Artsource The Music Center’s Study Guide to the Performing Arts
TRANSFORMATION
ENDURING VALUES
THEATRE/MUSIC ARTISTIC PROCESSES
TRADITIONAL
®
CLASSICAL
1. CREATING (Cr)
CONTEMPORARY
2. PERFORMING, PRESENTING, PRODUCING (Pr)
EXPERIMENTAL
3. RESPONDING (Re)
MULTI-MEDIA
4. CONNECTING (Cn)
FREEDOM & OPPRESSION
THE HUMAN FAMILY
THE POWER OF NATURE
Title of Work:
This project began with a musical piece, titled Turbo
Every Picture Tells a Story
Power, composed by Paul Tracey. John was the head
Creator: Creator: John Ramirez (b. 1967) Composer: Paul Tracey (b. 1939)
animator on the project, working under the direction of Phillip Williams.
Creative Process of the Artist or Culture:
Background Information:
The art of animation is all about collaboration. For
John Ramirez has been an animator and storyboard artist
every film project a team of highly creative people
for both Walt Disney Feature Animation and Warner
come together. They work in much the same way as an
Brothers Feature Animation. He loved to draw as he was
orchestra. Just as each musician in an orchestra is an
growing up, especially trains, and felt very proud when his
expert on a specific instrument, each person on the
mother would make xerox copies of his work. Eventually,
animated team is highly talented in their field. The
he began to create his own comic strips - a form of
film director serves in a similar capacity as a conductor,
storyboarding - and later his own animated films. When
coordinating the efforts of each player to work
he was 12 years old he was fortunate to meet art and
together. In animation, the process might begin with
animation teacher, Dave Master, who would give him the
the storyboardist listening to the selected music many
skills, discipline and opportunities to pursue animation as
times - going with the images that come to mind and
his career. At thirteen, John was an exchange student in
then developing them into a rough storyboard
Japan and through his interaction with Japanese culture
sequence. The storyboard artist then pitches the story
expanded his horizons and altered his world point of view.
line and describes the characters to the other members
As a visual artist he was greatly influenced by the style of
of the creative team. The team is
Japanese artists in the design of toys, packaging, music,
given a synopsis of the story,
films and animation. When John was a teenager his films
hears the music and then sees
were shown at the Los Angeles Student Film Festival. He
how they go together. This is done
says, “When people laughed I knew that the film was
as the story board artist points to
working.” John is now working as a peer with many of the
the images on the storyboard as
professionals he was introduced to as a student.
the music plays. (continued on
About the Artwork: Every Picture Tells a Story shows the process of taking an idea, developing it into a story sequence with a creative team, and storyboarding it. Each animated film goes through this process before it becomes a final product.
Photo: Craig Schwartz ©1997
next page.)
My mentor Dave Master had a slogan we used in the classroom, ‘If you can imagine it, you can animate it.’ John Ramirez California