© 2014 Universal Uclick

from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick

Fifty years ago, a strict, magical governess with a sense of adventure flew into movie history in the Walt Disney film “Mary Poppins.” The movie was one of the most artistic blends of live action and animation of its time. To learn more about the movie magic leading to “Mary Poppins,” The Mini Page talked with a professor of animation history at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia.Movie magician In the 1890s, a French filmmaker, Georges Melies (mel-YEZ), invented many of the special effects that make movies so amazing. You may have learned about him in the book “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” by Brian Selznick, or in “Hugo,” the movie based on the book. One of Melies’ most important special effects was the composite. A composite (kuhm-PAH-zut) is something that is made up of different things, or elements.

Composites in movies A composite photograph or movie frame is made by putting different elements together. For example, if you combined a picture of a giraffe with a photo of your bedroom, you’d have a picture of a giraffe standing by your bed. You’d have one image made of parts of two different photos. In other words, you’d have a composite. In the early days of movies, compositing, or mixing elements to form one image, was a long process that required a lot of time and patience.

Filmmaking bit by bit To make a composite, Melies would paint part of a piece of glass black. The black paint stopped any light from hitting the film behind it. A mask over part of an image is called a matte. The matte stopped that one area of film from being exposed. Melies would film a bit of the movie. Then he’d rewind the film. He’d replace the matte with a new one and film again. Some parts of silent films were rewound and reshot as many as 30 times. If filmmakers made it all the way to the 29th reshooting and made a mistake, they’d have to start the whole process over again. Sometimes in California, an earthquake would move puppets or other objects. The filming would have to begin again.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Flying With Mary Poppins

phot

o co

urte

sy W

ikip

edia

This shot is from Georges Melies’ film “A Trip to the Moon.” Movies with a lot of special effects are often called “trick films.”

phot

o co

urte

sy T

he W

alt

Dis

ney

Com

pany

. All

Rig

hts

Res

erve

d

This is a composite photo of Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) and Bert (Dick Van Dyke) dining with cartoon penguins. In 1964, when “Mary Poppins” came out, it was the first time anyone had so successfully made this many long scenes mixing live action with animation.

from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick

®

Colored screens Filmmakers invented a way to film actors in front of a black or colored screen. After filming the actors, they could replace the colored background with something else, such as scenery or animation. This was much easier and more realistic-looking than making films by rewinding and reshooting over and over. When movies came out in color, around 1940, filmmakers started photographing actors in front of a blue screen. Blue was the furthest tone away from most skin tones, so actors would stand out better. One of the troubles with the blue-screen technique was that it looked as if there were a blue outline around the actor. Also, actors could not have any blue in their clothes, or it wouldn’t show up on film. Today, actors usually perform in front of a green screen. Green works better with digital, computerized cameras.

Lighting a white background In the 1950s, inventor Petro Vlahos developed a way to film actors in front of a white screen that was lighted with special lights. These sodium-vapor lights gave off a yellow-orange color. (You may have sodium-vapor streetlamps in your town.) Sodium-vapor filming allowed moviemakers much more freedom. There was no colored outline around the actors. Details such as hairs or fine material would show up on film. Composites were better quality than before. It was much easier to make composites of animation with live actors. Walt Disney owned the only equipment in America that could use this process. In the 1960s, Disney was the only major studio that still had its team of visual effects experts. Some of these experts later helped with special effects for the first “Star Wars” movie.

Against a Blank Screen

Disney magic Walt Disney used a new process, sodium vapor, in several films. It allowed Hayley Mills to play two different girls in “The Parent Trap.” In 1964, Disney used the process so artistically in “Mary Poppins” that the film won an Academy Award for special effects.

Ready Resourcesfrom The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick

The Mini Page provides ideas for websites, books or other resources that will help you learn more about this week’s topics.On the web:• vimeo.com/70304814At the library: • “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” by Brian Selznick • “Hugo” DVD • “Mary Poppins” by P.L. Travers • “Mary Poppins” DVD

M E T T A M K O O B Y R O T S F O E F I L E T I S O P M O C M I V T C E F F E S S L X L K A A L I S E N E C S C O I I M G R L M E S T H G I L R N V M I T L A I C E P S F A L E G E C R E K A M M L I F L C M E S A D N U O R G K C A B Y T V N L S K O O B N O I T A M I N A

Words that remind us of “Mary Poppins” are hidden in the block above. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally. See if you can find: ACT, ANIMATION, ART, BACKGROUND, BOOKS, COMPOSITE, EFFECT, FILM, FILMMAKER, FLY, LIGHTS, LIFE, LIVE, MAGICAL, MATTE, MIX, MOVIE, SCENES, SCREEN, SONGS, SPECIAL, STORYBOOK.

Mary Poppinsfrom The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick

TM

BassetBrown’s

Try’n’

Find

phot

o co

urte

sy T

he W

alt

Dis

ney

Com

pany

. All

Rig

hts

Res

erve

d

The sodium-vapor process allowed actors to wear any color of clothing, including blue.

®

from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick

Meet the Shermans

from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick

You’ll need:• 2 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-size chunks• 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped• 1/4 cup almonds, slivered• 2 tablespoons light mayonnaise• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard

What to do:1. Combine first three ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix well.2. Stir in mayonnaise and mustard. Mix well.3. Serve on sandwich bread or on top of lettuce. Serves 4.

You will need an adult’s help with this recipe.

TM

Rookie Cookie’s RecipeSpring Chicken Salad

from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick

All the following jokes have something in common. Can you guess the common theme or category?

TM MightyFunny’s Mini Jokes

from

The

Min

i Pag

e ©

201

4 U

nive

rsal

Ucl

ick

Mini SpyMini Spy and her friends are meeting the

“Mary Poppins” characters! See if you can find:q number 3 q pig q word MINI q cane q letter B q horse q letter Z q birdq caterpillar q heart q ladder q number 2q ruler q frog

TM

Robert and Richard Sherman were a team of songwriting brothers, most famous for writing the songs in “Mary Poppins.” They are well-known for their movie, TV, stage musicals and theme park compositions. The brothers wrote songs together for 50 years until Robert died in 2012. They wrote the song “It’s a Small World (After All),” as well as songs for many movies, including

“Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” “The Jungle Book,” “Winnie the Pooh” and “Charlotte’s Web.” Robert played the violin and piano as a child. When he was in high school, he wrote radio shows and a play. He won a Purple Heart in World War II. Richard played the flute, piccolo and piano in high school and college, where he majored in music. The brothers began composing music for Walt Disney when they wrote songs for Mouseketeer Annette Funicello in the 1950s.

Robert (1925-2012) (left) and Richard (1928 – )ph

oto

cour

tesy

Wik

iped

ia

Mary: If someone told you he knew a man with a wooden leg called Smith, what would you say?

Bert: “What’s the name of his other leg?”

Paul: What’s the easiest job in a watch factory?John: Making faces!

Jane: If you had a nightmare and chewed your pillow to bits, how would you feel the next morning?

Michael: A little down in the mouth!

from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick

After Penn State wrestling matches, David Taylor is a friendly Nittany Lion, smiling, signing autographs and chatting with admiring young fans. On the mat, it’s a different scene. He’s the Lions’ king, who dominates opponents, often pinning them. Going into his senior season, Taylor’s record included one NCAA championship, three Big Ten titles, a 2012 National Wrestler of the Year award and a 100-3 overall record in collegiate matches. Ranked No. 1 in his weight class, Taylor is a favorite to win another NCAA title this year. In high school he was a four-time Ohio state champ. Taylor is just as impressive in the classroom, making first-team Academic All-American three times. He already has graduated and is working on a master’s degree in education administration.

TM David TaylorGus

Goodsport’sSupersport

Weight: 165Hometown:

St. Paris, Ohio

from The Mini Page © 2014 Universal Uclick

®

Telling the story “Mary Poppins” was made with a mix of visual effects. For example, the scenes with the bird lady and the chimney sweeps used background paintings of London. Many backgrounds were painted on glass. The actors were filmed first, and the backgrounds were added later. Puppet animation created the scene when the tin soldiers are marching into the toybox. The robin singing on Mary Poppins’ hand was a robotic bird, or an animatronic device. It was activated by Julie Andrews’ voice. The bird’s wires ran under her costume. Blacked-out wires suspended flying actors.

The books that won hearts Walt Disney’s daughters loved the “Mary Poppins” books so much that he promised to make a movie based on these stories. It took him more than 20 years to convince the author to let him make the film. P.L. Travers, or Pamela Lyndon Travers, was an Australian actress, dancer and writer. The “Mary Poppins” books made her famous. Travers based much in the books on her own life. Her father worked in a bank, just like Mr. Banks. He died when Pamela was about 7. A great-aunt then helped care for her and her sisters. Mary Poppins is based on that aunt.

Creating the Magic

Magic lands Walt Disney did not want everything to be realistic in “Mary Poppins.” He wanted the movie to feel as if viewers had fallen into a storybook. He combined realistic scenes, such as the woman on the cathedral steps feeding the birds, with magical, unreal scenes, such as when Bert dances with the penguins or Mary flies in with her umbrella. Experts say that the philosophy in Disney animation is to create the illusion, or appearance, of life. The animation does not have to look real, but it must look alive in the world of the movie.

The Mini Page StaffBetty Debnam - Founding Editor and Editor at Large Lisa Tarry - Managing Editor Lucy Lien - Associate Editor Wendy Daley - Artist

phot

o co

urte

sy T

he W

alt

Dis

ney

Com

pany

. All

Rig

hts

Res

erve

d

Paintings of London created a mysterious early 1900s atmosphere. There were 100 glass and matte paintings of the London cityscape. Artists poked holes behind the paintings of buildings. When light was shined through the holes, it looked as if the city were glowing.

phot

o co

urte

sy T

he W

alt

Dis

ney

Com

pany

. All

Rig

hts

Res

erve

d

Walt Disney wanted scenes such as people dancing with animals or racing on merry-go-round horses to feel like something from another, magical world.

art

© 1

934

by M

ary

She

pard

, pub

lishe

d by

H

ough

tonM

ifflin

Har

cour

t

“Mary Poppins,” the first book in the series, was published in 1934.

The Mini Page thanks Dr. Harvey Deneroff, animation history professor, Savannah College of Art and Design, for help with this issue.

Look through your newspaper, TV and movie listings for shows with animation.

Next week, The Mini Page is about the instruments of the orchestra.