Contemporary Animators/Animations

Walt Disney

Walt Disney also known as Walter Elias, is known to be the 'father of animation'. He was one of the first people to corporate sound and animation, as well as advancing in colour animation. He was an American business magnate, cartoonist, film maker, philanthropist and voice actor. Walt Disney decided he wanted to draw because he wanted a place where families could go and enjoy themselves as well as be relieved of life stresses alongside his brother. One example of his works included the Alice Comedies which was what Alice in Wonderland was based on. 'Winner of 60 awards for his outstanding animation and live action plays.'

Fun fact: He had a fear of mice, yet it's what made him a millionaire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H58meqbp5Ps

Warner Bros.

The founders of Warner Bros were called Albert Warner, Harry Warner, Sam Warner and Jack Warner. Warner Bros. are an America producer of films. The technique they used in their animations is called cell animating which similarly refers to tracing over footage. They are well known for their animations such as the Powerpuff girls, Flintstones and Scooby Doo. Their aim was to make money as well as entertain children. They are considered as one of the most creative, flexible, innovative and diverse production companies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-UHdA-4A6g

Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese film director, animator, manga artist, illustrator, producer and screen writer. At a young age he aspired to become a manga author. From reading illustrated stories in magazines, he acknowledged the influences of creative arts such as Tetsuji Fukushima and Osama Tezuka. However due to the influence of Tezuka, it led to him destroying his past work in thought that he was copying Tezuka's style which he thought to have hindered his own development as an artist. He is well known for collaborating for a long time with the film company, Studio Ghibli. Most of Miyazaki's work had reccurring themes such as humanity's relationship with nature, technology and feminism. This conveys his support for equality of gender roles. He has also influenced people such as the producers of Toy Story who see him as an inspiration. He is well-known for his use of hand animation techniques which result in him drawing extensive story boards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhUWUPpPk_k

Trey Parker/Matt Stone

Trey Parker was an actor, animator, producer, screen writer and director. He met his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone whilst studying at the university of Colorado. They worked together to create South Park. From watching Monty Python, he became inspired by Terry Gilliam who was one of the members of the Monty Python group. The production of South Park used traditional cut paper stop motion which was similar to what was used in the Simpsons which used computer stop motion. The purpose was to show adults and children that this is a life that is made up and that some people can learn from their 'real-life' experiences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pSh0VAVYn4

Monty Python

Monty Python is a British surreal comedy group, which was a comedy sketch that aired on the BBC on the 5th October 1969. Their influence on British comedy has been apparent for years whilst in North America is has coloured the works cult performers. 3 key people to the Monty Python group include: Eric Idle, Graham Chapman and Terry Gillman (although their are 6 members of the Monty Python). Graham Clapham was an English comedian, writer and actor. Eric Idle was a comedian, actor, author, singer, writer and comedic composer. Whilst Terry Gillman was an American-born, British screen writer, film director and animator.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYgqdaI-NRg

Yellow Submarine (1968)

The animator of the Yellow Submarine was George Dunning. He made many personal short films noted for their surrealistic atmosphere and Kafkaesque themes. Yellow Submarine was created to gain more popularity for the Beatles. This animation is known to have influenced many creators of animations such as the Simpsons, Futurama, South Park and Toy Story. If it wasn't for the Yellow Submarine some of these animations would have never existed due to the lack of past inspiration. It's innovative animation influenced the audience to become more interested in animation and even consider a career in animation. This animation was seen as the true start of modern animation. It's surreal and over the top style would be nearly impossible to achieve in a completely live action piece, to which is uses the affordances of animation to a great extent. This animation also focuses on some of the 12 principles of animation, such as exaggeration, appeal and secondary action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laRyswIO_-g

A Scanner Darkly

A Scanner Darkly was an animated science-fiction thriller film which used rotoshop which was a method of tracing over film, frame by frame. It is an intensive form of animation which was based on the book by Phillip K. Dick. The film focuses on themes of drugs, nudity and considerably quite dark. The film itself is rather engrossing as it conveys a story of identity and deception. The use of animation was considered as there was very little animation which was targeted at an adult audience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VZy4G67QRw

Gorillaz

The Gorillaz are an English virtual band form in 1998. The creators of the band are Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. The band are also made up of 4 animated characters which are 100% fictional, all of which are featured in their music videos. Jamie Hewlett as well as being the co-creator of the band is also a English comic book writer. The band itself are in the Guinness World Records for the 'Most Successful Animated Band'. The Gorillaz use an animation technique called "Cell Shading" which involves creating a 3D model and shading different parts of the object. They also use a high frame rate meaning their videos are very smooth and clear as well as the characters being lip synced. The Gorillaz were the first ever band to produce an animated music video and have influenced various other bands such as the Artic Monkeys. As for the 12 principles of animations, they use one key principle which is timing. Timing is important as the sound has to run parallel to the animation on screen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pls_luhVdAw