Reineger Animation & Kamera Animation

The animations screened this week were by two animators that created their works over 80 years apart from one another.  The first one was created by Lotte Reineger and was titled The Adventures of Prince Achmend (1926) and the second one was Zumba Kamera's Bendito Machine (2005).  Both created pieces that look similar to one another, however, they used different techniques to achieve it.  

Lotte Reineger used silhouettes to create the animation, and would move each silhouette independently and take pictures of each shot to create about 24 frames a second.  It was done in a similar way to how we see clay animation done now.  It was amazing, however, the amount of detail that was able to be achieved, and the personalities that the characters were able to express through this type of animation.  Many, many shots and various silhouette pieces were used to create reflections in water, and many points within the silhouettes were used to be able to animate their hands and joints with smooth movements.  They are small details, however, imperative to the over feel of an animation.

The technique Zumba Kamera used was influenced by the original animation.  He used similar colors, and black silhouettes, however, his was created through Flash.  The details were just as impressive, and would have taken just as much time and work as Reineger's had.  Other than the similar appearance of both animations, they shared the common characteristic of music that helped to really bring the animation alive and make it more dynamic.  Reineger's used just music, however, whereas Kamera's used music and sound effectives to convey an idea which was very effective.  Both demonstrate how two animations with similar designs elements can be created to convey such different ideas and story-lines.

Winsor McCay Animation

Winsor Mccay was the creator to some of the very first animations, and early on he demonstrated many of the animation techniques that are still being used today.  When viewing two of his animations, Gertie the Dinosaur (1914) and How A Mosquito Operates(1912) it is evident that he knew what aspects to include in an animation that helps it to connect with the audience.  Gertie the Dinosaur demonstrates interaction between the real world and the animation world.  Winsor interacts with Gertie by giving her something to eat, and giving the presentation of the animation at one point, and then by the end of the animation it appeared as if he was riding Gertie and no longer presenting his animation but rather he was in it.  We see that all the time in the movies now on a much more complex scale, but that just shows how Winsor really demonstrated the basic techniques of animation from the start. 

In the second animation viewed, How A Mosquito Operates, he really brings out the character of the Mosquito and shows how important even the smallest details are in making an animation realistic and interesting.  While the Mosquito is gathering blood from the human and it starts to fill his whole body up, the idea of gravity and balance is played with.  Winsor really does a good job of displaying the Mosquito's balancing acts and having his actions reflect what the Mosquito was doing.  All of it helped in creating a better understanding of what the characters were thinking and trying to accomplish without any words at all.