Animator is a resource for budding animators, be it with a pencil, plasticine/clay, puppets or computer. Animator has two main sections; a blog with information that we hope is useful to animation enthusiasts and an archive of articles originally published in a magazine called Animator’s newsletter.
French writer Jean Giono was an environmentalist who was ahead of his time. He drew on his own experience and the history of his native region to write The Man Who Planted Trees in 1953. Animator Frédéric Back came across Giono’s story in the magazine Le sauvage in 1974.
“In reading this story for the first time, I was very moved by the character’s generosity and his utter indifference to any kind of reward. It is the very essence of happiness because the reward is in the act itself and in the vision of its beneficial consequences,” says Frédéric Back.
The film gained many awards including Grand Prize (shared) at the International Animation Film Festival, Annecy, France 1987.
Production year: 1987
Running time: 30 minutes
Production time: 5 years
Number of drawings: 20,000
Assistant: Lina Gagnon (3,000 in-betweens)
Technique: Prismacolor® coloured pencils on frosted cels, with pastel backgrounds and fixative.
Animated by Barry Bruce at Will Vinton Productions. Vinton’s studio has obtained a niche for itself as a maker of clay animation of quality and originality. The film tells of a music hall impressionist who caricatures personalities from the second world war, including Churchill, Patton, Roosevelt and a fleet of battleships. Only the head and shoulders of the character are shown with the head remodelled with each change of impression. A potent anti-war message is delivered with excellent style.
One of the more unusual films to use object animation is Jiri Barta’s “The Extinct World of Gloves”. This told of the discovery by a human being of an old film and a cache of gloves in a rubbish dump. The recovered film shows that there was once a universe peopled by gloves which lived a very human-like existence. Actual gloves were used containing an armature so that they could be animated as 3D puppets.
Skywhales is an animated fantasy film about aliens who live on islands of vegetation that float in the sky. The story concerns one family of these creatures who take part in the annual hunt for the Skywhales. These are huge graceful creatures that swoop past the island on their seasonal migration. A series of strange events after the hunt show us how the islanders’ lives are inextricably linked to those of the whales in an ending with an unexpected twist.
1983 – 11.00 mins.- 35mm
Production company: Animation City
Written and Directed by: Phil Austin and Derek Hayes.
Animation: Phil Austin, Derek Hayes, Rowen Avon, Gaston Marzio, Ric Machin, Rick Villeneuve, Aruna Douglas.
Sheila Graber took her animation gear down to the Sculpture Hall of the Tate Gallery during their Blake exhibition. Here the film was constructed, at the same time demonstrating the wide uses of animation in an ‘Educational’ context. Backed by ‘Carmina Burana’ the film moves around some of Blake’s images to show something of his dynamic philosophy of Good and Evil as experienced by the Poet Figure.
Love on the Wing was animated direct-on-to-film by Norman McLaren, a young Scot. When he was 21 he made his first animated film CAMERA MAKES WHOOPEE. Two years later, in 1937, he made several films for the G.P.O. Film Unit, which included LOVE ON THE WING. The G.P.O. Unit was a hot-bed of creativity. In addition to Len Lye and Norman McLaren there were Cavalcanti, Benjamin Britten and W.H. Auden, led by John Grierson. It is no accident therefore that LOVE ON THE WING was drawn direct on to 35mm film.
Love on the Wing is mentioned in the Animator’s newsletter, issue 6, article The Shadows Move Part 3.
It is Welsh housewife Beryl’s birthday and her workmates take her out for a drink at a pub which has a male stripper. This film was started whilst Joanna Quinn was a student at Middlesex Polytechnic.
Direction/animation: Joanna Quinn.
Script: Joanna Quinn/Angela Hughes.
1986 – 6 minutes.
Special Jury Prize at 1987 Annecy Animation festival, France.
Sheila Graber began experimenting with a Super 8 camera and trial and error methods of animation purely for fun in 1970. In 1974 she won the Movie Maker magazine Ten Best competition with “The Boy and the Cat”. In the next four years one, two or even three of her animated films appeared in the top ten of this annual competition. Her films went all over the world and gained over 20 top international awards.
The Boy and the Cat is mentioned in the Animator’s newsletter, issue 5, article The Films of Sheila Graber.
La Joie de Vivre was made in France by Hector Hoppin and Anthony Gross where it was highly successful. Alexander Korda saw it and was vastly impressed. He brought the two men to England to work on H.G. Wells “Things to Come”,
France – 1934
Directors: Hector Hoppin/Anthony Gross
La Joie de Vivre is mentioned in the Animator’s newsletter, issue 5, article The Shadows Move.
Extract 3.1 starts with Edwardian animator Arthur Melbourne Cooper who animated children’s toys in ‘Dreams of Toyland’. It looks at the TV cut-out animation of the 1950s with ‘Noggin the Nog’ and ‘Captain Pugwash’ followed by the puppet animation of Pogles Wood’. Comments from animators Oliver Postgate, Peter Firmin, Gordon Murray and Nick Park; writers Brian Sibley and Marina Warner; and Prof Paul Wells of Loughborough University.
Visions of Childhood is the third part of a three-part history of animation in Britain made by the BBC in 2005.
Magical worlds created by animators have had a huge influence on generations of children. It includes clips from programmes like Bagpuss, The Magic Roundabout, The Wombles and Danger Mouse.
