Hanna-BarberaOk now, be honest, how many of you had a little happy tear when you read the title of this article? Hanna-Barbera Productions is an American animation studios which has produced timeless classics more timeless classics than I can name. Tom & Jerry, Johnny Quest, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby Doo, The Addams Family and many more!The studio was formed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, formerly directors from the MGM Studio. They were born during the golden age of American animation as MGM shut down their animation studio, Hanna-Barbera rose from it's ashes.The production company became super popular with it's Saturday morning cartoons. Their cartoon shorts and series filled this time slot on all major American TV channels at the time. However over time their profits started to fall as they lost this morning slot. The Turner Broadcasting System ended up buying them and so some of us growing up will remember seeing much of their toons in the channel you know as C
Film Legends: Akira KurosawaBorn in Tokyo, Japan on the 23rd of March 1910, Akira Kurosawa is considered one of the biggest figures in the film industry and a notable influence to western filmmakers such as George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Spielberg.His career started in 1936 as an assistant director. Kurosawa was taken under the wing of director Kajiro Yamamoto, who promoted him to chief assistant director within a year. His first film as a director was Drunken Angel in 1948 and was the first of many collaborations with actor Toshiro Mifune. His international breakthrough came with Rashomon in 1950, a movie that won him the top prize at the Venice Film Festival and opened the gates of the Western to Japanese films.The following years he worked on Ikiru(1952); Seven Samurai (1954), his first "proper samurai film" regarded by some as the greatest Japanese film ever made; and Throne of Blood (1957), an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macb
Featuring flash artist: ~SivcovaOn my hunt for flash artists the other day I came across a real beauty that Iwanted to share with all of you for the #ArtHistoryProject. I find herdrawing style really sweet and inspiring and she has used her style to createwarm, story book styled animations that tug at my heart strings.~Sivcova If you would like me to feature a flash artist that you have spotted ondeviantART feel free to send me a note!
Interview with flash game artist *steffneFor flash/film/animation month over at #ArtHistoryProject I was given thehonour of chatting with one of my favourite flash game artists here on DeviantART, *steffne. I asked her a couple of questions and here is how the interview went.:iconsteffne:Hello Stephanie! Could you tell us a bit about yourself?Hihi there ^__^ I'm a 21 year old Games development student living in London! I have an undenying love for pancakes and vintage toys.Do you remember how you found DeviantART?My friend ~Melissary was using it back when we were about 16 and kept pestering me that I should join too. I made an account but never started using it for a few years, when in College two friend's also started prodding me to use my account XD I guess I really owe it tohaving such pushy friends for being here at all LOL.
Nick ParkWell I am sure this is a name a lot of you are familiar with! But for those of you who need an introduction to him, Nick Park is stop motion animator who works for Aardman Animations in Bristol. So to name a few works that you may be familiar with are Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep and Creature Comforts.His works have been nominated for and also won quite a few BAFTA awards and Oscars.He continues to work with traditional stop motion animation and plasticine, so the old 'move it a bit and take a photo' technique. His first feature piece for Aardman, A Grand Day Out, was a student project at the time. This was funded by the studio which allowed him to continue to work on it part time whilst continuing his studies. This became a huge hit and was nominated for an Academy Award for Animated Short Film. Unfortunately he lost this award to another short, Creature Comforts, which was also his work anyway!His animations have graced British TV for many years and it has gained a lot of a
FlipbooksFlipbooks seems like a really natural topic to choose with regards to animation and film. Really it's motion graphics in one of it's most primitive forms! The history of it may extend further back than we know but certainly the earliest one that we know of was by John Barnes Linnet back in 1868. At the time he named the flipbook a kineograph, and so this makes Linnet one of the founding fathers of animation! In 1882 Henry Van Hoevenbergh patented a flipbook design, having taken advantage of the works of another artist we have looked at recently, Eadweard Muybridge. What he essentially tried to make the flipbook is turn it into an 'optical toy'. In a later patent the flipbook has been updated so when flipped, it would show the next part or a completely different story. Over time people began to realise this can potentially become a tool for more than just entertainment. In Germany, Maximilian Skladanowsky took stills from his film in order to make flipboo
Ray HarryhausenRay Harryhausen, a name you may not know or remember, but his works, you should most certainly seen at some point in your life! He is a stop motion animator, who animated for some classic movies between the 50s and 70s. To name just a few, think Clash of the Titans, Sinbad and Jason and the Argonauts!At a young age, Harryhausen actually was not into fantasy or creatures that much. But over time as he watched films, read novels, seen paintings, visited museums and marionette shows, his interest for that area developed. Having tried model making in school, he developed his skills and at the age of 18, he won himself an award at a local competition.Having seen and thoroughly enjoyed The Lost World and King Kong, this all naturally clicked into place as a revelation to him. He loved fantasy and creatures! His earliest professional works were of dinosaurs and his is work was very well received. By the time that unfortunate chapter in history took place that
La LineaThis is one of the most influential and iconic animated series ever made in my opinion. La Linea (The Line) is a classic Italian animated series by Osvaldo Cavandoli. The animation follows the character, Mr. Linea, who is drawn by a single line. Even if you don't know La Linea, some of you may recognise the voice actor as the original voice of Pingu the penguin. The language he speaks is based on Italian (Milanese dialect) but spoken in a way that essentially is gibberish!Due to it's 'lack of language' this became an international hit, which I think is one of the best essences of film making. Having the power to cross borders without a language barrier is a fantastic skill to have!But why do I think this is one series we should all know about?Mr. Linea is always presented with obstacles, drawn in by the animator. Sometimes he'll succeed, sometimes he'll fail. So for example perhaps he's trying to reach something high up, so he complains to the animator. The animator draws a flight o
Studio GhibliA Tokyo based animation studio that needs no introduction! Studio Ghibli is best known for their traditionally animated anime films. It was originally founded by the legendary pair, Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, back in 1985. Ghibli is named after an Italian war plane that was used for scouting, this reflected Miyazaki's love for not only airplanes but also Italy. The name itself means "hot wind blowing through the Sahara Desert".Takahata and Miyazaki It was formed after the great success of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, which both Takahata and Miyazaki worked on. Their first feature film hit was Laputa, or some of you may know it as Castle in the Sky. Most of the films that Studio Ghibli produces is by Miyazaki, followed by Takahata, although they have worked with other film producers and directors as well.Family favourite, My Neighbour TotoroWalt Disney later acqui
AH: Film and Animation FeatureThe Traveller by ~Elena-CiolacuYo(r)u and I by ~1-k-0ANIMA by ~MichalTokarczukGIRL AND IT - Trailer by *mohdfikreeThe Dark Forest by ~penguina-mica5 second day 2013 by *Guts-N-Effort
A Glimpse into Fauvism ArtIntroductionThe first of the major avant-garde movements in European 20th century art, Fauvism was characterised by paintings that used intensely vivid, non-naturalistic and exuberant colours. The style was essentially expressionist, and generally featured landscapes in which forms were sometimes distorted.Self-portrait in studio by André Derain.The Fauves first exhibited together in 1905 in Paris. They found their name when a critic pointed to a renaissance-like sculpture in the middle
Fun for Film Lovers!February is Film, Animation and Flash Art History month over at #ArtHistoryProject! Not only will this be a great source of information and resources for anyone interested in film, those of you who already have relevant knowledge and experience are invited to write articles to share your wisdom and enthusiasm with others. Find out more here.^kingmancheng and ^SqueakyToybox are hosting a Film, Animation and Flash mini-contest with some epic prizes. You can find out all about it here.Also, check out this journal for some fabulous film tutorials at #deviantartfilm!Want to submit film to dA? Find out how, here.Just fancy a browse? Check out the Film & Animation and Flash<
Brief History of ClaymationClaymation is a method of animation where clay figures are filmed using stop-motion photography.Claymation (clay animation) dates way back to 1897, when the material plasticine was introduced to the artistic world. In this article, we will briefly explore the history of Claymation! (scene from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas)So.. where have you seen this method used before? Films such as Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, and Chicken Run were all made using Claymation. TV shows such as Wallace and Gromit, Gumby, and Bob the Builder also use this method.Sammy Squid: Turns The Other Tentacle by SuperDaddytvIn terms of notable clay animators, Jan Švankmajer is someone worth talking about. Švankmajer created his first film in 1964 and has impacted the film and animation world
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Film Legends: Stanley KubrickStanley Kubrick (July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) is one of the most influental directors of the last century. If there is one thing most obvious that his works have in common, it is a strong inclination to the unsettling, sometimes disturbing and most likely controversial."2001: A Space Odyssey" via imdb.comFrom ancient history over horror to science-fiction and erotica, there seems to be no topic he did not create a master piece in. He always avoided to repeat himself, yet you just know when you watch a movie of his."Full Metal Jacket"He was a perfectionist who often drove his actors to the extreme. Repeating seemingly simple scenes 5o times or actually endangering their health for a certain shot.Obsessed with every detail of the movie, from camera to costume, he was also immaculat
Introducing Film, Animation and Flash!Happy shortest month of the year deviants, filmmakers and animators! We have 4 weeks to spend to cover the areas of film, animation and flash so I'm sure this month will be jam packed with enlightment! ^kingmancheng"In recent years creativity as a whole has taken some exciting steps forward. The film, animation, video games industry and more have been shaken up because of factors such as trouble with money. Even the James Bond franchise was in trouble a few years back because of MGM's financial troubles.It wasn't all doom and gloom though new ones were born, and there has been a rapid rise of independent filmmakers and developers. As a result we've seen a 'new age' of freelancers and indie groups who have been producing some really exciting work and it is certainly an amazing time for film and animation!"^SqueakyToybox"Flash can be seen as an outdated piece of software to some, but there is still mu
Eadweard MuybridgeSo Eadweard Muybridge, why should all animators know his name? He is an English photographer who moved over to America. So what is a photographer doing in our Film, Animation and Flash month?Well his photography is really quite unique for the time, he set up multiple cameras for his shots in order to capture motion in the form of stop-action photography. He was also known for creating the zoopraxiscope, which plays a series of images in order to create the illusion of motion, in other words very early animation work! These series of images were on disc that were spun and projected, so the images loop in sequence. Kind of like your first generation animated gifs!His photography work and his zoopraxiscope helped people to study in detail how things move. From the way people walk, jumping, running through to horses galloping. And as a tutor once said to me, if you can animate a horse, you can animate anything. These images surprised many people, such as when a horse runs, there is a pha
William KentridgeWilliam Kentridge is a South African born filmmaker, sculptor and artist. His works are full of narrative that is influenced by politics and his studies in theatre. He generally works in traditional media such as charcoal and pastels. Some of his most memorable works were between the years of 1989 and 1996, which were a series of animations as viewed through the eyes of three different running characters.During this period of time his works talked about the politics, social issues such as race and class, and injustice in South Africa at the time. Whilst his works are often about his views about what is going on, sometimes there are autobiographical elements in it as he has included his own image in his work.The way he treats his materials also adds to the messages he is trying to get across. Rubbing out charcoal lines, drawing over it, but of course charcoal never cleans off completely so you can get a sense of the passing of time, decay and memory in his film."In the same w
The History of Flash AnimationThis article was written for :iconarthistoryproject:, please check out the wonderful group if you are interested in learning about art history.The History of Flash AnimationWhen considering the long stretches of time that art history covers, the history of flash animation is only a minute part. It has only been around for about twenty years, but in these short years it has made a massive impact on the way we interact with the web.A Brief Overall History of Animation1824Animation predated the advent of the web and computer graphics. The earliest known concept of animation came in 1824 when Peter Roget, a British physician, published a paper titled 'The Persistence of Vision With Regards to Moving Objects.' Two years later a toy was invented called 'The Thaumatrope' which was a two sided disc that when flipped combined two images and made them look like one image.Image Source http://brightbytes.com/collection/thaum.html1870In 1870 Edweard Muybrid
Upcoming film contests, articles and art history!Firstly I would like to say happy 2013 to everyone! Also thank you very much to everyone who has been sending me Daily Deviation suggestions!Now there are a number of things coming up in the film and animation community, so firstly let me start off with the #ArtHistoryProject. February is our Film and Animation month!So I'm scratching my head as to how to write an introduction at the moment! But if you fancy writing an article about a certain style, artist or would like to hold some sort of event please get in touch with me! If you are interested please post at ^DistortedSmile's signup journal here! Film contest at #fella.Submissions for this end at February 5th and there are prizes available! So if you are interested please check out this
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