American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1959)

THROUGH MAGIC of animation and stop motion photography, two peanuts, two Easter eggs, four erasers, and four strips of pink yarn metamorphose into two flamingos carrying the names of the Technical Assistants on production of Walt Disney's “Noah’s Ark.” XAVIER ATENCIO, Disney animator, deftly moves with a tweezers the components arranged before the camera on a plate gloss panel to produce the animated credit title pictured below. THE FINISHED credit title. Gradually the bits of yarn, and the peanuts, erasers and Easter Eggs fall into their proper places to form the composition. Each step of animation was charted in advance and each movement of the components between the single frame exposures was meticulously executed to give near-lifelike action to the characters. appear in the picture. “U e went to the dime stores with a basket and wandered among the counters, picking up any¬ thing that seemed to us to have possibilities,” he said. “When we approached one cashier, she wanted to know if we were stocking a dime store of our owm.” A special camera crane was constructed to photograph the action. As Atencio and Justice put the hand-made ac¬ tors through their paces before the lens of the stop-motion animation camera, the progessive movement was photo¬ graphed a frame at a time. This camera stand differs from the conventional one used for cel-and-hackground photogra¬ phy in that the camera can be rotated, freely when neces¬ sary, a full 180 degrees. It also features a different type table which comprises one or more panels of highly polished plate glass on which the action is staged and animated. On these glass panels, laid over painted backgrounds. Disney technicians arranged the characters and animated them by moving the figures — or their body members — a fraction of an inch at a time between camera exposures. In photo on this page, animator Atencio may be seen, tweezers in hand, carefully moving the arms, necks and legs of the two cranes that carry the Technical Assistants' credits. While sheer gravity served to hold many of the figures steady on the glass top during the animation steps, others had to be secured to the glass by means of adhesive tape having gum on both sides. Guided by the story board of T. Hee, the action w'as shot to match the rough sketch of the story line. Lip movement also had to be taken into consideration to synchronize with the pre-recorded track of dialogue, songs and music. The precision with which action of the characters was accu¬ rately timed with the beat of the music, to give it the illu¬ sion of human performance, is well illustrated in the musi¬ cal number “Love One Another,” ostensibly sung and played by Noah’s sons as the Ark is tossed about during the deluge. Here the bongo player’s timing is so perfect and his action so natural and realistic, one is forced to take a second and more concentrated look at the player’s hands to make sure it is not a live person doing the action by means of a trick shot. Accolades for the yet unreleased “Noah’s Ark,” which have come to Disney and his staff of creators and anima¬ tors, undoubtedly will influence future Walt Disney ani¬ mated films. Of the two major productions presently before the cameras at this studio, two include several substantial sequences of three-dimensional animation. These are “Hans Christian Andersen,” and “Babes in Toyland.” Disney’s animation department, which today embraces a great deal more than the conventional drawing, inking, and photographic departments of his early-day animated car¬ toon studio, now includes an extensive experimental and construction department wherein the key animators are con¬ stantly at work developing new and interesting characters, figure components, and structural and background ma¬ terials. Men like Xavier Atencio, Bill Justice, and T. Hee regularly scout the markets for new and usable materials such as papers and fabrics having unusual texture and color ; also wood, plastic, rubber and other materials which can be used for a background component, or structural ma¬ terial for a three-dimensional character or prop. For one of the forthcoming productions named above, the department has been experimenting in giving unique surface texture to paper by soaking it in water, crum Continued on Page 696 682 AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER