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How animation was done in the 1930's
- Thread starter Horse Detective
- Start date
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Boards of Canada
Member
Amazing. I think I'd go mad being a in-betweener. Thanks for sharing.
H_Prestige
Banned
That is fucking mental.
How do they make cartoons today?
How do they make cartoons today?
Ronabo
Member
Horse Detective
Why the long case?
Its kind of disappointing to know that you need tablets and software to get anywhere in this sort of field these days.
So much expensive shit.
So much expensive shit.
Blood Diamonds
Banned
rofl
MisterHero
Super Member
Fleischer animation produced comics' hardest worker- Jack Kirby. IIRC he was an in-betweener on Popeye and Betty Boop. Another source said he painted frames as well.
Still better than Disney IMO. >_>
Still better than Disney IMO. >_>
bobbychalkers
Member
I laughed at this more than I should have.
David Incorporated Esq.
Member
Yeah a dude with a tablet sounds so much more expensive than 100 animators, a paint department, a photo department, management, oh and yeah a huge mechanical iron armature for holding cells.
Horse Detective
Why the long case?
I had this really elaborate plan for a witty response, but then I realized where I am posting.
Ninja Scooter
Member
Really? It is much easier for an independent person/studio to get create and release something animated (and every other medium) these days than it ever has been. You think you were creating a cartoon in your basement in the 1930s?
BertramCooper
Banned
Considering how painstaking of a process it is, it's no wonder the animation studios ran into problems with organized labor.
Net_Wrecker
Member
I'm always blown away seeing footage like this from older days of animation. So much work.
Horse Detective
Why the long case?
Maybe. I just like pens and paper.
Angry Fork
Member
Slightly off topic but how come this style of voice/video was used for so long, like up until the 60s. It's like all documentaries/commercials had this kind of propaganda voice narration, with quaint music in the background. Why did it stop though? Did people 'grow up' out of it in the late 60s/early 70s or something?
Ninja Scooter
Member
JFK assassination stole our innocence.
Incredible, animation has always been so mental. I remember watching Saint Seiya in the 90's and thinking how the hell did they do that my hand? incredible. And of course, this in the 1930's is just nuts. I love how much... love was put into that. All cartoons of the time are classics.
LiquidMetal14
hide your water-based mammals
That takes me back to old footage I watched in the 90's. Can't find it anymore but thanks for posting that. It was very neat to see similar footage that I saw back in the day again.
The more amazing thing is that this is the 1930s.... 80 years ago at this point. Everything is completely modern. That's not the amazing concept, of course it is, it's the 1930s, but damn that's the inception of WWII. And that's only 20 years after WWI. 1910s, that's a century ago, I mean they must have been completely modern, too... Of course they were, but it's just weird thinking like that.
I think you could go back to about 1880 maybe and be able to call a man/woman a modern man/woman.
I think you could go back to about 1880 maybe and be able to call a man/woman a modern man/woman.
I long for the old days.
MisterHero
Super Member
Classy narration in newsreels just doesn't capture the audience like a good old sensational tabloid.
Horse Detective
Why the long case?
I think what I meant by my post, is just that it seems like artists need expensive things to be taken seriously as individuals these days.
Wow, I always knew it was done scene by scene. But never imagined it involved so many people!
I wonder that too. I remember seeing so many Disney made documentaries (from space to well anything) from the 50s and before.
JordanN
Banned
I really applaud their hardwork.
With no computers back then, they really couldn't afford to make any mistake in drawing out every scene.
Although I see they did do some improvisation (i.e they used reference photographs and created model sets).
You just need a portfolio.
With no computers back then, they really couldn't afford to make any mistake in drawing out every scene.
Although I see they did do some improvisation (i.e they used reference photographs and created model sets).
You just need a portfolio.
airmangataosenai
Member
Anyone else surprised by how many women apparently worked in animation back then?
Black Door
Banned
Ironically, it takes just as long to make a good looking (i.e., Pixar quality, not Cartoon Network-style-take-clipart-and-run-it-through-Flash) CG film. I think it took something like five years just to make Toy Story, if you ignore scriptwriting and storyboarding
Keavy_Rain
Member
If you have the Who Framed Roger Rabbit 25th Anniversary Blu-ray they talk about how they had to use these techniques combined with live action footage to make the movie.
In one scene they discuss how they needed to layer over 400 animation cells onto the film to create the illusion of Bob Hoskins interacting with cartoon characters in the real world.
That movie was amazing before I heard the commentary, but afterward...whole new level of respect.
There's only so many men and women are roughly half the human population, so if you need an extremely large workforce you take what's available.
In one scene they discuss how they needed to layer over 400 animation cells onto the film to create the illusion of Bob Hoskins interacting with cartoon characters in the real world.
That movie was amazing before I heard the commentary, but afterward...whole new level of respect.
There's only so many men and women are roughly half the human population, so if you need an extremely large workforce you take what's available.
lastplayed
Member
Popeye's voice is so fucking creepy.
Korea/china , some do it their selves though.
AlimNassor
Banned
Really now?
revolverjgw
Member
So painstaking I almost find it hard to believe it was economically viable. I guess these animators weren't making tons of dough.
Those settings are gorgeous. It certainly looks like a tiresome process though.
A little, yeah, but it does make sense. For a long time the study of art was considered part of the education in bringing up a "proper young lady."
A little, yeah, but it does make sense. For a long time the study of art was considered part of the education in bringing up a "proper young lady."
Black Door
Banned
Also take in mind these were they days before animation studios could/would unionize, so if the head director didn't like your work (or you,) it could be potentially very difficult to find future work. You didn't have guys like John K back then who would fuck off with half the team and make his own studio if the studio heads told him to make the lead character's hair red instead of green. You had to work as a cohesive, machine-like unit to ensure you got paid.
Most of it was controlled by film industry giants (like Paramount) in those days. Consolidation of media power might have helped. Awesome video.
A lot of animation schools still teach it this way. I did pretty much all of that during my years in the animation program, well except the cels and painting stuff, that's done digitally now. But yeah we wasted mountains and mountains of paper drawing frame after frame so I"m glad it's mostly digital now.
Regulus Tera
Romanes Eunt Domus
I thought outsourcing to Vietnam was becoming more and more popular, actually.
Why would you do that?
Member
The era of many possibly mistreated workers speedily working towards a goal is over. We may not have a steady stream of episodes of an intricately and thoughtfully animated work like Popeye anymore, or even things like the Empire State Building or entire subway lines built in a year ever again, but the tradeoff is definitely worth it.
But that aside, awesome video. I was surprised to see the bird flying around a real 3D model of a mountain. I didn't ever think of mixing 2D cells with 3D scenes.
But that aside, awesome video. I was surprised to see the bird flying around a real 3D model of a mountain. I didn't ever think of mixing 2D cells with 3D scenes.
DonMigs85
Member
Well you gotta admit, at least for the animation industry today almost everything revolves around making a profit while maximizing merchandising opportunities and cutting as many corners as possible. It gradually started with the limited animation of early Hanna-Barbera cartoons which then progressed to farming out animation to Asia, switching to Flash, etc
Of course there's still stuff made for the sake of art or as a labor of love.
Yeah it definitely wouldn't fly today, but hard labor from both Americans and foreign workers made America what it is now. It's still ongoing in China
This kinda shits on animators in the industry at the moment, which is totally undeserved. It's not like they just poop out cartoons. Of course, we have technology that makes it easier to animate, but that just ups the ante even higher.
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