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A is for Animation
‘Animation’ comes from the Latin word
‘anima’ which means life. The word describes
a wide range of film and video techniques
which make an object appear to move.
B is for Background
In model animation the background can be
anything from everyday objects to a specially
constructed set, painted or modelled in 3-D.
In cel animation the background is painted
and cels superimposed so the background
does not have to be re-drawn for each frame.
C is for Cel
A cel is a sheet of transparent plastic on which
the animator paints. When placed on a
background the clear cel does not show.
This allows the animator to place characters
easily into different settings, without
re-drawing the background for each frame.
D is for Disney
Walt Disney didn’t invent animation, it just
seems that way. His impact on the
development of animated cartoons is
impossible to overstate. One of his
masterpieces ‘Fantasia’ (1940) has been
completely restored for its 50th anniversary
and is being re-released at Christmas.
E is for Eyes
Moving a character’s eyes and making it
blink is a simple but effective way of giving
an impression of movement even in a scene
where not much else is happening.
And eyes can be tremendously expressive
watch Rolferoo’s eyes and how they
emphasize what he’s saying by indicating
what he’s thinking.
F is for Framing
A frame is an individual photograph on a
piece of film. Usually it takes 24 frames to
make one second of film - which is one
reason why animation is such a slow process.
G is for Gertie the Dinosaur
This animated film by Windsor McCay is
often thought to mark the birth of animation.
H is for Hollywood
Home of Bugs Bunny and friends who
Rolf met earlier this year.
You can find out what happened on
Christmas Eve at 3.55 pm on ITV.
I is for in-betweens ,
These drawings fall between the
‘key drawings’ showing the first and last
positions of each movement. They are
usually done by the assistant animator
or ‘in-betweener’.
J is for jones - Chuck Jones
One of the all time great animation directors,
Chuck is still making animated tilms.
He helped create the classic Warner Bros
Animation style and is a master
of cartoon slapstick.
K is for Key Drawings
These show the principal points of each
movement and how it will be continued.
The animator then adds spacing guides to
show the in-betweener the timing and
spacing of the in-between drawings.
L is for Lip synch (synchronisation)
This is when the animator matches the
character’s mouth movements to the
recorded dialogue on the soundtrack.
A famous series, ‘Lipsynch’ was made by
Aardman Animations and included
Creature Comforts screened on
Rolf's Cartoon Club Series 2.
M is for Models
Glass, metals, wood, card and modelling
clays have all been used in model animation.
It’s important that the material should be
light and flexible. Famous model animation:
The Wind in the Willows (Cosgrove Hall
Productions 1988), Fireman Sam
(Bumper Films), Creature Comforts
(Aardman Animation).
The latest from
MOMI
Lots of you have had the information
packs from the Museum of the Moving
Image that we told you about a couple
of Newsletters ago.
Now, there’s a brand new ‘Do Your Own
Animation' pack that is excellent. Basically
it’s a pack of 14 instruction leaflets that deal
with techniques and methods of producing
your own animation. These cover equipment,
optical toys, montage, cutout, puppet, story-
boarding, characters, walk cycles and
sequences, cels, pixillation and even sand
and computer animation. None of the sheets
are too complicated and you’ll find them
handy reminders and references for many of
the techniques we’ve shown you on the
programmes.
The pack costs £4.50 (plus 50p for postage
and packing) and you should send a cheque or
postal order (no cash) to Publications Dept.
BFI, 21 Rathbone Street, London WIP 1AG.
If you’re visiting MOMI then you can buy the
pack for £4.50 in the shop.
Look out for the rest of the alphabet
which will be in the next issue.
HARRYHAUSEN
COMPETITION
WINNERS
We had hundreds of correct entries for
this competition. The correct sequence was:
a - 2, b - 3, c - 1, d - 2.
And the winners, who each receive a signed
copy of Ray Harryhausen’s book, are:
Helen Millington (1145) from Tetbury
Ian Osbome (52849) from Homchurch
Laura Surry (95644) from London
Sadaqat Azam (28715) from Cardiff
Kirsty Whitby (71576) from Basildon
Martin Fortune (67360) from Cheshunt
Well done!
Rolf’s Cartoon Club Newsletter is designed and published by HTV West, Bath Road, Bristol, BS4 3HG