Saturday, February 28, 2009

"On Timing" talk by Dick Huemer , Disney animator

Hans Perk has pulled another magical relic from animation's past out of his magic hat:

A c.1936 lecture given at the Disney Studio by animator Dick Huemer on Timing. Read it here ---

Dick Huemer lecture on Timing .

This stuff is gold. Read it . Then read it again. Apply. Repeat.

Actually I need to correct myself : I said it was a "relic" from animation's past, but that gives the impression that it's just a piece of history ... but as Hans Perk points out :

"I feel I need to point out that the things discussed here still hold true today, also in computer animation. A principle is a principle, whatever the medium. If we do not learn about the successes and failures of yesterday, how can we be sure we make the right decisions today? Don't mistake these documents for "funny old stuff." If you are employed in the animation business, know that they are part of the groundwork of what pays your salary today!"


This is the real stuff , friends. While you're there make sure you bookmark Hans' blog A-Film L.A. and check out the other Disney lectures and material he has posted on his blog.

Two relevant documents which relate to the Dick Huemer talk on Timing are the scene drafts for the short films "Mickey's Polo Game" and "Alpine Climbers" :

Mickey's Polo Game scene draft

Alpine Climbers scene draft

A scene draft was (is) a studio document prepared to show which animator was assigned to what scenes and the scene
lengths in terms of scene length footage (35mm motion picture footage) . A draft is made for each short or feature film .





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