The following deserve not only my very modest and humble acknowledgement, but the acknowledgement and praise of all those who practise and strive to further the art of animation. They are truly giants on whose shoulders we stand so shakily. We should all thank: Jules Marey and Eadweard Muybridge for their enquiring minds and being such colourful characters. Emile Reynaud for being such a tragic and heroic pioneer of the medium. George Melies and the magic he brought to all our lives. His work remains fresh and inspiring. That great Yorkshireman J.S. Blackton for the first ever animated film. Willis O’Brian for making us laugh, cry and gasp in awe at the sheer brilliance of his work. Yes, I actually cried when King Kong died. Walt Disney and all those great guys at the studio for their part in raising the bar and turning animation into a craft and an art we can all be proud of. We owe a debt to Chuck Jones not only for Bugs and Daffy, but for so much more. Tex Avery for simply being Tex Avery and a particular brand of magnificent madness. John Halas and Harold Whitaker for Timing for Animation; I’ll bet most of us have a copy of this great book (if you don’t own it – buy it NOW!). To Bob Godfrey for inspiring and entertaining my generation with his zaniness. To Ray Harryhausen for making us believe in fighting skeletons and for taking animation to stunning new heights. More recently a big thanks to Richard Williams for all his great work, not just on the screen but through his teaching. To John Canemaker for his brilliant work as a teacher, historian and animator. To John Lasseter for taking the principles of these great animators into the twenty-first century. Last of all, the supreme tribute must go to the greatest animation god of all, Winsor McCay. Words are not enough.
My personal thanks must go to a number of people who have helped and encouraged me in my life as an animator. Perhaps the greatest of all of these is Graham Griffiths, a good teacher, a wonderful person and a great friend, and not a bad animator either. I thank Peter Hodges for all his encouragement and support in my development as a teacher. I need to thank my teachers Derek Barret and Dave Pearce, who helped me to progress as a designer and encouraged me to take up animation. When I entered the industry I had two more great animation teachers, very patient, tolerant and supportive: Chris Fenna and Les Orton. Thanks guys. Thanks to fellow Beefheart fan Mike Price for all the banter. Thanks to Nicola Marlborough for being just about the best assistant anyone could have and to Duncan Harris for being one of the worst assistants but one of the best friends you could hope to have.
I thank Robin Lyons for his role as producer and promoter of the Welsh animation scene. Thanks to Chris Grace as commissioning editor at S4C, without whom I (and a lot of other people too, let’s not forget this folks) would not have had the opportunities to develop as animators. Thanks to Mark Taylor at A Productions for all the times he has taken the mickey over the years. Thanks to Ceri Griffin (sadly no longer with us) and his wife Jude for providing proof that you can be good people and get on in business. To Clennal for all the tall tales of Africa and to Tony Barnes for all the lunacy. To Ric Villeneuve for being Canadian. A big thanks to Mike Milne and the animation crew at Framestore for tolerating me at their studios. A special thanks to Gerald Emanuel for the phone call that started all of this. Thanks to Rob Hamer and all the staff at the Glamorgan Centre for Art and Design Technology, who gave me the opportunity to develop as a teacher. Thanks to all the new friends I have made in the last couple of years at UWE and the Bristol School of Animation, especially Arril Johnson, Kari Nygarrd, Andy, Sophie Harbour, Mark Hewis, John Parry, Dominic Grant and particularly Amanda Wood.
Thanks to Susannah Shaw at Animation Exeter for the helpful contributions to this book.
A big thank you to all my clients over the years, without whom I would never have been able to afford my extravagant lifestyle (yeah, right) or be able to learn and practise my craft. To Ken for always being there over all these years to share a few laughs and a few beers.
I owe the biggest debt of gratitude to my family, for their support, understanding, patience and love over many long years. My wife Pauline, my son Marc, my daughter Rachel and my second son Richard have allowed me to indulge myself in pursuing this strange activity called animation when I should really have been doing more grown-up things.
A huge debt of gratitude is owed to all at Focal Press, but especially Marie Hooper and Georgia Kennedy for all the support over a very, very long period and showing incredible patience. For pushing, shoving, cajoling and bullying me, and all with caring even loving heart, quite a feat really.
Thanks to Mary Murphy, Gareth Cavanagh and Aurelie Blard-Quintard for help with some of the images for this book.
And last of all, but to whom great thanks must go. I would like to sincerely thank all of my hundreds of students, both past and present, that I have had the pleasure to teach over the years and from whom I have learned and continue to learn so much. I can truly say that I am extremely proud to have known you all (well, most of you) and count myself truly privileged to have taught you. I pray that I can continue to pass on a passion for and a deeper understanding of our art form that I have acquired through this experience to generations of animators to come. Thank you, this book is for you.
I know I have forgotten to mention some people and to some of those I apologize (or not), but you know which one you will be, don’t you?
Chris Webster