Production Of Animation By Shanghai Animation Film Studio During The “Seventeen Years” Period(1949-1966)

Based on the first golden age of Chinese animation development in the “seventeen years” period(1949-1966),this paper took the production of animated cartoons by Shanghai Animation Film Studio as the research object,focusing on facets like the establishment of Shanghai Animation Film Studio,the production management,the staff structure,and the building of creative thoughts,the formation of technical genealogy,and the traceability of creation styles in the production process,which were then placed in the social,political and cultural trends of thought at that time to figure out the historical context,explore the deep logic beneath and interpret beh aviors in accordance with the study on historical facts.Finally,the information was summarized on the basis of the above investigation,and reflection was made combined with the current animation creation.With an introduction,this paper is organized in four chapters as follows:Chapter one is mainly about the establishment history,production and management modes,and the staff structure and training of Shanghai Animation Film Studio.Based on a wealth of newly discovered archives and historical data,this paper started from the cartoon stock hold by the Northeast Film Studio in 1946 to trace the history of Shanghai Animation Film Studio,and studied back the animated cartoon department of Shanghai Film Studio,which had moved south to Shanghai,and the official foundation of Shanghai Animation Film Studio in 1957.On this basis,this chapter carried out a historical survey and in-depth interpretation of the institutional structure,production and management modes,staff structure,and other aspects of the Shanghai Animation Film Studio.Particularly,this chapter analyzed and examined the composition of the creation staff at different stages,laying a solid foundation for the development of the next chapters.Chapter two elaborates on the building process of the animation creation thoughts of Shanghai Animation Film Studio,which was placed in the social,political and cultural context of that time for investigation.Standing at the historical point when animation began to emerge in China,this chapter seriously reviewed and studied the influence of American animation technology and the “imaginary domain” on Chinese animation,as well as on the animation production of Shanghai Animation Film Studio after the founding of the People’s Republic of China;Next,the influence of Soviet animation on Chinese animation after the founding of New China was examined as well.Besides,this chapter also clarified the inheritance relationship between US & Soviet animation and the development of Chinese animation,so as to deeply understand the intrinsic consistency between early animation and “seventeen years” animation.Driven by the anxiety of “foreign” animations,Chinese animation,after following,adapting,and imitating them passively,finally embarked on the building process of animation nationalization,with an entrepreneurial attitude and imprint of national cultures,and achieved the glory of the “seventeen years” period.Chapter three aims to verify the historical facts of the huge technical genealogy of the five major film types(animation,puppet film,paper-cut film,ink-and-wash animation,origami film)of the Shanghai Animation Film Studio during the “seventeen years” period.This chapter studied and analyzed the exclusive evolutionary logic of each type of film generated by technological innovation and evolution,particularly expounding the creation process of ink-and-wash animation,and unveiling the secret production process of the ink-and-wash animation that was once regarded as a state secret.Also,this chapter further explored the technical evolution of the ink-and-wash paper-cut animation which combined ink-and-wash animation and paper-cut animation.Chapter four conducted academic analysis on the “drawing” and “acting” in the animation during the “seventeen years” period by Shanghai Animation Film Studio.First,this chapter explored the reason why the success of the national-style animation during the “seventeen years” period was mainly reflected in the “art/ drawing”,which was deeply elaborated from the two dimensions: the influence of national cultural policies,the practice exploration of the animation film studio.It’s believed in this paper that the art forms with distinctive ethnic characteristics in the animation works during the “seventeen years” period have formed a certain symbolic symbol of the country and the nation.which stimulated the public’s identification with the nation-state,strengthened national cohesion and cultural self-confidence,and played a positive role in the construction of the people’s national identity.As for the level of “acting”,this chapter made a horizontal comparison on the evolution in Western animation,traced back the exploration of “acting” in early Chinese animation,and particularly analyzed the historical development of “acting” in Chinese animation during the “seventeen years” period.Arduous exploration has been made,though,Chinese animation did not construct its own animation creation system.In the specific research process,this paper covered beyond the “seventeen years”period in some research,and traced back to the source of animation history,aiming to outline a complete and clear historical context as much as possible.This paper employed a wealth of newly explored archives and historical data,in hope of reaching the historical scene as close as possible.The animation production of the animation film studio during the “seventeen years” period was placed in the closely real historical context for a systematic and in-depth investigation in a multi-dimensional manner.The ultimate goal is,by taking history as a mirror,to provide a historical reference prototype and an interpretation and reference text for the Chinese animation creation in stalemate currently.