Editing Computer Animation Production System

{{Short description|Computer-assisted animation production system}}
The '''Computer Animation Production System''' ('''CAPS''') was a proprietary collection of [[software]], scanning camera systems, servers, networked computer workstations, and custom desks developed by [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] and [[Pixar]] in the late 1980s. Although outmoded by the mid-2000s, it succeeded in reducing labor costs for [[Traditional animation#Digital ink and paint|ink-and-paint]] and [[post-production]] processes of [[traditional animation|traditionally animated]] feature [[film]]s produced by [[Walt Disney Animation Studios]] (known as Walt Disney Feature Animation until 2007). It also provided an entirely new palette of digital tools to the animation filmmakers.

== History and evolution ==
The Computer Graphics Lab at the [[New York Institute of Technology]] developed a "scan and paint" system for cel animation in the late 1970s. It was used to produce a 22-minute computer-animated television show called ''Measure for Measure.'' Industry developments with computer systems led [[Marc Levoy]] of [[Cornell University]] and [[Hanna-Barbera|Hanna-Barbera Productions]] to develop a video animation system for cartoons in the early 1980s.<ref>Bruce Wallace, ''Merging and Transformation of Raster Images for Cartoon Animation,'' Proceedings of SIGGRAPH 1981, Vol 15, No. 3, Aug. 1981, 253-262.</ref>

The first usage of the CAPS process was Mickey standing on Epcot's [[Spaceship Earth (Epcot)|Spaceship Earth]] for "The Magical World of Disney" titles.  The system's first feature film test was in the production of ''[[The Little Mermaid (1989 film)|The Little Mermaid]]'' in 1989 where it was used in a single shot of the rainbow sequence at the end of the film.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.cgw.com/Publications/CGW/2010/Volume-33-Issue-1-Jan-2010-/The-Tradition-Lives-On.aspx|title=The Tradition Lives On|journal=Computer Graphics World|author= Barbara Robertson|access-date=11 November 2016|volume=33|issue=1|date=January 2010}}</ref> After ''Mermaid'', films were made completely using CAPS; the first of these, ''[[The Rescuers Down Under]]'', was the first 100% digital feature film ever produced.  Later films, including ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]'', ''[[Aladdin (1992 Disney film)|Aladdin]]'', ''[[The Lion King]]'', and ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'' took more advantage of CAPS' 2D and 3D integration.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Computer Graphics World|last1=Robertson|first1=Barbara|title=Part 7: Movie Retrospective|date=July 2002|volume=25|issue=7|url=https://www.cgw.com/Publications/CGW/2002/Volume-25-Issue-7-July-2002-/Part-7-Movie-Retrospective.aspx|quote=December 1991 Although 3D graphics debuted in earlier Disney animations, Beauty and the Beast is the first in which hand-drawn characters appear in a 3D background. Every frame of the film is scanned, created, or composited within Disney's computer animation production system (CAPS) co-developed with Pixar. (Premiere: (11/91)}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=Computer Graphics World|url =https://www.cgw.com/Publications/CGW/2012/Volume-35-Issue-6-Oct-Nov-2012-/Timeline.aspx|title=Timeline|date=Oct–Nov 2012|volume=35|issue=6|quote = DECEMBER 1991: Beauty and the Beast is the first Disney film with hand-drawn characters in a 3D background. Every frame is scanned, created, or composited within CAPS.}}</ref>

In the early days of CAPS, Disney chose not to discuss the system in public, being afraid that "the magic would go away" if people found out that computers were involved.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fxguide.com/featured/alvy-ray-smith-rgba-the-birth-of-compositing-the-founding-of-pixar/|title=Alvy Ray Smith: RGBA, the birth of compositing & the founding of Pixar|date=5 July 2012|work=fxguide.com|access-date=11 November 2016}}</ref> Computer Graphics World<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cgw.com/|title=Visual Effects - Computer Graphics World - 3D Modeling - Animation - CGI|work=cgw.com|access-date=11 November 2016}}</ref> magazine, in 1994, was the first to have a look at the process.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Robertson |first=Barbara |date=July 1994 |title=Disney lets CAPS out of the bag |url=https://business.highbeam.com/410504/article-1G1-16175916/disney-lets-caps-out-bag |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151226015555/https://business.highbeam.com/410504/article-1G1-16175916/disney-lets-caps-out-bag |archive-date=December 26, 2015 |access-date=December 25, 2015 |magazine=Computer Graphics World |publisher= |quote=}}</ref>

== Awards ==
In 1992, the team that developed CAPS won an [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] Scientific and Engineering Award.  They were:<ref name="ampas">{{cite web |url=https://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/search/getresults?query=%7B%22Sort%22%3A%223-Award%20Category-Chron%22%2C%22AwardCategory%22%3A%5B%2230%22%2C%2231%22%2C%2232%22%2C%2233%22%2C%2234%22%2C%2235%22%5D%2C%22AwardShowNumberFrom%22%3A64%2C%22AwardShowNumberTo%22%3A0%2C%22Search%22%3A30%7D |title=The Academy Awards Database |work=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |access-date=2019-09-13 |url-status= }}</ref>
* [[Randy Cartwright]] (Disney)
* [[David Coons|David B. Coons]] (Disney)
* [[Lemuel Davis]] (Disney)
* Thomas Hahn (Pixar)
* James Houston (Disney)
* Mark Kimball (Disney)
* Dylan W. Kohler (Disney)
* Peter Nye (Pixar)
* Michael Shantzis (Pixar)
* David F. Wolf (Disney)
* [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Walt Disney Feature Animation Department]]

== Technical capabilities ==
{{unreferenced section|date=May 2016}}
CAPS was a [[digital ink and paint]] system used in animated feature films, the first at a major studio. Using CAPS, enclosed areas and lines could be easily colored in a computer environment using an unlimited palette. This replaced the expensive process of transferring animated drawings to [[cel]]s using [[India ink]] or [[xerography|xerographic]] technology, and painting the reverse sides of the cels with [[gouache]] paint. It also allowed for sophisticated new techniques such as [[Transparency (graphic)|transparent]] shading and blended colors.

The completed digital cels were composited over [[Image scanner|scanned]] background paintings, and camera or pan movements were programmed into a computer exposure sheet simulating the actions of old style animation cameras. Additionally, complex [[Multiplane camera|multiplane]] shots giving a sense of depth were possible. Unlike the [[Analogue electronics|analog]] multiplane camera, the CAPS multiplane cameras were not limited by artwork size. Extensive camera movements never before seen were incorporated into the films. The final version of the sequence was composited and recorded onto film. Since the animation elements existed digitally, it was easy to integrate other types of film and video elements, including three-dimensional [[computer animation]].

CAPS was capable of a high level of image quality using significantly slower computer systems than are available today. The final frames were rendered at a [[2K resolution|2K]] [[digital cinematography|digital film]] resolution (2048 x 1234 pixels at a 1.66 aspect ratio), and the artwork was scanned so that it always held 100% resolution in the final output, no matter how complex the camera motion in the shot.  Using the [[Pixar Image Computer]], images were stored at 48-bits per pixel.  The compositing system allowed complex multi-layered shots that was used almost immediately in ''[[The Rescuers Down Under]]'' to create a 400-layer opening dolly shot.  The DALS system made use of one of the first large-scale, custom [[RAID]] systems in the film industry.

== Decline and eventual replacement ==
{{unreferenced section|date=May 2016}}
''[[Treasure Planet]]'' (2002) and ''[[Home on the Range (2004 film)|Home on the Range]]'' (2004) under-performed financially in their theatrical runs. This, combined with the success of [[CGI-animated]] feature films from [[Pixar Animation Studios]] and competitor [[DreamWorks Animation]], eventually prompted Walt Disney Feature Animation's management team to close down their traditional 2D animation department in 2004. The CAPS desks were removed and the custom automated scanning cameras were dismantled and officially scrapped. By 2005, only one desk system remained, and that was only for reading the data for the films that had been made with CAPS.

In 2007, [[John Lasseter]] became the studio's new head of management team and called for the 2D animation unit's reopening. Rather than return to CAPS, however, Disney's subsequent traditionally animated feature and short film production projects ''[[How to Hook Up Your Home Theater]]'' (2007), ''[[The Princess and the Frog]]'' (2009), ''[[The Ballad of Nessie]]'' (2011), and ''[[Winnie the Pooh (2011 film)|Winnie the Pooh]]'' (2011) were produced using [[Toon Boom Animation]]'s [[Toon Boom#Harmony|Toon Boom Harmony]] commercial animation computer software, which offered a more up-to-date modern contemporary digital animation system.

== Disney animated projects produced using CAPS ==
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=== Feature films ===
* ''[[The Little Mermaid (1989 film)|The Little Mermaid]]'' (1989) (ending scene)
* ''[[The Rescuers Down Under]]'' (1990)
* ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]'' (1991)
* ''[[Aladdin (1992 Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' (1992)
* ''[[Hocus Pocus (1993 film)|Hocus Pocus]]'' (1993)
* ''[[The Nightmare Before Christmas]]'' (1993)<ref name="IMDB Nightmare">{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107688/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast |title= The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) - Full Cast & Crew |work=IMDb |publisher=IMDb.com, Inc. |access-date=2014-09-15 |quote=caps personnel }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 29, 2021 |title=Stop Motion Without Compromise: The Nightmare Before Christmas |url=https://theasc.com/articles/nightmare-before-christmas |url-status=live |access-date=May 4, 2025 |website=American Cinematographer}}</ref>
* ''[[The Lion King]]'' (1994)
* ''[[Pocahontas (1995 film)|Pocahontas]]'' (1995)
* ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'' (1996)
* ''[[Hercules (1997 film)|Hercules]]'' (1997)
* ''[[Mulan (1998 film)|Mulan]]'' (1998)
* ''[[Tarzan (1999 film)|Tarzan]]'' (1999)
* ''[[Fantasia 2000]]'' (1999)
* ''[[The Emperor's New Groove]]'' (2000)
* ''[[Atlantis: The Lost Empire]]'' (2001)
* ''[[Lilo & Stitch]]'' (2002)
* ''[[Treasure Planet]]'' (2002)
* ''[[Brother Bear]]'' (2003)
* ''[[Home on the Range (2004 film)|Home on the Range]]'' (2004)

=== Short films ===
* ''[[Off His Rockers]]'' (1992)
* ''[[Roger Rabbit short films#Trail Mix-Up|Trail Mix-Up]]'' (1993)
* ''[[Runaway Brain]]'' (1995)
* ''[[John Henry (2000 film)|John Henry]]'' (2000)
* ''[[Destino]]'' (2003)
* ''[[Lorenzo (film)|Lorenzo]]'' (2004)
* ''[[The Little Matchgirl (2006 film)|The Little Matchgirl]]'' (2006)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Walt Disney Animation Studios}}
{{Pixar}}

[[Category:Film and video technology]]
[[Category:Disney technology]]
[[Category:Pixar]]
[[Category:Animation techniques]]