Animated Set Design

It took a while for this idea to sink in with me but, of course, there is also set design - production design - in animated films.  In animation, in "straight" films with computer CGI backgrounds, and in computer games, virtual, animation settings are a big deal!  For games like World of Warcraft the settings are half the fun.

What joggled this little fact home to me recently was almost simultaneously watching Pixar's Cars 2 - of which the settings are the best, most imaginative part - and reading a terrific book Dream Worlds: Production Design in Animation, by Hans Bacher, who was production designer for Mulan.  Gorgeous illustrations and an interesting back-stage kind of text.  Among his other designs is the iconic poster image for The Lion King.

the Lion King poster, designed by Hans Bacher

Harry Potter Finis and Other Film Fest Fare

The last Harry Potter film opens today.  I'm eager to see it.

Still watching Battlestar Galactica: a favorite character has gone out an airlock and religious wars seem to be starting up...  Also saw the first of the new Torchwood (the second installment comes on tonight).  Started watching season three of True Blood - still entertaining.  Obviously my taste runs toward imaginative fare like science fiction and fantasy.

And I watched a very interesting documentary on Disney animation from about 1984-94 called Waking Sleeping Beauty.  It's about the films, of course, Disney's second flowering - The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King - but even more about the management and egos and managing or ill-managing those egos.  Fascinating.  The film probably ought to be required watching for anyone trying to run a creative business.

(The image above is, of course, borrowed from Disney, who hold the copyright.  I believe its use here in a discussion Disney and its films is "fair use," but if requested, I'll take it down.  Here's a nice discussion of Disney, copyright, fair use, and similar at Professor Damien's Public Domain Treasure Chest.)