Sangfroid
11-25-2005, 03:14 PM
Figured I’d try this out here and see how it goes :). I'm sure you all have varied opinions and it would be great to get some debates going under animation. Heated opinions are good; just try to avoid childish flame wars. Back up your arguments in an intellectual way using sources and quotes to establish what you are saying, don't simply say I disagree, explain why.
Some recommended reading could include: Paul Wells: Understanding Animation. And Giannalberto Bendazzi's: Cartoons, One hundred years of cinema animation.
So let’s start with something nice and simple shall we? :D.
The Golden Era!
Yes the almost legendary golden era. A term used to describe a so called Pinnacle of a selected fields success in various ways. In animation this era is particularly related to early Disney endeavours and discovery or the advances of individual animators such as Tex Avery, Pat Sullivan (/Otto Messmer). This ideal era can be seen depicted in the animated feature "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"- Robert Zemeckis / Richard Williums, 1988, as the bright and almost overpowering TOON TOWN in which easily recognisable iconic figures of the time come to life in both a comical and rather sinister fission.
with the current state of the animation industry both internationally as well as locally in Europe and the states where things are undoubtedly going through a form of transition a lot of animators are looking back to the "glory days" with a sense of loss or a fear of what they will loose. How ever what exactly where the "Glory days" and are they really anything to feel a longing for? After all a lot of people often contrast the golden era with there own in that animation is so entrepreneurial today that the rights of the animator are less than they have ever been. But is this really true? Has the industry changed in how it supports creatives or has our expectation of what the animation industry should produce and how been the subject of transition? After all sometimes people forget that Walt Disney himself was no saint, he too was a business man out to sell a product He's even quoted as saying things such as "We allow no geniuses around our studio" and “people still think of me as a cartoonist, but the only thing I lift a pen or pencil for these days is to sign a contract, a check, or an autograph"-The Quotable Walt Disney- Dave Smith. So if the golden era has already been and gone does that mean we will never see such a creative influx again? Does it mean that it's harder to be an animator today? Or is it simply an animator’s way of dealing with a rather drastic change in climate.
Discuss/debate
Some recommended reading could include: Paul Wells: Understanding Animation. And Giannalberto Bendazzi's: Cartoons, One hundred years of cinema animation.
So let’s start with something nice and simple shall we? :D.
The Golden Era!
Yes the almost legendary golden era. A term used to describe a so called Pinnacle of a selected fields success in various ways. In animation this era is particularly related to early Disney endeavours and discovery or the advances of individual animators such as Tex Avery, Pat Sullivan (/Otto Messmer). This ideal era can be seen depicted in the animated feature "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"- Robert Zemeckis / Richard Williums, 1988, as the bright and almost overpowering TOON TOWN in which easily recognisable iconic figures of the time come to life in both a comical and rather sinister fission.
with the current state of the animation industry both internationally as well as locally in Europe and the states where things are undoubtedly going through a form of transition a lot of animators are looking back to the "glory days" with a sense of loss or a fear of what they will loose. How ever what exactly where the "Glory days" and are they really anything to feel a longing for? After all a lot of people often contrast the golden era with there own in that animation is so entrepreneurial today that the rights of the animator are less than they have ever been. But is this really true? Has the industry changed in how it supports creatives or has our expectation of what the animation industry should produce and how been the subject of transition? After all sometimes people forget that Walt Disney himself was no saint, he too was a business man out to sell a product He's even quoted as saying things such as "We allow no geniuses around our studio" and “people still think of me as a cartoonist, but the only thing I lift a pen or pencil for these days is to sign a contract, a check, or an autograph"-The Quotable Walt Disney- Dave Smith. So if the golden era has already been and gone does that mean we will never see such a creative influx again? Does it mean that it's harder to be an animator today? Or is it simply an animator’s way of dealing with a rather drastic change in climate.
Discuss/debate