Reflecting on Animation: Blog #10

            After a whole semester of studying animation, I have learned a great deal about everything that goes into this incredible process. From the planning of each and every scene, to excruciatingly long rendering times, animation proves to be one of the most intense art forms out there. However, one aspect of animation has stuck out to me the most throughout this whole learning process. The way that animators have created films that appeal to all audiences is what fascinates me the most.

            Even through the use of cartoon figures, animators have created films that get a reaction from audience members of all ages. When looking at a typical animated film, we normally see a good vs. evil storyline. Even though some animated films can seem very similar in story structure, these types of films generate a ton of money in the box office. Animation just seems to hold a special place in the realm of cinema and just seems to be able to capture everyone’s attention. While most animated films are normally targeting a young audience, I have noticed recently that more and more animators are coming up with new ways to include humor for older audiences. For example, they might throw in a couple jokes that only adults would understand, but they would not affect a younger audiences members experience. On top of that, animation is an extremely time consuming process, and can take hundreds of hours to complete one film. Animators deserve a lot of credit to put themselves through that intense work schedule. This is one of the only genres that continue to captivate audience members of any background. To me, that is what is keeping the animation world alive. 

Wise Words from Detheux Part 2: Blog #9

            In the second part of Detheux’s article he goes more in depth about his views on animation and how he believes it is a dying art form. He continues to argue about the linear format that Disney has adopted along with his belief that most animations contain the same story structure. I found his thoughts and ideas in this article to be a lot more intriguing than the first article.

            He starts off by talking about a movie trailer for the film Amelie, and how the French trailer and U.S. trailer differ completely. I looked into this by searching for them on YouTube. Detheux makes some really good points about these trailers. The French version really is a lot more engaging with the audience and has a much different tone than the U.S. version. He goes on and writes a quote that I found very inspirational, “Art is a religion. Its aim is the elevation of thought.” He encourages animators to really question why they are animating something and to really explore that question in their head. He then begins to talk more and more about how he would love to see more experimental animations being produced with much more conceptual ideas.

He believes that in order for animation to move forward, people need to break the boundaries of a typical narrative and try new things. This is one of the points that I totally agree with Detheux on. I would personally love to see some experimental animations get the praise that they deserve. However, the typical narrative that animations normally encompass is what takes the cake. He makes another interesting point about animation being tied into painting and how he feels that animation could easily be the next “face” of painting. To me this sounds awesome since paintings can be very surreal or conceptual. To see those two qualities produced in an animation would be astounding if you ask me. All in all, Detheux has some really strong views on animation, and simply wants to see the art form pushed over the typical boundaries. 

Jean Detheux Part 1: Blog #8

            Jean Detheux wrote about his unique views on animation, and some of his ideas really struck me. He argues that animation is reaching a point where the process has reached a point where it is linear and not many creative/experimental animations are being made. In my opinion, Detheux is not completely wrong, but he also makes some really good points.

            In his article he states, “It seems to me as if most of the traditional narrative animation is endlessly repeating itself.” (Detheux). This was one of the statements that he made, which I agree with. Taking a look at past Disney animations, some of the most popular films they have made are the ones involving the well-known Disney princesses. In most of these films, the princess has a problem that she is facing, and ends up being saved by her “knight in shining armor.” While this is not a bad formula, it gets pretty repetitive after a while. I mean, even Disney recognizes that the format of their stories is fairly identical. Chapter ten of our textbook even backs this up. The passage states, “Our feature films always seem to end up with about 14 sequences.” (Johnston and Thomas. 368). One reason that Disney could be doing this is because their main audience consists of young children and they do not want to present complex narratives to them. It is not surprising that other viewers have noticed this formula as well.  

            On the other hand, I feel that there are plenty of experimental animations being made in this day and age. With all the independent/freelance animators we have now, they are constantly developing new animations to publish on the web. I have seen plenty of animations on YouTube that would not be considered to even have a narrative. Here is one example. While Detheux makes some great points about animation, I do not believe he is correct in saying that animation has lost its experimental aesthetic.

Putting Together a Story: Blog #7

Without a story, there is no animation. Developing a story on your own is difficult in and of itself, but with animation this whole process is exponentially different. The planning process of an animation is one of the most intriguing aspects of the whole story development process in my opinion. While filmmakers who are not doing animation plot everything out using storyboards before hand, they have a lot of give when shooting a film.

For instance, a filmmaker may think that a certain shot would look really good, but if he wants to change that specific shot it is totally possible. With animation, the animators must plan out each and every shot of the piece down to the finest detail before they even begin. Having to envision a whole entire story on the screen before you even see it on a screen can be tough! Not only that, but you also have to worry about producing a good story on top of all this. In chapter ten of our text there is a quote from a Disney animator. He states, “A good story cannot be ruined by poor animation, but neither can a poor story be saved by the very best animation.” (Johnston and Thomas. 367). This just goes to show that story is one of the most important aspects of animation, and careful planning will result in the story being told to the best of your ability.

In conclusion, for me planning was the most interesting part about telling a story in regards to animation. As someone who is more into digital filmmaking, I commend all the animators who have to go through the long process of fully developing a story for animation. 

 

Developing an Emotional Reaction: Blog 6

Animation is an art form that has touched the hearts of many people across the globe. That being said, I do not believe that the LCD should not be considered a “dumbing down” of the mind, but a warming up of the heart. As with any art form, the artists are attempting to obtain a reaction from their respective audiences. This applies to animation as well, and I can certainly think of many instances where an animation has embodied a truly captivating moment. I think that mass media may want everyone to believe that animators are only doing this to “dumb down” the content of their pieces. However, I believe they are doing this simply to be able to speak to all different audiences. When someone thinks of a Disney film, they think of their youth, and the young audiences that Disney is constantly targeting. There are many moments in Disney films that may be new events for the younger viewers, but could be completely nostalgic and emotional for older viewers. Disney has rose to the top due to their ability to convey these events and emotions so clearly to all of their audiences. I believe that moments like these in animations are what make them so special. Animators are now able to convey serious emotion to all audiences across the globe. While some may consider “dumbing it down”, I see it as a way to speak to audiences of all ages. As animation progresses everyday, we all can only anticipate the emotional moments that animations will present to us in the future, only continuing to show us how special this artistic medium is! 

Establishing Mood: Animation Blog 5

“In most instances, the driving force behind the action is the mood, the personality, the attitude of the character—or else all three. Therefore the mind is the pilot. We think of things before the body does them.” – Walt Disney. To me this quote means that the emotions of the characters are the most important aspect of an animation. The characters emotions determine all of their body movements and mannerisms, which is a huge part of creating a successful animation. By formulating your characters attitude before drawing them, you are able to plan out these mannerisms accordingly. For instance, in this Popeye cartoon, we are able to examine the way that Popeye acts to show that he is the hero of the story. One of the most interesting things that I notice about his character in this animation is that even though he is the hero, we never see him smile even once. He has a frown on his face the entire time and even looks a little angry. I think that the animators who draw Popeye did this to simply make him look tougher. He also always walks with his arms out in front of him as if he is trying to show off his muscles. Even though he looks angry the whole time, we can see from the start that he is out to do good and save the girl. One other instance where we see a demonstration of Popeyes character is when he eats his spinach. After becoming frustrated from losing in a fight against the villain, he pulls out his spinach and his mood completely changes. We see his muscles grow and his face lights up. As always, he defeats the villain after eating the spinach and the animation ends on a positive note. 

Using Animation to depict "The Real"

In chapter four Walt Disney is quoted with saying, “I definitely feel that we cannot do the fantastic things based on the real, unless we first know the real.” When it comes to animation, I completely agree with this quote. Animators who are creating characters also have to create the multiple different emotions that these characters feel. Without having experienced these emotions and experiences hands on first, how can they accurately depict them through animation? By honing in on these emotions and experiences, animators can ultimately create a much stronger and emotional scene. In chapter 2, the book talks about caricature and realism as parts of animation. I do not feel that there is a contradiction between this quote and those concepts. Realism and caricature are simply just two ways of depicting a situation or emotion that those animators have experienced in “the real.” Sure, realism is supposed to be a more truthful and accurate depiction of a certain emotion or situation. By creating a scene that is more focused on realism, the audience will be able to connect with that scene or character greatly. However, caricature can have the exact same effect in my opinion, and in some cases even push that emotion even further. Caricature is exaggerating the emotion of a character to the furthest degree. I think that sometimes exaggeration in animation can be a key aspect to really making the scene more powerful and emotional for an audience. It may look more like a cartoon and not realistic, but there are definitely moments where that exaggeration works just as well as realism. 

Pink Elephants on Parade: Animation Blog 3

The 12 Principles of Animation

·      Squash and Stretch – One of the most important aspects of animation. This is how you show movement from one frame to the next.

·      Anticipation – The act of preparing the audience for what is going to happen next, before it even occurs.

·      Staging – The presentation of any idea so that it is completely and unmistakably clear.

·      Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose – Straight Ahead Action is when an animator starts with his first drawing and simply keeps going from there. He does not start in the middle. Pose to Pose is the act of planning out each of these drawings.

·      Follow Through and Overlapping Action – This is the sequence where a character goes from one action to the next. At first many characters would come to a complete stop before doing the next action. Follow Through and Overlapping Action create a fluid motion in the character.

·      Slow In and Slow Out – A way for an animator to create very smooth movement as a character moves from one attitude to the next. This was designed to make an animation look less mechanical.

·      Arcs – A way of studying the motion of characters. Every movement that we make typically hosts some type of arc. Animators go through each motion and plot out each of the arcs to create smoother motions.

·      Secondary Action – An action that follows the primary action of a character. For example, after a character does a very sad expression, we may see a tear run down his face.

·      Timing – Timing is all based on the number of drawings that portray an action.

·      Exaggeration – The act of exaggerating a characters emotions and actions. For instance, if a character is meant to look sad, make him look even sadder.

·      Solid Drawing – The act of being able to draw outside of animating. Disney felt that you must perfect your drawing skills before beginning to animate.

·      Appeal – The act of creating a visually interesting character or drawing. Your audience must enjoy what your drawings look like and they must hold their attention. 

 

 One animation that I feel encompasses all of these elements is a sequence from Walt Disney’s film “Dumbo.” In this clip Dumbo has drank some alcohol and begins hallucinating. He sees a bunch of pink elephants marching around and a song titled “Pink Elephants on Parade” plays. Two of the strongest elements portrayed in this clip are Squash and Stretch and Appeal. As we see the elephants marching around we can see them stretching as they move, creating great motion between them all. Appeal is another element from this list that I feel is used strongly in this animation. The elephants are all pink, which is obviously not the usual color of an elephant, so I think that aspect really draws the viewers eye in.

Fred’s 14 Points of Animation

·      Appeal in Drawing

·      Staging

·      Most interesting way?

·      Is it the most entertaining way?

·      Are you in character?

·      Are you advancing the character?

·      Is this the simplest statement of the main idea of the scene?

·      Is the story point clear?

·      Are the secondary actions working with the main action?

·      Is the presentation best for the medium?

·      Does it have 2 dimensional clarity?

·      Does it have 3 dimensional solidity?

·      Does it have 4 dimensional drawing?

·      Are you trying to do something that shouldn’t be attempted?

This list is quite similar to the 12 principles of animation. The only difference is that an animator named Fred Moore designed this list. Using this list we can examine more aspects of the “Pink Elephants on Parade” animation. The animation clearly demonstrates great uses of 2 dimensional, 3 dimensional, and 4 dimensional drawing. The animation moves along smoothly, with extremely well drawn figures. The animation even gives the illusion of the elephants popping out at you at points throughout.

12 Additional Points

·      Inner feelings and emotion

·      Acting with clear and definite action

·      Character and personality

·      Thought process through expression changes

·      Ability to analyze

·      Clear staging

·      Good composition

·      Timing

·      Solidity in drawing

·      Power in drawing

·      Strength in movement

·      Imagination

These also apply to this animation clip in several ways. One way these apply to this animation is the Strength in movement and Inner Feelings and Emotion. The whole animation is based around these elephants marching in a very uniform manner. To go right along with this is the emotion that goes along with the scene. The sequence is somewhat disturbing and a little bit intimidating as well. Personally, I feel a lot of emotion pouring out of this animation. The use of staging and composition is incredible as well.

9 Economical Ways that Animation can build Emotion

·      Rear View – Creating a dramatic environment in which the audience can imagine the feelings of the characters. This makes the audience dream along with the characters.

·      Shadows – These are normally associated with suspense and drama.

·      Shadows over the Character – By creating a specific emotion on a characters face, casting shadows over them while a certain action is occurring can create a more intense dramatic sequence.

·      Overlays – Using certain aspects from the background while a character is going through something can strengthen a scene.

·      Dramatic Layout – Creating a scene around a character that matches his/her emotions can be extremely effective.

·      Pictorial Shot – Creating a background with a strong mood can strengthen a difficult animation.

·      Effects Animation – This is when you establish a mood either by symbolism or showing what the character sees. This can create an emotional reaction very quickly.

·      Held Drawing with Camera Moves – Instead of moving a specific character, sometimes just moving the camera can create a dramatic scene as well. For example, slowly zooming in on a characters facial expression.

·      Offstage Sounds – Using sound effects to establish the mood of a scene can be just as powerful as action sequences in animation.

While the pink elephants animation does not host many shadows, there are two elements that I think are used very well. The use of Rear View and Effects Animation in this sequence is very successful. At one point, we see Dumbo with elephants marching around him and he looks very sad and frightened. Effects Animation is used expertly as well since we are seeing what Dumbo is seeing in this clip. By showing what he is seeing, and knowing that he is drunk, the mood of the clip is completely changed.

5 Points to Remember when Animating Emotions

·      Make sure the emotional state of the character is clearly defined

·      The thought process reveals the feeling. This can be executed differently based on what is happening

·      Be alert to use of cutting and camera in helping accentuate the emotion

·      Ask yourself constantly: What am I trying to say here? What do I really want to show? How do I want the audience to react?

·      Use the element of time wisely

Emotion is a huge part of the pink elephants clip. Right before this scene Dumbo had been made fun of and laughed off the stage of the circus that he performs in. After a rough night, he drinks some alcohol and becomes intoxicated. He is so intoxicated, that he begins hallucinating. We also see a shot of Dumbo where he looks very sad and even a bit scared from what he is seeing. It is safe to say that out of all these aspects, this specific sequence executes most of them successfully. While it does not use all of these elements, it certainly uses the majority of them.  

Caricature and Realism

When talking about animation there are two different types that are typically used. These two types are realism and caricature. Both have their advantages when it comes to animation, but it typically all comes down to the type of audience that you are trying to attract. In realism, artists are focused on creating scenes and characters that are to represent the subject matter truthfully. Typically the characters and landscapes in these animations look very real and contain a lot of detail. Paying attention to the fine details is a key part of creating a realist animation. In caricature, we see the opposite. These drawings typically heavily exaggerate a part of the character that we see. For example, when a character gets angry in an animation we may see smoke coming out of his ears while his face turns beet red. I believe that the choice to use caricature or realism depends on the audience that you are targeting. Realism has its benefits when trying to create dramatic scenes and atmospheres. Overall, I think that realism just creates a much more serious animation just based on the fact that everything is made to be truthful. One example of realism is a lot of the Japanese cartoons. On the other hand, I feel that caricature can be extremely beneficial and is a very creative way to animate. Caricature is heavily used in children’s cartoons especially when showing facial expressions. For example, if we see a clip of Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck acting shocked, we might see their entire jaw drop down to the floor. By using different sound effects, caricature can be taken to the next level by using interesting sound effects. In children’s cartoons, this can be very useful because it will normally produce a reaction from the child watching the show. As I said before, I feel that realism and caricature can both be extremely successful based on the audience that the animators are targeting. 

Principles of Communication

As a communications major, you learn the basic functions of all forms of communication pretty early on in your education. One of the most interesting aspects about all these principles is that they can be applied to many different areas in the world. One of the first aspects we learn about is discourse. Discourse is just basic communication through words, talks or or conversation. While this sounds very basic, there are plenty of different kinds of discourse that are appropriate in particular settings. Secondly, ideology is another huge form of communication. Ideology is a set of beliefs that fuel a particular social movement, group, or class. Thirdly, one of the most recent and what I feel to be one of the most important parts of communication is signification. Signification is the act of signifying by using signs of other symbolic means. Many signals are shown in our everyday conversation and media without us even knowing it. That right there shows the true power of communication. When it comes to animation, all of these principles are key to keeping a viewers attention. By understanding all of these different aspects of communication, animators are able to create characters that everyone can relate to. Animators can customize and bring more life to characters when they understand all of these examples. By doing this, they create a successful animation with much more energy and life to them for all audiences to enjoy. How else do you think that they came up with characters such as Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck that still remain relevant in today's society? The power of animation is infinitely multiplied when animators can understand all of these concepts.