This supplement is offered in order to better acquaint layout men with the possibility and requirements of producing desired effects, and to illustrate the necessity of coordination between units producing such effects. New methods and new effects are continually being produced, and as such are perfected, they will be classified and layout men advised of their possibilities.
Methods of producing are used to classify effects although usually two or more methods are combined in producing one effect. Mechanical, animated painted and airbrush are the general methods used for classification.
A. Mechanical effects […]
B. Animated effects […]
C. Painted effects […]
D. Airbrush effects […]
A. MECHANICAL EFFECTS
1. Shadowgraph
The shadograph is a mechanical setup wherein an actual shadow from the animated and painted cells is cast on a three dimensional background and photographed. The shadow necessarily follows the animated cells, is made by them, and distorts and changes over the three dimensional background which has been built to register with the layout of the scene.
The shadow may be made long or short, to move over curved, flat or angular surfaces in true relationship to the character casting the shadow. After the shadow is on a film, it is put on a blowup machine and traced or photostated. Cells are made from these and developed in the usual way. It is necessary for a layout man to maze position sketches for shadows – defining the limits of movement desired. Shadows may be used also for distortion effect.
At times if no distortion is necessary, straight blowups of the animation to the required size may be made and registered to the background, as was done in Sequence 9A of Snow-White.
There is no appreciable saving in the cost for two or three feet scenes, but with longer scenes there is an appreciable saving of animation cost. Each scene is an individual problem, and layout men should contact the Shadograph operator when planning the scene.
Example
Snow White – dwarfs in house with candle.
Three Mousketeers
Three Little Pigs
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