Part One After observing the terrified expression on the face of yet another film student as I attempted to teach to them how to use a location sound mixer, it struck me that for animation and film students accustomed to…
Sound and Music
Animated Musicals
by Richard Leskosky • June 3, 2013 • 1 Comment
Musicals and animated films, stylized and fantastical forms both, have displayed a mutual affinity since sound technology permitted their combination. Several live-action musicals have famously included animated sequences, most notably MGM’s Anchors Aweigh (1944), where Gene Kelly dances with Jerry…
technological developments in animation (pre digital)
Innovation and limitation
by Nichola Dobson • May 28, 2013 • 4 Comments
2014 will mark the centenary of Norman McLaren, one of the most innovative animators in the 20th Century. This post is something of an indulgence for me to act as notification of a work in progress. The project to examine…
technological developments in animation (pre digital)
“How did you do that?”
by Malcolm Cook • May 20, 2013 • 4 Comments
If I’ve heard this question asked once of an animator, I’ve heard it asked a thousand times. Not “When…?”, “Where…?”, or “Why…?”, but “How…?”. Animation often seems to revolve around technology and technique (a consideration of the distinction and relationship…
technological developments in animation (pre digital)
Ray Harryhausen – A Tribute
by Jim Walker • May 13, 2013 • 1 Comment
Ray Harryhausen’s name evokes so much emotion and visual memories that it is hard to effectively reflect on his achievements. While we could focus on his contributions to film history, special effects, animation and many other areas. It is perhaps…
technological developments in animation (pre digital)
The Fleischer Studio’s ‘Setback’ Camera vs. Disney realism
by Luke Jaeger • May 7, 2013 • 14 Comments
Ask an American “who invented animation” and the most likely response will be “Walt Disney.” Students of animation history know better, of course — but while Disney contributed significantly to the development of the form, his most permanent legacy may…
Documentary
Blogging the Animated Documentary
by Alys Scott-Hawkins • April 29, 2013 • 3 Comments
As a film-maker who has become further and further drawn into the world of animated documentary, what has enthralled and inspired me is the overt subjectivity of exploring the world through animation; free from the ‘baggage’ of objectivity implied in…
Documentary
“To document differently”: random thoughts on a taxonomy of animated documentary
by Paul Ward • April 22, 2013 • 2 Comments
My local fish and chip shop has a sign in its window that says, in a large font: “CAT FISH – 75p” Just below, in a smaller font, it says “Fish for your cat” This sign always makes…
Documentary
Who said that? The dispensability of original sound in animated documentary
by Samantha Moore • April 15, 2013 • 7 Comments
There came a point in The Beloved Ones, the film I made in 2007 for the UK Film Council, when it became clear that the indexical sound recorded in the field, in Uganda, was not going to be able to…
Documentary
The Camera and “Structuring Reality”
by Sheila Sofian • April 8, 2013 • 14 Comments
Last night I attended a panel discussion on “Infotainment” in which New York Times Hollywood correspondent Michael Cieply discussed documentary filmmaking as compared to traditional journalism. He made the following statement: “The camera is a tool to structure reality, not…