Don Bluth’s Animation Class

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 about Screenplay

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 Purves talks about Screenplay – Page 2

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

Computer Animation Studio from Disney

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

A Load Of Balls

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

A Load Of Balls – Page 2

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

National Film and Television School

“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

National Film and Television School – Page 2

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

National Film and Television School – Page 3

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

National Film and Television School – Page 4

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