Film Studies 2159A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Traditional Animation, Thaumatrope, Fairy Tail
Screening 1, Lecture 1
Wednesday, January 10, 2018 11:25 AM
Screening:
1950s TV Series - Disney the Story of Animated Drawing
•Walt was a TV Host
•Breathing life into still images
•Inserting his own studio into an Art History Genealogy
•Disney promotes animation (typical for his entire career)
•Disney reaches high and low
•Promotional glimpse of Disney at his desk
•Zoetrope (wonder-wheel)
•Magic Lantern
•Started career in Kansas City, Missouri
•Started work that also produced magic lantern films
•Disney claims animation is a modern invention even though it dates back to
renaissance times
•Argues that animated drawing should be elevated to fine art
•Has a framed cell from Fantasia
○People bought them as they would paintings
•'Walt Disney's the Art of Animation'
•Disney had a unique contract with ABC
○Weekly hour long program in exchange for funding towards his studio
About Walt
•Disney was very familiar with the idea of exhibiting pictures
•Born in Chicago in 1901 and moved to Missouri with his family in 1906
•Performed skits in Vondville routines in local theatre
•After World War I he moved back to Kansas City
•Walt and fellow animator Iwewex started jobs at the Kansas City film ad company
•Designed glass slides to be played in theatres
•Company started making one minute short films
•Walt felt comfortable and left in May in 1922
•Laugh-O-Gram Films in Kansas City
•Alice's Wonderland was created in Laughagram Films
•The Alice Comedys
•Operated his company for a year and a half and went bankrupt
•Left Kansas city in 1923
•Founding Disney Brothers Studio
•And 1925, the Walt Disney Studio
•Iwerks, Ising, Harman, Freyman followed Disney to California
•In 1927 he created Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
•Disney did not trademark Oswald and he lost the rights of Oswald to Universal
Studio
•Walt created a new character, named Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie released in
1928
•Cartoons released in 1930s
•Walt partnered with Powers and paired with phone companies to create
synchronized sound and movement
Newman Laughagrams, 1921
•First animated short
○Advertisements before main feature
○Lightening sketch
○Self reflective
○Art of animation is foregrounded
•Will be important during Snow White
Alice's Wonderland, 1932
•Promoting many early film adaptations
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, 1927
•Resembles Mickey Mouse
•Themeatize modern technology and transform the body
○How does technology interact with nature and the human body
Steamboat Willy, 1928
•Featuring Mickey Mouse
•Maximized sound gags and effects
•Cinephone technology
Plane Crazy, 1928
•Cinephone technology
Silly Symphony, Skeleton Dance, 1929
•Cinephone
Silly Symphony, Three Little Pigs 1933
•First technicolour
Silly Symphony Mickey's Mechanical Man, 1993
•Speaking
Lecture 1
Final Exam - Stills (identify film, director)
Disney Dream Factory - Early Animation
•Disney:
○Born 1901 in Chicago
○Started out his movie career in cel animation in Kansas City
○He got $40 a week at the City Slide Company in Fall 1919 producing
advertising slides and shooting one-minute advertisement shorts shown in
film theatres
○Got a self-help book Animated Cartoons - How They Are Made Their Origin
And Development by Edwin George (E.G.) Lutz.
○Disney also studied series-photographer Muybridge's work, obtaining
•Disneyland: Story of Animation (1954)
•Magic Lantern projectors
•Wonderwheel
•Thaumatrope
•Phenakitiscope (optical deciever)
•Zoetrope (wheel of life)
○Frenchman Emile Reynaud's "optical theatre"
•Reynaud wasn't satisfied with peep devices, wanted to do something
bigger and better and made an optical theatre
Document Summary
1950s tv series - disney the story of animated drawing: walt was a tv host, breathing life into still images. People bought them as they would paintings. "walt disney"s the art of animation: disney had a unique contract with abc. Weekly hour long program in exchange for funding towards his studio. Iwerks, ising, harman, freyman followed disney to california. In 1927 he created oswald the lucky rabbit: disney did not trademark oswald and he lost the rights of oswald to universal. Studio: walt created a new character, named mickey mouse in steamboat willie released in. 1928: cartoons released in 1930s, walt partnered with powers and paired with phone companies to create synchronized sound and movement. Art of animation is foregrounded: will be important during snow white. Alice"s wonderland, 1932: promoting many early film adaptations. Oswald the lucky rabbit, 1927: resembles mickey mouse, themeatize modern technology and transform the body. How does technology interact with nature and the human body.