What's Important About Animation

            Animation as a whole has brought so much to the entertainment industry that it can be easily classified as a phenomenon. For me, the biggest phenomenon of animation is the limitless potential it has overall. When creating animation, you can have your characters do just about anything that you could imagine, and even do some things that are just not possible in live action T.V. shows and movies. The worlds and environments that can be created through animation are also vast and only limited to the creator’s imagination. Potential is what leads to some of the greatest pieces of work that have been made, and a field like animation has plenty of it, even if it has not yet been fully realized.

            Plenty of forms of animation have been made over its life span. We have gone from simple black and white drawings to fully computer animated 3D work. The field started with just simple shorts, but has now gone to create much longer works that have focused on telling stories and developing characters. Animation has also branched all around the world from the United States to Japan. All of this has been made possible through the amount of potential that is in this field of work. Much has been done in animation, and there is still plenty more that can be done, no matter what the current state of the industry is, if there is someone out there with enough imagination and creativity working in the field, anything can be made possible in it.

High Jacking Animation (And Taking it Back!)

The second article makes a lot of the same points as the first one did, but it goes into greater detail about the problems that are in the animation industry; specifically from the American side. The big claim to the second Detheux article is how the American; or more specifically Hollywood format, has led the animation industry into a stagnant and cliché form. It feels as though this article has a cynical viewpoint with a lot of finger pointing going on towards the American animation industry. Disney was a big target in terms of repeating formulas and using old clichés. In an honest look, there is a lot of repetition in the animation industry, and I would say that things like the Hollywood formula are a big reason for the problems that there are.

            I love animation as a whole, I really do, and there are so major problems going on at the moment. There have been recent periods of animation that lacked innovation and the overall quality had dropped from a writing and story perspective. Despite the problems that are going on in the animation industry there are still creative and qualitative work being produced to this day, whether they come from major studios like Disney or not. The animation industry has most certainly hit major bumps in the road and there will likely be more to come in the future. It is good to be critical of the clichés and the bland stories that come out, but it is also important to take a closer look and recognize the accomplishments that have been made.

Animation: Prozac or Kyosaku

In Jean Detheux’s article “Animation: Prozac or Kyosaku”, he covers many different topics in regards to animation. One of the big claims I saw throughout the piece was that many works from the larger studios in the field of animation have failed to grow and change, because they often stick with the same formulas and techniques that they used for previous works. I do see what he is talking about as when you look closely at the works from any major animation studio, you can see the resemblance in the style that is used for their pieces of animation. There is bound to be some repetition as when someone is able to make something successful, they will likely use that as a source or model when making future pieces of work.

            What the animation industry has done by doing this has led to both positive and negative results. On one hand, it has led to the success of many works of animation and those works have served as inspiration for other great works to come forth from both inside and outside of the studios. On the other hand, it has led to others playing it safe and not trying to do anything different with their work in the animation field, and has even led to cheap imitations of successful work. While there has been repetition in the field of animation, many different forms of it have spawned over the years and have been the source of both inspiration and the lead way into newer and better things. The animation industry as a whole would not have survived this long by only repeating the same few techniques over and over again.

  

The Illusion of Life Disney Animation Story

            When someone is creating a piece of fiction, not just animation, one of the most vital things is a story. A story has to be planned out carefully, and needs to have the proper time need to have everything set up properly. A story needs to have a proper structure and sequences from the introduction to the conclusion. There are many factors to making a good story and they all have different aspects that they play in the creation of a story.

             Some would say that there in no one way to make a good story, and to be honest that is likely the case. Many factors have to be taken into account such as setting, characters, conflict, and in the case of animation, the quality of the animation. There is also the factor of continuity, to make sure everything makes sense and that the events in the story are not ignored or disregarded for a single moment. Disney has brought to life many stories over the many years it has been around, and while many of them could be considered formulaic, they have caught our eyes and have been remembered for many years.

            Storytelling is far from easy and requires the works of people with strong imagination. Disney was one that brought larger forms of storytelling to the animation industry as a whole and led the way for many others to create their own stories in the animation industry. Story is something that is very important to me, and I always look forward to the creative works of those who bring this art form to its fullest potential.

 

The Illusion of Life Disney Animation Chapter 6

            The sixth chapter of the book goes into much detail about to very important people who worked in the studio; they were Fred Moore and Bill Tytla. They both brought a lot to the studio at the time and had stand out rolls and works. Fred was only eighteen when he was hired, but proved to be a talented artist with his works in pictures like “Snow White”. People at the studio were anxious and wanted more of his work, including the work of the women he drew. There was definitely sex appeal added to some of his drawings; which may have been one of the things that made him stand out at the time. Fred even had his own fourteen points of animation that he followed.

            Bill Tytla was also a major success in the studio. While he was much more shy and moody then Fred was, he was still able to create work that would stand out for years. One of his biggest achievements was the creation of the devil in the “Bald Mountain” segment in “Fantasia”. He was another one of the animators who did work on “Snow White” and stood out due to the variety of animation he was able to bring to the studio.

            Disney succeeded in creating the biggest animation company in the world, but was not the only one who made it possible. Much effort was made from the many different people who worked in the studio to make it what it was and what it is today.