.jpg)
Ananimation studio is acompany producinganimated media. The broadest such companies conceive of products to produce, own the physical equipment for production, employ operators for that equipment, and hold a major stake in the sales or rentals of the media produced. They also own rights over merchandising and creative rights for characters created/held by the company, much like authors holdingcopyrights. In some early cases, they also heldpatent rights over methods of animation used in certain studios that were used for boosting productivity. Overall, they are business concerns and can function as such in legal terms.
The idea of a studio dedicated to animating cartoons was spearheaded byRaoul Barré and his studio,Barré Studio, co-founded withBill Nolan, beating out the studio created byJ.R. Bray,Bray Productions, to the honor of the first studio dedicated to animation.[1]
Though beaten to the post of being the first studio, Bray's studio employee,Earl Hurd, came up with patents designed for mass-producing the output for the studio. As Hurd did not file for thesepatents under his own name but handed them to Bray, they would go on to form the Bray-Hurd Patent Company and sold these techniques for royalties to other animation studios of the time.[2]
The biggest name in animation studios during this early time was Disney Brothers Animation Studio (now known asWalt Disney Animation Studios), co-founded byWalt andRoy O. Disney. Started on October 16, 1923, the studio went on to make its first animated short,Steamboat Willie in 1928, to much critical success,[3] though the real breakthrough was in 1937, when the studio was able to produce a full-length animated feature film i.e.Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which laid the foundation for other studios to try to make full-length movies.[4] In 1932Flowers and Trees, a production byWalt Disney Productions andUnited Artists, won the firstAcademy Award for Best Animated Short Film.[5] This period, from the 1920s to the 1950s or sometimes considered from 1911 to the death of Walt Disney in 1966, is commonly known as the Golden Age of American Animation as it included the growth of Disney, as well as the rise ofWarner Bros. Cartoons and theMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio as prominent animation studios.[6] Disney continued to lead in technical prowess among studios for a long time afterwards, as can be seen with theirachievements. In 1941,Otto Messmer created the first animated television commercials for Botany Tie ads/weather reports. They were shown on NBC-TV in New York until 1949.[2] This marked the first forays of animation designed for the smaller screen and was to be followed by the first animated series specifically made for television,Crusader Rabbit, in 1948.[7][better source needed] Its creator,Alex Anderson, had to create the studio 'Television Arts Productions' specifically for the purpose of creating this series as his old studio,Terrytoons, refused to make a series for television. Since Crusader Rabbit, however, many studios have seen this as a profitable enterprise and many have entered the made for television market since, withJoseph Barbera andWilliam Hanna refining the production process for television animation on their showRuff and Reddy. It was in 1958 thatThe Huckleberry Hound Show claimed the title of being the first all-new half-hour cartoon show. This, along with their previous success with the seriesTom and Jerry, elevated their animation studio, H.B. Enterprises (laterHanna-Barbera Productions), to dominate the North American television animation market during the latter half of the 20th century.[8]
In 2002,Shrek, produced byDreamWorks andPacific Data Images won the firstAcademy Award for Best Animated Feature.[9] Since then,Disney/Pixar have produced the most number of movies either to win or be nominated for the award.[10]
Though the term "direct-to-video" carries negative connotations in the North American and European markets, direct-to-video animation has seen a rise, as a concept, in the Western markets. With many comic characters receiving their versions ofOVA's,original video animations, under the Westernized title ofdirect-to-video animations, the OVA market has spread to American animation houses. Their popularity has resulted in animated adaptations of comic characters ranging fromHellboy,Green Lantern andAvengers. Television shows such asFamily Guy andFuturama also released direct-to-video animations.DC Comics have continually released their ownanimated movies for the sole purpose of sale in the direct-to-video market. With growing worries about piracy, direct to video animation might become more popular in the near future.[11]
With the growth of animation as an industry, the trends of ownership of studios have gradually changed with time. Current studios such as Warner Bros. and early ones such asFleischer Studios, started life as small, independent studios, being run by a very small core group. After being bought out or sold to other companies, they eventually consolidated with other studios and became larger. The drawback of this setup was that there was now a major thrust towards profitability with the management acting as a damper towards creativity of these studios, continuing even in today's scenario.[12]
Currently, the independent animation studios are looking to ensure artistic integrity by signing up with big animation studios on contracts that allow them to license out movies, without being directed by the bigger studios. Examples of such co-operation are the joint ventures betweenDreamWorks andParamount Pictures and that ofBlue Sky Studios and20th Century Studios.
On August 22, 2016, Comcast's NBCUniversal acquiredDreamWorks Animation, appointing Meledandri overseeComcast's Universal Animation/DreamWorks/Illumination,Disney's Disney Animation/Pixar/20th Century Animation, &Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Animation/Warner Bros. Pictures Animation.
The first known example of Japanese animation, also calledanime, is dated around 1917,[13] but it would take until 1956 for the Japanese animation industry to successfully adopt the studio format as used in the United States. In 1961, these productions began to be aired in the US.Toei Animation, formed in 1948, was the first Japanese animation studio of importance and saw the reduction of animators as independent anime artists.
After the formation of Toei Animation Co. Ltd. in 1948, the Japanese studios churned out minor works of animation. But with the release of Toei's first theatrical feature,The Tale of the White Serpent released in October 1958,[14][failed verification] the animation industry in Japan came into the eye of the general public.
The success ofAlakazam the Great led to the finding of the artistOsamu Tezuka, who would go on to become the father of Japanesemanga with his brand of modern, fast-paced fantasy storylines. He became influenced by Hanna-Barbera productions of the late 1950s and made Japan's first made for television animation studio,Mushi Productions. The success of the studios' first show in 1963,Astro Boy, was so immense that there were 3 other television animation studios by the end of the year and Toei had opened their own made for television division. The greatest difference between Japanese studios and North American studios was the difference in adult-themed material to make way in Japan. Tezuka's thought that animation should not be restricted to kids alone has brought about many studios that are employed in the production of adult-themed adaptations of classic stories such asHeidi (Heidi, Girl of the Alps),One Thousand and One Nights andThe Diary of a Young Girl and many more.
In the 1980s, animation studios were led back to their theatrical roots due to the success ofHayao Miyazaki's filmNausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, which led publishing houseTokuma Shoten to finance a new animation studio,Studio Ghibli, which would be used for the personal works of Miyazaki and his close friend,Isao Takahata. Many of Ghibli's works have become Japan's top-grossing theatrical films, whether in live-action or animated form.
The market for 'OAV's or 'Original Anime Video' later the acronym would be better known as 'OVA' meaning 'Original video animation' as the term 'OAV' could often be misunderstood for 'Original Adult Video', began in 1984. These are often tended towards the home video market, while not tending to the television or theatrical audience as such. They refer to those movies that are launched as direct-to-video releases and not meant to be released in theatres. Video productions can run from half an hour productions to well over two hours. They require that premise or story be original in order to be counted as an OVA, though sometimes, the story can be derived from a longer running manga or animated series. As the OAV market is not adapted to the rigors that are faced by television shows or feature films, they have been known to show gratuitous amounts of violence and/or pornography. Some OAV's have registered such strong acclaim that they have been remade asanime television series as well as theatrical releases.
Since most new OVA's are derived from other animated media, many animation studios that have previously worked on animated series or movies, and adaptations of Japanese manga, have now entered the OVA market, looking to capitalize on the popularity of their flagship shows. Studios participating in such circumstances includeProduction I.G andStudio Deen.
Although there arepermanent/full-time positions in studios, most animators work on acontract basis. There are some animators that are considered to be in the core group of the studio, which can either be as a result of being there since the inception of the company or being talented recruits from other animation studios. These are the more secure positions in an animation studio, though the studio might have policies concerning the possible tenure of animators. Since studios can hire animators on awork for hire basis nowadays, many artists do not retain rights over their creations, unlike some of the early animators. The extent of these copyrights is subject to localintellectual property rights.
The animators must also be aware of thecontracts laws andlabour laws prevalent in the jurisdiction to which the animation studio is subject to. There have been numerous legal battles fought over the copyright of famous franchises, such asKung Fu Panda[15] andSpongeBob SquarePants. This has come about as a result of the clause in Copyright contracts that states that an idea cannot be protected, only an actual piece of work can be said to be infringed upon. This means that though the animators may have forwarded ideas to the animation studios about certain characters and plots, these ideas alone cannot be protected and can lead to studios profiting on individual animator's ideas. However, this has not stopped many independent artists from filing claims to characters produced by different studios.[16]
Due to the wide range of animation techniques and styles, many animation studios typically specialize in certain types.
Traditional animation employs the use of hand-drawn frames, and is used in the world of cartoons and anime. Notable studios that specialize in this style includeWalt Disney Animation Studios,Studio Ghibli,Cartoon Saloon,Nickelodeon Animation Studio,Disney Television Animation,20th Television Animation,Warner Bros. Animation,Cartoon Network Studios,Titmouse,Ufotable,Studio Chizu andCoMix Wave Films.
Stop-motion animation uses objects that are incrementally moved and photographed in order to create an illusion of movement when the resulting frames are played back. Notable studios specializing in this style of animation includeAardman Animations,LaikaRankin/Bass Animated Entertainment andShadowMachine.
3D animation is the newest of the animation techniques, using the assistance of computers and software, such asHoudini, to create3D models that are then manipulated and rendered to create movement. Notable studios includePixar Animation Studios,DreamWorks Animation,Sony Pictures Imageworks,Blue Sky Studios, Illumination,DNEG andMarza Animation Planet.
Animation topics | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| By country | |||||||||||||||||
| Industry | |||||||||||||||||
| Works | |||||||||||||||||
| Techniques |
| ||||||||||||||||
| Variants | |||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||
| Related topics | |||||||||||||||||
