You Get What You Pay For

I don't like to spread negativity with this blog, but these subway ads embarrass me.  Every time I see them, I sort of cringe and hide my face lest something recognize me as someone remotely associated with drawing and hold me somehow responsible.

You may have seen EZ Pawn's cringeworthy  commercials featuring a thrift store Uncle Sam if you've got TV insomnia.

Usually when I see these low end, direct spots I think -use some simple illustration you can make a nice spot with this same small budget.

There's no accounting for taste.

Cartoons of Glory

This is an article from the November 3, 1986 New York Magazine that was in The Ink Tank pressbook.  I won't repost all the copy, click the images to read everything.

The photo on page one is from an MTV ID designed by Mark Marek. The actress is R. O. Blechman's mother-in-law.

Cartoonist R. O. Blechman, known for his squiggly line, was frustrated.  The head of The Ink Tank, an eight year old studio that makes animated films and television commercials, Blechman had spent the whole day trying to bring to life a storyboard for Serenity, a new product for incontinent women.  But the resolution and dissolves "weren't working -the whole thing looked banal," so he decided to scrap the agency suggestion and start fresh.  The revised spot opens with animation, segues into a live action sequence, and closes with animation.  Ordinarily, Blechman rejects the conventional ad-industry wisdom that live action is credible and animation is not, but in this case, he agreed the patch of reality worked.

The article then discusses some of the studio's spots before getting to "a computer system recently installed at the Tape House Editorial Company... The new computer, nicknamed the Harry system, 'lets you juggle and edit out anything -an offending pole, say -in live action or animation.'"  That's the Paintbox system which would open a new chapter in special effects history.

Then:

Pan Productions has begun to specialize in "color xerography".  The studio takes live action footage, Xeroxes it frame by frame, and colors the copy to produce an animated effect.  Los Angeles based Kurtz & Friends has created a futuristic spot for Toyota in which an illustrated sports car becomes a real Supra...

Perpetual Animation created a combination spot for Home Box Office that shows an animated family in a three-dimensional set, watching live-action movie clips on their cartoon TV.  Jerry Lieberman productions put real script erasable pens into the hands of animated people...

...Buzzco Associates has created a series of ads combining  live action and animation: a cartoon vacuum cleaner hosing around real-life cans of Love My Carpet; real babies crying animated tears for WMET radio; an animated viewer watching live-action TV for Lifetime Cable; and a drawing of a made-up eye becoming a real eye for Aziza eye shadow...

Then Candy Kugel points out this sort of thing has been around forever but technology makes it easier.

 ...Nine years ago, Mark Zander Productions dropped comedian Bob Hope onto a remote oil rig operated by animated Texaco workers.  More recently Zander cast an animated basset hound in a chorus line of live dancers stomping and kicking for Hush Puppies shoes, and in a spot for Shick Plus  razors, planted a fuzzy white cartoon beard on the face of a real-life man. (The sudden appearance of the animated facial hair terrifies a crowd.)

Then there's some pretty banal history which tries to elevate itself by calling Walt "Walter Elias Disney".

The resurgence in commercial animation has been stimulated by advances in technology and by the work of artist like Blechman, who formed The Ink Tank in 1978 after producing an animated TV special. The Ink Tank's next project is an allegorical film The Golden Ass, which tells the story of a young man who, having been magically transformed into a donkey, struggles to regain his human form. The story recalls Blechman's award-winning TV film, The Soldier's Tale, in which a peasant soldier trades his fiddle to the Devil in return for great wealth, and find happiness only when the trade is reversed.

With big dollar advertising, Blechman feels he has made a personal Mephistophelian swap. In the sixties, he refused to advertise cigarettes, promote Muzak, or sell illustrations to Playboy. "But between these black and white poles lay a vast gray (and green!) world of commissions, and I did not know how to chart my course," he writes in his book, Behind the Lines.

Blechman has since learned. The Ink Tank is accepting more project than ever before -45 so far in 1986 -and many, like the Serenity ad, are animation-live action mixes. "Advertising is dead if it doesn't attract attention," says Blechman. "Mixing live action and animation does just that."

Commercial Break

Here's an ad we just finished for Web.com.

Turns out we're already a client (they purchased Register.com a little while back and they're our web registry).

Fly Communications was the agency.  They were great to work with.  Very open to our ideas and responsive with their own.  Terrific agency.




At Asterisk, Doug Compton was the animator with additional animation and assistant work by Christina Capozzi Riley and some additional inbetweening by Liesje Kraai.

Robbie Ledoux and JZ Barrell of Hudson Sound Lab did the music.

Lucky Elephant

Here's a nice piece of packaging I brought back from the Great White North for Christina.

I should point out that it is actually a full color print job ("Sandy Lion" logo) but they had the restraint of design o limit themselves to 2 colors plus a strong black.

Even as a silhouette the shape and mass of the elephant are well defined with judicious use of white.

Fluff Daddy contemplates life as a big creature, like the Lucky Elephant, and wonders what it would be like to be on a box of his own.

Something disheartening in the proposition, perhaps.  Maybe just another dream.

The Job Binder

This is something I rarely do, but should probably do all the time.

The job binder.  A three ring binder that contains all the information for a production.

print art in an agency paste up which inspired the spot in question

I rarely use job binders because 1) I'm lazy -no explanation needed and 2) I'm arrogant -I tend to think I can produce a half dozen projects simultaneously while never lettin' em see me sweat.

I'd like to hear incidents when I've spotted with a bead of perspiration.  Unlikely to be anyone to step up (there's that arrogance for you).

Bidding Guideline

The agency producer was amazingly awesome.  She put together the "bidding guideline" which I could then use throughout the production as a reference for what we were supposed to be doing.

In yesterday's post on the bidding process, I neglected to mention that all of those steps will ultimately make producing the film significantly easier.  Here's a perfect example.

For this project I was less than certain.  We were shooting live action (35 mm, high speed), creating original CG animation,  doing special effects and editing pre-shot footage of the vehicle provided by the client.  Plus 2 different legal versions (different supers/tags/etc) in two different lengths (:30 and a :27/:03), in 6 languages.   That's 24 versions of the spot.

And it was a pretty meager budget to boot.

 

So I reverted to the Job Binder.  I first used them on jobs I produced with Santiago Cohen and Maciek Albrecht for HBO.  Back when I was terrified of screwing up (before I learned that no one ever  died because they didn't have perfect animation).

So what should this binder contain?

1) CONTACT INFORMATION.  Who is doing what and how can they be reached.  Important to have at your quick disposal -especially when live action is involved.

2) STORYBOARDS.

The storyboard is the blueprint and lexicon for an animated film.  Most commercials, in general.

3) SHOT LIST.  The breakdown of each scene.  This is most important in animation.  You track where a shot is in production and can calculate how long it will take to finish.

4) BUDGET.

Every film is shaped by money.   If you need another compositing artist, check the numbers -maybe you've accounted for it (hopefully you have).

5) SCHEDULE (obviously)

 

6) SPECS.  Specifications of what the job delivery entails.  A list of all versions and formats required.

7) CORRESPONDENCE.  Important letters to and from clients and vendors.   You may need to refer to these in the future.

8) RESALE CERTIFICATES.  If you're buying/renting stuff you don't have to pay sales tax on those items if you're reselling them.  If you buy tape, you're reselling it as part of your delivery, no sales tax.  The state issues "resale certificates" for the vendor to keep on file.

Conversely, you are responsible to pay sales tax on your the sale of your film unless you have a resale from your client.  If they're an ad agency, that's no problem -they resell to their client.  So make sure you get one, otherwise the state is due a big percentage of your budget.

There are other things you can keep in here as well.

You'll notice that the only "creative" information I've kept is the storyboard.  This binder is for the business end of production, if things such as model approvals and character turnarounds are an integral part of the process, you might want to include them.  Generally, I prefer to keep that stuff separate.

Protocol

We've worked up several bids in the last week or so.  Clearly this is a positive for any studio.  It means the opportunity for work is there and it's (somewhat) in your power to land it.

Brian once told me that for every 10 sample reels sent out, you'd get one bid and for every ten bid you'd land one job.  It's much harder to do the math on the first part of the equation these days when an actual "reel request" is rare -most samples are screened anonymously off of the web.  The 1 out of every 10 bids might be a bit long on the odds these days as well, since potential clients have learned to narrow down their prospective contractors before running through the bid process.

Back in the 10% days (when all the budgets had that additional zero on the end), there was also a form to bidding that seems to have disappeared.   Clients don't seem to know about this protocol and busier ones may not even be all that receptive but this procedure -like everything in animation, is about making the job easier, like everything in budgeting, is about making the numbers more transparent.

It's up to production companies to stick with this process (or something close) even when the client is unaware -after all its our job to make films, its their job to sell product.  This is the filmmaking procedure more than a sales/advertising one.

STEP ONE: The Initial Conversation

Here's where you get a lot of the generalities out of the way.  What's the timeframe?  How long is the piece?  What media/style?  And most importantly: "Is there a number you want the budget to hit?"

Sometimes they play coy (hate that), sometimes they genuinely don't know, sometimes they come right out and say it.

Remember, a budget is just a component of a bid.  It's a fixed number -just like a household budget -a figure you work towards and on which you base all of your expenses.

STEP TWO: Follow Up

Very often the initial conversation takes place before you get the script, client storyboards or prospectus brief.

Usually when you get this material in, you'll see something that you hadn't thought about previously.  "Is the product live action?"  "Do we need to do multiple versions for (800) numbers?"  "Is it a 25/05 or a straight 30?" (Many commercials -especially ones for franchises like fast food places or automobiles will have an unchanging 25 second body with a 5 second tag that changes per market or offer).

It's best to get on the phone with these questions.  One answer can often lead to another question.  As much as people resort to email these days it's a terribly inefficient way to do it.

Even if you don't have any questions the follow up is important for one big question. Here's how I like to phrase it:  "Everything looks pretty clear, but I may have some questions as we dig into the budget and schedule.  In the meantime, we have some thoughts we love to share with you and your team on a creative call."

STEP THREE: The Creative Call

I'm told there was a day when you'd actually meet prospective clients face to face before bidding a project.  I even vaguely recall attending some of these meetings in the hallows of Madison Avenue.

Those days are passed, we now rely on the wonders of telecommunication and the marvel that is the "conference call" to discuss ideas that could be the ground work for a million dollar project.

For the sake of discussion, we'll pretend that everyone successfully gets on the phone at the appointed hour, that everyone knows how to operate their speaker phone, that the audio fidelity is loud and clear, every participant has an easily distinguished, clear voice and that no one is working on an experimental aircraft while on their "hands free" nor eating food that sounds like one.

Here's how the call should proceed.

1) Good natured banter.

2) A display of common interest.  "Oh my pal so-and-so worked with blahblahblah, they had a great time!"

3) Get that out of the way quickly and say "So we've got your boards in.  Maybe you should walk us through them so we're on the same page."

4) Agency/client goes through their board/concept.

5) At this point you've got to gauge how much they want to hear from you.  If they don't want much feedback (you can usually tell if they talk about how hard it was to sell the idea to their higher ups) you tailor your pitch accordingly.

5a) Your creative pitch.  Maybe you don't have much to add.  Maybe you envision everything big and red.  Either way, this is your chance to impress them with your thought process.  Optimally, it's a conversation: "We think this could go a few ways, here's one idea...",  "We don't have it all figured out but we were thinking something like...".  It's not exactly "brainstorming", but its along those lines.  Have an idea of what you want to say, what your approach to the project will be and present it.

6) Any questions?  This is a two way street.  You may have creative questions for them.  "Does the pony have to be polka dotted?"  "Have you considered other techniques?"  Et cetera.

7) Wrap up.  This can take shape in a number of ways.  Sometimes we'll do a quick walk through of our process if we haven't done that already.  Often it's just "Any more questions?"  Thanks.  Goodbye.

As always, its best to follow this up with your contact and thank them.  An email will suffice here, or just a phone message.

STEP FOUR: Tell Them What You're Going To Tell Them

I can do a commercial bid (meaning budget, schedule and creative treatment) in about four hours depending on the treatment.  A very complex one can take up to a week, especially if it involves talent, casting, music, filmic live action or other outside-the-studio costs.  Sometimes you may need to get bids from subcontractors to complete your bid.  Likewise, a simple spot in a familiar style can have a bid package prepared in an hour or less.

If you haven't done a lot, it should take you longer -bidding is a skill like any other.  Still, no matter how quickly you can do it, let it rest overnight before sending it.

Before sending, call the client and say: "I've got the bid ready.  We're covering X, Y and Z and we're coming in at $XXXXXX.  Does this make sense?"  This gives one last chance to make sure everyone is getting everything they need from the bid.

It has happened where a client has told us to lower the number at this point, and believe it or not, we've also been told on a few occasions to raise the number.

STEP FIVE: Send It In

I once talked to a director at another studio.  We had bid against him on a project.  Neither of us got it, I think it went West Coast.  Anyway, he claimed his producer didn't send the bid in on time -an act he felt cost them the job.

Like they say, 90% is just showing up.

STEP SIX: Follow Up

At this point the client probably doesn't want to hear from you.

Tough.  They need to hear from you.

Call.  Leave a voice mail if that's all you get.  "Hi. Making sure you got the bid, sent it at X:XX.  Lemme know if anything is unclear."  (Here's a rare time I use negative phrasing.  Instead of "Lemme know that everything is clear", use of the negative invites a question/contact.)

Obviously, this process is no guarantee to get the job.   In my mind, these steps put the client in the best position to make the right decision and give the production company the opportunity to make their best presentation.

ASIFA Magazine - Fred Mogubgub, part two.

Other big commissions followed including animated sequences for Jerome Robbins' Broadway staging of Arthur Kopit's Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad. Following the graphic breakthroughs of UPA, FMS reached beyond the traditional confines of the animation studio for inspiration. Chas. B. Slackman, for instance, was recruited as designer and staff artist Irene Trivas made major stylistic contributions.

Famous Sally, illustrated by Chas. B. Slackman

In business, popularity can breed conflict  Within a year Mogubgub left FMS.  Irene Trivas and Ed Smith joined him in his new office on Sixth Avenue at Mogubgub LTD.  The "M" in FMS was replaced by a fictitious "Mohammed".  Schwartz and Ferro would go on for another two ears producing commercials as well as titles for Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove.

Clients followed Mogubgub.  His first major commission was a recruitment film for J. Walter Thompson.  The ad firm wanted to lure young talent,  Mogubgub was hired to attract them.  The result was a romp around Manhattan set to the Beatles first album.

Quick cutting wasn't Mogubgub's only approach.  And ad for Ford titled "Ford Has Changed" was reminiscent of Saul Steinberg.  American icons parade across the screen led by a cowboy, Abraham Lincoln, and a strong man.  The visuals support, yet continuously undermine the sales pitch.  "Ford has changed": A man barks at a dog.  "...until you get inside": Jonah inside the whale.  "Take the wheel and see": a cop chasing a robber.  Comic images, but sinister.  After the stream of icons passes, the same gang who started the parade bring up the rear.  As they move to center they remove their heads as though tipping their hats.  Lincoln becomes a priest, the cowboy -an Indian, the body builder -a scrawny ectomorph.  This last transformation is more than a comic twist.  Instead of rejoicing at the new face of Ford, the finale questions the legitimacy and the necessity of "change".   An early salvo in the upcoming cultural revolution.

The marching band soundtrack, the artwork, and the immediate comedy in the animation disguise the complexity of the Ford commercial.  It's Brechtian verfremdungseffekt.  Music and visuals take issue with one another and offer opposing points of view.  The Great Society is a further example of this technique.  A series of product shots are cut to "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", it satirizes advertising and American culture.  The send up is made palatable by the filmmaker's clear affection for his target.  Commercialism isn't evil, just ridiculous.





Mogubgub wasn't educated in cinematic theory (or practice) or literature. his filmmaking skills were largely self-taught. Once while waiting in a lobby, The Battleship Potemkin was running on the Moviola. Having never heard of Sergei Eisenstein (much like today young animators) he began to recut "The Odessa Steps" on the spot. He was fond of Godard's line "Film is the truth 24 times a second". Mogubgub's main complaint with film was that it was too slow, that filmmakers underestimated their audience. People can process information much quicker than the movies present it.

The success of artists like John Hubley, Ernie Pintoff, and Norman McLaren encouraged a generation to experiment. Technological innovations offered further possibilities. In 1963, a new film splicer from Italy allowed for cuts to be made in a single frame (previously, an editor would lose surrounding frames and wasn't unable to make another cut for around a foot). This opened Mogubgub's world in much the same way non-linear editing and desktop compositing has influenced animators today.

An image was an image, whether a starlet photo from the silent era, animated drawings, or stock footage from a gangster picture. He practiced a dodecaphonic of film in which each frame is given equal value without regard for traditional consonance.

continues tomorrow

Here Comes Another

We've done a couple book promos, but nothing as good as this.



Martha Colburn made this for Simon and Schuster's "Here Comes Another Lesson" by Stephen O'Connor (no relation).

I like the music a lot. Nick de Witt is responsible for that.

As TV advertising dies and the reading experience merges more and more closely with the internet, it's a good sign that publishers are putting these types of ads out on the tubes.

Agency Boards

Sometimes advertising work boils down to executing the agency's ideas.  Those are usually the crummy jobs.  Creatively crummy, that is.

The best advertising work happens when everyone involved understands and respects everyone else's expertise.

Here's an example of how some great advertising work began.

In this board the agency laid out the basic idea.  We'll post the final film in a few days.  You'll see that the idea remains consistent but it becomes a well designed film.

Again, you get the plot points but not a shot breakdown.

The agency uses these boards to sell an idea to their client.  Hopefully, they've managed their clients expectations so they know these are rough ideas and the final film will look much different (and hopefully much better).

This will be the most dramatic transformation of the three.

In all of these the illustrator Carlos Aponte was instrumental in creating a cinematic dynamic.  In this third he and Tissa David reworked it so that it became a :15 second drama.

World Cup Art

Not content with Big Apple ubiquity, William Kentridge reaches for the World (Cup) with this poster.

South Africa commissioned local artists to create works for the tournament. Not surprisingly, his poster stands out.

Also standing out, ESPN's series of subway posters for the World Cup.

The lush illustrations make a startling break from the usual poor photocollages that make up transit advertising.

Without gushing, I'll just say I really like this campaign.

Another commuter liked it even more -one poster was missing.  Product of a discerning kleptomaniac, no doubt.

The closest relative in advertising art I can think of is Paul Davis' work for Joe Papp's Public Theater.

Do's and Don'ts

More from Harry Wayne McMahan's 1957 book "The Television Commercial".

A series of "Do and Don't" pages for advertising.

Do: Research (and find out animated cats will sell you hair tonic)

Don't: Assume (foxy broads will best shill coffee makers)

Do: expect longevity from variety (animate seals and Eskimos)

Don't: expect long life from a single heavily saturated ad (so you should make lots of them).

Also note the "Snap Crackle and Pop" characters -not the perfect draughtmanship we all remember.

Do: Repeat a jingle many times.

Don't: Repeat live action ads too often (make them animated!)

Now, on to "Cartoon or Live Action"

The animation was more appealing.  It best conveyed the fun and levity of the jingle.

Do: Use animation for comedy, exaggeration and fantasy.  (like a milk man boy head with a Pet Brand Dry Milk bottle body)

Don't: use animation for normal people doing normal things (in crazy Toon Land we call them "Normies").

Do: Use live action to stir emotions (like, ack!  a crying baby!)

Don't: Use cartoons for human interest

Some 1950s Advertisments

These are scans from Harry Wayne McMahan's 1957 book "The Television Commercial".

Most of the images are uncredited.  Above is from the Saul Steinberg designed commercial for Jello.  It was animated by UPA for Young & Rubicam Advertising.

Don't assume a captive audience.

Images are used from commercials as illustrations, although the ones above and below look like they could've been originals.

There was little passing game in the 1950.  Four men in the back field and two tight ends.  Thats what we call the Jumbo package.

All of the John Hubley work is credited.  Above, Storyboard, Inc's spot for Heinz Worchester sauce.

Jazz hands?

There was more to 1950s design than UPA, Hubley and the clean graphic style.

Traces of the Tex Avery look in Bug-Geta.

More to follow.

Daring Young Pancakes!

Here's another chapter from Harry Wayne McMahan's 1957 book "The Television Commercial".  The first except is here.

This is a few pages on stop motion.

Following is the entire text.  I'm not copying the text with images, you'll need to click on them to read.

********** 

STOP MOTION is probably the most ingenious technique, from a craftsman's standpoint, used in television commercials.  Here is the way to make inanimate objects come to life!

The product can march, walk, dance and do tricks that seem to make it a living personality.  Automobile doors can open close without the touch of a human hand.  Mechanical gadgets can take themselves apart into a hundred pieces, show their precision innards, then put themselves back together -almost in the twinkling of an eye.

Lucky Strike is credited with creating the TV commercial interest in stop motion, back in 1949, with the popular "marching cigarette" commercials.  The stop motion opening for Luckies' "Hit Parade" program soon became a classic of the industry and eventually established a record of six straight years on the air.

But, intriguing as the technique may be, Luckies did not rely on stop motion alone.  Commercials in live action, with some cartoon, have consistently filled the major portion of their air time -for stop motion can rarely be expected to do the complete advertising job in TV commercials.

In this light, let us consider stop motion:


FRAME-BY-FRAME EXPOSURE

Like the cartoon, this technique of stop motion works on one frame of film -1/24th of a second -at a time.  The product is set up and photographed for the first single frame, then moved to its next carefully planned position, photographed again, and so on.  The result is that 24 successive single, when projected on the screen in one second's time, give the illusion of a definitely fluid movement.

Imagine the planning and skill involved in moving each of the cigarettes to each of the successive positions required.  Sixty seconds is 1,440 single set-ups, 1,440 single photographs!

Scotch Brand Tape followed Lucky Strike with a top stop motion spot.  Again a march was called for and the product marched into every room in the house.  At this point in the commercials, live action inserts gave a believable demonstration of uses.


DARING YOUNG PANCAKES

Still more striking was the use of stop motion made by Pillsbury Pancake Mix.  The copy theme was "Lighter pancakes are here!" and the visual selling was to be done by having the pancakes tossed in the air and light, very slowly, float over and down to the serving plate.

To accomplish this, pancakes were cooked over aluminum discs (to hold the shape, yet permit bending where the effect of motion required it); then, by a system of hidden armatures, the pancakes were suspended in mid-air step-by-step, photograph-by-photograph, as they traveled the slow arc from griddle to plate.

After the props were complete, the mechanics set up and the master plan prepared, it still required more than 16 camera hours to photograph this one :20 spot!

Pillsbury's "floating pancakes" is an example of creative imagination developing an advertising idea, "Lighter pancakes are here!"  This film ran more than a hundred times on the Arthur Godfrey show.


ADVANTAGES OF THE TECHNIQUE

Stop motion has three advantages, the first shared with cartoon, the last shared with live action.  Stop motion is best for:

Personalizing of the Product, such as the marching cigarettes.  The product can be made to dance, fly, zoom or take itself apart and put itself together again.


Mechanical Action, such as fitting parts of a motor, or the addition of attachments to an appliance.


Demonstration, without human hands.  The refrigerator can magically fill with shelf after shelf of foods.  The doors of a range can mysteriously open and a luscious cake slide out.

Industrial films have long used stop motion to show mechanical action.  Similar use for television commercials is more rare, simple because good selling is more concerned with consumer benefits than the mechanics of manufacture.  Pillsbury's use is unusual in that it actually excited an emotional appeal.

Stop motion vies with cartoon in personalizing the product.  In cartoon, it is the practice to "put a face" on the product.  In stop motion, it is the practice to show the product exactly as it is.


FIRST, ASK TWO QUESTIONS

Stop motion vies with live action on demonstration and a careful decision needs to be made in the choice of technique.  Ask yourself:

Which will demonstrate more effectively?

Which will sell more convincingly?

In other words, is it better to have that cake mysteriously slide out of the opened oven door or is it better to have a housewife actually take it out herself and hold it for her family -and the viewer to see and experience?

A decision on this point needs to be made.  Generally it is solved by following up the interest-getting stop motion with a more natural, a more believable live action scene.

In the case of Kellogg's Sugar Corn Pops, the product excited opening interest with a Western dance in a miniature setting, followed by live action scenes of kids in Western atmosphere enjoying cereal.

Stop motion cost an average of $80 per foot when it is a single object doing fairly simple motion.  More objects and more complex routines increase the cost, as in the case of Lucky Strike.  Where special models must be constructed, as in the case of Pillsbury, additional charges are required.

Just remember never to get so intrigued with the fascinating mechanics of the stop motion technique that you forget to do your basic advertising job.

Val Sarra, of production company Sarra, Inc, is the primary name credited on these images.  He's also listed with "stop motion expert" Bob Jenness in the first image of this post.  Sarra was also a WPA poster artist.

Do's and Don'ts

******

Here are one of the spots this piece discusses:

Lucky Strike Cigarettes

The Television Commercial

Sometime in the last 15 years I picked up the 1957 book "The Television Commercial: How To Create and Produce Effective TV Advertising" by Harry Wayne McMahan. It was published by Hastings House, this copy is ex libris Elweita Schultz Advertising, San Antonio.

It's loaded with images from commercial animation of its day. We'll be posting these over the next few weeks.  Lots from John Hubley's Storyboard, Inc.,  UPA, and other production outfits of the 1950s.

First, to start with the chapter "Cartoon: The Universal Language"

Full text by Mr. McMahan below. (we won't transcribe the text with pictures -click images to enlarge and read).

***********

Cartoons are the universal language, understood from Times Square to Timbuctoo. Cartoons are fun.

In television commercials, the animated cartoon has often the highest viewer interest, the longest life and the lowest cost-per showing. Yet it remains the most misused and abused technique in the business.

Cartoon is no cure-all. It has its limitations.

It wins quickest interest, but it lacks depth of penetration. In the movie theater, the audience likes and laughs at the cartoon, but it is emotionally moved by the live action dramatic feature. Mickey Mouse entertains, then passes from the mind, but Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tells a never-to-be-forgotten story which personally involves the viewer.

PSYCHOLOGICALLY SPEAKING

From a psychological standpoint, the cartoon is primitive, child-like in imagination. The cartoon is not you, it is someone else.

When it becomes too rational and tries to depict actual people in normal activities, it becomes unbelievable.

"Animation sacrifies credibility", reports an audience test comparing cartoon and live action commercials for Esso gasoline.

The cartoon always makes the viewer the bystander. He can see "the other fellow" in the cartoon situation, but he finds it difficult to picture himself. He never feels the personal involvement that he does in live action -and this is a clue to the failure of many cartoon commercials to do the best selling job in television.

"People enjoy the antics of cartoon characters by they don't believe them," a Colgate TV advertising manager once pointed out. "As a result we always follow a cartoon commercial with real people doing the same thing and repeating the plug. Our tests have proved that only with such treatment are viewers sold on the product."

THE ADVANTAGES OF CARTOON

Experience teaches that the cartoon in television commercials is best for:

Gaining Interest, even as a the flashing of a cartoon title on the screen wins theater applause. The S. O. S. Magic Bunny was built on this factor, for example.

Trademark Characters, actual or devised. The Carnation "Milk Drop" is an example of a cartoon character devised to fit the product. Invariably, though, cartoon characters are better when animal-like than person-like -when designed for trademarks.

Personalizing the Product, such as a car. A cartoon auto can typify many models in used car commercials. Likewise a can of coffee or a jar of mayonnaise can be brought to life and given personality with a cartoon "face".

Exaggeration and Fantasy, because cartoon can stimulate imagination more broadly than any other technique. A fresh egg can fly to market. A dog can walk and talk like a man. The artist's pencil can be Aladdin's lamp.

Singing Jingles, because cartoon and rhythm go together like ham and eggs and he public does not readily tire of them. Cartoon jingles have the longest life expectancy of any type of television commercial

THREE GRADES OF CARTOONS

There are three grades or subdivisions in the cartoon technique:
1) full animation
2) limited animation
3) "grow" or "scratch-off" cartoon.

Each grade decreases in cost -and effectiveness.

Full animation costs an average of $90 per foot, but this may run as high as $200 per foot on complex productions. As many as seven artists work on each frame of full animation and since there are 24 frames required per second, 1,400 drawings may be required for a minute commercial/

What moves governs the cost of the cartoon, because more hand-labor is required as the amount of movement and the number of characters on the screen increase.

Most producers figure the cost of cartoons according to "units" of animation. If one simple character moves while the rest of the scene is static, it is "one unit". If two characters move at the same time, it becomes "two units". A quartet becomes "four units" and the price goes up.

HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON CARTOON

A wise animation director can save money in the layout of a commercial by concentrating animation at the points most vital to viewer interest and the sales story.

His knowledge -or the same knowledge in the mind of the creative writer -makes use of such devices as "cycles" and "free footage".

A "cycle" is repeat animation, such as a horse running in constant stride, parallel to the camera. The same sequence of pictures is photographed again and again. "Free footage" is a non-animated portion where the camera does the movement, such as moving along...

...a static landscape to a house, where the door suddenly bursts open and the animation begins.

The planning of cartoons is the most complex, the least understood phase of the television commercial.  Since few writers understand the potential cost factors, competent advice should be secured in the very earliest stages of planning.


CHEAPER GRADES OF ANIMATION

Limited animation costs about half as much as full animation.  It is "limited" in the action and movement of characters on the screen.  To be effective, it must make full use of "cycles" and "free footage".  It often shows only extremes of expression and gives the illusion of action by dissolving or cross-fading in the camera from one extreme to the other.  Camera movement is directed to the fullest and various lens tricks add to the effect.

Often limited animation scenes can be cut in with full animation to meet a given budget, but it must be planned ingeniously.

"Grow" cartoons cut the cost in two again.  This type of animation is also called "scratch off", because it works with one single drawing, photographed in reverse as the lines are scratched off on successive frames.  When projected in the opposite direction, the cartoon or sketch appears to "grow" or be drawn upon the screen.

The curiosity factor or "magical quality" of what the artist might be drawing is the secret of the success of this trick technique.  But, when the drawing is completed, it needs to go to full animation or the viewer attention will wane as the movement stops.


WHEN CARTOON NEEDS LIVE ACTION SUPPORT

If your product is an "impulse" item or if you only require name identification, cartoon can do the job alone.  But if the viewer must rationalize the buying of  your product, cartoon needs the realistic support of live action.  The two can be combined effectively.

Cartoon can gain interest and entertain, but it takes live action to make the story believable and personalize it to the viewer's experience.

Demonstration films especially need to combine the two.  However, all-cartoon spots can be made when the viewer already has been exposed to the necessary live action demonstration in previous commercials.

Pet Milk has used all-cartoon minute spots to supplement their live action series.  Previous films had utilized live action to demonstrate Pet's three uses of infant feeding, cooking and creaming coffee.  Then it was decided that cartoon could best combine all three uses in an imaginative saga of "Pet Milk Pete" and his storyt I Grew Up on Pet.

In the final analysis, remember: cartoons are fun.  If you can sell your product with fun alone, the you sell it with cartoon alone.  If you need to get serious, if you need to convince, you had better back up your sales story with live action.

above: images from Ray Patin Production and Academy Pictures, Inc.

above: images from Storyboard, Inc and UPA

above: images from TV Spots, Inc. and Animation, Inc.