Archive for the ‘commercial’ Category

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2016

Design: UPA Done Right

UPA Done Right

John Kricfalusi’s blog, "All Kinds Of Stuff" continues to be the most information packed and eye opening animation resource on the internet. If you haven’t visited it lately, you’ll want to check out the series of posts John has been writing on the impact of UPA on animation. I guarantee that you’ve never heard these sorts of opinions anywhere else, and once you digest the concepts, you’ll never look at a UPA cartoon the same again.

UPA Done Right

Here is just a sample of what John has to say…

If you don’t know cartoon history and you just grew up watching Cartoon Network, you might think that this flat stuff is something new and “hip”. It’s not. It’s much older than UPA, and the more graphic styles in cartoons before UPA didn’t come with the wimpy trappings. Because of our association with UPA’s beginnings, we assume that when we do something in a graphic style, we have to also carry over all the other attributes that came with UPA’s particular cartoon vision- the blandness, the wimpy world view, the snootiness.

UPA Done Right

People usually don’t analyze or break apart the elements that make up something they like. If we like it we assume that every ingredient in it is equally good. Then when we develop our own styles, we copy the bad with the good. That’s what we need ANALYSIS for!

Like many artists, I have tons of influences. There are lots of things that inspire me. I try to figure out why they do and I break them down into their separate ingredients. I then decide which ingredients are the ones that are useful and discard the others that might have just come along with it, but don’t actually add anything. There are good things about UPA and Disney- Tex Avery combined them and added his own world view to them and made cartoons more entertaining than either style.

UPA Done Right

John’s comments cut like a sword through the “design for design’s sake” school of animation. He cites Tex Avery as the one cartoon director who was able to incorporate modern design sensibilities, while still maintaining the entertainment value and humor of classic cartoons. He’s dead right. This post reminded me of my favorite series of commercials… which were directed by Avery at Cascade studios and animated by Rod Scribner.

UPA Done Right

Not only is the character design modern in the "UPA style" but the movement has been stylized in a complementary manner. Why don’t the current "Flat" cartoons move like this?!

UPA Done Right

KoolAid Spots (Cascade/ca.1960)
(Quicktime 7 / 6.8 megs)

UPDATE: I was browsing through Cartoon Modern today, and I found a post that Amid did last Summer that perfectly encapsulates my thoughts about the importance of animation even in stylized cartoons…

The Importance of "Animation" in Animaton Design

One of the hardest things to get across when discussing animation design is that it’s not just about character designers, layout artists and background painters. The animator is a critical member of the design team….

The primary reason, in my opinion, that so much of today’s stylized animation rings hollow is because nobody ever follows through on the animation. Regardless of whether a show is animated traditionally overseas or if it’s done in Flash, most contemporary TV series creators think their job is done once they’ve created a pretty model sheet and slapped on a bit of color styling. These few stills illustrate however that model sheets are often the least important aspect of stylized animation– what the animator does with those designs is what truly counts.

Exactly! Great animators like Bill Littlejohn, Rod Scribner and Grim Natwick moved these kinds of designs in unique and stylized ways.

This post is causing quite a ruckus over at Michael Sporn’s blog. Check out Michael’s post titled Aaargh. In particular, read the comments. Here’s a real doozy…

Not everything has to look or move gorgeously to be good or artful. That’s one of the dumbest, scariest suggestions I’ve heard anyone make in animation circles.

Yow! Do people really think lousy animation is artistic?!

Cartoon Brew has jumped into… The Great UPA Debate. Will Finn (check out his great new blog, small room) writes…

I see Steve Worth’s point about Kool-Aid ads and such, where perfectly admirable work is overlooked because it wasn’t in the service of "Art witha a capital A". Animators who want to evaluate work on a technique level should be able to appreciate that wherever they find it and not just where the intelligentsia have enshrined it with a golden frame.

Let the debate continue!

Stephen Worth
Director
Animation Resources

Animated CartoonsAnimated Cartoons

This posting is part of the online Encyclopedia of Cartooning under the subject heading, Animation.
TheoryTheory

This posting is part of a series of articles comprising an online exhibit entitled Theory.

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Friday, July 29th, 2016

Video Store: DOWNLOAD 1950s CEREAL COMMERCIALS Designed By Ed Benedict!

Every other month, members of Animation Resources are given access to an exclusive Members Only Reference Pack. In March 2015, they were able to download this commercial demo reel full of great cereal commercials from the 1950s. Our Reference Packs change every two months, so if you weren’t a member back then, you missed out on it. But you can still buy a copy of this great video in our E-Book and Video Store. Our downloadable DVD quality video files are specially selected from the collection of Animation Resources, and we also offer PDF e-books that are packed with high resolution images on a variety of educational subjects. If you aren’t a member yet, please consider JOINING ANIMATION RESOURCES. It’s well worth it.


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Cereal Commercial Reel

Cereal Commercial Reel
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Paul Fennell Studios (ca. early 1950s)

Paul Fennell was a pioneer of animated advertising. As early as 1939 he was animating the Kelloggs elves- Snap, Crackle and Pop, and continued to direct commercials starring the trio through the 1950s. In addition, this reel of animated cereal commercials features Cheerios spots with brilliant layouts by Ed Benedict. The design and clever limited animation of these commercials foreshadow the style of Hanna-Barbera’s early television series.

REFPACK003: CEREAL COMMERCIALS
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M4V Video File / 13:01
262 MB Download


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Cereal Commercial Reel
Cereal Commercial Reel
Cereal Commercial Reel
Cereal Commercial Reel
Cereal Commercial Reel


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Check out this SAMPLE REFERENCE PACK! It will give you a taste of what Animation Resources members get to download every other month!

Sample RefPack


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Wednesday, July 20th, 2016

Video Store: Download A Reel Of Late 30s Theatrical Animated Commercials

Every other month, members of Animation Resources are given access to an exclusive Members Only Reference Pack. In July 2015, they were able to download this reel of early theatrical commercials. Our Reference Packs change every two months, so if you weren’t a member back then, you missed out on it. But you can still buy a copy of this great video in our E-Book and Video Store. Our downloadable DVD quality video files are specially selected from the collection of Animation Resources, and we also offer PDF e-books that are packed with high resolution images on a variety of educational subjects. If you aren’t a member yet, please consider JOINING ANIMATION RESOURCES. It’s well worth it.


CLICK TO BUY THIS VIDEO DOWNLOAD


DVD QUALITY VIDEO:
Download Page
Fennell Theatrical Commercial Reel

Theatrical Commercial Reel
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Paul Fennell Studios (ca. 1938-1939)

Ed Benedict was a pioneer of using animation for advertising. In 1937, Benedict animated on a Walter Lantz cartoon sponsored by Ipana Toothpaste, and it gave him an idea. Along with Jerry Brewer, he pitched Richfield Oil with the idea of projecting animated commercials on billboards in busy downtown areas, synchronized to the flow of traffic. The project fell through, but Benedict and Brewer continued to pick up commercial work, producing promotional short subjects with musical themes for theatrical release.

In 1939, Benedict began freelancing for Cartoon Films Ltd, which was built from the studio and remaining staff of the old Ub Iwerks cartoon studio in Beverly Hills. Along with director Paul Fennell, Benedict designed and animated a series of one minute cartoons for clients like Shell Oil and Rinso Soap. These cartoons were provided to theaters at no charge, and the production of the animation was underwritten by the sponsor. However independent theaters were few and far between. Most were locked into block booking contracts, where they could only run the films supplied to them by the studio with whom they were affiliated. Cartoon Films’ animated commercials got squeezed out of the market, and Fennell and Benedict went their separate ways. In the late 1940s, Ed returned to Fennell’s studio and picked up where he left off, designing industrial films and animated commercials designed for the new medium of television.

This reel of animated commercials produced by Cartoon Films Ltd. includes films that haven’t been seen in over 75 years. We thank the family of Paul Fennell and Animation Resources Advisory Board Member Steve Stanchfield for sharing them with us.

REFPACK004: Theatrical Commercials
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M4V Video File / 16:18
344 MB Download


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Fennell Theatrical Commercial Reel
Fennell Theatrical Commercial Reel
Fennell Theatrical Commercial Reel
Fennell Theatrical Commercial Reel
Fennell Theatrical Commercial Reel


CLICK TO BUY THIS VIDEO DOWNLOAD


Not A Member Yet? Want A Free Sample?

Check out this SAMPLE REFERENCE PACK! It will give you a taste of what Animation Resources members get to download every other month!

Sample RefPack


JOIN TODAY To Access Members Only Content


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