Hello from Lacoste...
In a few weeks, I am to present a lecture- I have decided to talk about Chuck Jones, the great animation director and talk about his work.
For me, Chuck was the best at comedic timing, thinking time and camera angles. It was probably the time frames (production schedule) and budgets at Warner Brothers, etc. which led him to develop his style and to maximize the assets of each animator.
He was unique and intelligent, a superb artist and storyteller.
Of course he was fortunate ( and smart enough) to surround himself with great people like, Mike Maltese, Maurice Noble, Benny Washam, Llyod Vaughan and others.
His work speaks for itself.....
Larry
web site
http://tooninst[URL=http://tooninstitute.awn.com]itute.awn.com
[/URL]blog:
[U]http://www.awm.com/blogs/always-animated
[/U] email:
larry.lauria@gmail.com
i feel the same way.
Chuck jones is the reason i got into animating. :D
i miss him :(
Yes, Chuck Jones is definitely one of my all time favorite directors.
Whenever I catch an old re-run of Looney Toons or Tom & Jerry, I automatically know if Chuck was the director. The characters always have a certain personality and demeanor about them that is signature Chuck Jones. And the Grinch is just classic. I even tried to imitate that mischievous grin in my Frog & Princess short.
I remember watching a special on PBS some years ago that talked about his work. It could be useful in your presentation. I wish I could be there.
Sharvonique Studios
www.sharvonique.com
Animated By Sharvonique Blog
http://sharvonique.animationblogspot.com
AWN Showcase Gallery
Yeah, I love his work on Loony Tunes, Grinch and Rikky Tikky Tavy. I didn't really know who he was untill I my first year at the Academy of Art when my roommate who is a huge fan, turned me on to him. It was then I came to realize that all the Loony Tunes I loved where his.
If people get the chance, you have to pick up the DVD of "Extremes and Inbetweens." It has a bunch of work in progress animation that isn't on the VHS version. It is a must have in any animator's collection.
Aloha,
the Ape
...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."
I believe "Chuck Amuck" should be on the required reading list, or at least recommended reading list, of every animation class. Its not really an autobiography, or even an animation text, but after reading it you understand that personality is not only important- its everything.
Plus, Chuck Jones was a pretty brilliant writer and the book is just plain fun to read.
[SIZE=2]Have a Cup O' Jo! - [/SIZE]www.cupojo.net
The story of Uncle Lynn, or "Unclynn" and the magnificent liver just about killed me laughing. And Johnson the cat and where Wile E. Coyote came from... all great stuff. "Chuck Amuck" is an amazing book. (An aside - "Duck Amuck" is my favorite cartoon ever, with "One Froggy Evening", "Robin Hood Daffy" and "Rabbit Seasoning" close behind. Then there's "Bully for Bugs", "Ali Baba Bunny"... aw crap, I love 'em all.)
I love Jones' work during the 1940s (Hare Conditioned, Hair-Raising Hare), but - starting in the '50s - his cartoons began to be overwhelmed by a kind of cartoon hamminess: an unfortunate biproduct of his obsession with the pose.
It's still great work, but usually overly theatrical.
And by "overly theatrical," I'm not merely referring to exaggerated acting, which is often required in comedy, but to an oppressively smug characterization of his lead players.
I second that idea! I wish my instructors had pointed to this text. Definitely one of the most entertaining reads on the creative process out there.
Producing solidily ok animation since 2001.
www.galaxy12.com
Now with more doodling!
www.galaxy12.com/latenight
I too agree. Chuck Jones was a brilliant man who shouldn't go unnoticed. it is VERY unfortunate that he died. =( he was one of my many rolemodels. my main rolemodel is Mel Blanc 'cause of the voicing thing... and wouldn't ya know it. the two worked together. fabulous combo, wouldn't you guys agree? there will never be another Chuck Jones or Mel Blanc. no sirree!
Chuck Jones is my favorite director. I have been very fortunate to have seen him 3 times in person, once at a very intimate Q & A. It was neat because he answered questions never heard before or since in his repetoire of anecdotes.
Following his interviews over the years, it seems like his answers became more rehearsed, being asked the same Qs over and over. The best interviews I have seen and read respectively was a video a friend had of CJ at the NFB in Vancouver during the mid 70s and Mike Barrier's interview from the early 70s. The latter is the most detailed he has gone into about his non-eventful time at Disney, for one. The video was interesting because it was around the time his cartoons were just being rediscovered and acclaimed as art after many years and he seems nervous, not the Jones that eventually warmed to the limelight.
He's still my favorite director...but I am less a Jones zealot than I was and have a greater appreciation for directors like Clampett and Tashlin, especially comparing their earlier work year for year to Jones' cutesified period.
But Jones didn't explode as a director but grew and evovled, carrying the ball to the goal years after.
Hello,
When I was in Dublin Chuck came over to talk to the students-do aretrospective of his work at the Dublin Film Festival and he spoke to the animators at the Don Bluth Studio on the River Liffey.
His talk at the school was over three hours and it was simply- FANTASTIC. The school taped and then lost the tape.
He was amazing!
Let me ask . What 5 or 6 Chuck Jones films would you show and why?
Thanks.
Larry
web site
http://tooninst[URL=http://tooninstitute.awn.com]itute.awn.com
[/URL]blog:
[U]http://www.awm.com/blogs/always-animated
[/U] email:
larry.lauria@gmail.com
"What's Opera, Doc," because of the extra time and effort that went into its creation. Time cards were doctored and labor was "borrowed" from a much simpler Road Runner cartoon.
"One Froggy Evening" because of the storytelling.
"Duck Amuck" to show that you can do anything you want with a cartoon. Everyone gets a spotlight in this: voice action, direction, backgrounds, sound effects, writing, music... they all get a chance to shine and see how their efforts affect the final cartoon.
"How The Grinch Stole Christmas" even though the visuals were conceived by Geisel, the grin creeping across the Grinch's face is worth the price of admission.
"Duck Dodgers" for its art design and prognostication.