Ray
Harryhausen:
The Godfather of Dimensional Animation
| In September 1992 Ray Harryhausen came to Portland
Oregon to participate in the Portland Creative Conference. As host, Will Vinton invited
Ray to come to Will Vinton Productions to take a tour of the facility and get together for
a little show and tell with the animators. This was an amazing opportunity for many of us
working there because Harryhausen was such an influence in us pursuing careers in
dimensional animation. He talked for about an hour, answering questions about the many
films he worked on. I get a lot of e-mail asking how to get into 3D computer animation. Which school to go to, what software to use, which hardware platform... and so on. One of the animators asked Ray if he had foreseen the use of computers and new technology in film animation and here's what he said.
-Ray Harryhausen Sept. 17, 1992 I think that really sums it up. I'm afraid that some people are approaching 3D computer animation from a more technical angle rather than from the position of a filmmaker/artist using the computer as a means to an end. Not an end in itself. As amazing as the hardware and software are, the animator/artist has to bring the creativity and talent to the mix. I've yet to see a "creativity" button in any program. Every single computer animator I know came to CGI with a strong background in traditional art, filmmaking and animation. In fact, of the people I worked with at Vinton's, two are at ILM, three are at PIXAR, two at PDI, and one at Digital Domain. Before they started those computer animation jobs, they all had many years of experience in traditional dimensional animation and film making.
L-R Vince Backeberg, Bob Terrell, Will Vinton, Ray Harryhausen and Doug Aberle. "We're not worthy!"
For more information on Ray Harryhausen's amazing career, check out Jim Rodkey's site on Ray's career. Lot of information and links. |
"One never really anticipated that the
computer would put you out of business, but it seems to be on the way of doing so. They
seem to generate these things artificially now where all you need is a 'big thumb'.But you
still need animators who are creative, like John Lassiter to give characters 'character'.
That's still a big important thing. People who have imagination... rather than technicians
who simply push buttons."