Alex Budowsky Animations

The two animations viewed this week were Bathtime in Clerkenwell (2003) and Last Time in Clerkenwell (2007).  Both of them were very similar with just different storylines although there were both connected to one another.  They both revolved around this idea of birds in the cuckoo clock taking over London, and then by the end of the second animation bugs had taken them over in London.  Although the storyline was quite interesting there were many other aspects that actually made it fascinating.  The animations were done strictly in black and white but it was very effective, because there were so many things going on that colors would have made it look chaotic, but the simple black and white made it a little simpler.  The part that was most fascinating to me was the way in which the sounds and music were put with the animations.  The animations were synched so well with the beats and rhythms that it really made the animation.  From a flash perspective you could tell how he used plenty of nested loops and had control over all the various movements of each part, and it all just came together incredible well in both animations.

Dimensions of Dialogue, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Oculart

This week's animations consisted of three very different animations, however, they all presented very unique ways in how a story is created and various techniques and styles in how to do it.  The three animations consisted of Jan Svankmajer's Dimensions of Dialogue (1982), Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (end credits), and my pick from Oculart's animation, Pigalle 1913.  Each animation brings such a unique style to it, that it is hard to put all three next to each other and compare, but what each one does do is present different ways in how stories can come together.  

If we look at Dimensions of Dialogue, the approach with clay is very unique because the way it is used allows for so much creativity in a way that no one else may have thought of.  The way that the clay is used in an abstract way actually helps with the storyline, because the rest of the actions of the characters help to fill in for what the abstract pieces are missing.  The characters are created out of the same material with with they are destroyed with as well, and just simple details really give the characters enough personality to make a story.  The facial aspects, especially the eyes, are almost enough detail to help convey what the character is thinking even with only one material being used to create them.

A Series of Unfortunate Events really creates a story out of making you think a creature or object is one thing and than changing it to be something else to create an incredible flow of events and a retelling of a story just within the credits.  For example at one part what appeared to be thin, branched trees turn suddenly into creepy, grabbing hands.  The way in which the animation was done in a silhouette look and the flow of one scene to another really gives a new look at how a story can be created and how much of what we see is within our own perspective.

The final animation of Pigalle 1913 is very abstract and full of collages, but I picked it to view because it seemed similar to the other two animations in how one scene just gradually turned into another scene, and the layering effects of all the objects gives the viewer so much to look at and so many stories for them to assume about what is happening.  It's an animation that is particularly interesting in that it comes full circle and continuously begins and ends in the same spot so it just keeps going.  It really creates a world within another world and does so with both a 2D look and then turns into a 3D look at other parts giving it another very interesting dimension.  All three really give very different perspectives on creating stories and the small and/or simple details that can really bring it to another level.

The Danish Poet and The Old Mill

The two animations this week were made in very different time periods and with very different styles, but still conveyed the same animation principles.  The two animations viewed were Disney's The Old Mill (1937) and The Danish Poet (2006).  

The Old Mill really used the principles of animation to express the feeling of a place, in this case it was a mill.  If we look at the three principles, anticipation, exaggeration, and follow through we can see it in the event that took place.  The beginning scenes of the mill gave a feeling of the place with all the different animals, not just one main character, and the simple movements that gave each character their own personality.  As the story continued an intense storm took over the mill, which would be the exaggeration portion, and the follow through demonstrated the aftermath of the storm.  Each small motion of the individual characters came together to create one large scene with details really bringing it alive, and the final addition of music gave a final touch that really enhanced and brought it all together.

The second animation, The Danish Poet, was created with the look of a much simpler animation.  The backgrounds were not as complex and the movements were much more simple, however, with less complexity the main story line and character personalities were able to be conveyed much clearer.  There were multiple characters once again which helped to bring the story together as a whole, and really demonstrated how all the characters in a story interact with one another.  A lot of the time we think the more complex an animation is the better, however, this shows that simple animations can be more effective because by exaggerating simple movements the same idea can be conveyed as a complex animation.

Low Morale: Creep

This week's video was Creep (2006) created by Low Morale, and demonstrated a lot of different aspects of animation.  It made you not only think about the animation itself, but how one may go about creating an animation.  If you just focused on the animation itself it was similar to looking like a hand-drawn cartoon, and although it was a complicated clip to make, it focused on simple animations.  It doesn't present complex motions or overly busy scenes, but focuses on one item at a time, while creating some movements in the background to make it more entertaining.  The main thing I noticed, however, was how the scene was built basically from the ground up.  It started with one man, and slowly more and more items were added to the scene.  It was an example how the basic skeleton of an animation has to be created before more complex things can be added.  Even the characters that were eventually added into the clip started off as being drawn like skeletons.  It really demonstrated two messages as I see.  The first one being that you have to start simple and go from there, and eventually all those small details will come together to create one bigger picture.  The second being the idea that you have to think about not just what your drawing but beyond that.  For example, although his climatic scene was really just a brick building looking in at the character singing, we knew what was going on inside that building because it was shown to us, but as animators we are the ones who have to visualize and create the feeling as to what we want to be happening within the walls or our own animations.

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.