THIS BOOK is a brief outline of the Studio's principal departments and an explanation to artists of its employment policies. All the illustrations herein are reproduced from drawings made for actual production purposes.
THE STUDIO
The Walt Disney Studio in Hollywood, California, is an organization of over six hundred persons, comprised principally of artists engaged in the production of animated motion pictures in Technicolor, with sound. The Studio, since its establishment in 1924, has been engaged in the production of short entertainment reels (Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies). These shorts, by virtue of their consistent quality and amusement value, have acquired a world-wide audience of many millions of persons. As the Studio has grown it has brought about many changes in the form of the animated room. The utilization of a real plot or story, the introduction of sound, the use of color, and the development of character and personality-building are but a few of the many improvements achieved by the Studio during the past few years.
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STORY
Artists in the Story Department originate and develop the ideas which form the basis of Disney pictures. They work out plots, situations, and gags. They are responsible for the continuity and the theme of each picture.
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LAYOUT
A further development of the story idea is carried out by the layout artists and the story layout artists. These men must retain the basic ideas and feeling of the story and yet incorporate in their drawings all the potentialities of the finished picture. The story layout artist is responsible for the pictorial theme and mood of each picture. He plans effect shots, atmospheric effects, interesting camera angles. He explores the possibilities of locales as are found in such pictures as "Water Babies," "Musicland," and "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." Primarily he is a Visualizer.
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BACKGROUND
The background artists are responsible for all scenic effects as they are seen on the theatre screen. They render almost exclusively in water color. The Background Department is a research laboratory for the study and use of color. Here the preliminary work of the layout artist reaches completion. All detail, props, and atmospheric effects are now executed in transparent water color and the picture as a whole is tied together through color continuity and composition.
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ANIMATION
Broadly speaking, animation implies the complete manufacture of animated cartoons. More often, the word animation is used to designate the manipulation of a series of drawings in such a way that a sensation of movement is created. To convey this sensation to an audience, each drawing in this series is photographed in sequence on standard motion picture film and projected on a screen.
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DIRECTORS
To coordinate all of the intricate steps and processes necessary in making a picture, one guiding mind is essential. In the Disney Studio this mind is Walt Disney. He personally supervises the origin, development, and completion of all pictures made in the Studio.
Working on each picture is a director who is responsible to Walt Disney for the production in its entirety. He coordinates the music to the action, the action to the story, the color to the whole. The director regulates the movement of his picture through the Studio.
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TRAINING
In 1930 the Studio consisted of only twenty-four artists. Its subsequent growrh, to a great extent, is due to Walt Disney's policy of complete dissemination of animation knowledge throughout the Studio. To stimulate growth it is imperative that every man in the Studio have access to all information about production. It can honestly be said that one man's knowledge is every man's knowledge in the Disney Studio.
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SALARIES
The Studio is governed in its policy of salaries by two factors: the potentialities of the artist, and his adaptability to production requirements. Inasmuch as previous experience in animation is practically unheard of, each man's ability remains an unknown factor until it has been proved in actual production within the Studio. This fact and the special requirements of animation make the problem of fairly evaluating a man's talents perplexing.
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TRYOUT
Prior to employment in the Animation Department, each applicant must satisfy the Studio on three counts: he must present representative samples of the work he has been doing; he must execute a number of drawing problems (see Pages 28-31); he must prove his ability to adapt himself to production requirements. If his samples and his problem solutions are satisfactory to the Studio, the applicant is required to participate in an experimental period of work at the Studio called the "tryout."
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PROCEDURE
Walt Disney assumes that every artist who enters the Studio plans to make animation his life work. He is eager and willing to train each man as quickly and thoroughly as possible, for he realizes that the future of animation depends on the creative ability of his artists. This training is not for sale and cannot be bought at any price anywhere.
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PROBLEMS
The following problems in free-hand drawing are to be executed without the use of models, scrap, or photographs. Each drawing should be on a separate sheet of standard size typewriting paper (8 1/2" by I 1"). Do not mat or staple drawings. The drawings should be made entirely in line with one grade of pencil, either "B" or "23." Pencil drawings throughout the text and on the inside covers of this book show the type of line desired.
The line used should not be a hard wire line, nor, on the other hand, a highly shaded line, but simply a direct means of expressing the forms to be rendered. Emphasize weight, balance, and movement to give a feeling of solidity of form. Pay particular attention to the drawing of the hands and feet. Use no tone or cross-hatching.
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