Expert: Luke O'Donnell Date: 6/23/2006 Subject: The APT process
Question Thanks for the quick reply. Does this mean that the coloring of the animated objects and characters could be done on paper at first instead, so that all the hand-painting was already done when the animators' work was copied onto cels (all the colors at once)? Just copy and then the cel is finished? Sounds like an invention that saves time and money.
And just one more small question about The Black Cauldron; some objects were first made on a computer, and then their outlines were transferred to cels. Or was they transferred to paper? I guess the APT process can be compared with xerography to the point where they are ready to copy the drawings (with the exception that the coloring/hand-painting can be done before the copying, if I have understood it correctly)?
Stein
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Followup To
Question -
Hi.
I have a question about an animation technque I am curious about. David W. Spencer received a Technical award from the Motion Picture Academy for it, but still very little is mentioned about it on the net. It was first used in The Black Cauldron. Did it replace xerography completley? If both xerography and APT was used in the movie, how was they used? I understand that the drawings was somehow taken a picture of instead of being copied, but how was they transferred to the cels? Was it used by other studios than Disney?
After The Black Cauldron, only three more Disney animated features was made before they left the cel animation completely and replaced it with CAPS. These were The Mouse Detective, Oliver and Company and The Little Mermaid. Was APT used aslo in these? At least Oliver and Company are said to have used both xerography and line overlay. And speaking of line overlay, some sources claims it has only been used in 101 Dalmatians and Oliver, while others says it was used in all movies from 101 Dalmatians to The Rescuers (with the exception of the Jungle Book), making The Fox and the Hound the first without line overlay since Sleeping Beauty, and The Fox and the Hound the last to use it, with the exception from Oliver. What is correct?
Also Sleeping Beauty is said to contain some xeroxed scenes. But what scenes?
And in case you don't know the answears, do you have a link to someone that may do?
Answer -
Hi Stein
The APT process is basically a photographic transfer system that can photographically transfer lines or solid blocks of colour onto acitate sheets. A very similar process is used in silk screen printing. The process relies on uv sensitive inks that cure when exposed to light and stick to the plastic sheet. Its main advantage is that colouring - normaly done via back painting after xerox scanning - can be controlled better and multiple versions made quickly. It also meant that a line on an animated character could be in colour instead of just black this is known as self coloured lines. I don't know what films were done this way or how many but its likely that prior to 1990 and self coloured animations that appeared to have a very accurate and slick line were done using APT.
Try www.awn.com maybe they have a bit of history on this.
Hope this helps
Luke
Answer Hi Stien
This is not realy my area but I believe that APT did exactly what you thought. It can be used with multiple passes and was a cost saver where backpainting was concerned. Of course now CGI systems make xerox and APT processes obselete.
