Multiplane camera
 |
A multiplane camera built by an animation hobbyist in 1972. |
The
multiplane camera is a special
motion picture camera used in the
traditional animation process that moves a number of pieces of artwork past the camera at various speeds and at various distances from one another. This creates a
three-dimensional effect, although not actually
stereoscopic.
Various parts of the artwork layers are left
transparent, to allow other layers to be seen behind them. The movements are calculated (in later years, often by
computer) and photographed frame-by-frame, with the result being an illusion of depth by having several layers of artwork moving at different speeds - the further away from the camera, the slower the speed. The multiplane effect is sometimes referred to as a
parallax process.
An interesting variation is to have the background and foreground move in
opposite directions. This creates an effect of rotation. An early example is the scene in
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs where the evil Queen drinks her potion, and the surroundings appear to spin around her.
A predecessor to the multiplane camera was used by
Lotte Reiniger for her animated feature
The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926). The first multiplane camera, using four layers of flat artwork before a horizontal camera, was invented by former
Walt Disney Studios animator/
director Ub Iwerks in
1933, using parts from an old
Chevrolet automobile. His multiplane camera was used in a number of the Iwerks Studio's
Willie Whopper and
Comicolor cartoons of the mid-
1930s.
The technicians at
Fleischer Studios created a similar device, called the
Tabletop or
Setback, in
1934. Their apparatus used three-dimensional miniature sets built to the scale of the animation artwork. The animation cels were placed so that various objects could pass in front of and behind them, and the entire scene was shot using a horizontal camera. The Tabletop process was used to create distinctive results in Fleischer's
Betty Boop,
Popeye the Sailor, and
Color Classics cartoons.
The most famous multiplane camera was invented by
William Garity for the Walt Disney Studios to be used in the production of
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The camera was completed in early
1937 and tested in a
Silly Symphony called
The Old Mill, which won the
1937 Academy Award for Animated Short Film. Disney's multiplane camera, which used up to seven layers of artwork (painted in
oils on
glass) shot under a vertical and moveable camera, allowed for more sophisticated uses than the Iwerks or Fleischer versions, and was used prominently in Disney films such as
Pinocchio,
Fantasia,
Bambi, and
Peter Pan. Its final use was in
1989's
The Little Mermaid, as the process was made obsolete by the implementation of a multiplane feature in the computerized
CAPS process used for subsequent Disney films.
Yuri Norstein is still using a multiplane camera similar to the one used by the Walt Disney Studios.
The usage of the multiplane effect is not restricted to usage in film animation; many
video games, including titles for the
Super NES and
Sega Genesis such as
Super Mario World,
Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and
Donkey Kong Country, make prominent use of
parallax scrolling, a related effect.
*
Building a low-budget Multiplane camera
