Animation Blog #10

Write a blog what you consider to be the most important phenomenon of animation.

The multiplane camera was the important phenomenon of animation. With the creation of the multiplane camera, animations such as Snow White and Bambi were a given a new way to see depth and perception in film. As the website No Film School stated,"the multiplane camera was able to give 2D animation a a third dimension which then brought the animation to life, this innovation brought a new way for viewers to enjoy animation. The multiplane camera worked by having each hand drawn cel being moved inch by inch at different speeds and depths this was being recorded as well. Giving the effect of fading in and out of scenes. The animators were able to use the same foreground, and background cels as with this new invention.  One of the most famous scenes with the use of the multiplane camera is the opening scene of Bambi. The viewer is led through the forest and then opens up to the scene of Bambi with his mother. With the use of the multiplane camera it made the audience feel like they were part of the film.  Without the creation of the multiplane camera, 3D film would not exist. The multiplane camera helped the animators realize that depth and perception were important film. Interestingly enough the current animators for Disney are "going to back to their original ways," and using hand drawn cels such as in the multiplane camera. The sequence of the song Let It Go in Frozen was considered to be a new innovation because it merged new animation ways with the old. All of the snowflakes were hand drawn and used with the multiplane camera as well.  You should always keep in mind that everyone ends up going back to their old ways, whether referencing hand drawn cels or using the multiplane camera. A link to a video of how the multiplane camera can be found here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d4-AUwkKAw.

The multiplane camera being used. 

Sources: http://nofilmschool.com/2014/08/walt-disney-multiplane-camera

Animation Blog #9

Read Detheux part two. Identify a thesis (while there is one guiding thesis, many of his statements are worthy of discussion) and compose a blog (remember to use the guide for good blogging)




Many things were discussed in the reading, but one topic stood out specifically and that was that the United States has basically destroyed the entertainment and movie industry. The article basically says that the culture differences are shocking between the Americans and other countries on how they understand things such as film and animation. It references the movie trailer for the film Amelie and how this classic French film is shown as a way to enjoy the cinematic value of the film, from views of the French landscape to the well told storyline as well. Although in the American trailer the Americans have to be entertained 24/7 so the trailer has been ruined with the overuse of, "bangs, pops and zings," meaning the trailer was fast paced and hard to understand. Keep in mind how is film and animation supposed to grow, if the American industry keeps on "dumbing it down." For example with the movie Z for Zohan the movie was advertised as a kid friendly comedy by Adam Sander, but actually the film was considered to be very raunchy. With the popularity of the film industry in the United States the bar has sadly been set at mediocre.  With the United States monopolizing over film industries, people are not able to view other films as well. For example, the Disney Company has taken over the animation field. If any improvements for animation have come out, it is always through Disney. An interesting thing to consider is why has "North American popular culture" taken something that has depth and complexity, and almost invariably, transform it into something that is so very bland," this brings to mind the idea of remakes. Films that were considered to be classics have been ruined by being remade. An example of this is the classic horror film Psycho. Since the movie industry cannot come up with original ideas, they decided to reboot all of the horror films. The original Psycho directed by Alfred Hitchcock horrified viewers and became an instant classic. In the late 1990's a remake of Psycho was made with Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates, the film did not profit well showing, that you should not reinvent movies. As the critique by Xfinity Entermainment stated,"a blank expression and pale complexion do not make psychopath." I feel that the only way for people to truly enjoy the cinematic experience such as in France, we need to come up with new ideas and accept the idea of avant-garde films as well. 

1960 Psycho original film 

1996 Psycho remake 

Animation Blog #8

Read Detheux part one. Identify a thesis (while there is one guiding thesis, many of his statements are worthy of discussion) and compose a blog (remember to use the guide for good blogging)

The idea is, has animation developed since Disney or has it been stuck? Even though animation has developed over the years, it is interesting to note that most of these new innovations have come from the Disney Company. But take note as the reading said;"animation is highly dependent on the world view of its creators," meaning the type of animation style depends on the animator as well. For example, the Japanese are famous for Miyzaki films, which rely on the original style of animation, such as the one that Disney used. Meaning cel animation, which are hand drawn. In the end all of the animators around the world rely on the 12 principles of animation, which were used with Disney. I feel that slowly but surely other animators are pushing the limits and trying to break the bond from Disney. An example of this is the animator Tim Burton. Tim Burton was an animator for Disney but they did not like his views, he broke away from the company and created his own studio. With the ideas that Burton learned at Disney, it helped him create animated films such as Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Currently I feel that animation is stuck because the only true developments have come from the Disney Company. As the reading also said, "it seem to me as if most of the traditional narrative animation is endlessly repeating itself," as I have stated previously. In the end you should always remember that people rely on the old ways. Meaning whether they like it or not, animators will always look at Disney's work, either to reference it from the original cel animation drawings or the use of squash and stretch from the 12 principles. 

Animation Blog #7

Blog 7 Story. Write about any aspect of story citing any chapter of the Disney text.

Ch 7 Ch 8 Ch 9 Ch 10 Ch11 Ch 12 Ch 13 Ch 14 Ch 15 Ch 16 Ch 17

[history for personal interest]
[history for personal interest]
7 points of staging.info on jobs optional
[jobs, etc for personal interest only]
[jobs, et., for personal interest only]
[Production for personal interest only]
[Production for personal interest only]Story and Sequence, narrative structure, rules of dialogue [Character development for personal interest only] Expression & dialogue 6 considerations
9 ways to build audience emotion, 5 points to remember 

The animator Fred Moore was a brilliant animator, he helped tell the story by giving the character's the expression and use of emotion. Although Fred Moore was only 18 at the time when he first started at Disney he brought the idea of "breaking the mold" that other animators had not brought attention in the studio. The book stated that during his first week Fred began drawing, "counter moments, counter thrusts, in the way he drew," he even took a shot at perfecting Mickey Mouse. Walt Disney was so impressed with the way that Fred helped tell the story, he asked Fred to go and show the other animators how he drew the seven dwarfs for Snow White. It is interesting to read that with Fred Moore, if he added a, "thicker line at the bottom of the dwarfs' jowls, it gave them an extra feeling of weight and dimension," with this addition the dwarf also had a different look of emotion. Emotion helps drive the story as well. Fred was also very popular because of the transition that he could for emotions on the sketches, it is said that when people were brought into the animation studio they were,"entranced with seeing two drawings that could be flipped to show a change to expression, such as going from a frown to a "take," or a shift of the eyes that show the brows and the face moving the shapes animating," this would later be developed into what the animators use in present day. Fred followed up by saying that, "we should always let them see the characters think," basically stating that in order to understand the story we must understand what emotions the characters are going through. Interestingly enough, while Fred stated this idea, his coworkers discovered that the true way to understand what a character is thinking or feeling is through expression. Expression and emotion drive the story.  Throughout the years that Fred Moore worked at Disney he discovered 14 points of animation that every animator should know. Hence the creation of the 14 Points which consisted of the rules of is the drawing of appealing to does the animation have clarity ranging from 2 dimensional to 4 dimensional. 

The animation below is one of Fred Moore's animations of Dopey. You can see how he used expressions showing that Dopey is ranging from silly to being curious of what is around the corner. With the use of expression you can tell that this drawing is telling a story as well. 

Attribution to:http://blackwingdiaries.blogspot.com/2006/06/little-bit-more-of-freds-work.html
http://blackwingdiaries.blogspot.com/2006/06/little-bit-more-of-freds-work.html

Animation Blog #6

Ch 6 Appeal, 14 Points, 12 more points 

Blog 6 Ch. 6a. If the body follows the mind, as in chapter 5, then the audience follows the heart, at least according to chapter 6. Here’s a question that concerns all mass media in general and animation in particular. The LCD, lowest common denominator, of mass appeal is often considered a “dumbing down” of content so that so-called ordinary people can “get it.” But what if the LCD was not a dumbing down (of the mind), but a warming up (of the heart)? What do you think (is this “true” of mass media or something Disney brings to the table)? Does your selection support your thesis (understanding that it’s only one selection and not a representative sample of anything)?



The animator should always keep in mind that the viewer cannot always understand how the character is portrayed, which is why the usual lowest common denominator is dumbing the character down for the viewer to understand. But the viewer will always have an easier understanding of things that "warm the heart." Anything that can evoke an emotional response would be a better lower common denominator. Emotional response equals a way for the viewer to remember that scene or movie. The idea of emotion being the lowest common denominator started with the Disney Company. Walt Disney stated, " we seem to now when to 'tap the heart', others have hit the intellect, we can hit them in an emotional away, those who appeal to intellect only appeal to a very limited group," meaning that if you did dumb down the character and try to appeal to the audience it would be only be marginal Always remember that the audience cannot feel when you are dumbing down a character but they do feel an emotion when it is portrayed. Such as the selection I picked to use for my example.


My example is the scene from Beauty and the Beast when Belle is crying over the Beast. I chose this specific scene because when I was little it was such a substantial scene, the Beast is "supposedly" dead and you feel so bad for Belle. With the emotional reminder I can remember this scene very well. In the end emotion always plays better because you can show your audience so much more rather than just dumbing down a character so it is easy to understand why they are there and what they are. Complex characters are what make movies more interesting as well.