Max Fleischer - Out of the Inkwell
Max
Fleischer was born 1883 in Vienna, from an early age he had an interest in
mechanics. He invented the Rotoscope with his brother in 1915, it is an
incredible device which helps to produce realistic animation. He is known for
bringing characters such as Betty Boop, Popeye and Superman to the movie screen
and was responsible for other technological innovations.
Fleischer’s studio was a major operation in New York under the
support of Paramount Studios. When the three-color Technicolor process became
available, Paramount vetoed it based on their concerns with economic balance,
giving Disney the opportunity to acquire its exclusivity for four years. Two
years later, Paramount approved colour production for Fleischer. These colour
cartoons were augmented with a Fleischer-patented 3D background effect called
“The Stereoptical Process”, this was before Disney’s Multiplane.
Fleischer
invented a concept to simplify the process of animating movement by tracing
frames of live action film. Extensive use of this technique was made in the Out of the Inkwell series. It starred Koko the Clown and Fitz the dog..
The
positives are that it was a quick animation, KoKo the Clown had human movement,
and the animation is very impressive for something that was made 94 years ago;
there is also diagetic sound which helps to make KoKo’s movements more comical,
all in all it was a fantastic use of the rotoscope. The rotoscope bought
animation and live action together. However it was very repetitive as it
was the same movements just at different locations, the quality was poor as the
quality decreased due to changing from animation to live actions.
Out of the Inkwell - Modelling (1921)
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