The Art of Animation and What it Takes to Create a Disney, Animated Feature Film

It is truly a remarkable feat to actually sit down and carefully watch, dissect and explore all that was required to create one of the Walt Disney Classic full length feature animated films. The countless hours and man power necessary to carry out Walt Disney's visions and dreams never deviated from the utmost detail, intensity, storytelling and efforts provided by Walt's team of skilled artisans, craftsmen and technical personnel.

Attention to detail and devotion was also a mainstay in Walt's ability to create amazing animation. No stone is left unturned in raising the bar and setting the standards in the past and in today's day and age with regards to animation. Walt and his team of some of the finest artisans have created the basis for all animation and animated movies of today. From the start of Walt's plunge into the realm of animation Walt actually sent his animation team to school at the Chouinard Art School in California to further their ability and skills which has left its lasting impressionable mark in all that is Disney. It takes many different people and departments to create such wonderful and amazing animation which lays the groundwork for Walt's animated films. I will briefly explore all that it entails to create a Disney masterpiece.

It all begins as a dream and vision in the storytelling department. Character emotions, humor and action, ability to convey the essence of the storyline, quick sketches of animal and human anatomy are plotted on a series of panels similar to a comic strip depicting and offering the visual concept of the alignment and overall direction of the animated film. Without this initial step in the creation of an animated short of full length film, the smooth flow, plot and consistent scene structure will not be very well translated from thought process to paper to finished product. A thorough, well planned and described storyline will go far in terms of the success of the finished results as the storytelling is the foundation to which everything else resides.

Once the storytelling concept is developed visual development artists take center stage. The manipulation of moods, character conflict and development, plot development, presentation of dramatic story moments is played out and portrayed. Character and environmental design, architectural concepts and creation and conceptualization are also carried out by the visual department.

Character animators, modelers and character technical directors work hand in hand with each other to ensure consistency and believability in movement and bringing the characters to life. Creating complex organic 3-D models with attention to detail, movement, muscle and skin tone are key in aiding the key character animators with needed structure and models for visualization and attention to detail. Detail in the sense of proportions, weight, volume, balance, movement and space are provided and it can be as realistic as far as physical simulations are concerned or broad and funny such as evident by the squash and stretch process. Kinematics, animation interfaces, physical and behavioral traits are also incorporated into the equation along with the human and animal anatomy theories.

Their are various character animators that make up the animation team. Key or main character animators are responsible for the creation of, trait, behavior and personality of the main characters and sequences of the particular film. Walt's famous "Nine Old Men" are a great example of some of the numerous key animators responsible for many of the lovable and memorable characters we have come to know and love. Whether it be provided by Ward Kimball's creation of Jiminy Cricket in "Pinocchio", or Marc Davis' powerful portrayal of Maleficent in "Sleeping Beauty" to the funny and memorable scene of Thumper and Bambi on the ice in "Bambi" by Frank Thomas, the key animators, especially Walt's so called "Nine Old Men" conveyed such a dramatic and crucial part in the overall success of Disney Animation. In betweeners were responsible for carrying out the missing sections left out by the key animators due to time restrictions or creating the minor character concepts, drawings and development. The ink and paint department was responsible for painstakingly doing just that painting and transferring the animated drawings to cel. Once this process has been performed these cels will eventually be photographed for the final film. It takes roughly 24 cels to create one second of movie time, so for Snow White...about 250,000 cels to create the finished Snow White film!

Layout artists and background matte painters are responsible for staging and the set up of each shot. Backgrounds, cinematography and environmental concerns are carried out here. The creation of the right background suitable for the stage and place of the film and character situation, placement and right background for the character to live in. Background artists such as Eyvind Earle renowned for his colorful "Sleeping beauty" backgrounds employed the environment to which the characters and cels were united and photographed against creating lifelike scenarios.

Look development artists and technical directors, special effects and lighting artists further aid and enhance the mood and setting with natural and/or supernatural phenomena. Shading and textures are also part of the overall concept that must be considered. Creation of the technical aspects needed and used to create the 3-D element and help to develop the software while painstakingly testing and analyzing the software.

Infrastructure software engineers, technical support engineers and system engineers worked with the photo/camera department in attaching the cels to their appropriate backgrounds to be photographed, spliced and transferred to film and dvd as is the case today. A technical advancement back in 1933 by former Disney director/animator Ub Iwerks invented the multi plane camera. This camera was based on a number of planes of glass, four back then, that would allow cels to be photographed/ filmed at various speeds and distances allowing for depth to be realized. The pan sequence at the beginning of Walt Disney's "Bambi" is a great example of the sense of depth that was initiated and able to be captured as Friend Owl flew through the forest to the site of the birth of Bambi. To learn more about the multiplane camera http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiplane_camera, hosts a wealth of info regarding this one time phenomon.

All of this animation that was transferred to film had to have sound, music and sound effects that needed to be synchronized with the particular point in time to make it believable and also so that the sounds matched the frame of the film. A plethora of sound personnel, voice talents and musicians were needed to create the soundtrack, background music, vocals and noises such as thunder, rain, bangs and squeaks adding to the reality and enjoyment.

The symmetry, teamwork and culmination of hundreds of skilled personnel hired by Walt Disney were responsible for the creation of the animated films, characters and moments we have come to know and love through the years. These films will continue to set the standards and offer continued enjoyment for years to come. It is true that much of the monotonous hand work of the past has been replaced and expedited by computer generated graphics and other technical advances that began initially as an experiment at the end of Disney's "The Little Mermaid" back in 1989.

The use of the multi plane camera was also deemed obsolete as the implementation of the multi plane feature in the computerized CAPS process became norm. The Little Mermaid was also the last film to use the monoplane camera process as well.

So, there you have it in simplified terms as to what it takes to create an animated short or feature animated film. Walt Disney to this day was way ahead of his time and unfortunately was not able to experience, enjoy, fully understand and realize his potential and what he meant to the entertainment and animation industry as a whole having died on December 15, 1966. His innovative ability in theme park design and animation, voice talent, film producer and director, screenwriter, entrepreneur and philanthropist landed him seven Emmy's, fifty-nine Academy Awards and twenty-six Oscar's along with Walt's alter-ego Mickey Mouse!

Take the time to rent or buy a Disney film and be entertained while you realize, now, the hard work, time and personnel that went into the film. I won't mention anything about the financial aspect though I will say that Walt financed Snow White by himself as no one wanted to give him a loan because they thought Walt was crazy at the time. He put a mortgage on his home to help finance production of "Disney's Folly" by Hollywood industry movie leaders(Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) which was originally estimated to cost $250.000 and eventually came with a price tag of 1.5 million back in 1937!

P.S In case any of you are wondering who were Walt's "Nine Old Men" they are as follows: John Lounsbery, Milt Kahl, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Wolfgang "Wollie" Reitherman, Les Clark, Marc Davis, Ward Kimball and Eric Larson.

http://www.answers.com/animation&r=67 will provide some more interesting tidbits of info to help you to becme more educated in the wonderful world of animation.
Walt Disney: An American Original by Bob Thomas(1988) can further enhance and widen the subject of Walt, his life and information regarding his animation successes.