ABSTRACT

If Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs represented the Animation industry’s infancy, Ed Hooks thinks that the current production line of big-budget features is its artistically awkward adolescence. While a well-funded marketing machine can conceal structural flaws, uneven performances and superfluous characters, the importance of crafted storytelling will only grow in importance as animation becomes a broader, more accessible art form. Craft Notes for Animators analyses specific films – including Frozen and Despicable Me – to explain the secrets of creating truthful stories and believable characters. It is an essential primer for the for tomorrow’s industry leaders and animation artists.

chapter |4 pages

Introduction

part |3 pages

Part 1 Infancy

chapter |2 pages

The DeMolays

chapter |2 pages

Walt the storyteller

chapter |1 pages

Disney, the pioneer

chapter |1 pages

Imagine a Walt Disney master class

chapter |3 pages

Why “Snow White”?

chapter |1 pages

Empathy versus sympathy

chapter |1 pages

Overall analysis

part |2 pages

Part 2 Adolescence

chapter |6 pages

How did we get here?

chapter |1 pages

Survey

chapter |1 pages

Europe

chapter |2 pages

France

chapter |1 pages

Germany

chapter |1 pages

Mexico

chapter |1 pages

India

chapter |2 pages

China

chapter |1 pages

Japan

chapter |17 pages

Inside Out acting/performance analysis

chapter |17 pages

Frozen acting/performance analysis

part |2 pages

Part 3 Adulthood

chapter |2 pages

Story

chapter |2 pages

A need for adult-themed animation

chapter |1 pages

Directorial cross-fertilization

chapter |1 pages

Art versus commerce redux

chapter |3 pages

Video games

chapter |2 pages

Acting lessons for video game artists