Memo sent by “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” director of animation Richard Williams to his animation department. “Even now (an unbelievable 22 years later) the most hardened critic would have difficulty finding fault with the near-seamless interactions between [Roger Rabbit’s] live-action and animated characters.” [thx JH]
Sean McCambridge
on 13 Jan 10Wow. 2 or 3 frames?! I can’t imagine the tedium.
I dig the handwritten note. How much less effective would that be written up as an official memo?
merle
on 13 Jan 10Mary Poppins was in 1964 and Disney was doing some very cool stuff for the day. And of course the one and only Julie Andrews.
Jamie, Baymard Institute
on 13 Jan 10That the note is handwritten immediately gives you an indication as a reader that the person who wrote this was so surprised and found it so important that he just had to share it instantly, even if that meant jotting it down on the nearest piece of paper!
Love it.
Bill Rice
on 13 Jan 10I think this is also a lesson in effective communication.
A typed or even standard handwritten note probably would have be laid politely in the trash bin. However, taking the time to engage illustrators in their medium (an illustration), referencing a tangible example to review (Mary Poppins), calling them to a challenge (fix an accepted failure), and then tacking it to the bulletin board (note the thumb tack hole at the top)—simple, obvious, powerful.
Nic
on 14 Jan 10And no “Richard Williams, Director” at the end either, just a simple nickname.
John
on 14 Jan 10What I find interesting about this memo: It’s handwritten; It’s a model of clear communication from the headline to the problem statement in the first sentence; it has a useful illustration; it states a problem and invites a solution rather than paralyzing people with caution. The tone is just right too, the personality of the writer is in every word.
Matt Lincoln Russell
on 14 Jan 10That movie is a triumph, and this attention to detail is why. I love the lore and stories surrounding it and it remains my favorite movie to this day.
This discussion is closed.