Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers (1930-1949)

storyboard order with a matte black watercolor. This process gives a true black background with brilliantly colored detail, and will show no evidence of construction upon construction. Such work when photographed on color film will produce the necessary grays for black-and-white television projection and will also provide a film for future color television. It is a good idea when working in color for black-and-white projection to photograph a frame or two of each color in the brand of paint used and make a gray scale from these tests. As few colors photograph exactly as they appear on a card or on celluloid, this test will also serve as a guide for art work designed to be shown in color. The above method is also invaluable for fast, easy production of line diagrams or pictorial "growths" when a black background can be used. It is also valuable for title work and designs which "draw themselves." In title work using color, the black background can be changed to any color desired by winding color film already exposed for the title back in the camera to the beginning of the title and double-exposing a piece of colored paper over the shot already made. A good paper to use for many effects in animation is artist's pastel velour, which will not reflect highlights because of its matte surface. During photographing, the transillumination lamp is, of course, turned off and the top ones turned on. This method is limited only by the animator's imagination, and will produce many color effects from any black-and-white original. Cutout overlays may be utilized in many ways to supplant a drawing, photograph or chart, and to add interest or detail to any type of scene. These cutouts must be made accurately to register exactly with the drawing underneath. Cutouts should be made on opaque paper and have their edges blackened before use. To register cor rectly, cutouts are cemented to acetate cells with rubber cement, which will not cause wrinkles or waves in the cell. When registered on a regular animation board with its registering pins, assembly will be easy and successive phases will match line for line. Legends and indicator lines may be inked in on the same cell as the cutout. The first form of animation as invented by Winsor McKay consisted of a series of drawings with subject and backgrounds complete, and with action similar to the little "flip" books for children. This type of animation was very difficult and time-consuming, as tracings of all lines had to be extremely accurate in all parts of the drawings. In this type of work the lines and detail which stood still for some time were subject to a definite "shimmy." A variation of this process is still used when every part of a drawing is undergoing a continuous change. Fluid-motion animation is best handled in pen-and-ink outline with considerable contrast in shading or coloring. Any part of the drawing which does not move, even for a short time, should be made on a cell to eliminate work and stabilize the action. When no background is needed, the action is drawn on toned or colored sheets of paper plus the required number of work-saving cells. When the background is an inherent part of the scene, or continuous fluid motion is required over a combination layout, all action is drawn on cells. The lines and outlines are inked in on the front of the cell, and opaque color is painted within the outlines from the back, which preserves the sharpness of the inked lines and provides opacity to the cell. Action may be drawn on paper and transferred to cells as in the cutout method if desired, since the results will be the same (Fig. l-(2)). In animating any action the "extremes" — the first and last drawings of the scene or action phase — are sketched Ernest F. Hiser: Animation for Television 297