tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post2892813980892593901..comments2023-12-31T01:23:39.943-05:00Comments on Mayerson on Animation: Six Authors in Search of a Character: Part 14, ConclusionMark Mayersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00065971589878678848noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-4750979761080274282012-01-24T22:14:03.848-05:002012-01-24T22:14:03.848-05:00George Griffin kept his films as simple as possibl...George Griffin kept his films as simple as possible just for that control... personally, my directorial projects I basically completed in storyboard form and full visual script before I started other work. I'm convinced that model (which was used by Miyazaki and Peet) has good potential...and hopefully it says something.<br /><br /><br />You want an animator-driven film? Aside from late-period Woolie Reithermann, try Raggedy Ann And Andy. That one had pathetic directorial input and a fragmented story sense...the animators had a TON of decisions. The film is leaden and bloated because none of the animation was short enough to work when cut into the others. It was described as a jazz supergroup with the rhythm section in two different towns.<br />William's policy was to lock the animators in a room by themselves and let them do their thing, and it suffered...then Potterton was brought on and all vision was lost.<br /><br />(Like Don Bluth (for whom it's the fragmented story), Williams' best films work AROUND his weak spot (of bloated animation)... Roger Rabbit and Christmas Carol were too expensive to waste footage on; Thief was so atmospheric and pretentious that the leaden pacing improves it; Little Island was too carefully planned; the rest had too small budgets because of Thief.<br /><br />(Don Bluth's best films all share one of three things: They're picaresque and don't need strong structure (Land, Tail, Banjo), they're too atmospheric to complain (All Dogs, Titan), or they're based off of a previous and specific story that's already been told (NIMH, Anastasia). All the rest suffer from the lack.Liimlsanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14477319514152606005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-40106782039528226232007-07-11T04:04:00.000-04:002007-07-11T04:04:00.000-04:00Mark: Congratulations for a job well done! It's su...Mark: Congratulations for a job well done! It's such a pity that animators are effectively locked out of the creative end of their own industry. Something needs to be done about it!<BR/><BR/>Did you read the Grim Natwick article on Michael Sporn's site yesterday? Near the start of the article Grim says animators used to collaborate with story guys in a two-man crew. Boy, have we come a long way from that!Eddie Fitzgeraldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07729949238666234774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-74371596649953879832007-07-05T17:21:00.000-04:002007-07-05T17:21:00.000-04:00Tara, you will get all sorts of conflicting advice...Tara, you will get all sorts of conflicting advice about trying to approach the TV biz. Some people will talk about the inability of TV executives to visualize anything, so your presentation has to be as close to finished as possible. Other people will tell you that the executives are going to want to change things to meet their perceived needs, so the less nailed-down your idea is, the easier it is for them to work their "magic." (Sorry, I can't contain my sarcasm.)<BR/><BR/>The animation cable channels (Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Disney Channel) all have executives whose job is to look at pitches. I suggest you contact these people and ask them what they want to see. The answers will vary and will undoubtedly change over time. You are trying to hit a moving target.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, there's no tried and true method for what you want to accomplish. The only thing you can do is to start approaching people and make decisions as you go. Good luck to you.Mark Mayersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00065971589878678848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-5557779332876247292007-07-05T12:04:00.000-04:002007-07-05T12:04:00.000-04:00In my limited experience as a director in animatio...In my limited experience as a director in animation, my desire was to give the animators an opportunity to express their craft with a great deal of freedom. I used a loose board that would not dictate every single pose to the animator. I felt it was the animators job to bring a sense of performance and I hoped they would appreciate the challenge.<BR/><BR/>However, this technique of directing had several flaws. <BR/>First: budget. The animation companies were hired from abroad and communication was limited and my ability to give feedback was on a weekly or bi weekly basis. This meant that a lot of work was done before you could comment. A small budget also meant that the quality of animation was equal to what was being paid.<BR/>Second: attitude. Although I thought it would be appreciated, the animators were not used to much freedom so they actually wanted to be spoon fed (with some exeptions). Whether it was too much responsibility or a lack of talent, experience and confidence, most animators were not ready for this (or I didn't prepare them well enough). <BR/>Third: resistance. There was a lot of resistance from producers/collegues who didn't agree with this method. Some felt that the director should have one hundred percent control over the board and make it as tight as humanly possible.<BR/><BR/>I did have one show where a single animator was assigned to a single three minute show. This produced some mixed results. The strong animators produced strong episodes and the weak animators produced weak episodes. In fact, there were one or two episodes where I liked the animatic better than the episode. There was a management issue on that particular show where the animation company would resist a senior animator fixing the weak shows (don't ask me why but it became a real problem). Again, the studio was hired from abroad.<BR/><BR/>What I learned from it was very important to work in-house if you are going to work that way. Communication and daily interaction ensures that things are progressing the way you want. Also, when you're in-house, the animation directors are working for you and not for the hired animation house. This way, your needs come first.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05213866618922724603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-5000289218929861182007-07-04T23:20:00.000-04:002007-07-04T23:20:00.000-04:00Thanks for posting this , Mark. I've been reading...Thanks for posting this , Mark. I've been reading each installment as you post it and now I'm going to print it all out and read it from start to finish . Very well researched and cogent thoughts . Thank you again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-86033970960680348412007-07-04T11:02:00.000-04:002007-07-04T11:02:00.000-04:00A very good read. Fascinating.A very good read. Fascinating.Captain Keithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08116893604806328660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-1020428965698670532007-07-04T03:47:00.000-04:002007-07-04T03:47:00.000-04:00Hi, sorry to post this in a comment but I couldn't...Hi, sorry to post this in a comment but I couldn't find a contact button. I see you work in Tv animation and wondered if you could give me some advice please. I am a freelance graphic designer who has created some childrens characters called the Weather Pops. I have currently worked them up into a picture book format. I would like to be able to approach TV companies with the idea, but am not sure how to go about it. Would I need to commission and illustrator to produce one animation, could I submit the ideas as they are or should I attempt to create storyboards. I appreciate any help you can offer, thanks for your time. The characters can be seen at www.graphicdesignblog.co.uk/my-character-designs-and-attempts-to-get-published/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-31148392892202053212007-07-03T15:54:00.000-04:002007-07-03T15:54:00.000-04:00I am of the opinion that, director-wise, we should...I am of the opinion that, director-wise, we should move to more of a Japanese system, where usually, the director (co-)writes, but most importantly boards the whole film himself. With this, the director has full control over his film, and is able to give acting directions and marks to his animators, as a live action director can. Then, I feel, should each character be tackled by a different (supervising) animator and a voice actor. They colaborate, and build their performance on the boards the director gave them, hopefully plussing them. If they have specific suggestions, they could turn to the director who could reboard the scene (of course, he'd be collaborating with an editor and a cinematographer too).<BR/>And I agree voice actors should rehearse and record together, not seperately.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Absolutely wonderful series. Thank you! I hope it opens some eyes.Benjamin De Schrijverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04113326323094548928noreply@blogger.com