Published between 1982 and 1995
A survey by Ken Clark – Part One In computer parlance an “anim” is an animation and has come to mean a form of movement more akin to diagrammatic or model animation. But that was yesterday – times they are a-changing. It might seem paradoxical, but at a time when the makers of the Amiga … Read more
It was a first exercise, cleanly and cleverly executed, showing an intuitive sense of timing, and very nearly filling one floppy disk. Great care had been taken over the modelling of the character with appropriate highlight and shadow values added to his form. It attracted the attention of the PD libraries. His second effort The … Read more
By Steve Archer After one years hard writing Wills O’Brien: Special Effects Genius is about to hit the shops. By strange coincidence both O’Brien and myself like things western, and much of O’Brien’s work contained western themes: Gwang, Mighty Joe Young, The Westernettes and The Last of the Oso Si-Papu, but more about that later. … Read more
After three months the work dried up and I returned to Shepherds Bush Odeon Cinema as a projectionist. Three years later I received a phone call from Culley’s cameraman, Gus Ramsden, and blue-screen technician, Dennis Barkleh, who told me that Ray Harryhausen was looking for an assistant for his new film, Clash of the Titans. I … Read more
Following the demise of Force of the Trojans, I was hired by Clearwater Films in Battersea – which no longer exists – to animate on various TV commercials. On most of these, I worked alongside Steven Asquith for directors David Mitton and Keith Turner. This led to more animation work on various other commercials for … Read more
My last animation work on a feature film was on the sequel, Gate II released in 1990 for which I contributed about half of the animation for special effects director Randy Cook (of Ghostbusters fame) at his Ruckus Studio. For Gate II (which went straight to video in this country and isn’t even available in Barnes) I … Read more
Animator. Spring 1993. Issue number 30. Front cover illustration: Balloon directed by Ken Lidster. See National Film & TV School.
Rocking the Boat Cardiff is a major production centre for animation with many large and small studios producing TV series. These have grown with the help of the Welsh television channel SIC which was established in Cardiff in 1982. Rather like its London based counterpart Channel 4. SIC has been very keen to promote animation, … Read more
The transition from the freedom of student animation to professional animation that earns money for its creators is a difficult one. This seminar at the Cardiff Animation Festival brought together a panel of recent graduates, employers and a Channel 4 representative. Report by David Jefferson. An enthusiastic audience of students assembled to learn more about … Read more
“The skills you learn at college will always be useful. Working on a commercial can improve those skills and make you better when you come to make your own films. There is a discipline in commercial films that you do not get with your own films. You may find you avoid difficult scenes in your … Read more
Learn about storytelling. When Sarah Kennedy left college she was determined to do her own work. ‘It is really difficult to get money when you are a student just out of college,” affirmed Sarah. “I knew I would hate working on commercials so I was lucky to get a job as a researcher working on … Read more
Alex Seiden, a senior technical director and animator at Industrial Light & Magic gave a talk about Terminator 2 and its visual effects at the International Animation Festival Cardiff. Report by David Jefferson. “Behind all magic there is a trick, and it is certainly true in the case of visual effects. It is not really … Read more
The next step is compositing. On the live action shot the actors are acting to nothing, that is the essence of special effects work. In Terminator 2 there were many shots of Arnold Schwarzenegger twisting his fist in mid-air where he was supposed to be hitting the 11000. These are called the background plates. “Nowadays … Read more
“Motion control existed before Star Wars but it really came alive with that film, it had much more use than it ever had before. Now it is used for completely non-computer graphics things such as models and spaceships.” A wacky fight scene. When Seiden read the description of the following sequence he did not think … Read more
Klasky Csupo, Inc. have hit animated television series, The Simpsons and Rugrats, on their track record. Marketing Director, Larry Le Francis, introduced the company at the Cardiff International Animation Festival. David Jefferson reports. Klaskv Csupo, Inc. was started by husband and wife team Gabor Csupo (pronounced Chewpo) and Arlene Klasky, literally out of their living … Read more
Don Bluth of Don Bluth Entertainment, Dublin, Ireland, has presented mini-seminars on animation for the benefit of his staff. The following article is based on a recording of one of these seminars. Shapes: Exercise and Impact. A character, regardless of what he is made out of, is going to stretch and snap to some degree. … Read more
Barry Purves talks to Sylvie Bosher about his film Screenplay and his future projects. Barry Purves won the Young Jury’s Best Film Award recently at the Bourges en Bresse Festival in France for his film Screenplay. I was lucky enough to see Screenplay at the Ottawa International Animation Festival in Canada where the film also … Read more
Barry spent five months writing the script of Screenplay before signing a contract with Channel Four in October, 1991. He then spent nine months laying the groundwork for thirteen weeks of filming. Barry said he usually worked all day and often at night. It was so hot that he wore a swimming costume for work … Read more
The Animation Studio is a computer software program from Disney for the IBM PC or Amiga computer. Review by David Jefferson. The Animation Studio from Disney is one of many recent programs that uses the computer’s ability to store drawings and show them in quick succession. The Disney version includes tools for drawing and painting … Read more
Chris Shepherd is a degree student studying animation at West Surrey College of Art and Design. His 16mm film called A Load Of Balls was recently screened at the college’s London show. He explains the background to his film. The animation degree course at West Surrey College of Art and Design is primarily concerned with … Read more
Secondly, I used cel animation to give the audience the impression the film was to be comic in nature. In Warner Brother’s cartoons, eel painted characters such as Daffy Duck are shot, blown up and cut into pieces but never die. The audience accept this and do not question the immortality of such cartoon characters. … Read more
“The School’s task is to find and bring forward talent that will make its individual mark. For the cost of about two low budget features a year we are training more than 100 people. Which is more valuable?” (NFTS Introductory booklet). Report by Ken Clark. The GPO Film Unit, founded in the early Thirties, quite … Read more
During his three years with NFTS Ken Lidster worked for short attachments at Aardman’s where Nick Park was in residence and would you believe? Nick Park was also a graduate from the school. That alone would have been enough to interest me in pursuing a line of enquiry but pulling a video copy of RARG … Read more
I accepted Danny Boon’s invitation to visit the School to see for myself the creative environment they have fashioned. There are two objectives: general training and advanced specialist training by means of a number of workshops. Students do not spend their days in classrooms, indeed, after the first nine months there are very few classes. … Read more
Approximately two-thirds of their work is acceptable first time round. Whatever one might think of their method, the result would cost very much more to produce on mainland America, Britain or Europe. Small wonder these companies are presently thriving even though, if you look closely, you can clearly see their shortcomings. “While Ken Lidster was … Read more
It should be said at once that two books from Hyperion, the Disney company’s new publishing house, Disney’s Art of Animation by Bob Thomas and The Art of Mickey Mouse, editors Craig Yoe & Janet Morra-Yoe, are disappointing and overpriced for what they purport to offer, writes Robin Allan. It is sad to be unenthusiastic … Read more
Computer animation is playing a major role in the production of a theme park rides. Charles Gibson, of Rhythm and Hues, addressed an audience on the subject at the Annecy Animation Festival. David Jefferson reports. A seminar entitled “Technical and aesthetic issues involved in integrating images” was staged at the Annecy Animation Festival. A number … Read more
Alternative techniques were proposed, such as building a physical model and flying a motion controlled camera through. However, it is not possible to build a model big enough for a continuous five-minute ride. The three-dimensional part was a straight forward job for the computer graphics but the integration of the two mediums brought forth a … Read more
Animator. Spring 1992. Issue number 29. Front cover illustration: Post Office Fence. Production company Hibbert Ralph Animation. See C.A.T.A.
From Darkness to Light or from Super 8 to Super-Nova. In 1970 I bought my first ever Movie Film Camera, a Super 8 Chinon, and was hooked by the magic of the single-frame-release. Having become fully kitted out with Super 8 Gear, everything from 2X Diopter Close Up lens to Home Sound Striping Machine, I … Read more
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My next main Mac job was to link with my North East Independent TV Station Tyne Tees Television in providing an animated title sequence and short “stings” on the theme Powerhouse (A sort of Tomorrow’s World from the North) and six by 4-minute programme inserts; complete short “Monty Python Style” animated programmes in themselves; entitled … Read more
The Annecy Animation Festival is the most spectacular event on the European animation calendar. David Jefferson went along for Animator magazine. The biannual animation festival had outgrown its Bonlieu Centre location and in 1991 was split in two. The artistic side remained at the Bonlieu and the business side was a bus ride away at … Read more
Paul worked with Richard Purdom in London for eight years and learned a lot about animation by doing that specific kind of work. “I feel I have got to get into another area now, storytelling or movie-making,” said Paul. “Animation in advertising is not really movie-making, it concentrates on getting the message across.” Fortunately Richard … Read more
The films competing for the Golden Cartoon must have gained awards at one of eight European festivals. Report by David Jefferson. Films selected to compete for the Golden Cartoon must have won major awards at one or more of the eight most important European animation festivals: Annecy, Brussels, Cardiff, Espinho, Stuttgart, Treviso, Utrecht and Zagreb. … Read more
Nick finds it much harder to make a commercial than Creature Comforts because he is answerable to a client. “They always want more in thirty seconds than I believe will work,” remarked Nick. “If we let the client dictate too much then I know he will get a bad commercial.” However, Nick was fortunate to … Read more
A seminar held at the Annecy Animation Festival addressed the question of the future of the short animated fiction film in the light of the many political and economic changes taking place in the world today. David Jefferson reports. Panel: Eduard Nazarov, Russia Giulio Gianini, Italy Bill Plympton, USA Raoul Servais, Belgium Robert Basler, Spain … Read more
“When you enter your film in a festival like this it is good to get the audience reaction,” continued Murakami. “The prizes are also important although some people may disagree. If you are a painter you might have a chance to sell because your painting is cheap enough but films are very time consuming to … Read more
Clare Kitson, a programme commissioner for Channel 4 television, was also optimistic. She maintained the future of personal animated films depended on three factors; whether there is public demand; whether there are animators who are up to it; and whether there is money. “Up to now we have not been sure about the public demand, … Read more
The students submit proposals and a panel chooses the best and most promising ideas. Each of the students spends three months in the glass fronted studio developing the project and shooting a small amount of footage. They work with a production consultant who helps them present their work to a television company. “This is an … Read more