Post #8. Multiplane Camera.
In class a couple weeks ago Professor Petrik talked a little about the multiplane camera, but I wanted to see for myself the differences between Ub Iwerks multiplane camera and Walt Disney’s. Though serving the same purpose both of the multiplane camera’s were very different in their construction and cost. Though Ub Iwerks and Disney’s cameras were different in style and cost, they served the same purpose in advancing the technology of animation by adding layers.
Ub Iwerk’s multiplane camera was made out of the rear end of a Chevrolet, he dismantled the pieces and made a multiplane camera out of the parts in 1933. Though this was less expensive than other models of this time, it worked well. Iwerks used three or four different backdrops behind the main character. As an example, Tarzan swinging in the forest with layers of foliage and jungle behind him, (Maltin,196). An example of actual animation from the multiplane camera is a cartoon named Willie Whopper (Air Race, 1933),
Walt Disney also made a multiplane camera around 1939, though was much more expensive. Although the camera cost thousands of dollars, Disney’s camera could move vertically as well as horizontally. This made it possible to move in and out of scenes. “This made Disney’s camera more versatile, if more troublesome, to operate,” (Maltin, 196). The picture below show’s one of Disney’s multiplane cameras. One of the first uses of the multiplane camera was in the making of Snow White and Disney used the camera through animations like Peter Pan to the last use in The Little Mermaid.
Disney's Multiplane Camera
Though Disney and Iwerk’s cameras were different in cost and construction, they served the same purpose. It allowed animations to have different moving parts in the foreground and the background. It enabled the animators to photograph through layers of drawings to create the illusion of three dimensions. An example that Wikipedia gives is the scene in Snow White when the queen drinks the potion and her surroundings spin. Here is a link to the scene when this happens…YouTube video…
ETA I commented on Michael Griffith’s post and Smickert’s Rockin Bloggin Post #8
Maltin, Leonard. Of Mice and Magic. Revised. New york, NY: Penguin Group, 1987. 196. Print.
It is amazing how fast animation became so advanced. While watching snow white, I forgot how they were able to get some of the shots they did. The fact that they did those things in the 30′s is incredible and a testament to how talented these people actually were.
By: smickert on March 22, 2010
at 12:57 pm
This was a very informative blog post. Although I was aware of the different style in cameras, I did not know that “The Little Mermaid” was the last of these movies. I find it amazing the lengths that had to be taken back then to get the shots they needed. Now we can just put something together on a computer giving all the depth needed with a couple tweaks here and there.
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at 4:56 pm
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