I Love Rolling Holds

In animation, takes get all the love; those big, broad, comedic reactions that Tex Avery mastered and the rest of us try to emulate.  Standing out like the class clown, takes win all popularity contests with animators and fans of animation alike.  But for every class clown,  there's a quiet kid representing the class with dignity and grace; in animation terms, the rolling hold.  

When I watch pencil tests and see rolling holds, I get a feeling not unlike drinking a Guinness really fast.  It's good.  I've felt this was since my student days, before I could afford Guinness, watching countless pencil tests of my classmates' films.  So what is it about the rolling hold that has a hold on me?

Animation Sweatbox - reinforcing cultural stereotypes

Animation dailies - how it used to be

Once upon a time animation "sweatbox" was actually a sweaty room below stairs at the Disney lot with a hot moviola to review the previous day's animation. Later, as technology improved, you got to see your shots projected on to a screen, and then publicly dissected by the director in front of your colleagues.

Today the moviola is long gone, but animation dailies are still with us, and some studios still call it sweatbox in homage to the old Disney tradition.