Annie Awards Program Book

“I’d like to see every chapter
of ASIFA get a digitization
setup so they can contribute
their own reference material
to the database.” Worth says.
“That way, animators all over
the world could contribute
and gain from the accumulated
knowledge.”
Right now, the database is only
available at the archive offices
in Burbank, California; but
Stephen Worth has also been
utilizing the archive’s blog to
get a massive amount of their
fantastic collection online.
He dedicates much of his
time writing articles on the
website to generate interest in
the materials and to explain
how interested parties can become involved in the project. The ASIFA-
Hollywood Animation Archive Project Blog, which can be found at
www.animationarchive.org contains thousands of images and streaming
videos, along with biographical articles and information on the
progress of the project itself. Currently, the blog serves over a quarter of
a million articles a month to over 1.5 million unique visitors. “Our web
traffic comes from around the world. We’ve heard from artists as far
away as Japan and Italy who follow our progress on the internet every
day.”
“The next step for us is to establish a steady stream of revenue to fund
the sustained growth of the project,” says Worth. “I see in my head a
full brick and mortar museum dedicated to animation with satellite
facilities all over the world. I’m willing to do whatever I can to make
this a reality. There are a lot of other people here who love animation
Veteran story artist, Eddie Fitzgerald shares tips and advice
with student volunteers at the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive.
The estate of Milton Caniff, the creator of Steve Canyon and Terry and the Pirates,
has shared original artwork and biographical material with the ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive. Photo shows Caniff at work in his studio in the late 1940s.
and are happy to help. I don’t
think it’s an unattainable goal.”
Part of what makes the ASIFA-
Hollywood Archive so unique
is that they are so progressive
and yet so willfully different
from other archives. Their
unique vision is encapsulated
in a remark from Worth, “I’m
not a library science person,
I’m an animator, so I don’t
know what ‘normal’ is for a
facility like this. I do know
what kind of information that
animators want and how they
need it organized so they can
use it. That’s what I’m trying
to build.” This pro-access
approach is refreshing.
A big reason why ASIFA-Hollywood’s project is so unique is because it
is designed by and for animators. This is a group of artists who not only
understand the basic elements of form, design, and nuances of character
performance, but have to rigorously time and structure the creation of
their art down to 1/24 th of a second. They are well equipped to deliver
the massive amount of material they aspire to provide in a structured
and organized way.
Certainly the professional world contains a scattered sampling of
people as dedicated as ASIFA-Hollywood is to documenting their own
profession and educating the newcomers, but it’s extremely rare to find
such a concentrated few in any one place. As an archivist myself, I think
my peers might have a lot to learn from these animators, and in time
I think the archiving world will take notice of ASIFA-Hollywood’s
efforts. It is rapidly becoming the model of what the “21 st century
archive” must become.
Individual and Corporate Sponsorship packages are available on a variety of
levels. Please do your part to help this project encourage, train and inspire the
animators of the future.
This project is made possible by generous grants from...
ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive
Stephen Worth, Director
2114 W. Burbank Bl
Burbank, CA 91506
818 842.5168
www.animationarchive.org
sworth@animationarchive.org