Channel Frederator Blog

This interview with MTV started out very interesting, but then when the talk of performance capture crept into the conversation, I found myself screaming “NOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooo………….”.

I don’t think there is any way to achieve the same “toony” feel we saw in the first film using CG of any kind. Just as a refresher, here’s a clip from the first film.

And here is a clip from some of Zemeckis’s “Polar Express”.

While one could argue that the technology has come a long way since this film came out, and MAYBE there could be a plot that brought an ageless Roger into modern day, I really don’t see how using this technology over hand drawn methods could yield anything but a disappointing imitation of what the first film was able to achieve artistically.

What do you think?

-Floyd Bishop

John Canemaker interviewed Richard Williams Monday night at MOMA. The event was sold out and the place was packed with students, as Willliam’s book The Animator’s Survival Kit is an essential read for animation majors around the world.
Williams is always an entertaining speaker, fond of leaping out of his chair to act out anecdotes. He presented clips from:

• The Little Island (his first short)
• A Christmas Carol (his first Oscar win)
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (more Oscars)
• The Charge of the Light Brigade
• Return of the Pink Panther titles
• Amazing “The Greedy” sequence from Raggedy Ann and Andy (animated by Emery Hawkins)
• Trailer for The Thief and The Cobbler (never released in its proper form)
• Commercial Reel

The night was very much a chance to promote the release of a 16 DVD version of his well-regarded Animation Masterclass. The Animation Survival Kit Animated consists of Williams “performing” the class live at Blue Sky Studios (about ten years ago) intercut with animated examples that illustrate his ideas. Okay, so the set costs over $900, but at least most art schools will buy one.

After the jump, some choice quotes from the evening. Also, the Return of the Pink Panther titles in teeny tiny form on the ubiquitous YouTube… [Read more…]