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CONTENTS

Roobarb Material ........................................................................................................................................................... 3

Bob Godfrey ................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Bob Godfrey and the University for the Creative Arts ................................................................................................... 7

Animation ...................................................................................................................................................................... 9

What is animation? ................................................................................................................................................... 9

Producing an animation .......................................................................................................................................... 10

Activities ...................................................................................................................................................................... 11

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ROOBARB MATERIAL

University for the Creative Arts is home to the Bob Godfrey Animation Archive. This archive comprises a number of

animated productions, including Roobarb.

Roobarb was a British animated children's television programme. The series was originally broadcast in 1974 on

the BBC1 channel just before the six o'clock evening news. The animation style is recognisable by its rough style

using marker pens. This created an effect termed as 'boiling', which gives the impression that the pictures are

constantly moving giving an overall energetic effect.

Grange Calveley states that the character Roobarb was based on his own dog, a Welsh Border Collie. Bob Godfrey

claims that he decided to make him green because green was the colour of money. The character of the rounded

pink cat named Custard was based on a huge cat that lived next door to Calveley. Bob Godfrey described Roobarb

as 'The Holy Fool' and Custard as 'The Devil's Advocate'.

Godfrey writes that the hardest work on Roobarb was getting the idea accepted. Calveley had approached various

studios with his idea, but had little success. Finally, he approached Bob Godfrey, who was 'feeling like a change'

from producing commercials. Together they presented the idea to the BBC, and a series was commissioned. Within

11 months, Grange Calveley conceived, wrote, and drew 30 five minute stories for the BBC, writing the episodes as

they were being produced. The narration was done by Richard Briers, and the music by Johnny Hawksworth. The

series was first broadcast on 21st October 1974.

A new series consisting of 39 episodes was written and broadcast on Channel Five in 2005, also written by Grange

Calveley and narrated by Richard Briers. However, this series was produced by Adam Sharp and Bernadette

O'Riordan for A&Btv, and directed by Jason Tammemagi. The animation was completed by Monster Animation &

Design. Computer animation was used, but the boiling effect was maintained.

The material held at UCA includes artwork, titles and credits from the original series broadcast in 1974. However, a

majority of the material relates to a television programme titled I Love 1974. I Love 1974 was an episode from the

BBC produced series 'I Love the Seventies', which was broadcast in 2000. The series took a nostalgic trip back to

the decade of the seventies, exploring the main cultural and commercial products of the time. The ten-part series

was broadcast on Saturday nights, with each episode introducing various brands, titles and objects teamed with

discussions by celebrities.

Each episode was hosted by a different celebrity, with I Love 1974 being hosted by the cult cartoon characters

Roobarb and Custard. The episode looked at the Ford Capri, The Bionic Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, Pan's

People, The Wombles and Mud. Roobarb and Custard introduced the show and provided introductory segments

(“Intro Stings”) to each topic. One portion of the show also focussed on the show Roobarb, with commentary by

Bob Godfrey. Richard Briers was scripted in to once again provide the voiceover for the Roobarb and Custard

Characters.

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Copyright and Ownership:

Copyright of the Roobarb characters: Grange Calveley

Copyright of Roobarb and Custard: A&Btv

Ownership of material: The Bob Godfrey Family

Notices: Roobarb & Custard courtesy of A+Btv, Grange Calveley and The Bob Godfrey Family.

Credits for the original series:

Written by Grange Calveley

Narrated by Richard Briers

Music by Johnny Hawksworth

Directed by Bob Godfrey

Production Manager Hester Coblentz

Production Assistant Terry Moesker

Produced by Bob Godfrey's Movie Emporium

Further Sources:

http://www.grangecalveley.com/

http://www.roobarbandcustard.tv/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roobarb

Link to Catalogue entry:

http://archives.ucreative.ac.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=BG%2fRB

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BOB GODFREY

Bob Godfrey was born in Horse Shoe Bend, West Maitland, Australia in 1921, but moved to England shortly after

with his British parents. He grew up in the East End of London and was educated in Ilford, Leyton Art School.

Godfrey's career began in the 1930s when he started working for Lever Brothers as a graphic artist on Animaland,

a Disney-styled series. However, he was first introduced to animation as a background artist while working for

W.M.Larkins Studio in 1950. Shortly after starting at W.M. Larkins, Godfrey and others set up the Grasshoppers

group, a semi-professional distribution company, which gave Godfrey the chance to direct, write and animate his

first animated cartoon, The Big Parade (1952). Also, whilst working at the Larkin Studio but in his spare time, he

made Watch the Birdie (1954) with Keith Learner.

It was in this year that Godfrey and Keith Learner, along with Jeff Hale (plus Nancy Hanna and Vera Linnecar later

on) formed Biographic Films - a production company that thrived on producing television, advertising and public

relations works from 1954 to 1965. Because Biographic thrived, this gave Bob the opportunity to make his own

personal films, starting with Polygamous Polonius (1959). Other notable productions during this period were Do It

Yourself Cartoon Kit (1961) and commercials for 'Don't Forget The TV Times' and 'Esso Blue'. The last two

films Godfrey made at Biographic Films were The Rise and Fall of Emily Sprod (1964) and Alf, Bill and Fred (1964).

By this point in time, Bob Godfrey's Films could be clearly identified by their unique and unconventional mix of

techniques, which were used to produce fast-paced, sometimes satirical, energetic films.

Godfrey went solo in 1965, forming Bob Godfrey's Movie Emporium. This title was later shortened

to Bob Godfrey Films.

Godfrey has always used various techniques in the making of his films. When he started making short films, he

used the traditional cel drawn animation method. However, it was rare for an entire Godfrey film to be made this

way, possibly because of the expense that it incurred. Many of Godfrey's films mix this traditional technique with

cut out drawings, magazine and newspaper images, and even live action film clips. His most commonly used

technique was felt markers on white animation paper. The characters would be drawn with a thick black outline

and coloured with various brightly coloured markers, which gave each image a flat textured look. This technique

was used in Godfrey's series work, and many of his animatics.

Much of Godfrey's work has been on what it means to be 'British’, but he has also been responsible for a number

of Children's cartoon characters, for example, the Roobarb and Custard series (1975). Almost a decade after

Roobarb and Custard, Godfrey produced another series called Henry's Cat (1980s to early 1990s. Godfrey also

worked on Bunbury Tails/Tales, Kevin Saves the World, and The Many Deaths of Norman Spittal, based on the

drawings of Jeremy Banx. Apart from the short films and series that made characterised Bob Godfrey Films, they

also produced many commercials, which helped keep the studio financially stable. Some of the many commercials

that Godfrey worked on include Angel Delight, Bassett's Jelly Babies, Britvic, Clearasil, Kit Kat, Nestles 'Animal Bar',

Penguin Books, Trio, and Walls 'Feast'.

Aside from the many awards Bob Godfrey has won for his films, he was also awarded the MBE (Member of the

British Empire) in June 1986, the ASIFA Prize (1990), the Zagrab Festival's Life Achievement Award (1992) and an

Honorary Doctorate (1998). Bob was awarded the first Lifetime Achievement Award at the Bradford Animation

Festival in 2007 in recognition of his distinguished career. He was co-chairman of the Education Commission and a

director of the executive board of the International Animated Film Association.

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Bob Godfrey was the first British Oscar winning animator, with Great, a humorous look at the life and times of

British Engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

Bob Godfrey died on 21 February 2013, at the age of 91.

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BOB GODFREY AND THE UNIVERSITY FOR THE CREATIVE ARTS

Bob Godfrey was responsible for founding the animation course at The University for the Creative Arts in Surrey in

the late 1960s/early 1970s. He taught and established the BA (Hons) Animation course at UCA Farnham, then West

Surrey College of Art and Design. Following the closure of his studio, Godfrey donated his collection of artwork to

the Animation Archive at UCA Farnham. It is the largest collection within the archive, comprising of over 420 boxes

of original artwork and artefacts that illuminate the creative processes of pre-digital animation processes.

The archive contains records relating to Bob Godfrey's Animation work. The archive is 2D hand drawn animation.

Records include pre-production, production, and post-production material. These comprise scripts, storyboards,

correspondence, animation cels, pencil drawings, award certificates and photographs. The collection also includes

personal drawings from Bob Godfrey and photographs of Bob Godfrey, his colleagues, and his family and friends.

The animation shorts, films, commercials and images that we have records of the processes of include:

Angel Delight

And So to Bed

Brumble Brumble

Bunbury Tails

Biowoman

Chickens

Clearasil

Dream Doll

Dear Margery Boobs

Diamond Oil

Dirty Rats Tales

Fatty Doggy

Fleas

Fuzzy Wuzzy

Great

Henry's Cat

Hodder's Phonetix

Hoya

Instant Sex

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Bassett's Jelly Babies Commercials

John Gilpin

Jim Space Born

Jumbo...an elephant you'll never forget

Know you Europeans

Kama Sutra Rides Again

Kevin Saves the World

Marx for Beginners

Millennium, the Musical

Margaret Thatcher, Where am I now?

Noah and Nelly in SkylArk

The Many Deaths of Norman Spittal

Oh What a Hog

Oracle Company

Productivity Primer

Polygamous Polonius Revisited

Roobarb

Shakespeare Music Hall

Small Talk

Trio

Unlucky Wally

Wrinkly Bonk

Will's World

Wicked Willie

A Zonk

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ANIMATION

WHAT IS ANIMATION?

Definition of animation: The technique of filming a sequence of drawings or positions of models to give the

appearance of movement – Oxford English Dictionary 7th

Edition (OUP: Oxford, 2012), p. 24.

Quote on animation: “Animation… fusing images and sounds together to tell stories and explain ideas” –

Selby, Andrew, Animation (Lawrence King Publishing: London, 2013), p. 6.

The word ‘animation’ derives from the Latin verb animare, meaning ‘to give life to’.

Animation is the process by which we see still pictures move.

Putting the still pictures very quickly one after the other tricks our brain into believing that the images are

moving.

This is known as the ‘Persistence of Vision’ theory. Our brain holds onto an image for a fraction of a second

after the image has passed. If the eye sees a series of still images very quickly one picture after another, then

the images will appear to move because our eyes cannot cope with fast-moving images.

Roobarb uses drawn animation. In drawn animation, one drawing is replaced by another in a sequence. Each

drawing is slightly different from the one before. This type of animation was used for Disney films such as

Pinocchio, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Bambi, Cinderella, and many more.

One drawn animation method is known as ‘cel-animation’. First the artist uses pencil to draw the image on

paper. These drawings are then traced, or copied, onto clear acetate sheets called cels. The drawings on the

cel are then painted. These are photographed against a background one at a time by a camera, and then put

together to form a sequence.

Bob Godfrey, who produced Roobarb, liked to use cel animation. However with Roobarb he decided to trace

the drawings onto more paper and colour them with marker pens. The style is quite rough, and makes it look

like the pictures are constantly wobbling. This technique is called ‘boiling’.

Boiling - Movement of lines or fluctuating colour, sometimes a deliberate style but often due to inaccurate

drawings or uneven colours. The process was deliberately used by Bob Godfrey for Roobarb as a way of saving

money.

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PRODUCING AN ANIMATION

When we want to make an animation, we have to look at three main stages: pre-production, production and

post-production.

The first stage is pre-production. This is where we plan and prepare everything you need before we start

making the animation. We carry out research, think of a plot, design characters, write scripts and draw

storyboards.

Script: A script details the plot of an animation, telling the story in a written form.

Storyboard: A storyboard looks a bit like a comic strip. It is a kind of script with images as well as words. The

images allow the animation team to plan the flow of the plot.

Plot: The content of the story, with a beginning, middle and end. Plot themes can include adventure,

discovery, escape, love, quest, rescue, and many more.

The second stage is production. This is where we start to make the animation using our chosen technique. We

create artwork using pencil drawings and cel animation, use dope sheets for instructions, shoot film and

record sounds and sound effects.

Dope sheet: (Also Exposure Sheet, X Sheet or Worksheet) A spreadsheet that tells us how to record the

images we have drawn. It is a list of instructions that show timings, what drawing to use, what part of the

script is being read, and sound effects. There is a dope sheet for every shot or scene.

Cel animation: A cel, short for celluloid, is a transparent sheet that you can draw on. Characters are drawn on

cels and laid over a background. Cels can be layered so that some parts can be repeated in each camera shot.

For example, the cels featuring a person’s body and face can stay the same, but the cel with the facial

expression can be changed. This is quicker and saves more money than redrawing an entire scene each time.

Sound Effect: A sound created to help tell a point in the story, like a splash in a puddle, a ringing bell or

rumbling thunder.

The third stage is post-production. This is where everything comes together to form the final animation. There

is final editing, the addition of special effects, credits, and the release and distribution of the animation.

Special effects: Illusions or tricks of the eye used to show something out of the ordinary.

Opening titles: These are added to the start of a production to tell the audience what they are about to watch,

such as the title of a film or episode.

Credits: These are added at the end of the animation to list the cast and crew involved in the production. They

usually appear as a list of names.

Release and Distribution: Making a production available for viewing. This includes advertising and marketing,

setting a release date, and deciding where to show the production (cinema, television, DVD).

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ACTIVITIES

The following pages feature different activities relating to the animation process and Roobarb.

Design a Character

Create a Story Plan

Create a Storyboard

Sound Effects

Guess the Colour

Create a Flip Book

Colour in the Title Screen

Roobarb Quiz

Car Wordsearch

Star Wordsearch

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Name

Personality (brave, clever, friendly, happy)

Drawing Interesting Features (special powers, abilities, features)

Likes and Dislikes

Design a character for your animation! Draw a picture and fill in the details in the boxes below:

Characters (Who is going to be in your story?)

Setting (Where is the story going to happen?)

Beginning (How is the story going to start?)

Middle (What is going to happen in your story?)

End (How is the story going to end?)

Create a storyboard for your animation! Draw pictures in the boxes and describe what is happening underneath:

2. 3.

4. 5. 6.

1.

Think about the actions that make these sound effects and draw pictures of them!

1. Draw facial features on the face in the first box

2. In the next box, draw the face again, but slightly different. You could make the hair

longer, poke the tongue out, make the face smile, or make the eyes move side to side.

3. Keep drawing the face but make a small change each time

4. Cut out the squares and put them in order

5. Attach the squares together in the top left corner

6. Flip through the pages to see your animated face!

7. What other drawings can you animate with a flip book?

Question 1: What colour is Roobarb? Question 2: Who narrated Roobarb? Question 3: What animal is Roobarb? Question 4: What animal is Custard? Question 5: What year was Roobarb created? Question 6: Who animated Roobarb? Question 7: What colour is Custard? Question 8: Who wrote Roobarb? Question 9: What colour is their car? Question 10: What musical instrument does Custard play?

ROOBARB CUSTARD DOG

CAT PINK GREEN

ROOBARB CUSTARD DOG

CAT PINK GREEN