Thursday, January 24, 2008

Animation on Paper?

Animation desks. Pegboards. Hole-punched paper.

I saw all those things with my very own eyes inside the Disney hat building. Also actual animators, holding pencils and flipping paper. There's a bunch of test animation getting done on Princess and the Frog, and it was a rush to see pencil drawings moving, as if by magic.

The character designs are appealing but still evolving. One animator said: "Nothing is locked down, we're still tweaking characters. And nothing gets locked until John Lasseter signs off on final designs."

But it's sweet seeing the old disciplines back in action.

Up on the third floor, I fell into conversation with one of the board artists who groused about being categorized a storyboard person when he's a writer too. "The script writers get called writers, the rest of us get labeled something else, even through we write dialogue and draw action ..."

The long-simmering rivalry between feature animation script writers and board artists once more bubbles up. A tale as old as ... April, 1985.

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Till John signs off? I didn't think he was the director on this. How does everyone feel about him there?

What do the storyboard artist think of the story?

What's the atmoshere like now compared to a couple years ago. Today being the 2nd anniversary of Pixar taking over Disney animation and all.

Anonymous said...

georgeofgungul said..."Today being the 2nd anniversary of Pixar taking over Disney animation and all"...

Speaking of the take-over,Valleywag.com has an interesting article on Steve Jobs and the buyout.


http://valleywag.com/346012/steve-jobs-nearly-killed-
toy-story-sequel-++-and-a-baby

Floyd Norman said...

Animated films are best written by fewer people not more. Think Bill Peet and Brad Bird for example. Are they writers or story artists? And, does it matter what they're called?

Regarding the Valleywag article, both studios are guilty of employees doing way too much overtime. The bad results of this practice could easily be predicted. Tough as he was, Walt Disney still restricted the number of hours employees could work. Burning out your staff is ultimately bad business, and the Old Man knew that.

Nice to see pencil and paper back at Disney.

Steve Hulett said...

What do the storyboard artist think of the story?

Seem to feel it's coming right along. The story beats are there. (Please note that I have no knowledge of the story myself; this comes from others.)

Anonymous said...

Very interesting Steve!!! Thank you very much!

I want only to ask you just a little thing about "Princess and the Frog": is it true that Prince Naveen is today a black Prince?

I know that Disney is working on another 2D project... is it "The Snow Queen" or "Ramayana" or another movie not yet announced???

Thank you by advance, Steve!

Anonymous said...

Schweet!

Steve Hulett said...

I want only to ask you just a little thing about "Princess and the Frog": is it true that Prince Naveen is today a black Prince?

I believe that the leads in the picture are black.

I know that Disney is working on another 2D project... is it "The Snow Queen" or "Ramayana" or another movie not yet announced???

If there's something cooking, I don't know what it is. Snow Queen was a project in development a while ago, I don't think it's on the development slate any longer.

Floyd Norman said...

Don't we already have a black guy called, "Prince?"

Anonymous said...

hmmm...I did enjoy the Goofy short playing on front of "American Treasure II". It was a pleasant surprise, and it was hilarious.

funny thing about it, that Disney makes a comment on consummerism, when Disney itself is about selling merchandise...

R.

Anonymous said...

Don't we already have a black guy called, "Prince?"

Was that suppose to be funny?

Anonymous said...

I thought it was funny. You don't know Floyd do you?

Anonymous said...

"Animation desks. Pegboards. Hole-punched paper.

I saw all those things with my very own eyes inside the Disney hat building. Also actual animators, holding pencils and flipping paper ...
But it's sweet seeing the old disciplines back in action."



So, the thing with the Cintiqs and the ToonBoom Harmony digital 2D software didn't work out ?

Honor Hunter said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Floyd Norman said: "Don't we already have a black guy called, "Prince?" "

Now that was funny, Floyd! I don't care who ya are... that was a good one.

Hope things are going well for you.

Anonymous said...

Whoa doggies...that was a real knee slapper.

Anonymous said...

Twas, wasn't it?

Anonymous said...

Hey, Hello¡
What do you think about the male character (prince) is black and no white?
At the beginning, he was a white prince.....

Anonymous said...

I love the fact that the two whitest guys in animation are directing Disney's first film featuring Blacks since Song of the South.
I'm not worried - I'm sure they'll nail Black culture as well as they nailed Arab culture.

Steve Hulett said...

Nailing has nothing to do with it. "Aladdin" was a monster hit. That's what counts in Hollywood.

Anonymous said...

"John Henry"

r.

Anonymous said...

And Treasue Planet was Disney's biggest flop...

Anonymous said...

"And Treasue Planet was Disney's biggest flop..."

Which is a shame because it's one of their most wonderful.

Anonymous said...

I agree...loved Treasure Planet.

Anonymous said...

The future generations will love "Treasure Planet".

Anonymous said...

Yeah...and Bush will be remembered in the history books as a better president than Lincoln...and John and Ron are the most hip hop guys at the studio....roflmao...the first black main character is in good hands.

Anonymous said...

Hey, last Anonymous -- you stole my user name , how could you ;-) --
Whether or not you think Ron and John are "the most hip hop guys in the studio" ...what does being "hip hop" have to do with directing a good movie?

And do you mean to equate Black characters/Black culture = "hip hop" ?

C'mon, the movie is set in 1920's Jazz-era New Orleans.

Anonymous said...

Bush will be remembered in the history books as a better president than Lincoln...and John and Ron are the most hip hop guys at the studio....roflmao...the first black main character is in good hands.



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