] After all these years "it's a fairly well-oiled machine,"
] observed Smith. Actors who are out of town, like Azaria,
] can record their lines at a convenient studio.
]
] When the cast is finished the animators step in. The Los
] Angeles-area animation house Film Roman creates a
] black-and-white draft, called an animatic, which reveals
] what works and what doesn't, Jean said.
]
] "Sometimes we do a considerable rewrite with the
] animatic. Once it's in color, the cost of changing too
] much is prohibitive," he said.
]
] The revised animatic is sent to South Korea for creation
] of the final version -- or almost final. If a line
] remains troublesome, the characters' lip movements
] provide enough leeway for another phrase to be subbed in.

The making of a Simpsons episode