Hubley &Tissa David 14 Jan 2006 08:57 am
Hubley AT&T Spot
We are all a product of our influences. My initial animation experience was with John & Faith Hubley. I quickly learned from them that there was usually a wealth of good references behind any film. When we worked on Voyage To Next, Paul Klee’s paintings were everywhere. His art, from a particular period, influenced everything. I’m not sure how much of his visual style made it to the film, but he was the spirit we tried to imbue into the artwork. When we did the 60 episodes of Letterman for The Electric Company, Krazy Kat and George Herriman‘s art was everywhere.
The only time John referenced other cartoons and/or cartoon art to me was to tell me to take the “Terrytoons” out of the eyes an animator had drawn in a scene. Then he gave me a two minute comparison of eyes from “Disney,” “Terrytoons,” and “Warners.” It was pretty funny, and he could draw them in a heartbeat. All joking aside, it was obvious by the time we’d finished talking that there was, “none of that, here.” Life was our model.
I took some frame grabs off an AT&T commercial animated by Tissa David in the early 70′s. It’s amazing what art made it to the commercials back then! Even with the color deterioration of the print, it’s outrageous material. A couple meet cute on a tightrope, they have a relationship, and it ends in an engagement. All in 30 secs. All in abstraction.
