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ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 4.1 - April 1999
Taking On Our TV Reviews
I have read Amid Amidi's review "The PJs: Black and Beautiful" (Amidi,
3.11) and I would like to make a few comments on it. Even though I respect
Amidi's positive review of The PJs, I disagree with him.
In his review, he states the following:
"What this animated show accomplishes is something that most others can't
-- creating strong and relatable characters with true personalities. There's
great interplay between the residents and one can feel the relationships between
the characters evolve, making them feel more alive than typical TV cartoon
fare."
Personally, I don't see The PJs as a show that stands out from other
Black comedies or other animated cartoons. The characters themselves seem
to be placed into stereotypical roles like a drug-user, gangster, voodoo witch
doctor, etc. Overall, I don't see The PJs as a show providing refreshing
new material.
In Amid Amidi's next statement:
"In the hands of less-adept storytellers, the characters on this show
could have merely been stereotypical figures played for cheap laughs, but
The PJs clearly transcends that line and strives for greater significance."
Actually, I find the stereotypes in The PJs to be nasty and degrading.
I bet that low-income earning Blacks think so too. Even film director Spike
Lee stated that the show is "hateful towards black people and very demeaning."
I can't believe that Amidi seems to have skimmed over the nasty stereotypes
in the show. Maybe Amidi finds the stereotypes amusing, but other people don't.
To sum it up, I think Amid Amidi has skipped over the negative aspects of
the show and has showed only the positive ones. This, of course, makes the
review one sided.
Name Withheld by Request
Amid's reply: Just because a character is a drug-user or a voodoo witch doctor
doesn't immediately place them in a stereotypical role. The figures from another
popular cartoon show, The Simpsons, are also derived from common character-types
(the doltish father, the bratty kid, etc.) but they go beyond these simple
stereotypical definitions. On both of these shows, the characters are well-developed
with various shades to their personalities, and simply saying they're a stereotypical
character based on their occupation (drug-user, voodoo witch) isn't a fair
assessment. As to it being nasty and derogatory, the show has tested very
well with low-income earning Blacks in the projects, and numerous black people
in the entertainment industry, like comedian Steve Harvey, have spoken out
in support of the show. And finally, a review is done by one person, not a
committee, so reviews are one-sided by nature.
Duh! Ed, Edd n Eddy Rules!
I read "Ed, Edd n Eddy: Caught in a Circle" (Briggs,
3.11) and I have to disagree with Mr. Briggs. I think Ed, Edd n Eddy
is hilarious. It reminds me of some of the things my friends and I used to
do and the trouble we used to get into. A time when jawbreakers, spitwads
and having fun were the most important things in life. I think every guy can
relate to that.
Perhaps the plots aren't quite as dynamic as other shows, but it's not supposed
to have a complex storyline, it's based on juvenile antics. I can watch Men
In Black, Batman Beyond, or even anime like Akira and Ninja
Scroll, and be dazzled by artwork, music and plot-twists...but I can watch
Ed, Edd n Eddy and remember the last time I hit someone with a water
balloon or gave my friend a wedgie.
Thanks for your time,
Patrick Allen
Attention Guerrilla Animators!
I have never written a response to an article, but "Boldly Throwing
Down the Gauntlet" (Purves,
2.11) has hit home. I am an independent animator that started with stop
motion and has gone on to CGI, and generally do industrial/educational videos.
Disenchanted with the type of chrome logos I was constantly being asked to
create, I headed back to University to further my higher education and skills.
I was appalled at the type of student and learning that was being produced
at the film/broadcast/animation departments. Mr. Purves has hit the nail on
the head -- no one is teaching the basics. They are just teaching the manuals
to the equipment. I finally elected to proceed not as a film major, but as
a theater major. There was more attention paid to the story and acting there
than the film department had ever thought of.
I wonder how many disgruntled animators are out there feeling the same way?
I further wonder, if in this age of e-mail and networking if there wouldn't
be some way to get them all together in a virtual animation studio and produce
the exact type of film that Mr. Purves and I wish to see. Given the amazing
abilities of even the most inexpensive CG animation packages now, I would
think that a band of networked guerrilla animators might just pull such a
film off.
Paul Huenemann
Right Purdy Pictures
huenemann.paul@mcleodusa.net
Tamper-Free Cartoon Restoration
My name is Ryan Thompson and I am an independent animation producer for
ZEN Entertainment, Inc. of Santa Monica, California. Your recent article "Digital
Noise Reduction: Where'd That Cartoon Go?" (Amidi,
3.12) on digital noise reducers and their adverse effect upon animation
was quite a surprise to read considering we developed a seamless restoration
method for classic animation over three years ago. Unfortunately, our clients
could not realize the benefit of fully-restored material at that time. I always
knew the market would eventually come around and AWN seems to be at the forefront
of such a publicity effort.
In early 1996, MCA Television Japan contacted us with a formal request to
research and price out restoration technologies for the Walter Lantz "Woody
Woodpecker" library. Although I was rather discreet in my efforts to
research the market for this technology, we were bombarded with the interests
of many post-houses and visual effects companies who realized the potential
value of such a contract. Almost every test looked the same and employed some
form of noise reducing algorithm, thus producing artifacts upon the original
material which in my opinion, were wholly unsuitable for restoring the medium.
Since we were caught between a rock and a hard place, I made one last, ditch
effort and teamed up with a foreign defense engineering contractor with a
serious interest in producing new entertainment technologies. It turned out
that with my prior experience in software manufacturing and their combination
of programming expertise but no prior knowledge of media production, we were
able to take a fresh look at the problem without resorting to old methods.
After a few months of intensive work in both the United States and India,
we developed what I believe to be the world's only 100% accurate, film-resolution
restoration system for animation libraries.
Essentially, we developed custom software which broke down scene elements
and then digitally repainted and composited the material. One episode of Woody
Woodpecker was scanned from the original 16mm master reel that was in pitiful
condition and reproduced in better than new condition. The best aspect of
the whole system from my perspective was that we also developed a proprietary
asset management system that tracked all scene elements; this way if MCA had
ever moved forward on the project, their animation producers could search
a media management system for elements at film-res which could be recomposited
into new material and thus significantly lower the costs of producing new
and evergreen material. Furthermore, our system is 100% digital at film res
and so re-mastering to film is as simple as a record-out; no need to worry
about degradation anymore as we put the master into a lossless realm.
The sad news was that MCA did not feel our budget of US $30,000 per episode
was worth it. However, I believe that this was only because the technology
was a hard to understand paradigm at that time. Your effort to cover this
topic is rather valiant and I hope AWN continues to handle this story development.
Please feel free to contact me in any event you'd like to see our fully restored
master as I'd be happy to show it off. I've never forgotten this project and
have even put together a new team to refine the system once demand resurfaced
in the market.
Best regards,
Ryan Thompson, Producer
rthompson@zenentertainment.com
1620 26th Street, Suite 250 South
Santa Monica, California 90404
USA
Editor's Note: Indeed Animation World Magazine will be following
developments in this field. Our June issue will feature an assessment of Mr.
Thompson's technology.
Note: Readers may contact any Animation World Magazine contributor by sending an e-mail to editor@awn.com.