Of Haste and History

By Martin (Dr. 'Toon) Goodman

March 27, 1997: I am browsing to somewhere on the Web when my wife calls out from the other room telling me that there is something on CNN that I need to see. On the screen is a short video clip from the World Animation Celebration. More specifically, this appears to be the New Animation Technology Exposition, or NATE if you please, that was held in association with this year's WAC. And oh, the sights and sounds! One quick cut after another showed eager young animators and animators-to-be constructing heads, bodies, talking lizards and whiz-o-matic backgrounds at Roadrunner speed. I watched, filled with pride and excitement, as an art form seemingly in it's death throes only fifteen or so years ago was being resurrected in hundreds of new studios on thousands upon thousands of computer terminals. I might have gone off to sleep that night in the same state of elation (having said a bedside prayer to John Lasseter) had I not paused to listen to the newscaster's narration.

The exact wording escapes me but the theme does not: Computer-enhanced animation technology is now so advanced and there is such a pressing need for animators in today's greatly expanded market that animators who were barely wearing out their first razors can produce sophisticated portfolios and reasonably compete for industry jobs. And upon hearing that, a vague discomfort that I had been feeling for some time about this animation "gold rush" crystallized into a very real worry about our industry and those who will carry it into the future.

It began for me with two short pieces in Animation Magazine, December 1996 issue. The first was a commentary in the Recruitment and Training section by Dave Master, Director of Artist Development and Training for Warner Bros. Feature Animation. Mr. Master wrote of the "unparalleled rapid growth in animation" that has "outstripped the education opportunities available." In the same issue, Master's colleague Karen Schmidt noted that "The growth in the number of studios...has also virtually exhausted the available talent pool at all levels." (The May 1997 issue of Animation Magazine lists 284 animated series or projects currently airing or in some stage of production.)

The following month the same magazine ran a piece by Dan McLaughlin, Professor/Chair of UCLA's Animation Workshop. Dr. McLaughlin noted the good news that long-range forecasts indicated a need for 1,000 new animators a year; 50,000 people are already employed yearly. Yet the author also writes that students often believe "learning the tools and technology alone will make them animators. Which it doesn't." Dr. McLaughlin cogently notes that "animation is content not technology driven" but laments that it is difficult to keep students in school when job offers come pouring in. Brad Janis, Director of Computer Animation at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, wrote in the same section that "The market for positions is opening wide, and salaries continue to increase. Animators are getting treated like stars, kind of a cross between Jack Nicholson and special-effects guys." Witness even now the salaries involved in the talent raids between Disney and Dreamworks SKG.

Dozens of new studios. Thousands of animators needed. Industry growth that outstrips education. Technology developing at an unprecedented pace. Job offers by the score, even to those who are incompletely trained, and a star system for prized animators. Is something amiss here? Let me assure you, dear readers, that I am no Luddite; I could not express my concerns to you without my computer, the Internet, and all the myriad technologies contained therein. Nor do I look without pity upon the perpetually broke student body which likely comprises any sort of training program. I have spent enough time in penury while I struggled through my own graduate studies, and any job prospect seemed like manna from Heaven. Still, I do have a word of advice for the training programs and the students who will be attending them in droves:

History.

Say what? Of what possible use is history when the basics of Alias/Wavefront need to be mastered or Fractal Ray Dream Designer beckons? Simply this: without a solid, detailed knowledge of the history of animation, future animators are doomed to be shortchanged however financially successful their studios and works are deemed to be. The study of animation's history and of the successes and travails of those who worked in the medium can only lead to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the craft. It is vital to be able to trace the evolution of animation from its roots as a graphic form, initially gagged by routines taken from vaudeville and refined over the decades into complex patterns of timing, plot, and character until cartoons became what they are today.

Fans of Cow and Chicken and to some degree Dexter's Laboratory realize a debt to John Kricfalusi, who owes Bob Clampett, who owes Charlie Chaplin, who owes the English Music Hall tradition. And even this seemingly linear progression is tinged by other influences such as Tex Avery, John Hubley, Ralph Bakshi, and the television network's Standards and Practices to name a few. Styles in character development, design, and presentation changed drastically between 1930 - 1940; why? Who was responsible? Why did studios succeed while others faded into obscurity and how was the motion picture industry involved? And how did such diverse occurrances such as World War Two, the development of modern art and architecture, and shifts in industry marketing strategies effect sweeping changes in animation style?

Modern animation has a relatively short history; perhaps one hundred years. Yet, whether animation is innovative because of an original concept, vision, and style ( Aeon Flux ) or because it represents a daring backlash against established form ( Gerald McBoing Boing ) it has some causative impetus from the past that can be traced, studied, and appreciated by modern animators. Those who neglect history for the sudden-stardom fast-track may ultimately find themselves doomed to derivative, repititous imitation of Whatever It Is The Market Likes. This was one of the major failings of Space Jam (which in many ways serves as a dire example of this essay's theme).

The task, then, of school and university animation departments is to include a solid course on animation history in the department's curriculum as a prerequisite to more advanced courses in CGI even though applicants may be flooding the gates. And it is the responsibility of all aspiring animation professionals to seriously study the contents of such a course.

Young animators, before you sit down to a session with Adobe After Effects, study how Disney technicians worked up to five hours per cel to get the special effects for the Nutcracker sequence of Fantasia just right. As you begin to keyboard the commands to put Caligari trueSpace 2 through it's paces, learn about Max Fleischer, of how he laboriously added tiny tiny models to his rotating "3-D" tabletop for Popeye's adventures. While you are agape with the thrill of watching your own creation form under the magic of Nichimen N-world, remember Winsor McKay tracing and retracing every charming nod of Gertie's head. This is your heritage; come to know it well. For those among you who may doubt the validity of this argument, I leave you with an anecdote told by legendary animator Shamus Culhane as he struggled through dark times at Paramount:

"The sales department at Paramount was a bunch of fat, cigar-chewing gentlemen who looked at these new things I was attempting in horror...They said, 'Why can't you figure out something like Bugs Bunny?' and I tried to explain to them that Bugs Bunny didn't just come about because somebody said, 'Let's make Bugs Bunny.' It had to be done almost by accident, to find a character who was a good 'actor'. It just happened. But they didn't believe it. They thought I was lying down on the job. They were old, tired guys who symbolized some of the antique attitudes in the business."

Send your questions and comments to: Dr. 'Toon.

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