Animation from Pencils to Pixels

If there is one thing an animated production must have, it’s a well recorded and produced soundtrack. Without the soundtrack (and here we are talking about a spoken word soundtrack, recorded by accomplished actors), there can be no expression, performance, or dramatic delivery with any of the characters. Incidental sounds, such as sound effects, secondary atmospherics, and even music, can be added later, but the dialogue material, as well as any sound the animator has to synchronize their action to, has to be recorded first if the character’s performance and personality is to be maximized.

The Western system, principally evolved by the Disney animators in the early days, has supported some of the greatest performance animation. Students of the ...