Olivier Cotte has gone behind-the-scenes of 13 of the greatest short animations ever made, interviewing the directors and close collaborators who made each one, to offer us a unique guide to classic techniques from the masters of their crafts. Packed with beautiful, instructive illustrations and previously unpublished material (including story-boards, photos and hand-drawn sketches) and interspersed with interviews - this is an exceptional source of inspiration and knowledge for animators, students and fans alike.
Covering 13 winners of the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Neighbours (Norman McLaren, Oscar 1952) Frank Film (Frank Mouris, Oscar 1973) Le Chateau de sable (Co Hoedman, Oscar 1977) The Fly (Ferenc Rofusz, Oscar 1980) Anna & Bella (Borge Ring, Oscar 1985) L'homme qui plantait des arbres (Frederic Back, Oscar 1987) Balance (Christoph and Wolfgang Lauenstein, Oscar 1989) Manipulation (Daniel Greaves, Oscar 1991) Mona Lisa descending a staircase (Joan C. Gratz, Oscar 1992) Quest (Tyron Montgomery, Oscar 1996) The Old Man of the Sea (Alexandre Petrov, Oscar 1999) Father and Daughter (Michael Dudok de Wit, Oscar 2000) Harvie Krumpet (Adam Elliot, Oscar 2003)
It was great learning about the different techniques and approaches these animators used to make their award-winning films. I would highly recommend looking up each animated short on YouTube and watching it before reading the chapter about that film. You'll get so much more out of the descriptions and details about specific parts of the films.