Directors in TV animation

A

aerica4

New member
So just wondering. In TV animation, who do you consider to be the "real" directors?

In many show the person listed as a director often just supervises the storyboards (and maybe the character designs and so forth), setting the camera angels and laying out how things will go. This is most often the case in prime-time shows like "Family Guy" or "The Simpsons".

In other shows, person listed as a director basically just does the sheet timing, which is where they give instructions to animators how the animation should be done (often times they're credited as "animation director" or "sheet timer").

"Chowder" is one of those shows where the "directed by" credit is given to sheet timers. Here are examples of x-sheets on Mike Milo's website.

So how do you define directors in TV animation?
 
Woah, just looking at those sheets made me feel a little dizzy.
No idea what's going on in there.

But I can see that those who do sheet timing is more involved with when and how,
the movement of characters at what moment of the episode.

I think sheet timers might be more suited for 'animation director'.
 
If you're asking who I think puts their personal "stamp" on an episode, here's who I think fits:

David Silverman (The Simpsons): You're in for a visual treat when you watch an episode by Silverman. He has a quick energy, a cartoony nature, and a bigger attention to facial expressions than any of the other directors, and it makes his episodes stand out. This is clearly seen in episodes like Treehouse of Horror IV, Homie the Clown, Homer's Triple Bypass (I know it gets mentioned a lot, but that heart attack scene really is well-done), and Mother Simpson.

Chris Reccardi (multiple shows): Mostly for his work on Ren & Stimpy, though, when his loose character designs lent to creative and unique poses and facial expressions. I can still watch episodes like Hard Times For Haggis and Hermit Ren and enjoy the fun he put into his work, even if not always the most refined.

More as I think of them.
 
Now that Layout and Animation are outsourced, there's not much for a director to do. That's why I think that the director of most shows is actually the Executive Producer.
 
No, it's still the Supervising Director who is primarily responsible for the look of the show. Sometimes, the Supervising Director is given a producer credit, but rarely is he a full EP.

Of course, in Japan, everything is different. The "Kantoku" is just an honorary credit for showrunner.
 
Back
Top