The First Multiplane Technicolor Animation

1. The First Multiplane Technicolor Animation

2. Multiplane • The multiplane camera is a special motion picture camera used in the traditional animation process that moves a number of pieces of artwork past the camera at various speeds and at various distances from one another. This creates a three-dimensional effect, although not actually stereoscopic. • Various parts of the artwork layers are left transparent, to allow other layers to be seen behind them. The movements are calculated (in later years, often by computer) and photographed frame-by-frame, with the result being an illusion of depth by having several layers of artwork moving at different speeds - the further away from the camera, the slower the speed. The multi-plane effect is sometimes referred to as a parallax process. • An interesting variation is to have the background and foreground move in oppositedirections. This creates an effect of rotation. • Motion Parallax can be seen when you are riding in a car • looking out the window at the countryside. Things in the • foreground (EX: signs) will fly past very quickly, while objects in • the far distance (EX: mountain) will move more slowly

3. Technicolor • Technicolor is the trademark for a series of color film processes pioneered by Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation (a subsidiary of Technicolor, Inc.) • Technicolor was the second major color film process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color motion picture process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952. • Technicolor became known and celebrated for its hyper-realistic, saturated levels of color, and was used commonly for filming musicals (such asThe Wizard of Oz) costume pictures (such as The Adventures of Robin Hood), and animated films (such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Fantasia). • The Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1914 by Herbert Kalmus, Daniel Frost Comstock, and W. Burton Wescott.

4. Technicolor Process • To print the film, each colored strip had a print struck from it onto a light sensitive piece of gelatin film. When processed, "dark" portions of the film hardened, and light areas were washed away. The gelatin film strip was then soaked with a dye complementary to the color recorded by the film: cyan for red, magenta for green, and yellow for blue • A single clear strip of black and white film with the soundtrack pre-printed was first treated with a mordant solution and then brought in contact with each of the three dye-soaked colored strips in turn, building up the complete color image. • This process is referred to as "dye imbibition", a technique which was commonly used in conventional offset printing or lithography but which the Technicolor process utilized on film. • The final strip of film would have the dyes soaked into its emulsion and not simply printed onto its surface. The end result was a bright and clear representation of natural color. • Early in the process, the clear film would be pre-exposed with a 50 percent density black-and-white positive image derived from the green matrix. • This process was used largely to cover up fringing in the early days of three-strip printing, and to print frame lines that would otherwise be white. • Because the layer was of neutral density, the contrast blacks in the picture was increased, but colors were muted to an extent. By the early 1940s, however, Technicolor streamlined the process to make up for these shortcomings and this practice ceased. However, a black-and-white silver image was still used for the frame line and sound track

5. Your Job… For After The Film As you watch the film, Look for scenes that may use the Multi-plane (parallax) Technique. Think of the Difference in how Snow White Looks in comparison to new-age cartoons; Where in the Film did Technicolor come into play? Think of what used to be considered Socially Acceptable in a children’s cartoon, And what is no longer acceptable. Think of how animating a Film has changed, and what technology has made animating films easier and quicker. Or, think of some newer techniques used.  How could snow white be different if it was remade as a cartoon today?

6. Technicolor The effects • Some prominent effects that technicolor was able to produce in a cartoon such as snow white were:

7. Technicolor The effects • Some prominent effects that technicolor was able to produce in a cartoon such as snow white were: Shadows

8. Technicolor The effects • Some prominent effects that technicolor was able to produce in a cartoon such as snow white were: Shadows Wider range of colors

9. Technicolor The effects • Some prominent effects that technicolor was able to produce in a cartoon such as snow white were: Shadows Wider range of colors Lighting Effects

10. Technicolor The effects • Some prominent effects that technicolor was able to produce in a cartoon such as snow white were: Shadows Wider range of colors Lighting Effects Realistic Detail

11. Motion Parallax Scenes • When Snow White Runs into the woods, then when the leaves chase her •  Scenes that seemed to “Cross Over” one another, such as the potion recipe & the Queen • Where the evil Queen drinks her potion, and the surroundings appear to spin around her. Multi-plane Scenes • Found through MOST (but not all) of the film But to point out specific scenes: • Snow White at the well, washing the steps as doves fly by. • The Ripples in the well as she sings. • The several views of the dwarfs home. • When the Dwarfs are on their way home from the mines.

12. Info on Snow White Animation commenced in 1936, and ultimately more than 750 Artists worked on the film, including: 32 animators 102 animation assistants 107 in-betweeners 20 layout men 25 background artists 65 effects animators 158 inkers and painters Snow White saw an expressive use of color to define mood and atmosphere. Even the colors of the dwarfs' clothing match their personalities. Doc's russet jacket reflects his cheery mood, Grumpy's clothes were dulled down, and comic Dopey was dressed in saffron and lavender-gray. Snow White, which before it’s release was widely referred to as “Disney’s Folly” (Many did not think it would succeed, and tried to talk Disney out of it’s creation) cost $1,480,000. By comparison the average first-run film in 1937 was produced on a budget of roughly $250,000. Character animators were free to concentrate on their "actors", while a separate department handled phenomena such as fire, smoke, clouds, rain, rippling water, reflections, etc.