things placing a restriction on the background artist is the

Characters and Action Are Number One time factor. Without strict attention to the amount of screen time
allotted to a given scene, serious mistakes can be made. For example,
One thing is vital, no matter how interesting the suggestions of the a three-foot close-up must use a very simple background. It would not
background artist are, they must never in any way steal the scene from do to clutter the scene with so much detail that the audience can’t
the characters. Nor should the palette used for the backgrounds conflict “read” the scene before it is over. Unconsciously, the audience would
with the colors used for the characters. The values must also enable the resent it, and if it happens often enough, there will be a good deal of
audience to see the characters plainly. irritation, whether or not the audience knows why it is feeling frus¬
If a picture has both day and night scenes, it is usually impossible trated.
to use the same bright colors that were used on the characters in the Even if the background in a long shot has a lot of detail, when the
night scenes as on those in the day shots. camera goes to a close-up, it is not necessary to make an exact replica
If the colors are too bright, the characters will appear to be lit up of all the detail in this enlarged scale. The background should be
inside like jack-o’-lanterns. So a second palette with less brilliance must simplified, and even painted slightly out of focus if the style is realistic.
be devised. Sometimes, another method can be used. The whole film is The layout sketch of the background and the drawing showing the
painted in daytime colors. Then for the night shots, a blue translucent path of action should be carefully checked to see whether any part of
paper or colored cel is pasted to the glass of the platen to give a night the composition has been moved or eradicated because its original
effect. position proved to be an obstacle to the animator.
 £ £ Backgrounds 245

For example, Frederic Back, in his film Crad, the vigorous depiction
of a French-Canadian country dance, used vignettes instead of painting
his scenes right to the strict limits of the screen. The effect is to remind
the audience boldly that it is being entertained by the magic of moving
drawings, not pseudo-live actors. His medium was colored crayons on
frosted cels, with no attempt to delineate the characters with neatly
filled-in areas of flat color. This lack of obeisance to edges, in both the
screen area and the coloring of the characters, added a freedom, a
wildness to the graphics, which echoed the gaiety and sense of abandon
in the dancers and the music.
Art Heineman, working with me at the Lantz studio, used cutout bits
of colored paper in a manner that would have delighted Matisse. In
The Greatest Man in Siam, a jazz film, and Ski for Two, a Woody
Woodpecker cartoon, Heineman used paper instead of paint to con¬
struct some dazzlingly brilliant backgrounds whose flat surfaces
blended honestly with the flat color areas of the cels.
Gil Miret rendered the backgrounds for My Daddy the Astronaut
A rendering by Gil Miret of the Paris Opera House for The Opera Caper. © 1967 with children’s crayons, fully in keeping with the characters he had
by Famous Studio. designed. Instead of the usual ink and paint on cels, the actual anima¬
tion was colored by crayons, then cut out and mounted on cels. These
The Whole Picture

When one background is going to be used in several scenes, it is not

enough to check the path-of-action drawing for the original scene. All
the action charts should be gathered together before painting the back¬
ground, and the areas where the characters are going to perform care¬
fully considered in the light of the total information.
There should be a set of characters, fully painted in the values for
the bottom level. Each character should be on a separate cel so that the
background artist will be able to place it on an area of the finished
background to see whether the colors are compatible. In addition, blank
cels should be put on top of the setup, equal to the other cel levels that
will be used in the scene. This is the only accurate way to test the
combination of cels and background.

Creativity with Backgrounds

In spite of having to take all these precautions, it is possible for the

background artist to play a highly creative role in the filmmaking A scene from My Daddy the Astronaut, drawn by Gil Miret, written by J. Szabor
process. and Shamus Culhanc, anitnaled by A1 Eugster. © 1967 by Famous Studio.
246 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Backgrounds 247

paper drawings had a feeling of oneness with the backgrounds that prevent buckling or curling, it is best to stretch the paper before begin¬
could not have been achieved by painted cels. ning to paint.
Cliff Roberts, also working at Famous studio on the same series of This is done by thoroughly wetting down the paper, then blotting off
films, using the drawing techniques of a small child, chose to make his the excess, placing it on a flat surface and pasting it down with brown
backgrounds for The Stuck-Up Wolf resemble finger painting. The gummed-paper tape along each edge. After it dries, the paper will lie
resulting crude backgrounds matched perfectly the childish-looking perfectly flat no matter how much water is used in the washes.
animation of Red Riding Hood and the Wolf. Never store finished backgrounds in rolls, even if they are pans five
While these examples of techniques are unusual, they all have one fields long. Keep them flat, preferably in a cabinet similar to an army
virtue in common; they are perfectly compatible with the story content map chest of drawers.
in each case. Never use a technique just because it is novel. There A final word about color. Avoid a monotonous use of hot or cold
should be a valid reason why one approach is better than another. color. Do look for an opportunity to play one against the other. The
juxtaposition of colors can be just as satisfying to the audience as the
radical changes of composition.
Some Cautions

A few precautionary measures are worth mentioning at this point.

When using pastels on a background, it is necessary to protect the
surface by pasting a blank cel over it. Otherwise, as the camera operator
changes cels, the static electricity will remove grains of pastel each time.
It is not necessary to use very heavy paper for the backgrounds, even
when applying watercolor in copious washes. However, in order to

Grandma and bedroom design for The Stuck- Up Wolf by Cliff Roberts, written
and directed by Shamus Culhane. © 1967 by Famous Studio.
 The Skilled Noncreative Jobs 249

to a scene. Four is better yet because the gray tone dulls the colors in
the backgrounds. It is advisable to buy cels from an art store rather than
save money buying directly from a factory. Cels can be purchased
already cut to size and punched. Of course, it is cheaper to buy by the
roll, cut your own sizes, and punch the holes yourself if you are intent
on saving money.
In addition, there are tinted cels for special effects, and frosted cels
that the animator can draw on with a litho pencil or colored pencils.

The Skilled Noncreative Jobs This omits the inking process altogether. However, the frosted cels
cannot be used for more than one level without a considerable loss of
definition in the bottom level unless the frost is eleared off the cel after
the drawing. Always order a thickness of .005. Thicker cells will in¬
crease the gray tone, and thinner cels will buckle too easily. Also be
aware that some cels are more transparent than others. The most
satisfactory seem to be the ones with a slightly bluish tint. One-field cels
are ten by twelve inches.
A cel may be greasy and refuse the ink. The best cure for that is a
pounce made of cheesecloth containing cornstarch. Dab it on the greasy
area and carefully wipe it clean with a very soft cloth. Cels scratch
easily, so handle them with care and be sure to wear clean white-cotton
There are a number of operations in the making of an animated film gloves at all times.
that are crucial to the final result but that require minimum creativity.
They do demand, however, skill, patience, and care.
Xerox Versus Inking

The Planner’s Role The animation may be Xeroxed onto cels, with the advantage that the
result is an exact replica of the drawing. However, Xerox lacks the clean
While the backgrounds are being rendered, the animated drawings go line made by a pen. The animator must be careful to draw enclosed
to the planner. Using a very exact tracing of the layout, the planner not color areas if the drawings are to be Xeroxed, because any roughly
only makes a dry run of the entire scene, checking the accuracy of the drawn lines cannot be cleaned up as they can during inking.
pan moves, looking for the missing parts of drawings, but also combin¬ The disadvantage of inking is that it is a traeing, with the inevitable
ing characters on one cel where it is feasible. The drawings are matched loss of spontaneous feeling in the process. A careless or lackluster
to the layout to ensure proper registry, and once again the exposure inking job can ruin subtle drawing. For example, if the pupil of an eye
sheet is scanned for errors. is not traced very carefully, the axis may shift, changing the expression
Finally the scene is ready for inking or Xerox. altogether.
On the other hand, a good inker can make the drawing neater, and,
using thick and thin lines, give it a certain flair it may have lacked. In
Choosing and Preparing the Cels this approach, either a Crow-quill or a Gilliot #290 nib will work very
well. When the line is going to be all the same consistency, a mechanical
There is no such thing as a completely transparent cell; they all have pen is best.
a distinct tone. This is why most studios have a limit of five cel levels Not every ink will adhere to cels. There are special drawing inks

248
 The Skilled Noncreative Jobs 251
250 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

made especially for use on cels. Don’t keep a bottle of ink for two years
and expect it to be usable. It may seem to be okay but may scale off
later. If the cel has already been painted, repairing ink lines is a messy
job at best, because the paint, being opaque, will prevent the inker
from directly retracing the drawing, and will require a good deal of
guessing.

Inking in Color

Besides inking or Xeroxing in black line, there is a technique called

self-line. Any of the Cartoon Color Cel-Vinyl colors can be diluted with
water, or Transparent Base can be mixed with small amounts of Cel-
Vinyl color, ink, or dyes to outline areas to be painted with opaque
color. Since both the ink and the color area match, there appears to be
no outline.
Very often, several lines of colored inks are used on the same cel to
give a very delicate effect that is impossible to achieve when using an
overall black outline. When painting cels for a matte job, it is most important to make sure
Another use for diluted color is with Cel-Vinyl Transparent Base. that there are no pinholes left because the whole surface hasn’t been
This is a transparent medium. By adding small amounts of Cel-Vinyl, completely covered. Many studios make sure of good coverage by
colored or black ink, or dyes to the Base, one can paint a semitranspar¬ adding a second coat of white over the original color so that there is
ent area for shadows or special effects. I would not recommend using no possibility of leaving a pinhole, which would allow the bottom light
this mixture on large areas. A more satisfactory large shadow is made to shine through.
using the technique of shooting the shadow and the artwork a certain
percentage of exposure, removing the shadow and reshooting to make
the combined shot 100-percent exposure. Avoid Using the Wrong Colors
Various gray and colored inks can be used in Xerox machines. Inci¬
dentally, if cels are going to be Xeroxed, the machine requires a special One of the most exasperating retakes occurs when the painter confuses
adjustment of the heating element. Normally, it is too hot for cels. If the palette of one cel level for another. The end result is a sudden flash
they are run through the machine, they will emerge wrinkled and as the character becomes too light or too dark. This means that the
useless. So do not count on going into a stationery store to use their whole area affected has to be reinked or Xeroxed over again, then
Xerox machine. painted in the correct color. You can be sure that there will be no profit
Cel-Vinyl colors are not paint as are poster colors or oil paints. They from this particular section of the picture. It will be eaten up by this
are a kind of plastic and therefore do not brush on the same way. The absolutely unnecessary retake.
best way to paint the back of a cel is to use the biggest brush possible, How does one avoid it? The answer is laughably simple. As soon as
take up a large brushful of color, and plop it into the middle of the area one level of a character is painted, all the jars of paint involved should
being colored. Then push the puddle toward the edges, always being have their lids screwed down and the entire batch of paint put into an
sure that there is ample color being moved around. If there is too inactive area. It sounds as if any dolt should be able to accomplish this
meager a brushful, the brushstrokes will show up and the area will have precaution. Yet this is the most common error in animation production.
to be repainted. Why?
252 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN The Skilled Noncreative Jobs 253

up to the department head to instill these virtues in everybody in the

section. Anybody who refuses to conform should be laid off before some
horrendous disaster occurs, such as a missed air date and the subse¬
quent loss of an account. It isn’t just the financial damage to assay, the
loss of integrity and reputation in the business must go into the balance,
as well.
It is astonishing that we have so much oil in the skin of our fingers,
For My Daddy the Astronaut,
but even more astonishing is the ease with which it is transferred to cels.
the drawings were colored
with inks, then the characters If they are not carefully cleaned off, they photograph as a light area.
cut out and mounted on cels. So it is vital that everybody handling cels wears clean white gloves at
Designed by Gil Miret. all times.
© 1967 by Famous Studio.
After a scene is inked and painted, it must be cleaned—cel by cel—a
dull job but very necessary because every scene ends up with several cels
The answer is that painting is without a doubt the most boring job spattered by ink or paint. These spots should not be scratched off but
in an animation studio. People suffer from tedium and get careless. The cleaned instead by dousing the area with solvent used for cleaning
way to avoid these stupid errors is to inaugurate a system, a ritual of brushes or water.
disposal after each level is painted. There should be a space for jars not The best way to polish cels is to cover a board with black velvet. Each
in use, nowhere near the jars about to be opened for the next cel level. cel is placed on this surface and blemishes of any kind will show up.
These jars should be opened while reading off the palette list, not unlike
The polishing is done with a very soft cloth. Very vigorous rubbing will
a pilot reciting a takeoff ritual. Never use paint-spattered gloves. The
cause the cel to build up static electricity, the bane of every camera
spots of dried color become very hard and the paint can scratch the cels.
operator. So the cloth should stroke the cel fairly slowly. This will
Cel-Vinyl can turn a good brush into a wreck in a very few minutes.
disperse the dust without causing static.
When the color dries, it is almost impossible to dilute it with water and
clean off the bristles. If several brushes are in use, they should be in
water until it is time to employ them. They should be dried off on a
Final Checking
clean rag before they are dipped into a paint jar.

The next operation is final checking. In effect, it is a dry run on the

function of the camera operator. The checker looks for spots the cel
The High Cost of Errors
polisher missed; areas that have been painted with an incorrect color;
registration, where the art work is matched to some point in the back¬
While I seem to be going on and on about the least important job in
ground; the instructions for pans. The sum total of all the moves is
the production process, it is for a good reason. The salary is the lowest
on the job scale but the work is fraught with the possibility of making recomputed to see that the pan ends up at the stop mark. Also, whether
the most expensive retakes, usually at the last minute. This means that the field sizes are correctly indicated must be checked.
the error is often repaired on an overtime basis, losing the company not Reading the exposure sheet, the checker puts down each combination
only the profit on this portion of the picture but a part of the overhead, of cels that the animator has called for, to make sure that they match
as well. up properly. It is a highly responsible job, because if an error gets by
The ink and paint supervisor is, of course, held accountable for errors the checker, it will be photographed and a negative and print struck off
of this nature. The crew has to be really convinced of the importance at the lab. All this constitutes a large part of the total production cost
of ritual and order, coupled with a fanatical devotion to neatness. It is of a given scene.
 254 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN The Skilled Noncreative Jobs 255

Camera Work Color Variations

Being an animation camera operator has none of the excitement inher¬ As the dailies come back from the lab, there will be differences in color
ent in the job of the live-action counterpart. It is true that it’s necessary from scene to scene. This is because the usual procedure is to make what
to know a good deal about lenses, and the care and maintenance of the is called a one-light print. It is called that because there is no effort made
equipment, even to the point of being able to make small repairs. But to balance the color. This will be done later.
a large part of the work is almost mechanical—putting down one However, in a reel of animation footage, these color difference should
combination of cels after the other, hour after hour. The camera opera¬ be slight. If there is a radical difference in the scenes, the camera
tor has to know how to prepare tests for the laboratory and must be operator should be told to check the negative to decide whether the
able to discuss the results with the director. color balance can be corrected later. If there is any doubt, it is better
In all labs, the developer begins to grow weaker after a few days of to reshoot. Having to reshoot later, after the photography is supposed
use, and a booster must be added to restore its strength. This is not to be finished, could hold up the printing of the entire film.
always a precise operation, although it should be. Sometimes the devel¬ A few scenes of questionable exposure in a reel are not unusual. But
oper gets too much booster and many feet of negative can be over¬ if there are generally erratic swings in the exposure as the reel begins
developed; too little, and film is going to be underdeveloped. When to fill up, get someone else to operate the camera. There is no excuse
either of these mishaps occur, the crew makes a hasty adjustment, but for making many improper readings of the light meter, because each
the harm has been done. A wise camera operator will try to find out scene is shot under the same lighting conditions. With poor meter
when booster is going to be added to the developer and hold back some readings, the picture will be more difficult to color balance than it
of his film for a day or two. should be.
In many ways, the one behind the camera has to be the most patient While the jobs in this chapter have been labeled noncreative, it is not
person in the studio. Animators scribble illegible numbers on the expo¬ meant to be a pejorative term. Most of the skills involved are not easily
sure sheets; checkers stack cels out of sequence; at one in the morning, learned and they are an integral part of the filmmaking process. Of
a cel is found to be missing—the list of possible mishaps is endless. course, when computerized animation has made the cel system a thing
The scenes to be photographed should be prepared in the following of the past, many of these jobs will vanish.
manner: In comparison to the computer, cels are clumsy and even primitive.
The drawings should be left between each cel and the entire scene There is too much dependence on the human factor, and too many
placed in a scene folder. This can be as simple as a piece of wrapping mistakes as a result. The computer process of filmmaking is much less
paper, but most studios have folders of light cardboard or buckram with fraught with error.
instructions printed on them. Notice that there is the production num¬
ber, title of the picture, scene number, background number, and a list
of drawings used from other scenes, if any.
If there are a number of scenes to be shot, they should be stacked with
the first scene on top. If the background is for a still scene, it should
be placed on top of the cels for that scene, with the requisite number
of blank cels called for.
The exception is pan backgrounds and long cels. These should be
neatly wrapped together in one package with a stiff piece of cardboard
underneath to support them. Never roll up a pan background or long
cels. They will curl and become hard to manage under the camera.
 Music Recording and Editing 257

Keep in mind that to the composer, the graphics of the film are of
no interest—it’s the sound track that is all-important. So take the
suggestions for the music very seriously, but always remember that
although the composer wants the music to stand out, the director wants
it to be subordinate to the picture.

Orchestration

Music Recording and Editing This is especially true of the orchestration. The animation is best embel¬
lished by a score that has imaginative orchestration. Composers such
as Satie have shown that there is such a thing as comic music. It is the
juxtaposition of oddball instruments that best reflect the zany qualities
of animation.
Watch ou: for overorchestration. It does not take four English horns,
a tuba, and a bank of violins to accompany a character across a room,
unless the character is an elephant.
Find the orchestration that best suits the animation. At the Famous
studio, directing My Daddy The Astronaut, a film that was drawn in
the manner of a five-year-old child, I dismissed the idea of the usual
Music is a natural adjunct to animation but it has its pitfalls. A televi¬ squad of twenty musicians and instead elected to use the finest harmon¬
sion commercial, a one-minute or thirty-second film, can have a score ica player in New York. He almost had a fit when I asked him to blow
from start to finish and no harm done. Try the same wall-to-wall some clinkers in the score because I wanted the harmonica to sound as
technique on a half-hour special, or worse yet, a feature-length anima¬ if it was being played by a rank amateur. The score was perfect. Nobody
tion cartoon, and you have a disaster. even noticed it because it blended in with the story idea.
Darrell Calker, music composer at the Walter Lantz studio during
a period when we were turning out very fine jazz films, once told me
Musical Overkill about a device he had used to get a more tinny effect for boogie-woogie.
He put pieces of track from a toy railroad on the strings of a piano.
Possibly the worst example of this kind of misfortune is the score for When the keys were struck, the track ties reverberated in a very satis¬
Raggedy Ann and Andy. After seeing this feature, try to walk away factory exaggeration of a battered upright piano. That’s what I call
whistling one tune from the film. One song blurs into the other because inspired orchestration.
there is no letup. End-to-end songs, after a time, cause the ears to reject
any more of this noise.
Not only is the audio area affected, the tempi of the songs tie down Recording the Music
the action. It is better in longer films to have long periods where there
is no music at all, much less songs. During the recording of the music for a cartoon, the director sits in the
Have the composer avoid using the same tempo for a song and the control booth next to the sound technician. This recording is only done
music that follows it. In other words, if one song is a waltz, the next after all the color dailies have been approved and the last pencil test
piece of music should have a radical change in tempo—a mazurka removed from the reel.
perhaps, something very different. Darrell Calker had a very interesting way of handling his recording.

256
258 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Music Recording and Editing 259

He put together all the wind and percussion instruments in one session. is finished. Everybody, even the conductor, has to keep an eye on the
Then he recorded all the strings and the piano together in a separate budget at all times.
recording. Later, this was invaluable to the mixer because he could
control each class of instrument without losing the value of the other.
What to Avoid

The Director’s Role There are some things to avoid in using music in a cartoon. It sounds
very mechanical if the music is always cut in exactly at the start of a
While the music director is conducting, the director is reading the scene. If the music has a vamp, or grace notes, it is good to have them
action on the bar sheet. It is the first time the director hears the full start in the previous shot and bring in the body of the music in sync
orchestration. Before this, there has been a piano version of the music, with the first frame of the scene.
but this does not have the emphasis of a full-scale recording. It is the Often some definite piece of action can be used to cue in a bit of
director’s job to judge whether or not the score reflects and interprets music. It should be a very definite action that brings in a new mood or
the action on the bar sheet. finishes one off. For example. Skinny is hammering a nail. There are
If, in his or her opinion it does not, there is a quick conference only sound effects in the scene until he finishes. When he walks off in
between the director and the conductor/composer. Usually, something triumph, one could start music.
can be contrived on the spot: adding more instruments to give more Songs are usually prerecorded with a simple piano orchestration, so
weight to the score; quickening or slowing down the tempi; or making when the music is being recorded, be sure that there are no wild swings
the melodic line more apparent. The conductor is trained to make these in sound levels in the orchestration because they will prove to be a
modifications there and then. bother during the mix. It is important that the music never obscures
the singing. The best examples of beautiful control over singing and
orchestration are in the score for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Synchronizing Music and Animation However, almost any Disney film will be a masterful example of sound
control.
In the beginning of sound films, the biggest problem was to find some In assembling the music for the mix, always jiggle the sync a few
way in which to make the musicians play in sync with the completed frames, because there is always the possibility, even with the click track,
animation. Walt Disney tried to solve this problem by projecting a piece that a better sync can be achieved. As in the relationship of gestures
of blank film with holes punched in the center corresponding to the to mouth action, there are no hard-and-fast rules to go by in relating
tempo on the bar sheets. The musicians went crazy trying to read the music to action. It is wiser to sync up the music to the dailies, rather
music, watch the conductor, and look at the screen. than against pencil tests, because the work print may contain changes
Some genius came up with the idea of the click track. An electronic that were an improvement on the pencil test but possibly were un¬
mechanism called a click box emits a series of clicks that can be quick¬ recorded on the bar sheet—despite the fact that assistant directors are
ened or slowed down by the conductor. Each musician is given a not supposed to make mistakes!
headset with one earphone. This way, he can hear both the clicks and If you have to use library music, you may find to your astonishment
the conductor. The conductor selects whichever click is indicated on that because you used bar sheets, many accents in the musie are in
the bar sheet, and since he also wears an earphone, he conducts the perfect sync to your animation. This is because most library music is
orchestra in perfect sync. recorded to a steady beat and you happened to choose the same tempo
The musical score is not usually recorded in sequence. The conductor for your animation.
chooses the bits and pieces of the score that will be recorded with the If you did not use bar sheets, the chances are that the music will just
full orchestra. When these are finished, as many musicians as possible be general, with an accidental sync here and there.
are dismissed, because there is no reason to keep them when their stint There is a tendency liicse days to call the interpretation of the action
260 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Music Recording and Editing 261

by the music,” Mickey Mousing.” It is a term of derision, but I notice the sound at this point consists of two reels of dialogue, two reels of
that is usually said by a composer who wouldn’t know how to go about music, and two of sound effects. Sometimes there are loops that are not
creating such a score. While doing a whole cartoon with the action on reels. For example, there might be a loop of insect sounds, such as
matching the music note for note would be mechanical and annoying, locusts, that run through a long section of the picture. Instead of using
if there is a tasteful mix of generalized themes and note-for-note music, a great big reel of this sound, it is, in effect, put on a cycle. The sound
the score is bound to be pleasing to the audience. of a motor running would again be a loop.
I consider the score for an animated cartoon very much like the The cue sheet is a sheaf of pages diagramming when and where
music for ballet, in that some of the dancer’s steps and body movements certain sections of the track are going to be recorded. This is so that
follow the music note for note and others do not. It’s the same principle. the mixer can prepare the volume levels to suit this particular material.
There should be adequate space around the instructions for the mixer
to write notes about certain adjustments to be made on the controls as
Including Sound Effects the picture progresses.

If there are any sound effects that closely follow the action, they have
been duly analyzed from the beginning of the track assembly, and cut
into the sound track for the pencil-test reel. Now the editor adds the
music and the incidental sound effects.
It is important at this point that the director and the editor look for
places where the music and sound effects conflict. Sometimes, this can
be solved by shifting the music a few exposures or even by cutting out
a phrase or a few notes.

Editing the Music

When music is composed especially for a film, there is a modicum of

snipping here and there, or maybe none at all. On the other hand, if
you are using library music, the editor may have to do quite a bit of
cutting to shape the music into usable form for your film. If the editor
isn’t really conversant with music, I suggest that, rather than butcher
your track, you find a music editor. Editing music is a specialty, and
often a very delicate job, where a good ear and a knowledge of the
various ways of cutting and butting themes together are an absolute
necessity. So if you anticipate having to do a good deal of cutting and
matching, use a music editor.

Mixer’s Cue Sheets

After the music and all the sound effects have been cut into various
reels, the editor is ready to prepare cue sheets for the mixer. Very often
 Winding Up the Picture 263

be redone. In addition, the film had to be sent to a lab and several days

21
passed before a print of the track was available. If a mistake was then
discovered, either it had to be accepted or the recording done over.
The use of tape dispensed with the delay of having to develop the
_ track. The big advantage, however, is that when a mistake occurs, the
mixer can roll back the reels to an appropriate place and do just that
part over again.
It is difficult to make a prognostication about the amount of time a
Winding Up the Picture: recording should take. It depends on whether the director can explain
to the mixer exactly what is wanted and on how adept the mixer is at
The Mix carrying out orders and evaluating the volume of the different tracks.
The balance between reels may be very complex, forcing the mixer to
do some hasty juggling during a recording.
A client may be present who has ideas to try out, as well. Sometimes
these ideas are useful, but all these factors take up time and time costs
money.
From my own experience, I believe I can supervise the recording of
the mix of a television spot and finish in less than two hours. A five-
minute film would take me three hours, and a half-hour special about
four to five hours. This scheduling may seem odd to the reader, but long
If supervising a mix is a new experience, or you are having to mix in films sometimes have stretches where there is only dialogue or music,
a strange town, I would advise you to make a tour of the sound facilities whereas short films may have many quick changes of volume.
before making a decision. A really fanatical sound engineer running a Whatever amount of time you choose to schedule, ask for another
small setup might be very enthusiastic but probably does not have the hour to be held in abeyance. Most sound-studio managers are willing
equipment available in a large studio. Also, there usually would not be to do that, and, if the extra hour is not used, there is no charge.
a large library of sound effects. Big sound studios keep a large supply I am inclined not to invite a composer to a mix. They almost invari¬
on hand. When the director or a client gets a sudden idea that it would ably want their music louder. If, for some reason, the director cannot
be good to add a duck squawk or a tire screech to the track, the mixer be present, put the recording in the hands of the editor and the mixer.
can supply the sound effect immediately; that is not a time to think Let them collaborate. Never include the composer!
about going out to buy an effect. Most studios supply these additional It is astounding to listen to the number of bad tracks in motion
effects gratis; others charge a small fee. picture theaters and on television. Music is often too loud, obliterating
It is obvious that the editor who assembled the tracks should be at the lyrics; the same thing happens to dialogue in many cases. The
the mix. Don’t try to save money by leaving him or her out of the director has to be sure not to listen to the mix with a jaded ear. After
operation. In addition to being ready to quickly splice in an additional all, most of the reels have been heard time after time during the course
sound effect, someone is available if a splice parts during the projection of the work. It is easy to miss some problem because of that. One must
of the work print. The editor also can help if the mixer is puzzled by try to spend these few hours listening to the track as if it was all new
a notation on the cue sheet. Just as important is to have one more material. Learn to listen like an audience.
trained ear ready to detect a problem in the mix. Aside from the proper balance between reels, watch for the sudden
In the early days of sound recording on film, the track had to be sharp sound that muffles an important word in a sentence. Also listen
recorded perfectly. If a mistake occurred, the whole reel would have to for dialogue that lessens in volume near the end of a sentence, then
262

I
 V

264 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Winding Up the Picture 265

picks up again at the beginning of the next. This should have been Editing the Sound Take
caught during the voice recording, but if it wasn’t, it certainly should
be corrected now. When the recording is over, the tape is edited down to the good takes,
A mixer must have all the instincts of an orchestra conductor in carefully following the notes. They have to be clear and concise. This
order to keep a proper balance of dialogue, lyrics, music, and sound is no time to have to read hasty scribbles. The director should never try
effects. to make notes and listen to the tracks being recorded at the same time.
Watching the mixer work, you begin to realize that mixing is really They are two different kinds of functions and it is impossible to do both
an art requiring a quick mind, a good ear, and very nimble fingers. As well simultaneously. If you do not have an assistant present for note
in any other job, there are poor mixers, some who are pretty good, and taking, use the editor.
a few who are the leaders in their field. If you are lucky enough to Of course, all the outtakes will be carefully labeled and filed by the
happen upon one of the last, use him or her on every picture. editor. Nothing is thrown out until the picture is approved, even if some
There is a tendency in American business to keep looking for greener are obviously trash. Some unforeseen catastrophe may happen and
pastures. Superb work is no guarantee of continued employment. In my suddenly the trash becomes a lifesaver.
opinion, this is a sign of insecurity, because many executives hire only My practice is to tell everybody to keep all notes, discarded drawings,
people who seem to know less than they do. It may help to bolster up exposure sheets, animation that has been the victim of sweatbox
the self-esteem, but it is a stupid way to run a business. changes, and everything that has to do with the film, until the approval
I agree with Walt Disney’s policy of hiring the best possible talent of the answer print.
in every aspect of filmmaking. This, of course, meant that they were all
better at their jobs than he could ever have been. So the continuing
improvement of the Disney films was no aceident. Walt didn’t do it Titles
himself but he hired the people who could do it, and many of these
people worked at the studio their entire creative lives. Somewhere about this point, your film may need titles. The film busi¬
ness is going through a bad time of title designing right now. At least
half of the superimposed lettering over an art or live-action backgroutid
Room Tone is unreadable.
Another boner is the scale. Often the screen is cluttered with lettering
It is not true that the spaces between sounds are absolutely silent. Each that is too small, especially if it is a roll-up title working over a live-
room has its own tone. Never leave a recording without taking several action background.
minutes of room tone. The editor uses this recording as a filler when Lettering, if the film is going to appear on television, should be sans
extending space between takes. Blank virgin tape or film would cause serif. The screen is still so coarse that a serif seems to disappear, or at
there to be a perceptible difference between the recorded sound, with best, be seen only vaguely. A serif is supposed to give the end of a stroke
its background of room tone, and the blank tape or film. of a letter a clean-cut finish. If it can’t do that, it ceases to have any
While you are all intently listening to the tracks, your trusty assistant function. I believe a good strong modern sans-serif style of lettering is
director is busily taking notes. Each time the recording is stopped, the best. Forget Old English, Gothic, and Script. They belong solely on the
mixer calls a new take number into the mike before it resumes. In this motion-picture screen. Remember that television has about the same
way, each take is easily identified. The assistant director is making notes reproduction quality as a newspaper.
on a ruled pad—notes such as, “take 34, good until 375, then cut in As for readability, nothing can beat the stark, clean quality of white
latter half of take 32, starting with trumpet in bar 459.’’ There will be lettering over fairly dark backgrounds. This holds for live-action back¬
notes on every take, some just reading “NG,” meaning no good. Others grounds, as well, because even on a moving background, if for an
will be starred, meaning the best take in everybody’s opinion. instant there is a patch of what seems to be white behind the lettering,
266 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Winding Up the Picture 267

the letters will usually show up anyway. There is no true pure white Stored away. Now that it is time to match the work-print reel with the
in live action, not as white as white paint. negative, it may be that you have to hire another specialist, a negative
The timing for a title is loosely about 24 exposures of 35 mm film a matcher.
word. If the title is used with a musical theme, this timing may have Each foot of film has a number for quick identification, and the
to be adjusted, made longer perhaps, but never shorter. Two or three negative matcher’s job is to match the numbers on the positive work
particles of speech in one sentence may be lumped together and counted reel with negative shots, until the entire film has a complete negative
as a word. track and picture ready for printing.
Of course, these instructions will not hold for those interminable lists Now it may be that your editor announces that he or she can cut
of credits that name the gofer, the head trucker’s assistant, and the negative as well as anybody. Listen with caution and weigh the possibil¬
assistant accountant for the client. Give them a cursory swipe at screen ities. The negative is the sum total of all the studio people’s efforts. It
time and make no effort to allow the audience to read the names of these must be assembled by an expert so that it not only matches the work
noncreative people. Concentrate instead on the names of people who reel but has perfect splices and has garnered no scratches in the editing
made a creative contribution to the film. process.
This state of perfection can only be attained by having everything
around the cutting equipment spotlessly clean, and with the editor
Opticals wearing immaculate white-cotton gloves at all times. If the editor isn’t
working under these strict conditions, take the job away and find a good
Another job which is often done only at the last minute is the opticals— negative cutter who has made this work a specialty. As the director, you
the special visual effects. In theatrical shorts, they were almost never must do this sort of thing without compunction. The editor may have
used because they are expensive and time-consuming. One quickly done a superb job right up to the point of negative cutting. Yet if it now
learns about the myriad possibilities of the optical printer in the field looks as if he or she can’t handle this next step and is about to butcher
of television commercials. Advertisers know that the audience likes to your negative, take that editor off the job without hesitation. Don’t have
look at special effects. false loyalties. The only real one is to the picture. Everybody else comes
One can buy a chart of the different wipes and other effects from a second, or even gets fired for incompetence. Some of these actions seem
film supply house. An optical printer is really a camera that can do cruel or harsh. So be it. In a few months, people will be looking at your
freeze frames, fades and dissolves, various split screens, and skip picture. It has your name on it as the responsible party. They might
frames. It can superimpose lettering, slow action down by shooting wonder why this or that part of the production is poor. Nobody wants
every frame twice, rotate shots instead of cutting, and create multiexpo¬ to hear that Joe Schmoh’s mother was sick and he made sloppy back¬
sure scenes. grounds because he was worried; or you kept a new animator on longer
It can do all these things because it is facing a projector mounted than you should have. All this does not go down in the history of this
horizontally. The operator can move in to shoot only part of the film particular film. The only thing that remains is that your credits indicate
that is being projected. With the current interest in fantasy films, an that you condoned bad work. History is remorseless.
animation house should have a special-effects expert who can create on Looking back over long years as an executive, and later as a boss, I
both the animation camera and the optical printer. can see that my worst weakness was being maudlin. I was a bleeding
heart. The very first time I fired somebody is a case in point. I hired
Matching Work Print and Negative this middle-aged retouchman to take on a whole television spot by
himself. It was for one of our accounts that gave us all their spot work
During the entire process of making the picture, the editor has been without our having to bid against other studios.
receiving negative rolls as well as the positive prints he has been using The spot was a series of still photos of an automobile. They all needed
to supplant scenes in the pencil-test reel. These have been carefully lots of airbrushing, reinforcing of highlights, and in some photos.
268 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN | Winding Up Ihe Picture 269

creating of shadows and designing new backgrounds. The retouch man’s I might add that nothing is so damaging to the morale of the crew
desk began to look like a hog wallow. It was strewn with tissue-paper • as having to cope with an executive who will not admit to a mistake,
masks, bits of cotton, and bottles of various inks and paints. Suddenly, looking instead for a scapegoat. On the other hand, freely admitting to
after weeks, he confessed that he couldn’t handle the job. He cost us an error makes for a good feeling all around.
thousands of dollars in overtime to meet the air date, yet it took me I have always cheerfully made it a point to explain to my top execu¬
three weeks to get up the nerve to fire him. That’s a bleeding heart! tives just how I made a particular mistake and how it might have been
Nobody likes the role of disciplinarian but it is one facet of the avoided. Since I believe very strongly in a well-educated staff, we very
director’s job. often would go into a searching discussion of the principles involved.
There are two kinds of mistakes in production. One is simply an error My executives had the same feeling about admitting to errors, so we
of judgment, such as an animator’s making a character overact, or a never had any finger pointing. Instead, we brought down the percentage
background artist painting a scene too dark. Errors like this are bound of errors in our production to an incredible low by devising a set of
to happen because there are no rules to follow; it is a matter of taste. systematic safety checks, which came about as a result of our lengthy
In a case like this, it would be unjust to take disciplinary action. discussions.
The person who has an obsessive need to continue to revise and
improve work long after the production money has been spent is funda¬
mentally insecure. There is a confusion between the state of the work
Making Sure and the person’s image, which makes it impossible to release the mate¬
rial until it has reached some fancied peak of perfection or has forcibly
The second type of mistake is very different. Every studio has proce¬ been taken away.
dures designed to keep errors down to a minimum. And they are not Insistence on the part of management for the work to be finished
to be flouted without the knowledge and approval of top management. within the budget allocated and on the scheduled completion date will
For example, the head of the ink and paint department decides, without often call forth a rebellion against what is interpreted as a Philistine
consulting the director, to omit final checking on some scenes because attitude.
of the deadline. The idea that the normal checking procedure would be The most sensible thing to do in such a case is to look at the neurosis,
too time-consuming seems to make this a good move. not the person’s talent. Appeals to logic will be fruitless. The most
Actually, this is a very ill-advised omission. It is a blatant gamble that important thing to remember is that such things as profit and overhead
there will be no mistakes in these scenes, against the possibility that have no weight in this situation. Assuaging the obsession is the only
there is one. If a mistake did then appear in the finished film, the studio thing that matters to the budget buster. Even getting fired will not
would certainly miss the delivery date. It would be impossible to com¬ enable a person with such a fixation to change. The only sensible move
plete a retake with photography, developing, printing, editing, and a is to seek psychiatric care.
possible readjustment of the timing of the answer print. None of these It is all very well to be sympathetic and understanding, but budget
factors would have to be coped with if a mistake was found in final busters are potential studio wreckers. My advice is to let the person go
checking. Therefore, it is a very unintelligent gamble. as soon as the symptoms are recognized, before more damage is done.
This kind of Hairbreath Harry risk should only lie within the prov¬ This in spite of the fact that these people often have a very high degree
ince of the director and producer. At least they will be able to evaluate of creativity. The monetary loss, the irritation at the dislocation of
the gamble properly, weighing every factor and not just being con¬ schedules, and the fact that this kind of neurotic has an uncanny ability
cerned with one procedure. to foment rebellion against authority, all add up to one thing . . .
An independent move of this type rates at the minimum a good dismissal.
chewing out, perhaps even the loss of the job if it risks losing an The only mitigating circumstance would be if the person recognized
account. at last that there was a need for professional help on an ongoing basis
270 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Winding Up the Picture 271

several times a week. Even so, do not expect a drastic improvement to the result of these computations. For some baffling reason, this is called
occur very quickly. an “answer print.”
It is a good idea to loan the timer a set of cels for comparison with
what the original color was, so that the color can be balanced accord¬
Film ingly. However, if the first print does not meet with your approval, say
so and make it stick. Of course you must have some solid tangible
Whenever possible, a picture should be photographed in 35 mm, even reasons why the print is being rejected. Theoretically, timing an ani¬
when the prints are going to be 16 mm. There is much more latitude mated cartoon should be comparatively easy because everything is shot
in balancing color in 35mm, and very few people will assay opticals in under the same lighting conditions, but for some arcane reason, there
a 16mm-animation camera because of the comparative crudity of the are timers who make a big job out of it.
sprocket system that advances the film. Added to that, the “checker¬ The Noah trilogy featured an orange-yellow lion. On one particular
board” technique of editing is a clumsy nuisance compared to 35mm picture the color looked fine even in the dailies. It was very consistent.
editing. So start with a 35mm negative whenever possible. The addi¬ The first answer print was a puzzle. The lion ranged from lemon-yellow
tional expense is well worth it in the final result. to orange-red. When I rejected the print, the timer was incensed. He
Use the best lab you can find, even if it means mailing your film. If swore that this was the best he could get out of our negative. He rejected
possible, establish a line of credit so that you will not have to take cash the fact that the work print had excellent balance, with just an inaudible
every time you make a pickup in the shipping room. mumble.
Color film is so widely used today that many labs do not develop The second answer print was no better. When the third print still
black-and-white film at all. Those that do often hold all the film until showed no improvement, I began to question him. Just how was he
there is a suitable amount to tool up for developing. So if you are going about balancing this film? He replied querulously that he was
shooting in black and white, you may have to wait several days, or even balancing the backgrounds!
a week, before the lab has acquired sufficient footage to process. The next timer gave me a satisfactory answer print on his first try.
Color film delivered before the end of the workday is usually pro¬ Never use your original material for making a batch of prints. It is
cessed that night, and a negative and print will be ready the next enough of a risk to use the precious negative for making answer prints.
morning. Just as a precaution, never arrange for a client to screen the The actual printing of a print order is made by using a composite
material the same day it is picked up. There are too many variables. negative, which is the graphics plus a synchronized sound track.
The lab rarely has a breakdown but when it does, a certain amount
of footage is going to be ruined; the camera operator may have made
a mistake; the stock may have been defective. So give yourself a day of Judicious Cutting
grace before showing the work to the client. That way, there is time to
make small retakes and still present acceptable work on schedule. Watch out for oddball problems such as the fact that the three major
networks have different specifications for their pictures. Having made
one of the Noah trilogy specials for Westfall Productions, using NBC
Timing guidelines, I was happily waiting for the picture to be scheduled.
Without my being aware of it, Westfall switched to ABC. They were
Understand that all the film in the work print is what is called a told that the film was a minute too long, but not to be concerned. The
one-light print. There has been no attempt to balance the color. Now ABC film department would edit the picture. Those clods certainly did.
the negative goes into the hands of a timer, whose job is to evaluate the The core of the story was the ending. The lion for most of the picture
shots in a negative and decide on the exposure so that the color is was just a henpecked Klutz. When Noah announced that there was
consistent. When the work is completed, a print is struck off, showing going to be an election to see who was to become the King of Beasts,
272 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

the crocodile and the elephant both made impassioned electioneering

speeches.
But when the ark caught fire, they both gave way to panic. It was
the lion who dashed into the smoke and flame and rescued Noah. Then
when he discovered that the crocodile’s two kids were trapped in the
hold, he returned to the inferno. With a series of gymnastics a la Doug
Fairbanks, the lion rescued the babies and came out of the ark safely.
He was elected the King by acclamation.
22 _

When I saw the picture on television, the idiots had cut out the entire
rescue. The Lion just dashed into the smoke and out again, leaving the
Photographing a Storyhoard
audience to wonder what all the animals were shouting about. Maybe
I’m being paranoic, but an industrial spy could not have done a better Reel
job of sabotaging my picture.
We had the same difficulty with our first picture, Noah’s Animals. In
this case, I was told that we had to cut a minute and fifteen seconds
out of the film. It was very easy to do. I just sat down with the bar sheets
and measured various parts of the film, looking for a big chop. It is
hopeless to try to nibble at five feet here and ten there in a situation such
as this.
It must have looked like a miracle when I strolled nonchalantly into
the cutting room, ran the reel down to a song, marked the start for a When the time eomes that you feel that your clock story is finished,
cut, and indicated another cut at the finish. Total footage: one minute, I would let it rest for a week. Then look it over to be sure that you
fifteen seconds! have no weak spots. It is your best effort. After that, it’s time to pul
Again, let me advise you never to be a termite in a such a predica¬ information for the camera on exposure sheets. Be sure to buy half
ment. Don’t nibble. Be a butcher with a big cleaver. If possible, make again as many sheets as you think you will need. As you know, you
one big chop. Surprisingly enough, very often the splice can be made can buy exposure sheets in an animation-supply store. Start as I have
without any further tailoring. Just find the song, the unimportant inci¬ taught you with the end sequence. Every drawing should be clearly
dent that can be excised without weakening the story. marked with the sequence letter, seene number, and drawing number.
Be sure this information is not in the camera area but that it is in the
same place on every drawing. Write so that it is easily read without
having to peer. Don’t forget that you will be putting dial numbers on
the scenes, whether you shoot the film yourself or it is done profes¬
sionally.

Timing the Drawings

Your big problem is going to be how to devise a way to find out how
long each drawing should be on the screen. One way would be to use

273
274 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Photographing a Storyboard Reel 275

a stopwatch, but a better approach might be to find out how long twelve half an hour. The big advantage of having a professional job is that you
exposures are. Try humming a march and beating time. You will find can have trucks, wipes, dissolves, and fades, all of which will certainly
that march time is two beats of twelve exposures each. You can find enhance the appearance of your film.
out how long eight exposures are by humming a waltz. Three beats in Remember, if you shoot in 35mm, you will have to order 16mm
waltz time are eight exposures apiece. Remember that a second is three prints. Most agencies and studios use 16mm projection. Usually in a big
eight-exposure beats, or two twelves. ad agency, projection has to be scheduled in advance, so getting an
If you have a stopwatch, so much the better. You can time the tempo interview and a screening at the same time is not easy. You may be
you are humming against the watch. Do it until you can knock off a asked to leave your film, which is probably the weakest way to have an
waltz or march tempo as a veteran conductor would. Every time you interview because you will not be at the screening to answer any ques¬
begin to work, check your tempo against a watch, just to warm up. tions about your work. At some point, you will want to transfer your
Start by putting the first scene number and the sequence letter in the film to a video cassette. It is much easier to get an interview and a
camera column with an arrow pointing to the first exposure. Obviously, screening with a cassette.
you are going to use only one column through the picture. If the scene
has more than one drawing, spread them out and look at them care¬
fully. Take your stopwatch and click it on as you start looking at the Acting as Your Own Photographer
drawings, as if you never saw them before. When you have examined
the last drawing, stop the watch. Now see how many seconds it took If this is going to be an amateur effort, beg, borrow, or steal a Bolex
you overall. Are some drawings more complicated than others? Are camera with a cable release to shoot single exposures. If you shoot by
there drawings that are just transitional? Maybe you will want to time hand, you will probably jostle the camera many times, whereas (he
some drawings individually. However you break up the time, it should cable will keep your camera rock-steady. If you are not very familiar
only add up to the total time that it took you to look at the scene in with the camera, don’t try any technical tricks such as fades, dissolves,
the first place. If it is a long scene, time the drawings in batches. or trucks with a zoom lens. Keep it simple.
By all means, get a pair of dedicated friends to help you, and you cun
be sure that the relationship will be sorely tried before the photograi-)liy
Choosing a Photographer is over. It is a boring, tiring job and it will seem interminable, even il’
you prepare meticulous exposure sheets. I hope you do, because shoot¬
Before you begin, it would be best to know how this job is going to be ing retakes is even more boring.
photographed: by a professional animation camera operator; by you; or You will need two floodlights, 150 watts apiece, and some kind of
by a crew of willing friends? easel to set up the drawings (a child’s blackboard might be just right
If it is a professional, there will be no problems, because you know if it is mounted on a table so as to be at a proper height). You will also
how to write an exposure sheet properly. Be prepared to spend a sizable need a pane of glass larger than the story sketches, which should have
bit of money. The rates have been soaring. Right now, you will be hard the edges covered with Scotch or electrician’s tape to protect the
put to have your film photographed for less than fifty dollars an hour. worker’s hands.
Before you agree to start the photography, take some of the story In addition, there should be a back-up board taped down to the easel.
sketches to the shop and get an estimate based on the number of The board should be at a slight slant so that the sketches won’t fall off.
drawings in your story. Most camera operators will allow you to act The drill is that the camera operator does nothing but press the plunger
as assistant, preparing the next scenes as a sequence is being photo¬ one exposure at a time. The camera is mounted on a tripod, which is
graphed, putting away the drawings that have been shot. All this will prevented from moving even slightly by having the legs reinforced by
serve to cut down your final bill. Acting as assistant has the added books or other heavy objects. It is aimed slightly downward to match
advantage of letting you be sure that the camera operator is working the tilt of the blackboard or whatever you are using to set up the
on your picture and not not talking to another client on the phone for drawings.

I
 1

276 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Photographing a Storyboard Reel 277

One of the assistants does nothing but put the pane of glass down on when you have completed the photography, you will have a finished
the sketch every time and take it away after the drawing has been shot. picture, except for the Academy leader, which you can buy at the lab.
The other assistant picks up the sketch, puts it on a nearby table, and Your clock picture should be shown on a separate reel, with a title
places the next drawing on the easel. The area where the sketch should and credits. Remember to compute scene length on the basis of 36
be placed is indicated by putting a frame of masking tape around the exposures per second for 16mm.
spot. On the end title, have your name, address, and telephone number.
The camera field should be just inside the black outline around the Then add forty-eight exposures of black leader.
sketch, so that the line is not being photographed. The camera operator Make another reel of all your walks, runs, and other exercises. Mix
has the exposure sheet and calls out the number of the sketch to the them up so that there are animals and elves in an interesting combina¬
sketch handler. After checking the field, the camera operator starts tion, with about 16 black exposures between scenes. Shoot at least 150
shooting, counts the exposures from the exposure sheet, and then says, exposures of each cycle walk or run. Be sure to have some title such
“Cut,” at which time the other two assistants dismantle the glass and as Exhibition Reel by . . . and an end title with name, address, and
drawing. telephone number. Don’t forget the Academy leader.
In order to keep an accurate count, I have found it best to have the Buy film cans for your reels and paste your name, address, and
exposure sheet flat, in a good light, and I actually put a finger marking telephone number inside on the covers. Also take white tape and put
the exposure being shot, at the same time working the plunger. Cover it around the bottoms on the outside. Write your name on them with
the ball of your thumb with a strip of tape; otherwise, it will be abraded a heavy Magic Marker. Buy mailing pieces for each can, as well. Reels,
after a few hours. cans, and mailing pieces can be purchased at the laboratory.
Be sure that the whole arrangement of easel, camera, lights, and If you mail a reel, be sure that you check it when it comes back to
drawings is not a jerry-built setup so clumsy that it is difficult to move see that it has been rewound and is in good condition. For that, you
around without knocking into something. Spend some time in devising will need a pair of rewinds and clamps to secure them to a table. I
the proper placement of all the items, and don’t start shooting until you suggest that you buy a 16mm viewer and a guillotine-type splicer,
know that you have a workable arrangement. which uses Mylar tape.
I once worked on a film in an awkward setup and found after a few It is also important to have a projector. Possibly you can buy a
days that I had burned my ear because I had to stand too near a light reconditioned secondhand one. I suggest a self-loading type. If you
when changing drawings. Be sure everybody has working space before want to go into making your own sound tracks, you will need a reel-to-
you start shooting, and even then look for possible improvements in the reel tape deck, a good microphone, a synchronizer with a sound head
setup at the beginning of the shoot. for track reading, a tape splicer, and a small viewer. You will need to
Try to find a working space where the camera and all the other find a sound studio that transfers quarter-inch tape to optical track.
apparatus can be left untouched until the job is finished, which might With this equipment, plus your newly acquired expertise, it will be
be weeks unless the trio can work all day long for perhaps four or five possible to make animation from script to screen.
days.
If you can’t find help and decide to do the whole job yourself, I can
only commiserate. I think St. John the Martyr would back off from this
ordeal. But if that’s the problem, why, just go ahead and do it.
As a precaution, I would always check the alignment of the drawings
in the camera at every new shot, just to be sure that the camera tripod
or easel were not inadvertently moved.
To save yourself an editing fee, be sure to have all the scenes shot in
their proper order, with no blank exposures in between. That way.
 The Role of the Computer 279

are too many people involved who, while they may be expert at operat¬
ing the machinery, have little or no artistic talent. It will be necessary
to weed them out and replace them with people who have a special
talent in the animation field before the computer can really flourish.
Last year the International Animated Film Society (called ASIFA,
an acronym of the international association’s French name) put on a
screening of art in conjunction with a home-computer group. Each
company had an opportunity to show its wares. One after the other, the
representatives made drawings appear on their computers’ screens.
The Role of the Computer After a while it was obvious that these machines were incapable of
creating drawings of professional quality. It was also obvious that none
of these people had any talent as draftsmen.
This did not seem to disconcert them in the least. After each drawing
was finished, there was a polite but perfunctory round of applause from
the bored audience. The worst drawing was made by a young lady who
accepted her applause with great pleasure. She beamed as she mur¬
mured to another representative, “Just think, six months ago I was
teaching Phys Ed.’’
Is it any wonder that professional people in the cel-animation busi¬
ness eye computers with distrust!
The word computer sends a xenophobic chill through creative workers There are only two areas where computers have been readily ac¬
in cel animation. There is a strong suspicion that computers may take cepted: One is in making pencil tests. Instead of the camera-film-lab
control of the creative process, may even replace it. In the final chapter of routine, which often takes several days, the computerized pencil test is
my autobiography, Talking Animals and Other People, I wrote about my ready to look at as soon as the last drawing has been stored.
growing presentiment that the computer was going to prove to be the The other area is the animation camera. Practically everybody is now
most versatile tool that was ever invented for the artist. Different pic- shooting animation with a computerized camera system. I recall that
ures, more beautiful than we could now imagine, would result. one day when I was visiting Cel Art, Rudy Tomaselli, a veteran camera¬
In rebuttal, I received a chiding letter from one of the foremost man, remarked that while we were talking, one of his computerized
directors in the field. How could I, one of the most talented animators cameras was photographing a very intricate truck. We both laughed as
in the business, be so misguided as to become enamoured of a machine? we recalled how, in the old days, it was so difficult to compile the data
It was beyond his understanding. I did not answer this somewhat for a truck. Then there was the drudgery of photographing it manually,
backhanded compliment. I decided to do that in this book. I think that exposure by exposure, worrying during the entire process about the
I can show that I am not a traitor to the Venus Lead Pencil Company, possibility of making even a small mistake. Now we have reached the
and that computers do not pose a threat to creativity. point where nobody is even watching the camera perform.
While I may do that to my satisfaction, there is no denying the fact An upheaval like this is going to happen in the ink and paint depart¬
that this man, one of our most prestigious directors, is echoing a basic ments. The rows of desks will be replaced by a few pieces of machinery;
fear that has permeated our profession. There are many creative people gone too, the brushes and jars of paint. The laborious methods used to
who feel that computers are restrictive and stultifying, making the artist produce many of the beautiful effects in Fantasia will be things of the
the victim rather than the master of sterile, depersonalizing machinery. past.
Their worries seem to be substantiated by the low level of art that I am not touting the computer as a kind of artist’s panacea. It is
often has been the norm among designers of computer animation. There just another tool. Complex, yes, but then so are etching, lithography.

278
280 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN The Role of the Computer 281

The Adventures of Andre and

Wally B., by Alvy Ray Smith, Nickelodeon Brew is a
is the first fully animated computer (3-D solid modeling)
three-dimensional cartoon ever animated station ID for
made entirely on a computer. Nickelodeon Cable TV by
A P-I-X-A-R Production. Richard Bakst.

sculpture, watercolor, and oil painting. They all have one thing in use of cels. Silent motion pictures were still going to be made for five
common: There is nothing intrinsically creative about any of them. more years!
They neither enhance nor detract from an artist’s ability to conceive. Then we had music, dialogue, color, and sound effects with which to
They all have some quality or qualities not shared by the others. This work. Television animation came after World War II, followed by tape;
includes the computer. now the computer, which seems to be a synthesis of all these inventions.
I have been fortunate, through my friendship with Dr. Alexander In a happy daze, I went on with the rest of my guided tour of the studio.
Schure, Chancellor of the New York Institute Of Technology, to have We came to the equivalent of an ink and paint department, where a
had access to the Computer Graphics Lab. This operation, headed by completed scene of animation was being put through a scanner, draw¬
Dr. Louis Schure, has for many years been involved in improving the ing by drawing. As a Xerox machine, the scanner only took a few
means by which character and abstract animation may be created by seconds.
computer. Then I watched the coloring process with astonishment. The average
In order to better study the role played by the various departments output of cels in my opaquing department was 25 cels a day, or about
in an animation studio, CGL produced a feature-length cartoon. Tubby 15 minutes apiece. Here a veteran cel painter, who had been retrained,
the Tuba, using traditional cel-animation techniques. was coloring that many drawings in a few minutes, easily turning out
250 in a day.
She was quickly whisking each finished character off the screen and
IMAGE; A Creative Approach to Computer Animation replacing it with another replica of a pencil drawing. Along the bottom
of the screen was a row of small rectangles of different colors. The
The result was the creation of an artist-orientated image-manipulation operator was using an electronic stylus to guide a small patch of light
and graphic-enhancement system called IMAGES. Here’s how it was on the screen, causing it to dip into one of the colors. She brought it
shown to me several years ago when I was invited to visit CGL: I was up swiftly to the character she was working on, and in one deft move
asked whether I cared to try my hand at computer animation. So I drew an entire area was instantly colored. The ritual was repeated time after
a downcast Pluto in pencil on paper, and another drawing of Pluto very time until the character was completely colored. It didn’t matter a jot
happy. The two extremes were input to a computer; then I pressed a how intricate the shape of the area, it was filled in with the speed of
button, after deciding on a number, and the computer made seven light.
inbetweens! It was explained to me that it could just as easily have been Gone was the necessity to compensate for the various cel levels by
seventy inbetweens. arranging for a different palette for each one. These colors would not
As I watched the Pluto animation, I realized that I was hooked. I be grayed down by the lack of true transparency that plagues cel
was looking at history. When I started in the business in 1924, Felix animation; nor would there be any more color flashes, which are often
the Cat was still being inked on paper, in the method that predated the caused by the opaquer using the wrong set of colors for a given cel level.
282 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN The Role of the Computer 283

While this performance was astonishing, it was even more amazing

to watch Paul Xander at work. He is CGL’s designer, background
artist, and creator of storyboards. Paul has had a long career as an
artist. He started out as a painter, working out of a gallery on the west
coast. Later he went to Hollywood and became interested in animation.
He worked in the major cartoon studios as a background artist.
Eventually Xander drifted east, and now has worked for many years
at CGL—so many, in fact, that using the IMAGES is as easy and
Phallacy, an award-winning
automatic for him as driving a car. 360° animated integral
In giving me a sample of what could be done on a background, hologram, was made by David
Xander flashed a menu on the screen. It listed a number of “brushes” Ehrlich. It was done with
of different widths, as well as effects that created facsimiles of water- clay, shot with a 16mm
color, acryilic paint, pencil, and charcoal, as well as “brushes” that camera, then transferred to
holographic film to create a
could apply several colors on each stroke.
3-D moving image.
Selecting a “brush,” Paul quickly sketched in a desert scene, and
began to block in the color. At one point, he zoomed up a very small Dr. Louis Schure, head of the Computer Graphics Laboratories,
section of the field to full screen and painted in some details that would kindly loaned me the company’s flowchart. One can see that several
have been extremely difficult to do in their actual size. Suddenly, initial efforts are the same as the processes used in cel animation, that
Xander changed the shot from daytime to a moonlit night. After that, is, the director’s functions, layout, animation, assistant animation, and
he proceeded to change the entire palette of the scene from fairly inbetweening. In some cases, it is possible to do the inbetweens by
naturalistic colors to exotic combinations. The marvel was not only that means of the computer; otherwise, the animation and layout are drawn
it happened in the twinkling of an eye but that Xander stated there were with paper and pencil exactly as in cel animation.
literally thousands of possible combinations. The whole thing from In addition, I borrowed a list of the various features of the Computer
start to finish was a stunning performance by a maestro.
Assisted Animation System.
At no point in this tour did I see any indication of a restriction, some
obstacle to creativity. Rather, I kept seeing features in the system that
seemed to open new vistas for the creative mind. Client
,. ... .
t Producti
Post
Produc tiuii

Of course, I am focusing on one computer system, and there are -X-*

many other kinds, but my intention is to tell you about the result that _ii:
can be achieved, rather than go into an explanation of how it is done.
Animation Director Production Coordinator

_
nssislant Pencil
Lagout Opaque
Animation ~ Rnimalion tests
Rrt

4 4 A
Back¬ Special
ground Effects
Rrt

Holography and animation go

hand in hand to increase the .SVOMvAV.'

magic of David Ehrlich’s

holograph movie Oedipus at A computer-based flowchart outlining the various production stages. [Link] of
Colonus, 1978. the Computer Graphics Laboratories, Inc.
 The Role of the Computer 285
284 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

IMAGES II—The background painting system features: b. Animation may be output to film and/or video.
c. Multiple uses for animation. For example if one bird flying is
a. Big ’N Fast offers high resolution backgrounds. animated, it can be duplicated in different sizes and positions on
b. Real time color adjustments on color models, backgrounds, etc. the screen. Also it can be elongated or compacted to change its
c. Ability to extract overlays from painted backgrounds. shape. Each bird could be a different color. There is no limit to the
d. Ability to create and save “brushes.” number of birds which could be generated from the original anima¬
e. Ability to duplicate painted backgrounds, then modify elements tion, and no limit to the number of levels exposed.
and/or color composition for reuse in different scenes. d. Instant pencil tests on video.
e. Ability to do simple single frame editing.
SCAN—The digital image processing system includes:
f. Airbrushing to give dimension to traditionally flat animation.
a. Digitizes drawings. g. Can generate partially transparent glows and shadows.
b. Color scanning of conventionally painted backgrounds h. Ability to do ease-in, ease-out zooms, pans, trucks, on individual
c. Background layout scanning for use on the IMAGES II system. levels at specified frames.
d. Animation scanning. i. Can make color dissolves.

TWEEP—The program for opaquing drawings features: An electronic mail system makes it possible to provide better communi¬
a. Automatic filling of color areas in one touch. cation among the staff. For example, if on one shift there is a change
b. “Seed fill,” which is the ability to fill in key frames (like extremes) in the color of a character’s head, a memo to that effect can be sent to
and call for the frames inbetween to be automatically colored. all personnel in the next shift by sending one message, which goes to
c. No concern for color compensation caused by multiple levels as in all stations.
cel animation. There is no limit to the number of levels that can Those are the main features of the system. Of course, there are many
be used. small details, such as Paul Xander’s new ability to actually mix colors
d. Ability to paint color lines in delineating areas. on his screen just like wet paint, but the list of features pretty much
e. Can duplicate and combine drawings. covers the ability of each facet of the system.
f. Re-use of daytime animation in a night scene need not be repainted.
g. “Quick check” displays consecutive drawings for color checking.
Learning the Computer
TWEEN—Animation assistant inbetween system features: In preparation for writing this chapter, I bought several books about
a. Accomplishes checking of line drawings by instant pencil tests. computers but find myself sunk without a trace in a morass of jargon.
Excellent tool for the animator to review the animation and make I am reminded of the time a year ago when I bought a word processor.
adjustments in animation and/or timing. It came with eight or nine books, which gave me great satisfaction. I
b. Zoom from a small area to a full field allows the animator to draw enjoy learning at my own speed from books. However, when I opened
in extreme detail, then zoom area back to its original position. these up, I found that the instructions for assembling and working the
c. The animator can draw extreme frames and the program can then processor and printer were crouched in the most tortured collection of
interpolate the inbetween frames. words imaginable. Most of the time, I could barely distinguish the
d. The line width used in drawing can be changed at a later stage of parts of speech.
production. Stubborn as I am, I embarked on several months of solitary experi¬
ment. I refused to go to a class in computer operation. Finally, I
MIC—The recording system (the equivalent of the camera) painfully worked out all the various commands you need in order to
features: write a book. I can only tell you that a perfectly good electric typewriter
is gathering dust in a corner, but then so are the books full of engineer’s
a. The ability to change size and colors.
286 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

Survival as an Artist

Animation Control’s AC 112 system. Upper left is the camera. It has 550 lines of
resolution. In the lower left is the recorder, a standard half-inch VHS modified for
single-frame recording. In the center is the controller. It features a LED frame
counter, reset button, one- or two-frame recording synced to 24 EPS. The monitor
displays a black-and-white picture on a twelve-inch diagonal screen. Up to 700
lines of resolution for clarity of image. Photo courtesy of John Lamb.

Anybody who studies the history of American motion pictures is struck

jargon. CGL’s material is the first information I have discovered on the by the intensity of the savage war that has been waged between the
subject of computers that was not crammed with gobbledygook. business world and the creative people in the field. This is especially
So, while I have recommended Computer Graphics by Kerlow and true after 1929, when the banks moved in and couldn’t understand why
Rosebush, it is still much too arcane for the average artist to wade making pictures could not be run exactly as any other manufacturing
through. The problem is that the technical words are not in the dictio¬ business.
nary. As I have shown, animated cartoons have been constricted in subject
The only solution is to find somebody with a computer system set up matter and production methods in order to make the optimum amount
for use with line drawings and computerized color, and practice. of profit. This stony indifference to the creative needs of the artists in
An artist does not have to know about pixels, bytes, and algorithms, the field will continue to be damaging. Actually, the condition may
any more than he or she has to be an automotive engineer in order to worsen.
drive a car. Looking back to the era of theatrical animation, some people did carp
As I stated in Talking Animals and Other People, computerized about the fact that there were so few distribution companies, making
animation is going to give us films of such complexity and beauty that the prospects of owning your own studio limited.
cel animation will become a thing of the past. Would you believe Walt But even the most pessimistic never dreamed that absolute control
Disney was a primitive? I do. of production, from a one-page outline to the finished film, was going
to be taken out of the hands of the producers and seized by a covey of
amateurs in advertising agencies and networks. How long this night¬
mare is going to go on is unforeseeable.
Whether you are an employer or an employee, it affects you and will

287
288 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Survival as an Artist 289

continue to control your creative life, probably to the end of your directing a marvelous, skillful, rollicking group of Italian animation
career. people at a studio called Erredia 70.
There are not many ways to survive as an artist under those condi¬ Remember, if at the moment the only work available is pretty poor
tions, but there are some. In the first place, one should not think of stuff, better to be doing it in a foreign country then having a dreary time
oneself solely as a cartoonist, because if the responsibilities of raising at home. A Saturday afternoon at the Pitti Palace or a Shinto shrine
a family, or even the fact that it’s the only game in town, forces you is a pretty good reward for a week of working on crud. Not that one
to work on schlock animation, you have resources in other creative can be actually happy with such a woeful waste of time, but it is the
directions. time after work that in this case is all-important.
Let me tell you how I handled a similar situation. I went broke in The psyche of a creative person is particularly fragile. Guard it well
1959 and found that I had become a pariah. None of my former and keep it nourished.
lucrative accounts would give me work. I found myself having to work For my readers who have finished this book and the exercises I have
for other people to support my family. laid out, I can only say that you have been exposed to professional
Most of the work was animation, terrible stuff, at scale. As I drew thinking and methodology. In some cases, information that you may
it, I writhed in my chair in anguish and boredom. My wife understood not have gotten for several years as a beginner is now a part of your
my plight completely and began to alleviate it, first by playing records equipment.
of music by Vivaldi, with whose work I was unfamiliar, then by intro¬ I wish you well.
ducing me to the beauty of string quartets. I had been avoiding them
for years because I found them incomprehensible during the years I
studied violin.
In addition, she took to reading aloud from D. H. Lawrence, and
over many months finished his entire works. This was followed by Sean
O’Casey, Thomas Hardy, and many others.
After work, I began again to study ancient Greek, and to draw, either
my cat or my wife from life. In effect, there was never a dull moment.
Now, I could have groused about my lot and sunk out of sight in the
depths of self-pity. Instead, I not only survived this miserable experi¬
ence but actually gained a lot of ground as a creative person.
Just think, if I had thought myself just a cartoonist, I would have
wasted eight years out of my life. Maybe this is the most important
lesson I present in this book.
Circumstances may force you to work on junk, but that doesn’t mean
that you have to succumb to it.
If you are young, be adventurous. The whole world is opening up to
animation. Because the United States is expected to contribute a solid
half of the income from a motion picture, most producers and investors
worldwide like to see Americans in many of the key jobs in an ani¬
mation studio. It’s a form of insurance that the film only contains art
and animation that is understandable and acceptable to an American
audience.
This is how I once ended up spending almost six months in Milan
 T

Schools 291

other new areas of animation by having internships in some of the

high-tech houses in Hollywood.
Films range from conceptual to cartoon, from object animation to
computer, from entertainment to experimental in diverse materials, and
from traditional to new animation.
California Institute of the Arts is headed by Jules Engels, a former
Disney artist. Teaching ranges from experimental animation using di¬
verse materials to traditional full animation specifically aimed at the

Schools qualifications for working at Walt Disney Productions. The school

attracts students with great talent, and the instructors are some of the
outstanding artists in the field.
Walt Disney Productions itself submits its workers to a great deal of
personalized instruction. It is, of course, possible to submit an outstand¬
ing portfolio or exhibition reel to the studio, and get a job without
having gone to Cal Arts.
In Chicago, Columbia College maintains a very good animation
curriculum, as well as courses in live-action, film history and criticism.
The Rhode Island School of Design turns out graduates with an
impressive amount of ability. Yvonne Anderson, a noted filmmaker,
teaches with remarkable skill and sensitivity, which is reflected in her
For those of my readers who elect to acquire a more formal education, group’s skillful use of the principles of filmmaking.
there are a number of animation schools in North America. The School of Visual Arts, Pratt Institute, and New York University
In Canada, I believe that Sheridan College probably is the only are all New York City schools with a sound approach to animation. The
school of any size that teaches animation. It has an excellent staff; major difference between them and the California schools is that their
several of the teachers have international reputations in the field. Most teachers do not have as impressive a background as the California
of the animation studios in Canada are staffed, to a large extent, by instructors.
graduates of Sheridan College. In existence for many years, the school Hanna-Barbera Animation College is devoted to teaching the meth¬
has always maintained a very high standard of excellence. ods used in producing the Saturday morning television shows for which
The University of California at Los Angeles Animation Workshop the studio is famous. This is probably the quickest way to grasp the
is one of the finest animation schools in the United States. The Work¬ principles of limited animation, and the bookkeeping techniques that
shop, a part of the Department of Theatre, Film, and Television, was are a part of using morgues properly.
started by William Shull, who left Walt Disney Productions at the time If I were going to go to school, I would certainly try to enter either
of a strike. His production approach, one person to a film, still applies, UCLA Workshop or Cal Arts, and split my time between learning
although he has retired. In order to acquire a Masters of Fine Arts traditional animation techniques and the latest computer methods. The
degree, the student has to complete three films in their entirety. reason for the division is that a youngster skilled in full animation
To quote Professor Dan MacLaughlin, now head of the Workshop, would probably find that there are more jobs for cel animation artists
“This philosophy allows each filmmaker complete control over the film, than computer animators at this time. This condition is bound to be
its content, idea, viewpoint, style, purpose, audience, form, process, and reversed eventually.
value. The filmmaker learns the complete process by doing it.” If neither UCLA or Cal Arts were available, I believe that I would
In addition to having its own computer apparatus, the Workshop concentrate on the animation schools of the West Coast anyhow. That’s
keeps students abreast of the latest advances in laser, computer, and really where the action is in the cel animation studios, as well as a very

290
292 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

healthy share of the computerized animation business. Remember that The National Film Board was created in Ottowa in 1939, and Nor¬
there is a very good relationship between the California schools and the man McLaren was asked to head the animation department in 1946.
animation studios, which, if it exists in New York, is imperceptable. There could not have been a better choice to lead a group of filmmakers.
But before taking a step in any direction, I suggest that the reader During his long career in animation, scarcely a year went by in which
take a long look at the field from the standpoint of its history and its McLaren did not explore new ground, and he encouraged the staff to
restrictions. do the same.
It is only after seeing twenty or more animated films from the so- They made films for information, education, and entertainment, and
called Golden Age in one evening that one begins to understand that in the doing, broke with the traditional ink-and-paint-on-cel approach
American theatrical animation, at its best, had a very narrow scope whenever it suited their purpose. Pictures were made using underlit
from a literary point of view. sand; colored pencil on frosted cels; underlit cutout silhouettes; pixilla-
This may be lese majeste, but as a writer I find very little difference tion (which is moving live people exposure by exposure); scratching
between Mighty Mouse and Mickey Mouse. A pratfall by either rodent images into black leader; drawing on clear leader with a pen; animating
is still just a pratfall, even if the Disney version is far better written and beads and building blocks; painting on glass; puppets; pastel; watercol-
animated. To make the constriction even more disturbing, all the stu¬ ors; and combinations of these techniques.
dios of the period, without exception, used the cel system. I suggest that every person interested in animation do the following
Can the humor in these cartoons compare in diversity with the experiment: Screen a dozen or more animated cartoons from all of the
writings of Aristophanes, Mark Twain, Will Rogers, and Anatole studios that were operating in the 1940s and 1950s, or record them from
France? The answer is a resounding no! television. Arrange a screening of all of them in one long session. As
Is it restrictive to the creativity of an artist to have to draw and think soon as possible after that, attend a screening session made up solely
as everybody else in a group in order to be a useful filmmaker? The of National Film Board pictures.
answer is a resounding yes! It is only by this juxtaposition that one can realize how narrow the
Just think of the impact on Western art if artists such as Picasso, seope of the former and how diverse the approach of the latter. The
Braque, Miro, and Matisse all had had to work within a group; had had following is a suggested list of NFB pictures to see:
to paint in oil; and their subjects could only have been baskets of fruit.
Van Gogh would not have been the only one to commit suicide. It is Hors d’Oeuvre
shocking to realize that this simile is not as farfetched as it might seem I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
at first glance. Walking
The reason that I bring up this doleful subject is that you may elect Cat’s Cradle
to work in one of the studios but at the same time begin to make Hen Hop
independent films, as well. In the television business on the west coast, What on Earth?
there is usually a period of several months when there is no work. This Why Me?
time might be used to produce a film of your own, or perhaps work on Bead Game
a co-op venture. Hot Stuff
The only place on this continent where filmmakers working on staff The Street
can make pictures using any technique that suits their fancy, and pro¬ Big Snit
duce any type of story they choose, is the National Film Board of Every Child
Canada. Sandcastle
The Montreal branch is divided between English-speaking and Special Delivery
French-speaking filmmakers. There are additional branches in The Great Toy Robbery
Toronto, Winnipeg, Halifax, Edmonton, and Vancouver. The Sweater
294 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN Schools 295

Getting Started no doubt that an artist looking for a chance to work on full-animation
The Owl Who Married a Goose feature films will turn to the Walt Disney Studio, which is still turning
out the most manicured animation in the business. Feature film produc¬
It is only after one has made this direct comparison that the enormity tion, because of the length of the picture, supplies a writer, director, or
of the deprivation becomes apparent. The wealth of ideas, techniques, animator with a unique opportunity to work with complex plot material
and styles in the Canadian animation compared to the sameness of and highly complicated forms of timing and acting, which are not
technique and style in the so-called Golden Age films makes the loss available in any other animation format.
incalculable. There are other U.S. feature films being done, but more and more,
The real Golden Age started in 1941 with the National Film Board the work is being done outside of the country. However, producers such
of Canada, when the studio was based in Montreal. Now that the NFB as Dick Williams, who has a studio in London; Jimmy Murakami, who
has been split into branches, the policy seems to be to hire local artists has a group of transplanted Americans in Dublin; and Don Bluth, who
rather than accept animators from all over the world. Caroline Leaf was has also opened a studio in Ireland, all produce animated films of very
the last American artist to be hired by the Board and that was in the high quality. From time to time other feature film projects come up,
middle 1970s. especially in Japan, often with Americans occupying key positions on
At its apogee, the NFB turned out a spate of prestigious writers, the staff.
directors, and animators, probably more than any other studio in the At the other end of the spectrum are the Saturday-morning shows.
field, not excluding the Disney studio. They are usually nothing but long commercials for the products of toy
It isn’t only that there was artistic freedom; there was a mingling of factories.
talents. Everybody who worked at Disney’s during the thirties and For artists whose goal is to make a lot of money, these studios pay
forties agrees that it was the interchange of ideas that enabled the the best wages in the business. However, there is the least artistic
quality of the pictures to improve so dramatically within the space of gratification in these films because the direction and animation are kept
a few short years. to a minimum effort and the writing is to match.
This same conjoining of talents was begun by Norman McLaren I believe that it would be disastrous for a newcomer in any area of
when he accepted the job as head of the National Film Board. However, production to start a career by working in one of these film factories.
he carried the principle much further than Walt Disney did. Instead of If one is looking for diversity of drawing styles, a knowledge of
fixed jobs as writer, director, background artist, or whatever, McLaren special effects, as well as various animation techniques, a studio special¬
allowed his artists to write on one picture and direct or animate on the izing in television spots is the best place to learn. The drawback is that
next. studio writers are rarely used, even on a free-lance basis, and because
Disney, whether he knew it or not, was using the methodology of the each spot is so short, the animator has very little opportunity to explore
Machine Age to produce his films. Therefore, the accent was on special¬ the nuances of pantomime, and a director is reduced to making very
ization. Each department worked on the animation, not unlike workers simple decisions for the same reason.
on the production line in an automobile-assembly plant. Each artist had The advantages are that the wages are good; learning how to pack
a niche and never was permitted to stray out of it. a lot of information into a short amount of screen time is good experi¬
McLaren had a much more humanitarian approach. He recognized ence; and one learns a great deal about special effects. I would say that,
that specialization is a form of restriction and never allowed it to after the possibility of working on a feature film, being on the staff of
develop in his staff. a studio specializing in television-spot production would be the best
With McLaren dead, the policies he instigated may become some¬ start for a beginner.
what modified, but for Canadians the National Film Board still remains There are a few independent filmmakers, such as Faith Hubley, John
the best workplace for the talented filmmaker. Canemaker, and Michael Sporn, but their output is limited, so there is
Working in the United States poses a question of quality. There is no way to make a steady income working on their films.
296 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

Those are the main areas of job opportunities. There are some manu¬ Animation Schools
facturing plants that use in-house film units, including animators, but
the output is limited and so is the subject matter. There are also firms
that produce medical pictures, but they are usually highly professional California Illinois

and very technical. There are a few companies producing educational Computer Arts Institute Columbia College
films, but again, the job opportunities are few. 5627 F Paradise Drive 600 S. Michigan Blvd.
Corte Madera, CA 94925 Chicago, IL 60605
The reader may wonder why I have not mentioned computerized
animation. I would consider it a mistake to start working on a computer De Anza College School of the Art Institute of Chicago
before acquiring a sound knowledge of the traditional field. There are 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd. Columbus Drive and Jackson Blvd.
Cupertino, CA 95014 Chicago, IL 60603
many people now doing computerized animation who are little better
than engineers. In fact, the artistic aspect of computer animation has Los Angeles City College University of Illinois
been stalled because the equipment has not been readily available to the 855 N. Vermont Ave. Box 4348
Los Angeles, CA 90029 Chicago, IL 60680
amateur with animation talent, except in a few schools.
It is only when all of the foremost people in every aspect of the field UCLA Animation Workshop
405 Hildgard Ave. Massachusetts
have become expert in both cel and computer animation that the com¬
Los Angeles, CA 90024
bined techniques will start to produce important pictures. Harvard University
University of Southern California 24 Quincy St.
I predict that the beginners astute enough to follow my advice and
University Park Cambridge, MA 02138
learn traditional full animation before looking for a job in computer
Los Angeles, CA 90007
animation are going to be the leaders in the great upheaval which is
Michigan
American Animation Institute
slowly but surely going to radically change the course of the art of
4729 Lankershim Blvd. Wayne State University
animation. N. Hollywood, CA 91602-1864 906 West Warren
585 Manoogian Hall
California College of Arts and Crafts
5212 Broadway Detroit, MI 48202
Oakland, CA 94618 W. Ford Vocational Center
Art Center School of Design 36455 Marquette
1700 Lida St. Westland, MI 48135
Pasadena, CA 91103
New Jersey
Center for Computer Art
329 Bryant St. Joe Kubel School of Cartoon Art
San Francisco, CA 94107 37 Myrtle Ave.
Dover, NJ 07801
San Francisco Art Institute
800 Chestnut Street
San Francisco, CA 94133 New York

San Francisco State University Brooklyn College

1600 Holloway Drive Bedford Ave. and Ave. H
San Francisco, CA 94132 Brooklyn, NY 11210

California Institute of the Arts Pratt Institute

24700 McBean Parkway 200 Willoughby Ave.
Valencia, CA 91355 Brooklyn, NY 11205

297
298 ANIMATION FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

Adelphi University Rhode Island

Blodgett 113
Garden City, NY 11530
Rhode Island School of Design Appendices
2 College St.
New York University Providence, RI 02903
65 S. Bldg.
Washington Square Canada
New York, NY 10003
Concordia University
School of Visual Arts 1395, boul. Dorchester ouest
209 E. 23 St. Montreal, Quebec H3J 2MS
New York City, NY 10010
Universite de Montreal
Rochester Institute of Technology 3150 Jean Brillant
One Lomb Memorial Drive Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7
Rochester, NY 14623
Universite du Quebec a Montreal
Ohio 2094, rue Kimberly
Montreal, Quebec H2X 2M1
Ohio State University
156 W. 19 Ave.
Sheridan College of Applied Arts
Columbus, OH 43210
Trafalgar Rd.
Pennsylvania Oakville, Ontario L6H 2L1

Edinboro State College Universite Laval 1

School of Arts and Humanities Pavilion Casault
Information
Edinboro, PA 16444 Ste-Foy, Quebec GIK 7P4

University of the Arts Emily Carr College of Art Join the International Animated Film Society. There are branches in
Pine and Broad Sts. 1299 Johnston St. New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, Mon¬
Philadelphia, PA 19102 Vancouver, British Columbia V6H 2R9
treal, Vancouver, and Toronto. These groups are a part of ASIF’A
International. (ASIFA stands for Association Internationale du I'ilin
D’Animation, the French-language name for the International Ani¬
mated Film Association.) The membership is eomposed of profession¬
als, students, and interested nonprofessionals. Membership fee includes
a subscription to AnimaFilm, an animation magazine.
Animation News sells for $9.95 for six issues. The address is Anima¬
tion News, P.O. Box 25547, Los Angeles, CA 90025. It has general
animation news, but its chief value is in the Home Video Directory. Il
lists dozens of short subjects and animated feature films, with a short
synopsis and the price. It is a must for animation students.
Get Animated! Update is a monthly news letter, featuring news from
around the world for people in the animation industry. Also has a
yearly international directory featuring studio listings, magazines and
publications, organizations and clubs, supplies and equipment, voice
talent agencies, art-work and collectables. Editor is John Cawley, P.O.
Box 1582, Burbank, CA 91507.

299
300 APPENDICES
Appendices 301

Animatrix is published annually. Rates are $5.00 a copy, plus $2.50 Eastman Kodak Co. film, technical books
mailing charge. It is a magazine published by the UCLA Animation 1133 Ave. of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
Workshop, Dept, of Theatre, Film, and Television, 405 Hilgard Ave.,
Los Angeles, CA 90024. F and B. Ceco, Inc. cameras, film, paper, peg bars,
Cartoonist Profiles is a magazine for both comic-strip artists and 315 W. 43 St. disks, etc. 212-206-8280
New York, NY 10036
animators. Rates are $25 a year. P.O. Box 325, Fairfield, CT 06430.
Graffiti is a publication of ASIFA-Hollywood. It is a bimonthly General Analine and Film Corp. film
140 W. 51 St.
review of film and video animation. Rates are $12 for six issues. 5301
New York, NY 10020
Laurie Canyon Blvd., no. 219, N. Hollywood, CA 91607.
George Millar Co. cels and art supplies
The International Tournee of Animation is an annual screening in
161 Ave. of the Americas
art houses and repertory theaters, of a feature-length compilation of New York, NY 10013
prize-winning short subjects. They have been selected from major film
festivals worldwide.
Millimeter is a trade magazine that has news about the various trends
in the commercial animation field. Rates are $45 a year. The address 3

is 826 Broadway, New York, NY 10003. Animation Photography

2 Boyington Film Productions, Inc. A1 Stahl Animated

Suppliers 1290 Sixth St. 1600 Broadway
Berkeley, CA 94701 New York, NY 10019
Cartoon Color Co. the best paint for cels Aninagic Computerized Animation, Inc. Animation Camera Workshop
9024 Lindblade St. 1309 W. Magnolia Blvd. 153 W. 27 St.
Culver City, CA 90203 Burbank, CA 91502 New York, NY 10001

Animation Controls AC 112 video animation James Byfield Animation Cel Art
1856 Wilstone Ave. pencil-test system 417 Tenth Ave. 20 E. 49 St.
Leucadia, CA 92024 San Francisco, CA 94118 New York, NY 10017

Fax Co. animation disks, stands, Granato Animation Photography

Animart FX
374 S. Fair Oaks Ave. cameras, paper punch 15 W. 46 St.
812 South Weber St.
Pasadena, CA 01105 New York, NY 10036
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
Behrends, Inc. animation supplies Leo Animation Camera Service
Celluloid Animation Studios
161 E. Grand Ave. 25 W. 43 St.
2422 Delgany
Chicago, IL 60611 New York, NY 10036
Denver, CO 90202
Mavericks Motion Graphics
Victor Duncan, Inc. animation equipment and Animation Station 45 W. 45 St.
200 E. Ontario St. supplies 406 W. 65 St. New York, NY 10036
Chicago, IL 60611 Minneapolis, MN 55423 Also does photocopy on cels
Oxberry cameras, stands, peg bars, other Bandalier, Inc. R. J. Backle Productions, Inc.
180 Broad St. equipment 3815 Osuna Ave. 321 W. 44 St.
Carlstadt, NJ 07072 Albuquerque, NM 87109 New York, NY 10036
Arthur Brown and Bros. animation art supplies Animators, Inc. Animated Arts
2 W. 46 St. 212-575-5555 849 Delaware Ave. 5963 Curry Rd. Extension
New York, NY 10036 Buffalo, NY 14209 Schenectady, NY 12303
302 APPENDICES Appendices 303

Anivision Flite Three Recordings Technicolor Guffanti Film Labs

981 Walnut St. 1130 E. Cold Spring La. 4050 Lankershim Blvd. 630 Ninth Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15234 Baltimore, MD 21239 N. Hollywood, CA 91608 New York, NY 10036

Production Consultants Highland Labs Jan Film Lab

Canada 840 Battery St.
5480 Wisconsin 302 W. 37 St.
Les Animations Drouin, Inc. Chevy Chase, MD 20815 San Francisco, CA 94111 New York, NY 10018
19 Leyorer Alexander Film Services
Searchlight Films Kin-o-lux
Montreal, Quebec Fox Hill Rd. 3200 N. Nevada Ave. 17 W. 45 St.
Atkinson Film Arts Bernardston, MA 01337 Colorado Springs, CO 80907 New York, NY 10036
19 Fairmont Ave. Cutters Bono Film Services Precision Labs
Ottawa, Ontario JIY 1X4 138 Newbury St. 1042 Wisconsin Ave., NW 630 Ninth Ave.
Animation Group. Boston, MA 02116 Washington, DC 20007 New York, NY 10036
312 Adelaide St., W. Image Express, Inc. CineFilm Reverse-o-Lab
Toronto, Ontario M5V 1R2 15565 Northland Drive 2156 Faulkner Rd., NE 333 W. 39 St.
Southfield, MI 48075 Atlanta, GA 30324 New York, NY 10018
Mammoth Pictures
67 Mowat Imageworks Allied Film and Video
Toronto, Ontario M6K 3E3 660 Lankland L. Drive 1322 W. Belmont Canada
Jackson, MS 39208 Chicago, IL 60657 Capital Film Lab, Ltd.
MS Art Services
410 Adelaide St., W. Jim Young Filmcraft Labs 4828 93 Ave.
Toronto, Ontario M5V 1S8 279 E. 44 St. 5216 N. Keystone Edmonton, Alberta T6B 2P8
New York, NY 10018 Indianapolis, IN 46220 Mid-Can Labs
Delaney and Friends Productions
206-1000 Beach Ave. Sandpiper Editorial Services, Inc. Pan American Films 500 Century St.
Vancouver, British Columbia V6E 1T7 50 W. 40 St. 822 N. Rampart St. Winnepeg, Manitoba R3H 0L8
New York, NY 10018 New Orleans, LA 70116
Marmalade Animation, Ltd. Graphic Films, Ltd.
2040 W. 12 St. World Cinevision Services, Inc. Quality Films 19 Fairmont Ave.
Vancouver, British Columbia V6J 202 321 W. 44 St. 5800 York Rd. Ottawa, Ontario KlY 1X4
New York, NY 10036 Baltimore, MD 21212
Credo Group The Filmhouse Group
120 Sherbrook DuPertuis Creed Productions Film Service Lab 380 Adelaide West
Winnipeg, Manitoba 355 Valley Rd. 58-62 Berkely St. Toronto, Ontario M5V 1R7
Merion, PA 19066 Boston, MA 02116
Bellevue Pathe Quebec, Inc.
Kinotex Allied Film and Video 2000 Northcliff Ave.
4
1505 Southmore Blvd. 7375 Woodward Ave. Montreal, Quebec H4A 3K5
Film Editors
Houston, TX 77004 Detroit, MI 48202
Laboratoire Mount-Royal Film Corp.
Connecticut Editing Services, Inc. Academy Film Lab 1240 W. St. Antoine St.
297 Dunbar Hill Rd.
5
60 Euclid Ave. Rd. Montreal, Quebec, H3C 189
Hamden, CT 06514
Laboratories
Fort Lee, NJ 07024

Kesser Post Production CFI Cinema Services, Inc.

6
21 S. W. 15 Rd. 959 Seward St. 118 N. Ave.
Music and Sound Effects
Miami, FL 33129 Hollywood, CA 90038 Park Ridge, NJ 07656

Szabo/Tohtz Editing, Inc. Cineservice, Inc. Du Art Film Laboratories Don Great Music
301 E. Erie 6518 34 Santa Monica Blvd. 245 W. 56 St. 7155 Santa Monica Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60611 Hollywood, CA 90038 New York, NY 10019 Hollywood, CA 90046
 Appendices 305
304 APPENDICES

CC Sound Shop Great Lakes Riverton Television, Ltd. Film Images

Areal Productions
304 E. 44 St. 1130 Crawford Ave. 17 W. 60 St.
2732 Bay Rd.
Redwood City, CA 94063 New York, NY 10017 Windsor, Ontario H9H 5C9 New York, NY 10023
Cohl, Starevitch
Corelli-Jacobs CP Sound Champlain Productions
25 W. 45 St, 200 Madison Ave. 405 Ogilvy Ave. Learning Co. of America
New York, NY 10036 New York, NY 10016 Montreal, Quebec H3N 1M4 711 Fifth Ave.
New York, NY 10022
Pisces Music Electro-Nova Productions CKCK Television
Foldes, McLaren,
12 E. 46 St. 342 Madison Ave. Box 2000 Noyes, others
New York, NY 10017 New York, NY 10017 Regina, Saskatchewan S4P 3E5
Museum of Modern Art Film Dept.
Ross-GafFney Magno Sound
11 W. 53 St.
21 W. 46 St. 212 W. 48 St.
New York, NY 10019
New York, NY 10036 New York, NY 10036
8 Fischinger, Lye,
The Sound Patrol The Mix Place Rentals John Whitney,
342 Madison Ave. 663 Fifth Ave. Jordan, Breer, others
New York, NY 10017 New York, NY 10022 Independent Filmmakers
National Film Board of Canada
Musifex Soundone Creative Film Society 1251 Ave. of the Americas
2420 Wilson Blvd. 1619 Broadway 7237 Canby Ave. New York, NY 10020
Arlington, VA 22209 New York, NY 10019 Reseda, CA 91335 McLaren, Leaf, others
Knowlton, Russett, Stenhura,
Tape Tracks, Ltd. Ed Emshwiller
J. and J. Whitney, Oskar Fischinger
16 W. 46 St. 43 Red Maple Drive
7
New York, NY 10036 International Film Bureau Wantagh, NY 11793
Recording
332 S. Michigan Ave.
Illdb Sound Specialists
Chicago, IL 60604
B and B Sound Studio 121 E. 24 St,
McLaren, Coderre, others Theatrical Film Rentals
3610 West Magnolia New York, NY 10010
Burbank, CA 91505 Trans-World Films Kit Parker Films
Canada 332 S. Michigan Ave.
Glen Glenn Carmel Valley, CA 93924
CFRN-TV Chicago, IL, 60604 Max Fleischer, Van Beuren
6624 Romaine
Hollywood, CA 90038 Box 5030, Station E Reels of National Film Board of
Canada films Columbia Pictures
Edmonton, Alberta T5P 4C2
Orion 711 Fifth Ave.
17 Palmetto Drive Atray Ltd. American Federation of Art New York, NY 10022
Miami Springs, FL 33166 P. O. Box 4700 41 E. 65 St. UPA
Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 4A3 New York, NY 10021.
Du Art Laboratories, Inc. Films by Beckett, Nelson, Conrad, Ivy Films
39 Chapel St. ABS Productions Ltd. Mouris, Noyes, Pies, Russett, 165 W. 46 St.
Newton, MA 02158 Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B3B 1N4 Schwartz, Sharita, Smith, Spinello, New York, NY 10036
James and John Whitney Max Fleischer
Recorded Pubs Labs Atkinson Film-Arts Ltd.
1558 Pierce Ave. 19 Fairmont Ave. Contemporary/McGraw Films United Artists
Camden, NJ 08105 Ottawa, Ontario KlY 1X4 1221 Ave. of the Americas 729 Seventh Ave.
New York, NY 10020 New York, NY 10019
Aquarius Transfer Aldon Group Productions, Ltd.
Trinka, Noyes, Starevitch Warner Bros, films
12 E. 46 St. Ill Queen St. E., Suite E
New York, NY 10017 Toronto, Ontario M5C 1S2 Universal
Cecil Starr
Mars Studio 50 W. 96 St. 445 Park Ave.
The Audio Department, Inc.
96 Spadina Ave., 9th Fir. New York, NY 10025 New York, NY 10022
110 W. 57 St.
Toronto, Ontario M5V 2J6 AlexieflF, Richter, Batosch, others Walter Lantz
New York, NY 10019

ll
306 APPENDICES Appendices 307

Send for Catalogues Blackhawk Films 8. Inability to prepare a budget that will bring in a good profit and
1235 W. 5 St.
Budget Films overhead.
Davenport, lA 52808
4590 Santa Monica Blvd. 9. Inability to calculate the production time on each job in all depart¬
Los Angeles, CA 90029 National Cinema Service ments.
333 W. 57 St.
Cinema Concepts New York, NY 10019
91 Main St. It is worth studying this formidable list at some length. The first item
Chester, CT 06412 seems fairly obvious, but I think it reflects one weakness in the tempera¬
Reel Images ment of the average entrepenuer—optimism. It seems to be a character¬
456 Monroe Turnpike istic of the breed. Before actually investing money, it is wise to go to
Monroe, CT 06468 the Small Business Administration or a similar service for advice.
(Some people are psychologically unable to accept advice. What they
are really doing is looking for someone who will agree with what they
9
have already decided upon.)
Running the Business Also, talk to other people who are already in the field, not only
successful ones but some who have failed as studio owners. Listen
Anyone embarking on a career as a studio owner had best be aware that
carefully.
it is a risky venture, even if the business starts with a good supply of
capital and some fine talent. My accountant once called running a
studio a form of Russian roulette, because there has to be a steady outgo Some Advice
of cash, even if it is just for the basics such as rent, light, heat, and For a start, such things as office furniture and typewriters can be rented;
telephone; but no steady income whatsoever. ink and paint services can be hired; Xerox and camera services are also
It is a sobering thought that even the most successful animation available. Ask around and pick a good editor, one who has his or her
studios, if they concentrate on television spots, have an average lifespan own equipment. Don’t blow money on a flashy-looking studio. You
of about twelve years. The mortality among new studios is horrendous may need that money to survive six months from now. Just see that the
the first year. studio is clean and neat.
Without a good sample reel, your business doesn’t have a prayer. A
few good samples are better than a dozen uninspired spots. Have your
Why Studios Fail reel neatly spliced with a minimum of leader in between pictures.
Even a good sample reel is useless without a fine sales pitch to go with
The most common items that lead to their demise are: it. Somebody has to be good at it, whether it is the studio owner, a
partner, or a salesman working on a draw plus commission.
1. Not enough capital to keep the studio going until a significant Your accountant must know at least the rudiments of your business
amount of work starts rolling in. so that he can help you with monetary problems.
2. Using up the basic capital in buying equipment too soon and invest¬ You need a lawyer who knows about corporate law, and can be called
ing in things that are used infrequently, instead of renting. upon to evaluate a client’s contract, if the client won’t use yours.
3. Failure to go into business with a good sample reel. Do not hire your staff until you actually have a signed contract. In
4. Inept or inexperienced salesmanship. fact, never start a dollar’s worth of work until you have the contract
5. Hiring an accountant who knows nothing about the business. in your hands, the lawyer has approved of it, and you are ready to go.
6. Hiring a lawyer who may not know enough about the business to Always ask for at least three references from a prospective employee,
set up a proper corporate structure. and make sure that you are inquiring about the same kind of work for
7. Ignorance about the real talent of the artists on the staff. which the person is being hired.
308 APPENDICES Appendices 309

A budget is not just a set of figures that can be applied to all jobs. never needed one before, this one has been my basic contract for televi¬
Every picture is a little different and needs special handling. Be sure to sion commercials for forty years:
check prices for services, and be sure you understand the fine print in
a union contract. SAMPLE CONTRACT
Get advice from everybody involved in figuring out production time.
Date
When it is available, settle for paying a lump sum. It may be more
money than paying by the hour or cel, but it is a form of insurance. (1) The following shall constitute the agreement between
Never work without a contract! Never!! Even if it is just a letter of Shamus Culhane Productions, Inc. (hereinafter called the Pro¬
intent (checked by your lawyer, of course); in any case, no oral con¬ ducer) and Producers Finding Corporation, Inc. (hereinafter
tracts. called the Client) under which we agree to produce, deliver and
sell to the Client, which agrees to purchase an animated main title
25 seconds in length, and an end title 15 seconds long.
Should You Work on Spec?
(2) Client will supply a quarter inch tape and a 35mm magnetic
track, on which the dialogue, lyrics, and music are already mixed.
You will be asked to do work on spec. This poses a dilemma. To do
Producer agrees to deliver answer print 6 weeks from delivery of
it costs you money. Believe me, it is absolutely no guarantee of future
track.
work. I have usually avoided working for nothing by pointing out that
there is some money involved that will raise my overhead, and people (3) Producer will supply the following:
who are giving me work have to pay it. So I must respectfully decline, 1. Direction
since I do small favors only for steady clients. This may definitely end 2. Personnel
your relationship with this particular client. 3. Materials
On the other hand, if the account has been the source of steady work, 4. Full animation
do the job, then hang the expense on the next picture you do for them. 5. Color photography
If you are losing money on a project, and it is your own fault, never 6. Laboratory processing
try to get extra money from your client. In the first place, it is difficult 7. A 35mm negative and print synchronized to Client’s sound
for the client to get more money once a job has been assigned and a track.
contract signed. Second, it makes you look like a klutz. Better to
(4) Client approval is necessary for:
swallow the loss and learn from it.
1. Character design
If a client wants more work than is indicated in the contract, point
2. Storyboard
this out and tell him or her that you will be able to give an exact figure
3. Color keys
on the addition the next day. Never give the price on the spot. Give
4. Finished layouts
yourself time to think over just how much work is involved. Maybe you
5. Rough animation
need to get an estimate from one of your people. Don’t forget overhead
6. Completed animation
and profit! Then send it in the form of a memo and keep a copy. You
7. Backgrounds
may need it at the end of the job.
8. Dailies
9. Answer print
10. Changes or additions to
The Basic Contract
production.

Probably every studio feels better with its own contract, but if you have (5) If, during the course of production. Producer shall consider it
310 APPENDICES Appendices 311

advisable or necessary to make changes in, or variations from, the (11) In respect to any controversies between the parties to this
storyboard, for the intended purpose of enhancing the quality of agreement, such controversies are to be submitted to an arbitration
the film. Producer may make such changes or variations provided board appointed by the American Arbitration Association. All
the Client agrees in writing. decisions by the board are to be binding on both parties, and any
and all costs incidental to this arbitration are to be paid by the loser
(6) If, during the course of production. Client desires to make any
in this action.
changes or variations from the storyboard, or the work in progress,
heretofore approved by Client, Producer agrees to make such (12) Both Client and Producer agree that this contract constitutes
changes or variations on request. If such a request involves addi¬ the entire agreement between the parties, and there are no oral
tional costs, or adds to the length of the schedule. Producer agrees understandings of any kind which would modify or change this
to so notify Client before proceeding with said changes or varia¬ contract, in whole or in part.
tions. Will you kindly indicate your acceptance of these terms by signing
(7) If, for any reason, such as strikes, war, acts of God, labor below at the place indicated, and returning to us two (2) copies of
troubles, riots, restraints of public authority, or for any reason this letter contract.
beyond the Producer’s control, excluding financial reasons. Pro¬
ducer shall be unable to produce and deliver the film within the Producers Finding Shamus Culhane
time period set forth in this contract, the same shall not be deemed Corporation, Inc. Productions, Inc.
a breach of this agreement by the Producer; nor shall the Client By- By-
be entitled to receive damages of any kind therefore; but the date
mentioned in this agreement shall be correspondingly postponed, That contract with slight modifications has been used for twenty-
and when such reason no longer exists. Producer shall produce and minute live-action films, and five-minute educational pictures, as well
deliver the film herein provided. as television commercials.

(8) Since the schedule in this agreement is based on the production

of a motion picture in a continuous process, any delay in produc¬
tion caused by the Client, may result in a similar delay in the
delivery date. Get It in Writing
(9) Shamus Culhane Productions, Inc., does agree to and hereby
A word of caution. Never make changes or take an order to start
sells, assigns, transfers, and delivers to Producers Finding Corpo¬
production by an oral order unless you have been working with the
ration, Inc., with no reservation, any and all rights to the above
person involved for a long time and he or she has proven to be highly
mentioned titles, the negative and print thereof, to make such use
ethical.
as Client deems appropriate, to copyright in whole or in part, as
The lessons can be bitter. I once faced an account executive who had
Client sees fit.
phoned me to make a series of storyboards for Volkswagon. Pale-faced
(10) As compensation for our performance hereunder, we agree to and trembling, he denied that he had ever talked to me about the
accept in payment for all obligations owing to us hereunder, the account, in spite of the fact that I had taken to the agency three
sum of $65,000 to be paid in the following manner: one-minute storyboards that we had labored over for two weeks.
$25,000 immediately on signing this document. I finally recognized the problem. The agency had lost the account
$20,000 three weeks after the date of first payment several days before. Since it was my word against his, the agency was
$20,000 within one week after the delivery of the negative and happy to save the money. In the vivid parlance of Madison Avenue, I
print. had to eat the storyboards.
312 APPENDICES Appendices 313

Payola The first few times the salesperson makes a pitch, go along to watch
the performance. Also, it pays to make an appearance at various times,
Very soon after you open your studio, you will be faced with the just to remind the agency people that you are running the show. Psy¬
problem of payola. My advice is not to do it. If you give an advertising chologically, it is important that the client understands that the smiling,
executive a bribe, it is the client who is paying, not you, because it is cajoling, salesman is neither the boss nor responsible for the good work
a part of your estimate. So you are stealing money. You will probably the studio is doing.
be pressured by the boyos who are on the take, and, if you don’t mind Looking back on my own career, I made the mistake of being too
being a thief, give in. You join a small but very smelly group of people removed from my customers: rarely taking anybody to lunch or going
in the advertising business. to a client with not only a bid but a suggestion that might improve the
Others do not take money but they do take favors, such as $100-an- picture. Too often, I would have the sales rep make the suggestion.
hour call girls. I still submit that any money that is not spent on Knowing sales people as I now do, I doubt that the client would be
production has been stolen from the client. Be sure that the salespeople corrected if he thought the good idea was the salesperson’s.
that you hire understand your policy, whichever way your ethics go, If you are taking on a sales rep who has never been in the business
and act accordingly. One of my salesmen was fired, even though he had before, make sure that the resume contains some reference to sales
hired a whore for a client with his own money. He just couldn’t see why experience, then find out why this job was given up. If it was due to
he was fired. incompetency, look for somebody else. There are salesmen who are
door openers, who could manage to see the Pope if it were useful. Very
often they prove to be unable to close a deal, so you are continually
Memos being dazzled by the number of agencies being exposed to your exhibi¬
tion reel, quite forgetting that no opportunities for making bids are
Train all your people to write memoranda whenever a situation arises forthcoming.
where there is a possible expense. A talk on the phone between the head Make sure that the deal is a weekly draw against a commission,
of the ink and paint department and an art director should be followed usually 10 percent. Never hire a sales rep on a straight salary, and never
up by a memo in the mail the next day—with a copy for your book¬ allow the draw to be such an amount as to ensure a comfortable living
keeper, to be included in the file on the picture. without the commission.
The memo should contain an estimate for changes signed by the The expense account should be fairly modest, and a fixed amount,
director, and if it will involve extra time on the production, that should otherwise, in the name of generating goodwill, you will be getting a list
be included. As Sam Goldwyn once said, “A verbal contract isn’t worth of expensive lunchs and dinners so large, it will look as if Diamond Jim
the paper it’s written on.” Brady had attended every meal.
Keep a record of the number of times an agency has asked for a bid
and then some other studio got the job. There are agencies who like to
Selling use a stalking-horse technique. They ask for bids from many studios,
assemble the bids of the most expensive ones, as well as the very lowest
The best way to solve the problem of sales is to hire a person who has bid, and show these figures to the advertiser in the fond hope that it will
already worked in the market for some time and has a good track look as if they have managed to find a huge bargain. If you find that
record. First, find out why he or she is looking for a new job. Don’t take you have submitted a dozen bids without a result, you may be sure that
the person’s word for it; check the story with the former employer. you are being used.
During your first interview, mention that you are going to check. If it Don’t let your sales rep talk you into putting in such a low bid that
is a woman applicant, don’t be chivalrous; the role of salesperson is too there will be little or no profit. The argument will be that this is the best
important to the very life of your studio to take anyone’s word. way to get a foot in the door. It isn’t. If you do such a job, and the next
314 APPENDICES Appendices 315

time put in a normal bid with proper overhead and profit, you will be Pencil-test photography
suspected of being overpriced, trying to recoup your profit on the first Lettering
job. Planning
Agency people have been playing one studio against the other for Checking
about forty years, and they are expert at it. Bid an honest amount. C prints or silk screen
Many studios work on 25 or 30 percent overhead and 10 to 12 percent Inking
profit. These figures are quite reasonable. Xerox
Try for long-range relationships based on good work and promptness Painting
in meeting delivery dates, rather than looking for a killing on one Still photography
project. Opticals
Handling a sales rep is about as chancy as a marriage. It has to be Color photography
a mixture of commiseration, enthusiasm, and pressure to go out there Retakes
and hustle. How much of each ingredient will make for a good relation¬ Answer print
ship depends on the intuition of the employer and the objectivity of the Composite negative
salesperson. Commission
Overhead
Profit
The Bid Total

Approved by_
Do have a very complete form to use in preparing for a bid. Don’t make
calculations on the back of an old envelope. Bidding ad lib can be a
If you take my advice and use an ink and paint service, hire an editor
disaster. Never make an off-the-cuff estimate just because a customer
by the job, and take your picture to a camera service; you should be
wants one. Avoid what they laughingly call “ball-park” figures, because
able to get fairly solid estimates from them for each of their operations.
when you do have the time to make a proper estimate, if it’s a larger
However, do not add all of your overhead on these figures. They already
number than your guesstimate, there will be a chill in the air.
have one overhead and profit; to add yours, too, might price you out
The following is a sample form:
of the bidding. Maybe use 10 percent on those processes that are farmed
out.
Date
Name of Agency
Number of spots
Length Watch the Cash
Storyboard
Director For some months after your studio has gotten off the ground, do not
Recording buy equipment; farm out as much work as possible and rent equipment.
Editor You need to know what your base income is going to be before making
Art materials investments. Remember that every dollar spent on a piece of equipment
Layouts is tied up until you sell it.
Backgrounds The most common reason for losing a business is running out of cash
Animators before the studio has a chance to start an ongoing relationship with
Assistant animators several advertising agencies or other sources of business. For that rea¬
Inbetweeners son, one must conserve cash.
316 APPENDICES Appendices 317

Of course, limping along this way is not a spectacular start for a than others, at this stage we can only estimate what the total sum for
business, but it is a lot safer than trying to make a big splash. When a department will be.
you hire people, keep in mind how much profit it takes to pay for even We will start with the above-the-line costs.
one day’s work, and be prepared to lay off any employee who runs out
of work. Do not wait a few days or a week to see whether new work Producer, directors, writer
is forthcoming. Do it now!
Find the best talent available and be prepared to pay high wages. Producer/director. $370,000
Later you may find that you pay the highest wages in town, but you Scriptwriter(s). $60,000
also have the most successful studio. Sequence directors (2). $260,000
Always meet a contractual commitment even if you lose money in Dialogue talent. $100,000
the process. If you present an image of a completely reliable studio, you $790,000 total
are already halfway to being a success. It is worth protecting this image
at any cost. Production management staff

Production manager.106 weeks. $84,800

Assistant director.106 weeks. $37,100
10 Head of ink and paint.80 weeks. $60,000
A Feature-Picture Budget Producer’s secretary.106 weeks. $37,100
Errand boy.106 weeks. $21,200
Stenographer.106 weeks. $21,200
Nobody is more optimistic than a filmmaker who has just been given
a chance to bid for a feature-length cartoon. The idea of handling
millions of dollars conjures up visions of completing the picture and
Animation
retiring with a huge amount in the bank. The realist dourly reminds
himself that the bigger the budget, the larger the possible loss. 60 weeks. $450,000
Animators.
In the first stages of bidding, the prospective client and/or investors 60 weeks. $270,000
Assistant animators.
may be content with a blanket sum. But the time will come when the $720,000 total
producer will be asked for an estimate based on every detail of produc¬
tion. Head Layout artist.100 weeks. $65,000
Don’t think that because you have had experience in budgeting Layout artists (2).60 weeks. $84,000
thirty-second spots for television, you are prepared to bat out the whole Storyboard artist.15 weeks. $11,250
thing in a few days. It took me two weeks, glued to an adding machine,
to prepare a budget of $2 million for the Raggedy Ann and Andy feature
film. Head Background artist. 64 weeks. $48,000
The following is a sample budget for a cartoon one and a half hours Background artists (2) . . 64 weeks. $76,800
long with an original story. The figures include all state, federal, and Character designer. 10 weeks. $15,000
city taxes, as well as health, pension, and holiday and vacation pay¬ $139,800
ments where they apply.
The production flow would be based on fifteen to eighteen feet per Xerox, ink, and paint
week per animator of full animation. Obviously, this means that the film
will be of fine quality. Since some artists will be getting more money Xerox operator 75 weeks. $41,250
318 APPENDICES Appendices 319

Inkers (8). 52 weeks $188,700 Music recording and mix

Painters (30) .. 52 weeks, $561,600
Paint dispenser 52 weeks. $20,800 Recording.
$812,350 Mix.

Checking
Music fees
Head checker, 70 weeks $30,000
Composer.
Checkers (4) . 65 weeks $97,500
Conductor.
$127,500
Arranger.
Copier.
Photography Musicians (25).
Booking fees.
Head camera operator.100 weeks $60,000 Special instruments.
Camera operators (2).60 weeks. $60,000
$120,000
Legal fees and contingencies
Editing
Production company ....
Client/investors.
Supervising editor.100 weeks. . $75,000
Other fees or commissions
Assistant editors (2).75 weeks. . $45,000
Contingency fund.
Music editor.10 weeks. . $7,500
Trainee.100 weeks. . $20,000
$147,500 total Publicity

Bookkeeping Stills, radio, television, newspapers. $100,000

Production accountant.104 weeks. $52,000 Supplies

Audit. $5,000
Assistant bookkeeper.104 weeks. $31,260 Cutting room. $6,000
$88,260 total Ink and paint. $90,000
Office. $5,000
Equipment maintenance and repair. $5,000
Dialogue recording and duhbing
$106,000 tot^

Dialogue recording. $4,000 Film and laboratory charges

Dubbing. $1,500
$5,500 total Black-and-white stock. $5,000
 Appendices 321
320 APPENDICES

Color Stock. $12,000 changing all the time, but I believe this will enable you to construct a
Optical sound negative.$700 budget yourself, and it should be fairly close to the mark. Once again,
Postsync leader.$800 you will have to check up on rates and get estimates where it is possible.
Full coat mag. $6,000 The salary figures are not high but they are good given the fact that
Quarter-inch tape.$700 it is a long schedule. Do not think that I have overdone the contingency
35mm Mag. tape transfers. $2,500 money; I am just a cautious producer. Usually, any remaining money
35mm M&E Mag transfers. $1,000 in this fund is returned to the client, but this can be a debatable point
35mm Library EFX. $2,500 in setting up the contract conditions.
Sound EFX royalties. $1,000 Obviously, the big factor is how the profit is going to be split. Make
$32,200 total every effort to have your share of the income come from the gross. This
is a nice clean deal. If it comes after expenses, you may very well find
Insurance that you have worked for nothing, and I mean nothing!
If in the course of bargaining the opposition gives you the “What’s
Film Producers Indemnity the matter? Don’t you trust me?” routine, look them in the eye very
Negative and Daily takes innocently and assure them that you trust them as if they were Jesuits.
Employees Liability Maybe more. But one never knows, a heart attack, an auto accident,
Public Liability a drowning, and one may be facing a very different person for a partner.
Equipment So it is best to make everything very legal and watertight.
Loss of film or tape in transit This is a very difficult ploy to discount because it is so reasonable.
Fire Stick to it. In fact, start to worry if the opposition is becoming too
Completed negative picture bard-nosed. The worst thing you can do is to accept the contract
Completed sound masters because it is a lot of money. Nobody ever went broke walking away
$35,000 total from a bad contract. Let your lawyer do all the initial dueling.
Listen to his or her advice and stay away from the meetings until the
Miscellaneous lawyers are getting down to the short strokes. This is because your
lawyer needs the leverage to say at some difficult point that it s neces¬
Postproduction script. . $2,500 sary to consult with you. This gives you a chance to talk things over
Printing and stationery. . $10,000 and maybe plan some changes in your strategy.
Entertaining and gratuities. . $25,000 Never go to a meeting without your lawyer, even when you are
Petty cash. . $7,050 assured that it is going to be a casual get-together. When you are
Special production screenings. . $3,000 jockeying over a contract, there are no casual meetings—never' Don’t
$47,550 total drink at meetings, not even a beer. Mention a delicate digestive problem
or some such excuse, but no drinking. Urge the other party to drink
Overhead if they want to, so that you don’t look like a puritan.
If, to your dismay, you find yourself making a picture with people
Rent, light, heat, telephone, maintenance. $100,000 who have proven to be untrustworthy, be sure that you keep a detailed
production diary. Always send them memos and avoid oral agreements
The sum total of this sample film is $3,967,810. It sounds like a lot about anything. You might need this material in court. Nothing discon¬
of money, but just look at some of these figures. Of course, rates keep certs the opposition more than to see that you have arrived in court with
322 APPENDICES

a sheaf of detailed notes. In fact, keeping a diary and using memos a

lot is always a good idea, even if things look very bright. Blossary
Try to make the contract as equitable as possible. In the long run,
this is better business than trying to take advantage of something the
other party has done that fails to protect their interests. If the picture
Academy leader: a preliminary length of film, standardized by
is good and well distributed, there is plenty of profit for everybody; so
the Society of Motion Picture and Television
be fair.
Engineers, designed to allow the projectionist
time to focus the picture properly

acetate: a sheet of plastic the size of an animation draw¬

ing, with peg holes. Used by inkers or Xerox
operators to transfer animation drawings from
paper.

answer print: an approved print, in which the color has been

properly balanced, scene by scene, by the timer

action axis: an imaginary horizontal line drawn through the

center of an action. A sequence of scenes can
only be shot on one side of the line; otherwise
the audience’s point of view will be disorien¬
tated.

background: a piece of artwork that is placed under the cels

during photography

bar sheet: a diagramatic form used by the director to

make a blueprint of the action, music, dialogue
and sound effects for an entire animated picture

body English: the involuntary movements people make as

they are talking

camera field: the area being photographed by the camera

cel levels: the number of cels that have been combined to

make one complete frame of the action

trade jargon for celluloids. There is a mistaken

belief that the acetate sheets are made of cellu¬
loid.

checker: one who makes a dry run of a scene that is

ready for the camera. The purpose is to detect
and correct errors.

323
324 GLOSSARY Glossary 325

clean up; a detailed drawing made from a rough sketch exposure sheet: a form filled out by the animator. It has detailed
click track: a series of clicks that go into earphones worn by camera instructions for every frame in a scene.
musicians during a recording session. The inter¬ fade in: a scene that starts as black and gradually is
vals between clicks control the tempo of the brought, frame by frame, to full exposure
music being recorded. The conductor selects
fade out: The scene goes from full exposure to black to¬
the tempo by means of a dial on an electronic
box that emits the clicks. wards the end. Fades can be any length the
director chooses, but in most animated films,
commercials: jargon for television advertisement that are usu¬ fades are short, perhaps sixteen to twenty-four
ally one minute or less in length exposures.
cue sheet: a form that shows the mixer where various field guide: a diagram of the various field sizes, used to
sounds on a track stop and start. It is used when determine the position of the camera at a given
combining the tracks of a picture into one mas¬ time in the scene
ter track.
footage: film that has been exposed by the camera opera¬
cut: The end of one scene is followed by the begin¬ tor
ning of the next scene.
FPS: frames per second
cutting room: the editor’s work area
frame: an area of film equal to one exposure
dailies: the footage that has been developed and printed
gag: trade jargon for a funny situation in a story
overnight by the laboratory
good take: a scene that has been approved by the director
dial numbers: The camera operator can determine whether a
given exposure has been shot by consulting the inbetweener: a person whose function it is to draw inbetween
dial numbers on his camera stand against those drawings. Usually a novice.
on the exposure sheet.
inbetweens: drawings that the assistant animator has left for
dialogue: any speech, even if only one actor is talking the inbetweener to do. So-called because they
come between the drawing of one phase of an
dissolve: an effect made by making one scene go gradu¬ action and that of a phase several steps later
ally to black, then reversing the film to the be¬
ginning of the fadeout. Starting with black, the inker; the person who traces animation drawings onto
following scene is double-exposed over the cels
same footage, ending with full exposure. The a special effect in which a series of masks con¬
iris out:
effect is that one scene has dissolved into the taining circles of diminishing sizes obliterate
next.
the action
editor: one who deletes or adds scenes to a picture by layouts: drawings of backgrounds for each scene, which
following the instructions of the director, and will later be rendered by the background artist.
who keeps the sound tracks in sync
matte: a mask. There are two kinds: the female mask,
exposure: one frame of film that has been exposed which is the character or object photographed
326 GLOSSARY Glossary 327

over a black background; the male mask, which “Good take” and “outtake” have nothing to do
is a silhouette of a character or object shot on with “take” meaning a start of surprise or fear.
a white background.
overlay: art that is mounted on a cel and works in front
mix: a recording session during which all the tracks of the animation
for dialogue, music and sound effects are com¬
pan: trade jargon for panorama. A scene where the
bined
camera sweeps across a given area.
model sheet: a group of drawings showing various views of
peg bar: a metal or plastic bar to which the registration
a character, designed to show the animators
pegs are attached
and assistants how the character is constructed
pencil test: The animator’s drawings are photographed,
morgue: a collection of graphic material, classified by a
and the resulting negative is cut into the work
large number of different subjects, that might be
reel. No print is ever made, because the staff is
useful to a layout and background artist
trained to evaluate the drawing as white lines.
mouth action: the numerous shapes the mouth must take
pencil test reel: a reel of pencil tests assembled according to the
when speaking
instructions on the bar sheets
music editor: an editor whose specialty is editing music
platen: a hinged frame containing a glass plate which
tracks
the operator presses down on the cels in order
negative matcher: an editor who specializes in assembling a nega¬ to iron out wrinkles
tive reel by matching the scenes against the
production chart: a form that shows the status of every scene in
shots in the work reel
the picture during the various stages of produc¬
one-light print: prints from dailies are usually made by using tion
one exposure for all the scenes, as opposed to
retake: a corrected scene or scenes
employing a timer to balance the color by dif¬
ferent exposures where it seems necessary. One- room tone: the natural sound of any location, including
light printing saves a lot of money. The work outdoors. Room tone is used instead of blank
reel does not need scenes with balanced color. film or tape for spaces in between sound takes,
optical printer: because every location has a sound, whereas
a machine that is a combination of a projector
blank film and tape do not.
and a camera. Used to combine live action atid
animation, and also to make fades, dissolves rotoscope: a machine made to project filmed images frame
and wipes, or to make closer shots from scenes by frame onto the surface of a drawing board.
that were shot too long—from too far away. The image is traced onto animation paper, and
used by the animator to achieve lifelike move¬
opticals: special effects made on an optical printer
ment.
out of sync: The sound track is running either ahead or be¬
rough: a drawing made by the animator, usually lack¬
hind the picture.
ing details such as buttons, wrinkles, etc. If the
outtake: a scene that has been rejected by the director. rough animation is approved in sweatbox, the
328 GLOSSARY
Glossary 329

scene is turned over to the assistant animator sync: trade jargon for “synchronize. “In sync” means
for cleanup. that the picture and sound are running in uni¬
rushes: another word for dailies son.

scene: a shot from the picture take: A start of surprise or fear is a take. A double
take is when a character looks at something,
sequence: a series of scenes that make up a definite episode has no reaction and turns away. After an inter¬
in a story val, the character reacts to what it has seen. The
reaction can range from mild to violent.
shot on twos: jargon for photographing each set of cels two
exposures. Only very fast action is shot on ones. thumbnail sketch: a drawing about an inch and a half high, usually
rendered very roughly
special effects: a department entirely devoted to animating spe¬
cial effects such as rain, snow, lightning, waves, timer: a laboratory worker who examines every scene
shadows, ripples, wind and reflections. Disney’s in a picture and decides on the amount of expo¬
studio was the only one in the business to have sure the print will need to balance the color so
one. that it is compatible with the other scenes.

sprocket holes: holes in the film that engage the sprockets on track analysis: an examination of a sound track by the editor
the gears as the film is projected. They prevent to determine exactly where various sounds
the film from jiggling from side to side. occur

a scene in which the camera is immobile transfer: to record from quarter-inch tape to magnetic 16
mm or 35 mm, or from magnetic to film
a large piece of beaverboard or other panel ma¬
terial that is used to fasten a number of story trucking: a movement of the camera toward or away
sketches in such a way that they can be viewed from the scene. “Trucking in” means that the
by a group. Also used as the name of the story camera is being moved closer. “Trucking back”
itself when it is not written, but drawn by a means that the camera is being moved farther
storyboard artist. away.

sweathox: When Disney began to show animators their underlay: a section of the background mounted on a cel
rough animation and make corrections, the that works with the animation cels
group was jammed into a small niche in the wipe: an optical effect in which one scene supercedes
hall. The original studio had no space for a the other by using mattes. There are so many
proper projection room. What with the close kinds of mattes that optical companies issue
body contact and the heat coming from the charts to enable the customer to select the ap¬
projector, the name “sweatbox” was very ap¬ propriate effect.
propriate. Later, when a projection room was
built, and Disney’s demands for perfection had zoom: a very fast truck in or out
multiplied, the term “sweatbox” had a more
sinister meaning.
 Index 331

Index Backgrounds, 13, 15, 18, 117, 139-143, 195,

227, 238, 240-247, 282, 323
Background painting system (IMAGES II),
Characters (cont.)
Casting, 85-90, 118
Designing, 15, 16, 71-76
284 Relation between, 181-183
Bakshi, Ralph, 58-60, 202-203 Structure of 44-45, 152
Bambi, 183, 185, 204, 226 Charlie Brown, 210
Barber of Seville, The, 81, 93-94 Checking cels and checkers, 19, 221, 253,
Bar sheets, 15, 97-112, 114-117, 222, 223, 323
259, 323 Clampett, Bob, 56, 60
Bass, Saul, 127-128 Cleanup drawings, 235-236, 324
Beach Picnic, 220 Cleanup Drawings exercise, 205-206
Bead Game, 293 Click track, 93, 258, 259, 324
Betty Boop, 6, 207 Cobbler and the Thief, The, 60
Bidding for a job, 314-315 Color
Big Snit, 293 Background and, 247
Blinking, animating, 165, 183 Balancing differences, 255, 270-271
Blurred action, 172, 196 Character design and, 75, 242
Bluth, Don, 295 See also Inking and inkers; Painting and
Body language, 87, 186, 207-209, 323 painters
Boogie Woogie Man 139 Commercials, television. 111, 239-240,
Books and magazines about animation, 2-5, 309-311, 324
299-300 Computer animation, 5, 278-287, 296
Budget for film, 97, 133-134, 269-270, Computer Assisted Animation System,
316-322 283-285
Bugs Bunny, 44, 57 Computer Graphics, 3, 4, 286
Business, animation, 212, 287-289, 306-322 Computer Graphics Lab (CGL), 280-283,
Acetates. See Cel (s) Animals exercise, 200-201 286
Action Animatics, 129-130 California Institute of the Arts, 291-292 Contracts, 308-311
Anticipation and, 163-165 Animating Calker, Darrell, 93, 257-258 Copyrighting a script, 51-52
Axis, 135-136, 323 Dialogue, 207-219 Camera Cosmic Eye, 57
Blurred (speed lines), 172, 196 Drawings (cartoons), 16, 146-206 Angles, 72, 103, 133-134, 136, 140-141, Columbia College, 291
Dialogue and, 104 Animation assistant inbetween system 233, 323 Country Cousin, The, 34
Layout and, 136 (TWEEN), 284 Equipmenf 146-147, 279, 300-301 C prints, 239
Line of, 160-161, 164, 206, 224-225 Animation library, building and renting, Operator, 20, 77, 116, 140, 221, 254-255, Cract, 245
Mouth and, 209-210, 212-219 56-62, 305-306 301-302 Creativity and animation, 22-31, 147-148,
Music and, 92-93, 104 Animation News, 299 See also Film; Photographing a film 288-289, 292
Overlapping, 163-164, 193-194, 196-197 Animator’s assistant, 12, 211, 223-224, Canemaker, John, 2, 295 Credits and titles, 127-129, 265-266
Pacing, 99-103, 167-169 234-238 Capra, Frank, 64, 67 Cue sheets, 260-262
Path of 238, 243-244 Animator’s block, 23-27, 85 Cartoonist Profiles, 300 Cutouts, 239-240
Reaction and, 166-167, 174, 183 Animatrix, 300 Casting, 85-90, 118 Cutting, 271-272
Shape of 167-169 Anna and Bella, 57 Cat's Cradle, 293
Testing, 157 Answer print, 15, 271, 323 Cel Art, 279 David, Tissa, 59
Timing, 169, 171 Anticipation and action, 163-165, 170 Cel (s) Designing a film, 139-141
See also Locomotion Anticipation and Overlapping Action Levels, 13, 221, 224-225, 235, 281, 323 De Tremaudan, Frenchy, 26
Action in Silhouette exercise, 170-172 exercise, 163-166 Preparing, 124-125, 248-249, 323 Deitch, Gene, 62, 63, 139
Actors, casting and recording, 85-92, 118 Around the World in Eighty Days, 127-128 System, 5, 15-21, 292 Dialogue, 13, 99, 107, 111-112, 183,
Advertising agencies, 129-130, 275, 311- Assistant animator. See Animator’s assistant See also Inking and inkers; Painting and 207-219, 263-264, 324
312 Assistant director, 15, 113-119, 264 painters; Photographing a film Dialogue exercise, 216-219
Agents for writers, 52-53 Avery, Tex, 57, 60, 202 Cel-Vinyl, 250, 252 Digital image processing system (SCAN),
Anderson, Yvonne, 291 Chaplin, Charlie, 57, 169-170, 174, 197 284
Animals, animating, 74-75, 183-192, Babitt, Art, 57, 59, 169 Characters Director, 15, 77-112, 222-223, 258, 267-
197-201 Back, Frederic, 63, 202, 245 Background and, 242-243 270

330
 332 INDEX
Index 333
Disney studio, 7, 23, 34, 44-45, 47, 57, 60, Famous studio, 203, 245, 257
Hot Stuff, 293 MacLaughlin, Dan, 290
74, 81, 83, 90-92, 95, 104, 161, 162, 170, Fantasia, 3, 44, 279
Hubley, Faith and John, 57-58, 159, 295 Magazines and books about animation, 2-5,
176, 186, 192, 201, 203, 207-210, 218, Fast cutting, 93-94, 140
Hubley studio, 209 299-300
221, 224, 225-226, 259, 291, 294-295 Felix the Cat, 177, 280
Human figure, animating, 202-204 Maltese, Mike, 57, 202
Disney, Walt, 5, 76. 84-85, 183, 258, 264, Ferguson, Norm, 23, 28, 44, 57, 76, 150,
Humor, 74, 80-81, 147, 180, 292 Marceau, Marcel, 170
286, 294 158-159, 161-162, 169, 177, 180, 232,
Marx, Harpo, 169
Donald Duck, 44, 169 235
/ Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, McCay, Winsor, 32-33, 193
Double takes, 174-177 Fields, W.C., 174-176
293 McLaren, Norman, 63, 202, 293, 294
Double takes exercise, 177 Fields and field guides, 121-126, 136-137,
Image-manipulation and Melendez, Bill, 210
Dover Boys, The, 61-62 156, 236, 325
graphic-enhancement system (IMAGES), MGM, 34, 57
Draftsmanship, 22-23, 30-31, 151-152 Film, 238, 270, 275, 277. See also Camera; 280, 282 MIC, 284
Drawing ability. See Draftsmanship Exposures of film; Laboratories IMAGES II, 284 Mickey Mouse, 160-161, 169
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, 3-4, Films, accessing and collecting, 56-62,
Inbetweens, 12, 17, 169, 205, 216, 220, 280, Mighty Mouse; the New Adventures, 59-60
27-31, 42, 147-148 305-306
283, 284, 325 Millimeter, 300
Dumbo, 169 Fire, animating, 227-228
Inki and the Mynah Bird, 159 Miret, Gil, 234, 245
Fleischer, Dave, 33, 208
Inking and inkers, 19, 235, 249-251, 279, Mixing the sound, 259, 261, 262-265, 326
Editing, 97, 111-112, 210, 260-261, 262, Fleischer, Max, 33, 141, 207
325 Model sheet, 72, 75, 152, 201, 220, 234, 326
265, 267, 302, 324, 326 Fleischer studio, 23, 45, 207-208, 224
International Animated Film Society Models, use of, 220-221
Educational animation, 64-67, 296 Freleng, Friz, 56, 142
(ASIFA), 279, 299 Montage, 140, 225
Edwards, Betty, 3-4, 28-31 Fritz the Cat, 58-60
International Tournee of Animation, Moore, Fred, 23, 161, 169, 235
Eisenstein, Sergei, 4, 58, 93-94, 140
300 Morgue, material for layouts, 143-145, 326
Engels, Jules, 291 Gamma Film, 95
Iwerks, Ub, 23, 45, 160-161 Mouth action, 209-210, 212-219, 326
Equipment, suppliers of, 300-301 Garfield the Cat, 187
Movement, animating. See Action;
Erredia 70, 157, 220-221, 289 Gemini Syndrome, 153-154, 164
Jones, Chuck, 44, 56, 61-62, 82, 153 Locomotion
Eugster, Al, 26, 208 Gertie the Dinosaur, 32-33
Julian, Paul, 56, 142-143 Mr. Bug Goes to Town, 141
Every Child, 293 Get Animated! Update, 299
Mr. Magoo, 44
Exercises Getting Started, 294
Keaton, Buster, 57, 169, 174 Music, 12, 92-94, 110-111, 256-261, 264,
Action in Silhouette, 170-172 Glossary, 323-329
Kinney, Jack and Dick, 57, 82 326
Animals, 200-201 Goofy, 26, 57, 82, 169
Krazy Kat, 187 Music studios, list of, 303-304
Anticipation and Overlapping Action, Gorey, Edward, 60-61
Muybridge, Edweard, 3, 162, 169
163-166 Graffiti, 299
Laboratories, 270, 302-303 My Daddy the Astronaut, 245, 257
Characters used in, 37 Graham, Don, 183, 185
Lamb, Derek, 60-61, 202 Mystery!, 60-62
Cleanup Drawings, 205-206 Graphics and written script, 62-63 Langdon, Harry, 57, 174
Dialogue, 216-219 Grasshopper and the Ants, The, 34
Lantz studio, 7, 57, 81, 93-94, 257 National Film Board of Canada, 292-294
Double Takes, 177 Greatest Man in Siam, The, 139, 245 Larson, Eric, 185 Natural Way to Draw, The, 3-4, 22, 31, 42
Photographing a storyboard reel for, Great Toy Robbery, The, 293
Laurel and Hardy, 169 Natwick, Grim, 6, 92, 203
273-277 Gulliver's Travels, 208
Layouts and layout artists, 13, 15, 127-145, Negative matcher, 267, 326
Quick Sketches, 39-42
156, 240-243, 325 New York University, 291
Relation Between Characters, 182- Hands, drawing and animating, 180-181, 193 Leaf, Caroline, 57, 62, 202, 294 Nicolaides, Kimon, 3-4, 22, 31
183 Hanna and Barbera, 57
Learning Company of America, The, 64 Night the Animals Talked, The, 95
Special Elfects, 229 Hanna-Barbera Animation College, 291 LeBrun, Rico, 183 Noah trilogy, 271-272. See also Noah's
Storyboard for, 229-233 Hardaway, Bugs, 57, 80-81, 93
Library of animated cartoons, 56-62, Animals; The Night the Animals Talked
Television Commercials, 54-55 Hat, The, 159
305-306 Noah's Animals, 95
Walking and Running, 195-197 Hawaiian Holiday, 24-27, 83-84, 93, 159
Life-quality animation, 32-36, 72, 155, Noble, Maurice, 56
Write a Story, 50-51, 56, 62-63, 67 Hawkins, Emery, 59
162-163, 165, 169, 209, 216 Nolan, Bill, 195
Exposure sheets, 12, 15, 114-116, 126, 152, Heineman, Art, 139, 245
Lightning, animating, 228
172, 211, 221-222, 223, 235-237, 253, Hemo the Magnificent, 64—66
Line of action, 160-161, 164, 181, 206, Old Mill, The, 226
273-277, 325 Hen Hop, 293
224-225 One-light print, 255, 270, 326
Exposures of film, 227. See also Camera; High-speed animation. See Straight-ahead Literature and animation, 203-204 Opaquing. See Painting and painters
Film; Photographing a film animation
Lloyd, Harold, 57, 169 Opaquing drawing program (TWEEP), 284
Eye movements, animating, 164-166, 180, Home Video Directory, 299
Locomotion, animating, 192-201, 204 Opticals, 266, 326
201 Hors d’oeuvre, 293
Lundy, Dick, 169 Orchestration of music, 257
334 INDEX Index 335
Overlapping action, 163-164, 193-194, Relation Between Characters exercise, Sound. See Dialogue; Mixing the sound; Television (cont.)
196-197 182-183 Music; Recording sound; Sound effects Commercials, 111, 239-240, 309-311
Overlays, 137-138, 327 Renting films, list of suppliers, 305-306 Sound effects, 94-96, 110, 226, 228, 260, Field size, 136-137, 155
Owl Who Married a Goose, The, 294 Retakes, 15, 223-224, 251-253, 268-270, 327 262, 303-304 Television Commercials exercise, 54-55
Oxberry, John, 120 Rhode Island School of Design, 291 Spacing charts, 169, 195, 197 Terminology, glossary of, 323-329
Ring, B0rge, 57, 63, 202 Special Delivery, 293 Testing action, 157
Pacing action, 99-103, 167-169 Road Runner, 44, 47, 82-83 Special effects, 225-229, 266, 328 Thought, animating, 177-180
Painting and painters, 5, 13, 75, 250-253, Roberts, Bill, 24, 211-212, 235 Special Effects exercise, 229 Three Little Pigs, The, 34, 83
279, 281, 284 Roberts, Cliff, 202, 246 Speech, animating. See Dialogue Tilted fields, 126
Pan Room tone, 264, 327 Speed lines, 172, 196 Timer, 270-271, 329
Backgrounds, 254 Rotoscope, 33, 44, 90-92, 204, 327 Sporn, Michael, 295 Timing action, 169, 171, 273-274
Moves, 17, 123-126, 137-139, 195, 235, Running and walking, animating, 192-201 Squash and stretch, 162, 197 Titles and credits, 127-129, 265-266
327 Staging, 170 Todd, Mike, 127
See also Photographing a film Sand Castle, 293 Steamboat Willie, 161 Tom and Jerry, 57
Pantomime, 169, 170, 171, 233 SCAN, 284 Stories Tomaselli, Rudy, 279
Path of action drawing, 238, 243-244 Schaffer, Milt, 80-81, 93 Developing, 47-51, 54-55, 62-63, 67-68 “Tom Terrific,” 139
Peg bars, 13, 121-126, 327 Schlessinger studio, 56 Directors and, 80-85 Torque, 154-155, 160, 164, 206
Pencil test, 12, 15, 16, 26, 116, 222, 225, School of Visual Arts, 7, 291 Structures of, 47, 82-84 Tortoise and the Hare, The, 95
238, 257, 260, 266, 279, 327 Schools of animation, 290-298 See also Scripts Track analysis, 111-112, 329
Perspective, 161-162 Schure, Alexander and Louis, 280, 283 Storyboard, 16, 46^7, 62-63, 222, 229-233, Trucking, 104, 122-123, 279, 329
Photographing a film, 12-13, 17, 105, 116, Screen direction, 134 328 Tubby the Tuba, 280
120-126, 136, 138-139, 156, 196, Screen Gems, 56 Storyboard reel for exercises, photographing, TWEEN and TWEEP, 284
254-255, 273-277, 284-285, 301-303. See Scripts 273-277 Typing a script, 68-70
also Camera; Film Developing, 43-51, 67-68 Straight-ahead animation, 158-159, 164, 170, Tytla, Bill, 23, 57, 169, 180, 209
Pierce, Tedd, 57, 202 Exercises in creating, 50-51, 54-55 211, 223
Pinocchio, 44, 76, 84-85, 152, 159, 161, 181, Graphics in, 62-63 Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays, The, 66-67 Unchained Goddess, The, 67
183, 209, 211, 226 Props used in, 67-68 Street, The, 293 Underlays, 138-139, 329
Pixillation, 293 Registering, 51-52 Stretch and squash, 162, 197 University of California at Los Angeles
Pluto, 24-25, 44, 169, 177, 180, 185, 220, Selling, 52-53 Studios, business of, 306-322 Animation Workshop, 290-292
232, 235, 280 Sequences in, 54—55 Stuck Up Wolf The. 246 UPA, 34, 44, 58, 139, 209-210, 216
Planner, 18, 248 Typing, 68-70 Styles of animation, 32-36
Pose-to-pose animation, 157-159, 164, 170, See also Stories Stylized animation, 32-36, 61-62, 72, 139, Video. See Home Video Directory; Taping
211, 223 Sears, Teddy, 202 205, 216 films
Pratt Institute, 291 Secondary action, 166-167, 183, 218 Subject matter of films, 201-205, 292. See Voices, casting and recording, 85-92
Pressman, Dave, 181 Self-line technique, 250 also Creativity and animation
Production charts, 117, 132, 327 Selling Sullivant, T.S., 74, 187, 197-200 Walking, 293
Props, 67-68, 75, 232 Film and studio, 312-314 Suppliers, 300-301 Walking and running, animating, 192-
Script, 52-53 Sweatbox, 15, 20, 116, 208, 237, 265, 328 201
Quick Sketches exercise, 39-42 Sentence measurement, 99 Sweater, The, 293 Walking and Running exercise, 195-197
Sesame Street, 64 Swish pan, 126 Walt Disney Productions. See Disney studio
Raggedy Ann and Andy, 59-60, 256 Set design and layout, 140-141 Symmetry, 153-154 Warner Brothers, 34, 56, 57, 61, 142, 153,
Raposo, Joe, 59 Shadows, animating, 226-227, 250 Synchronizing 159
Reaction and action, 166-167, 174, Shape of action, 167-169 Music and animation, 258-259, 326, 329 Washam, Benny, 153
183 Sharpsteen, Ben, 24, 223 Speech and animation, 209-210, 216, 326, Water, animating, 227
Recording Sheridan College, 290 329 What on Earth?, 293
Sound, 85-96, 257-265, 211 Shull, William, 290 Who Framed Roger Rabbitt, 60
Studios, list of, 304-305 Signatures and titles, 127-129 Talking Animals and Other People, 2, 278, Why Me?, 293
System for computerized animation Ski for Two, 245 286 Williams, Dick, 59-60, 295
(MIC), 284-285 Smoke, animating, 226 Taping films, 238, 275 Wind, animating, 226
Regional speech, 88-90 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 27-28, Tashlin, Frank, 56, 202 Wolf, Fred, 295
Registering a script, 51-52 44, 75, 83, 91-93, 159, 180, 183, 185, Television Work-print reel, 266-267
Reitherman, Woolie, 26 203, 204, 225-226, 259 Animation, 59-60, 63, 128, 291, 295 Writers Guild of America, 51-53
336 INDEX

Write a Story exercise, 50-51, 56, 62-63, 67 Xander, Paul, 282, 285
Writers Xeroxing drawings, 19, 220, 235-236,
Agents for, 52-53 249-251
Directors and, 80-85
Works to study, 56-62 Yellow Submarine, The, 72
Writing for animation, 15-16, 43-70. See Yosemite Sam, 44
also Scripts Young, Cy, 225
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