Archiving the animation film-making process. The earliest Dutch animation films

Abstract

Animation film-makers working in the Netherlands in the first decade of the 20th century,made use of processes and skills from live-action film production and the world of the visualarts. And yet for the majority, making animation films was nothing more than an excursionduring their careers as film makers, quick-draw artists, shadow artists, visual artists, designers15 6 | Tijdschrift voor Mediageschiedenis – 15 [1] 2012and artists. George Pal and George Debels were the only ones to specialize in making animationfilms over a longer period. Dutch film-makers were obviously not working in isolationfrom the international context, as their films are clearly influenced by international developments.The technical aspects of the production processes, as discussed in this article, are anindication of this, as are the content and designs. To study how animation films were madein The Netherlands, historians can refer to the sources and materials that are generally usedto research film history. However, the special processes involved in the making of animationfilms also requires studying specific materials and using methods of analysis that are uniqueto this genre of films, for example, studying original animation artwork. Not much productionmaterial has been conserved as it was often non-durable. Furthermore, the audiovisual archiveinstitutes had little knowledge of how to treat the materials, and there was inadequate policywith respect to animation heritage. There are examples abroad that demonstrate that animationartwork can be used in various ways for presentations in museums or on internet. Clearlythere is a task here for Dutch cultural preservation – to continue and to expand the work.