Nina Denning

Highlight in the history of 3D graphics

Posted on 24 June, 2016  in MDU115

Animation is an ever changing and evolving process, from the first animated cartoon Fantasmagorie in 1908, to the latest 3D animated feature films such as Zootopia and all the milestones in-between this time-span. Picking just one highlight is so difficult, but for me it has to be between the first animated feature film to be hand drawn, Snow White and the seven Dwarfs, and the first fully computer animated film, Toy Story. Why not both?

Snow White, the first full length animated feature that runs for a total of 83 minutes, released with colour and sound, created using a remarkable 1.5 million cells (“history of animation”, 2016). Snow white was a big risk for Disney, it cost a total of $1.7 million to bring to the big screen which was substantially significant for its time (Simon, B. 2016). Disney made use of a multi-plane camera to “create an illusion of depth”.  It took 4 years for this masterpiece to come to life, it was one of the first cartoons to display human characters, because of this, live actors were used to help perfect the cells and make human movements more realistic, how clever (Simon, 2016). After three weeks of being available, Snow White sold 17 million copies (“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)”, 2016). Snow White was a significant highlight in the history of 3D graphics as it portrays the capability of story telling through drawing and art, its collaboration with the use of sound and colour made it an innovative step forward in the film and animation industry, breaking the boundaries of animated movies for years to come.

Cover for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Image sourced from: http://www.filmsite.org/snow.html

 

Walt Disney with Shirley Temple and his oscar for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Image retrieved from: https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1939

 

Toy story was the first feature film to be completely 3D animated, yes there were extensive use of drawings, sculptures and photographs going into the concept and ideas department, but the final cut you see on screen was done entirely on computers. This was such an innovative success by the team at Pixar, it sparked the need for Finding Nemo and the Incredibles. 1993 was the beginning of the Toy Story journey, it all seems so fantastic on screen its hard to believe that it almost got denied an audience, after a year of production a rough cut was shown to Disney and it was ordered a shut down, Pixar saw its potential and fought to keep it going (“Pixar”, 2016), lucky they did! Toy Story led animation companies such as Disney and Pixar into a new era of modern storytelling and computer graphics, creating mind-blowing realism through the use of this new technology. Though Toy Story took a huge leap of faith delving into this part of film-making so early, it became a huge success eventually grossing more than $192 million at the domestic box office and $358 million worldwide proving it a revolutionary success (Bishop, B. 2015) Toy Story was also able to strengthen the relationship between Disney and Pixar, allowing more room for remarkable movies well into the future.

John Lassetter with Toys, Buzz and Woody – Associated Press (1999)

Source retrieved from: http://www.tampabay.com/features/movies/disney-pixar-has-250-toys-and-games-ready-for-the-debut-of-toy-story-3-in/1073512

References:

1. history of animation. (2016). History-of-animation.webflow.io. Retrieved 28 June 2016, from http://history-of-animation.webflow.io
2.  Simon, B. (2016). The One That Started It All… The Making Of Snow White – Animated Views. Animatedviews.com. Retrieved 28 June 2016, from http://animatedviews.com/2002/the-one-that-started-it-all-the-making-of-snow-white/

3. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). (2016). Filmsite.org. Retrieved 28 June 2016, from http://www.filmsite.org/snow.html

    

4.  Pixar. (2016). Pixar.com. Retrieved 28 June 2016, from http://www.pixar.com/features_films/TOY-STORY
5.  

   Bishop, B. (2015). Toy Story, 20 years later: how Pixar made its first blockbuster. The Verge. Retrieved 28 June 2016, from http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/17/8229891/sxsw-2015-toy-story-pixar-making-of-20th-anniversary

    

6. The 11th Academy Awards | 1939. (2016). Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 28 June 2016, from https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1939