UPA again, and this time as creative chief! Bosustow beckoned and I was beamed to the Big Apple, the city of my youthful dreams. "If you can make it there…" etc. And I made it. Here are the vital statistics of that Golden Age studio.
Fats Waller once said that, and another blues man sang, "It Must Be Jelly, ‘Cause Jam Don’t Shake Like That!'" There really was a man named Jam -- Jam Handy -- and he ran a 500-person studio in the then gloomy city of Detroit. It was an amazing adventure working there, in that most amazing, little-known but heavyweight studio. I directed my first film there, nearly had my tender career nipped, and discovered John Lee Hooker. 1949-51.
How at the age of 22 I lucked into the den of geniuses. Who they were. What it was like. Why they let me in. Why I left.
Proof-positive that I was a born artist.
How My Mother Discovered, A. That I Could Draw, and B. That I was Left-Handed
She smelled something from my nursery, rushed in and saw that I was standing up in my crib and drawing on the wall*.... with my left-hand index finger... having dipped it into the contents of my diaper. I thus proved my early resourcefulness in making the most of limited technology.
From this my mother optimistically deduced that there is a difference between a shitty artist and a shitted artist.
Most animation books I’ve read leave out one of the most important things an animator needs to know: How To Make a Contract! Do you really need a lawyer? Here are some examples of how you can Do It Yourself and retain your ass.
You need a lot of luck to make it in the movie business. How do you get lucky? Is success really just a matter of luck -- chance? Or can you lure luck your way? Here are some tips.
Many have asked me how to get started in animation, and how to prosper in it creatively and financially. Dare I mention luck?*
No story - no movie. Here’s how to tell if you actually have a story, and if not, how to make one.
I can never forget what John Hubley taught me, years ago at UPA in Hollywood: "Technical whammy is not enough. First and foremost, your movie has to be about something!"
A short chapter about a long point. Contrast, Change-Of-Pace. That’s the name of the game.
Here is something that few animators seem to think about, but which has bugged me for years: Are we animating foot-long strips of film, or are we animating increments of time? If we are all into globalization, let’s work to a global standard. I would like to foment an animation revolution in the dimension of time!
The technology of animation has changed somewhat over the past 35,000 years, when it was first attempted by cave men, but the basics remain. Here they are in specifics:
Technically, the production method of film animation remained basically unchanged since Raoul Barre patented peg-holes, and pegs to fit into them. In the same year pioneer animator,J ohn Bray first used transparent cels.
OK, here’s where Deitch the teacher addresses a classroom of wannabes, laying down the basics. If you can’t get this stuff into your head, you might as well go into another line of work.
The best thing I could do to teach you how to make animated movies would just be to help you find your own way.
I like things to be clear, so just to be sure we’re all talking about the same thing, I decided to work out a bullet-proof definition of animation; something that covers all forms and fashions of frame-by-frame endeavors. See if you agree with me. If not, we’re off to a rocky start.
Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, who know what they're talking about, called it "The Illusion of Life." But how do you do that? To do it, you really have to think about what it is. When you know what it is, you can master it.
This first chapter lists everything the book covers. You can save a lot of time just by reading this chapter. If none of the topics interests you, ya don’t have to read any further!
Preview:
Whizzing, exploding, hopping, and boinging across our screens, animated cartoons have grabbed us from childhood and beyond. Feature-length movie versions have lifted the technology to amazing heights. This is potentially the greatest of art forms, combining nearly all the others into one. Graphic arts, literature, storytelling, humor, satire, drama, acting, music, song, ballet, poetry, can all be combined in this virtually limitless method of expression.
Everything you ever wanted to know about animation, but were afraid Gene might tell you. It’s basically all up-front in the intro stuff. The main thing is, if you really want to get anywhere in animation, don’t cheat by just skipping through this book. You have to read every word! Really!
(Don't Let a Little Thing Like Failure Stop You!)
©2001-2013 by Gene Deitch
