Includes bibliographical references (p. 177-183) and index.
Contents:
An interview with Roy E. Disney -- Stories across media. From there to here: the beginnings of interactive stories ; Stories and communicating ; Disney stories ; Life experience, joy of entertainment, love of drawing ; Becoming an animator ; Our story -- Part 1. From gags to stories. Early animation: gags and situations. Getting into the business of animation ; Laugh-o-grams ; Production and story techniques ; Cracking the market -- From gags to characters. A new animated experience for the audience ; Renewed focus on animation ; Creating a character with personality ; 1923 to 1927: 57 Alice's adventures + 1927 to 1928: 26 Oswalds = progress -- Synchronizing sound and character. From silent to talkie ; Inventing sound production ; Strategies to build character ; Silly Symphonies - setting animation to music ; Commitment to improvement ; Sound and character -- Drawing and color: the language of realism. Pencil tests and overlapping action ; Gags to story ; Introducing color ; The language of color ; Drawing, color, and story -- Capturing life in animated film. Creating believable personalities ; The challenge of Snow White ; Multiplane camera ; The Old Mill ; Snow White's success ; Snow White's achievment -- Part 2. From watching to experiencing across media. Creating the Disney master narrative. Establishing a cultural icon within popular culture ; The Disney master narrative and popular culture: Merchandising, The road show, The original Mickey Mouse Club, Radio? An advertising but not story medium for Mickey, Television -- Engaging audiences across media. Transmedia ; Comics ; Books ; A little pop-up history ; Disneyland ; The Disneyland stories ; Preliminary story planning ; Mainstreet, U.S.A. -- Part 3. From interacting to creating and sharing. Animated storybooks and activity centers. Arcade game to story game ; "A story waiting for you to make it happen"-the synergy of story and game technology ; Along came Simba -- Going online: a personal theme park. Taking Disney's world online ; A range of engaging activities within a Disney world ; Reaching wider audiences with new forms -- Development cycle: games. The Disney Online development process ; Prototyping: a narrative game: Story supports game activities, P.I. Mickey storyboards 1-8, Gameplay ; Edutainment ; Disney edutainment ; Hot shot business ; Purchased games -- Development cycle: quality and feedback. Developing a community-based musical activity ; Quality assurance and software testing ; Focus groups and guest feedback ; New directions -- MMORPGs: player-to-player interaction. Initial steps ; Chat Studio: the first Disney virtual community ; Multiplayer Jabber Flash games ; Massive multiplayer online games (MMOGs) ; Toontown Online ; Toontown's backstory ; Becoming a toon ; Safe and friendly socializing ; Collecting and cooperating to save Toontown ; Panda: the little engine that could ; Toontown Online: a work in progress -- Virtual online worlds: stories and engagement. Expanding the online theme park ; Gameplay and storyline ; Making the story "their own" -- Epilogue. A personal journey with Newton Lee ; Ten years at Disney Online ; A chance meeting with Disney fellow Dr. Alan Kay ; More than a job -- Timeline. The beginning ; Establishing Disney ; Television and theme parks ; Digital ; The Internet.
Summary:
Explores how Disney, the man and the company, used technological innovation to create characters and stories that engage audiences in many different media, in particular in video games and on the Internet. Drawing on Disney films from the twenties and thirties, as well as the writings of historians, screenwriters and producers, Disney Stories: Getting to Digital explains how new film and animation techniques, many developed by Disney, worked together to evolve character and content development and produce entertaining stories that riveted audiences. Through an insider's perspective of Disney's legendary creation process, the book closely examines how the Disney Company moved its stories into the digital world in the 1990s and the virtual, online communities of the 2000s. By embracing the digital era, Disney led storytelling and technological innovation by granting their audience the unique opportunity to take part in their creation process through their online games.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.