Critical Studies: Essay Blog: My understanding of the Industry

As part of our critical studies in animation we went to the Flip Festival 2010. The day consisted of animation shorts and show reels, as well as a look at some earlier animation and viewing methods. We also had a board of industry professionals offer advice and criticism on the work we had seen.

We started the day by watching the short films young animators, mainly graduates, had created. This displayed a wide range of techniques used and purpose of the animation. Some animations were used for advertising, others as experimentation, and others that had strong messages.

A particular favourite of mine on that day was the animation “Bottom of the river” by
What interested me most about the day though was what the board members had to say. In an x factor style set up, with the panel of judges, they offered advice on the young animators show reels. In particular, I was interested in what media molecule’s Michelle Ducker had to say. As a gaming company, she could offered animators advice on what to work toward to be successful in this industry. Of course, the advice all the board members gave was valuable to developing and shaping my skills as an animator.
That day I discovered that commissions and the BBC were making a loss. Independent film, such as virals and in universities are much more free to move with this change. This also means that the industry will be far more competitive. Studios are using motion capture much more, especially in the case of gaming, to develop realistic movements. In particular the ability to capture and animate facial expressions is an important factor for these studios. Studios are looking to contract artists so it is important to always be networking. Put yourself and as much of your work as you can out there and you will get noticed.
Also, the outlets for animation is growing, so simply explore these opportunities. E.g. Internet, mobile phones, advertising etc.
One of the animators of the day, Chris , works freelance, working for companies to fnd his own independent animations. He believes there is a lot of future in mobile technology and the uses of animation for this. His showreel, ‘Harmony’, uses origami as it medium. This he claims was because it was cheap. But it is still effective and his skills as an animator show as he is able to create to use a range of techniques and styles.
When starting to work freelance under your own name, he advises it is very important to invest in a website to display your work. This should show:
What you are doing
How you did it
And remain clear and professionalAlthough this is true, the board members advise still that details of how you work should be kept private, to protect any innovative ideas you have that would attract an employer.
The board members offered a lot of advice on how to present a showreel and what particular industries like to see. I have made a list of what I found most helpful:
A good mix of styles is interesting in a showreel and can show some diversity in your work.
In the case of gaming, they like to see facial expressions and the use of 3d animation.
Acting. Can your characters act? Is it believable.
Adding titles to clips you include can help to give your showreel some context.
Its good to have a fun compilation. However it depends on what you want to demonstrate with your showreel. Keep any information like your name, website and contact clear. Preferably at the beginning and the end of the reel.
Your showreel is your visual CV. Tailor your showreel to be specific to what you are applying for. It helps if you know what the employer is looking for and aim to show this.When it comes to putting videos up on you tube, it is advised that, though it is important that your work is accessible, having whole works posted for free will make your work unattractive to employers. In particular, any work that has a release date, e.g. a show or festival screening, it is important not to display this before then. Work out a balance so that you get noticed but remain exclusively on the market.
More advise on that day is to keep your showreel personal. Using personal experiences and relationships can help to portray some of this. As always quality presides over quantity, especially where the gaming industry is involved. Above all, employers like to see creativity, innovation and individuality.
Getting feedback is an excellent way to get your name out there. It can also help you to develop your animation skills. It is important to keep up to date with trends in styles and outlets for animation. Also, documenting everything, including the production process is an interesting insight for employers. So any work with rigging for sets or the like could be included if this is a role you are aiming for.
So final points of the day to some up:
　
Keep work proffesional, including the DVDs you use. Use labels and covers etc.
Put your best work at the beginning of the showreel. First impressions are important.
Get feedback
Develop a strong identity through your work
Including a shot list and software is useful, especially for the gaming industryAnd finally NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK. Perhaps the most important message for success in this industry. As with everything, its not always what you know but who you know.
A quick note. As it is gaming I am particularly interested in I attended a digital gaming and technology conference that took place in Aston science park. This focused more on the gaming industry itself. All are agreed networking is your most valuable tool. However some more advise was offered which I quickly list here:
Presentation is important. Show that you have confidence in what you do. People buy into people
It good to take risks and experiment
know your strengths and your weaknesses.
Work with clients. Not for them. And ask them to recommend you
Feedback is important. It helps you to push forward with ideas and keep yourself in the loopOn the talk about Xbox’s new control system ‘kinnect’ we were shown how this could be used to break down previous barriers that limited the market. They explained how this opened the market to people that never thought they could grasp the controls before. So it is important when trying to expand your market to look at why people would not choose to watch or play your product. Problem solving plays a large part to animation, gaming, business etc. so this is an good skill to possess to achieve success! Work for hire can lead to exciting opportunities, however having your own projects is good for creative freedom. So a balance between the two is also important!Alisdair Brotherston and Jock Mooney. They used silhouettes to create an environmental film, where bags of rubbish sing about being thrown into the bottom of the river.

Critical Studies: Essay Blog: History of animation

What is an animated film? An animation is always constructed frame by frame. When projected these frames create the illusion of movement. This quirk of human perception causes us to create a continuum between the frames. In the past an Imation has been linked to alchemy and magic, though is more closely related to science.

Animation is a craft. Artistic skills are often required as it is a very visual form. However this comes secondary to the process of communication. Celebrated animator, ‘Norman McLaren’, defined animation as the space between the frames.

The history of animation has been shaped by technology, by the demands of the entertainment industry and, above all, the skill and imagination of individual artists.

How was animation created then? Illusionary devices have existed for along time, such as the zoetrope or the phenakiscope. It was Emile Reynauds from France who created the Praxinoscope in the 1880’s. The world was presented with the first sequence of movements. This was a form approaching a cinema performance. The Praxinoscope consisted of a serious of painted slides, mounted on a huge perforated leather belt, held on two large drums. As the belt was wound through the machine, a lamp projected the moving images through a lense onto a screen. The Praxinoscope predates photographic film, therefore reproduction of the images was impossible, which meant the slides had to be made by hand. Although backgrounds could be superimposed during the projection, this production process meant the films were limited to performances at Reynauds own theatre. The ‘Theatre Optique’ opened in Paris, 1892.

Sequences he created include “ Autour d’une cabine”, 1895. Reynauds moving images occurred as cinema was about to be created. Cinema is perhaps the most influential form of communication of the 20^th century. Within a decade of the first moving photographic images in Paris, film progressed from, scientific research and novelty performances to the point where a whole series of films could be shown as a programme in theatre. Animation had at first a minor place in this new system of production. British born American James Stewart Blackton used animation routines on film in his own stage performances. Performances such as ‘humorous phases’.

Arthur Melbourne Cooper and Walter Booth used trick film to animate objects for early publicity films. Matches appeal, 1899. At this time this form of film was seen as eccentric. However, now after re evaluating, trick film in the language of cinema it has been recognised as an important part of what is now the dominant form of cinema. This has ensured these pioneers a place in film history. However these works had little effect on the main developments in the production of animated film.

How did animation progress? Animation emerged in its own right through the persistence of two great figures. Emile Cohl and Windsor McCay, French and American. They laid the foundations of animation as an art form and industry. For a short time both had clear visions of the potential of this new medium of the technical needs of production and significantly of the audience. Emile Cohl had already established a film reputation as an illustrator. How first animated film was called ‘Fantasmagorie, 1908. This form of production moved away from trick film. Only 2 minutes long, consisted of a stream of images appearing in a dreamlike way. There was no narrative structure but determined by an inner logic. Cohl continued to produce films into the 1920’s. included the fantosches’ series. Although he died in poverty 1938 he still hold a fascination for animators, who recognise the group he had of the medium to transform and distort figures and objects.

Windsor McCay also still had influences on present day filmmakers. He was also a well established graphic artist, with considerable reputation, working for the New York Herald on a popular comic strip series, little nemo.

This comic strip were derived from a European style, but McCay expressive artistic style transformed this into a graphic form which has earned him a place amongst the great graphic artists of the century. Its comic strip appealed massively to the European immigrants that could speak little English. The visual narratives appealed to these audiences as it was a non verbal form, which they recognised, but also had the boldness of the new world. Emile Cohls work was adapted to suit the production conditions of the new medium. He believed the sheer amount of art work needed demanded much simpler drawings. McCay did not make this compromise. His skills as a draftsmen is displayed from the start.

‘Gertie the dinosaur’ 1909, was one of his greatest works, which was effective in demonstrating not only the characters movements, but its weight and mass also. His control over his animators was not equalled again for some time. Also he started developing production techniques still used today such as cycling and repeats.

Disney played a big part in refining animation and in particular who its audience was. In 1937 Disney create the animated short, ‘the old mill’. it predates Disney’s first animated feature film, ‘snow white’. it was the first film to use the multi plane camera. Disney noticed that when zooming into a scene on a flat background the whole image would move. In his quest for realism in animation he created a camera that held different layers or ‘planes’. the slides would be mounted onto this creating different layers to the background. This effectively gave the film the depth it needed to created a realistic world for the character to reside. He used these animation shorts, e.g. the ‘silly symphonies’ as experiments for new animation techniques.

Critical studies : Essay Blog: Surrealism in animation

For this essay I will looking at animation as a medium for surrealism. I will be taking a look at animators such as the Brothers Quay and whom they influenced by. Also, how does these types of animation affect our preconceptions of animation and its uses.

But first, before comparing the two we should take a look at surrealism as a genre. The art scene dispersed after cataclysmic effects from the 1^st World war. Artists fled back to their own countries or to Switzerland. In 1916 the Dada movement formed. The Cabaret Voltair began hosting meetings for avante garde artists who performed bizarre acts, sporting strange outfits, read poetry, played music etc. All with the intent to confuse, surprise or even insult the viewer.

It was a political movement. All Dadaists were agreed on the corruption of the ideals that brought about the war.. It was this they wanted to abolish. It was an anhilistic, anarchic, disruptive movement. Freed from previous constraints.

It was from this movement that rattled the art worlds cage that surrealism emerged. However it focuses on internal psychic sources and analytical thought. It moved away from the chaos of Dada into an art based on psycho. Often surrealist art is like a representation of a dream where the impossible is made real by illusions and distortions of images.

So how would this art form be used by animators or even influence it in any way? It seems nothing but a strange art form to confuse you and distract you. Well to start, animation can be quite abstract in itself. Characters are distorted or exaggerated in western cartoons. So it would seem that this makes animation the perfect tool for representing surreal dreamlike worlds or characters. But a shows success is not just on artistic talent but how it received. Can surrealism be used effectively to create an animation that can interest viewers or provoke unconventional thoughts by exploring feelings of paranoia and irrationality? Can something that challenges viewers in this way ever be as popular as the fluffy Disney cartoons?

Cartoons, in western culture, are often resigned to a Childs viewing choice. But what differentiates children’s entertainment from adults. It seem that across America and Japan, cartoons were not just there to entertain you. Disney’s theme park and TV shows were targeted at young audiences. They have shorter attention spans so the bright colours and constantly moving images make it the perfect distraction for these imaginative youngsters. Also, in Japan, cartoons were and still are used to sell toys.

Gundam wing was used to sell toy robots.

But when you move away from the flashy, sugary, super charged ‘salesmen’ that bombard children’s cartoons, you discover how this medium can be enjoyed by all viewers. Cartoons such as ‘Fritz the cat’ and ‘Betty Boop’ would at first appear to be fun to watch with the kids. However the provocative characters might make you switch over quickly to come back to later when the kids are in bed. There are many cartoons that can interest older viewers so, clearly, animation can be effective for a whole range of audiences.

My first example of surrealism being used in animation is The Brothers Quay. The shows they produce are a far different tone from the colourful kids shows. The brothers use puppets in a stop motion style animation. The materials they use are often inventive and peculiar, favouring things like bones, newspapers, meat and dust. In particular, however, there is often no dialogue. The characters remain silent, moving to the accents of the music. The music itself is quite minimalist, adding to the tense feeling of soundlessness. Whether this is how they intended to communicate to the viewer I do not know. For some, little sound could represent calmness. In an interview the Quay brothers remark that they often shy away from the use of dialogue, in favour of a more visual form of story telling. In this they expect that it can be understood by a much broader audience as you break down the confinements of language. However, is this what they achieved?

The visual language of works such as ‘street of crocodiles’ and ‘the cabinet of Jan Svankmajer’ translates quite nicely into that of an avante garde ballet. To most, ballet may be considered as a cultured activity. As the animations move deeper into the story, a vague plot appears. However, its surrealist nature does its best to confuse you, but also open your mind perhaps. The characters that find themselves trapped in the box, looking through small windows to the outside world in a nice representation of this.. The jerkiness of the characters adds a little, I think, to the tension. The Brothers did create a film with a script, ‘The piano tuner of earthquakes’. However there is not a huge amount of speech and the characters move in quite a dreamlike dance, sometimes being moved as though they were puppets. This seems a good reflection of how the Quay brothers are comfortable communicating. When asked whether he thought the film was successful, the producer said “No. However with an open mind he hoped people would respond well to it.”

‘The cabinet of Jan Svankmajer’ is a direct reference to one of the brothers influences Jan Svankmajer. In Dadaistic fashion he surprise’s audiences with his bizarre choice of materials. For example. The animation ’meat love’ 1989, the plot consists of 2 chops of meat that display feelings of vanity and attraction. At first I was slightly horrified to see chops of meat walking about. However, its actually a very amusing and clever film. It also interesting to see how animation can be used in the most peculiar ways, by adding life and human like qualities to inanimate objects we can feel like we can relate to them as real characters.

An interesting animation that is portrays a very surrealist method of story telling, is the film ‘ready or not, here I come’, a film from

So does this mean surrealist animation is resigned then to artists and students. Perhaps not. A young animator within Disney’s studios, named Tim Burton, had grown up watching horror movies and surreal films with Ray Harryhausen and Vincent Price. At Disney he felt restrained to express himself creatively. However, after his talent was being noticed he became a conceptual artist for films such as ‘the black cauldron’. A particular film that comes to mind is ‘The nightmare before Christmas’ 1993. A stop motion film that displayed horrific, surreal characters from the Halloween world. They could be closely compared to surreal images of creatures and people. Also the twisted walls, trees and hills that scatter the scenery add to the feeling that this is not quite the same as reality. However the story takes us to the nice safe snowy world of Christmas town. Perhaps this is a safety net for the audience that is expecting to watch the film without being thrown into a world of chaos.

Of course he has created many films, some animated, often stop motion, some films and some combined e.g. ‘Beetlejuice’. But one that recently emerged was ‘Coraline’ released in 2009. The story and setting is quite dully lit and boring, as we share in Coralines own boredom of a new home. Then, after receiving a doll, strange things start to happen and a new reality is opened up to her. However, unlike ‘nightmare before Christmas’ there is no safety net as the two worlds seem to merge together until her warped world crumbles around her. The film was quite successful, showing in cinemas. However, Perhaps the feeling of being lost and confused makes it not so easy to watch as nightmare before Christmas. However I believe ‘Coraline’ was successful in portraying a surreal world that could tell its story and appeal to a large audience.

Conclusion. Though surrealism is an interesting form that can be imaginatively used in animation, its intention of confusing the viewer, it makes it not so easy to watch. But it has many uses in reflecting, perhaps difficult messages to communicate. It can be used not just to confuse but also enlighten in only a way that this visual form can. Surrealism in animation can lead you through a journey of representation that ultimately reveals the story. Although, it remains limited because of its complex expression.Uzbekistan, made 1992. It sports the logo of Moscow’s Pilot animation studio. A lot of great examples of surreal animation from Russia, was distributed by these in the late 1980’s, early 1990’s. This particular film utilizes he freedom that animation can give by using morphing images, scenes that show buildings that represent surreal images like Escher’s relativity, showing impossible stairs. Also, the drawn, artistic aesthetic of the film means that the animator can portray things in a distorted reality, such as the scene with the human bodies, being used as train tracks. It demonstrates effectively the use of surrealism in animation. That surrealism is not just a random, like its predecessor the Dada movement. Instead its use of unconventional symbols reveals hidden messages. I am unclear of the actual intent of this film, but it some thoughts are that it represents the fall of the soviet union. There is a purpose to the animation and the plot unfolds as the characters and scenery morph. Though, in its surrealist nature it is discreet in its language. Revealing itself only in symbols and illusions.

Final Animation (Directed study)

This is the complete animation. I've experimented with mixed media for this film. As an artist I use different media to achieve a certain effect. With animation the different medium you can use is a little broader. I think this makes it quite interesting.

As an experiment I think the effects I was aiming for, e.g. in the dark or the light off the TV, look quite effective. Although there are things I would do differently, were I to redo this task. Overall it is a little rough around the edges. By this I mean the drawings are quite sketchy and the action is a little jerky and quick in some cases. Although I think part of its charm is in seeing it as drawings coming to life.

Originally, for the 'GAME OVER' scene for the TV, I'd planned on having it square on. However, from what I have seen from films and read in books such as the guide to storyboarding 'shot by shot', By having the shot looking up slightly gives the scene a more foreboding, dramatic effect!

Towards the end of the project, as I was filming, if I discovered a technique would not work in the desired way, I often improvised or changed my mind as I went along. I think the animation would have benefitted from more thorough research, e.g. more drawings of the TV smashing would have helped me to visualize this better.

Directed Study - opening scene test

This is the first test of the opening scene. I left out the dark areas around the room as the torch provided dark shadows around the edge. I did draw the dark shadows on the objects in the room as the torch cannot create this effect. I used pencil for these dark scenes as I felt this gave it the hazy effect of darkness.

Directed study - Turn on the light

This a quick pencil test for the last scene. The guy turns on the light and the TV falls and smashes. The best example I could find to use for reference was the currys advert for 2010.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4sqEJDAGoI

I found this clip very funny and very befitting to what I was trying to achieve in my own animation. The slight pause before it drops anticipates the moment befor the crash!

Directed study - In the dark

I used silhouettes on a dark background for the dark scene. Originally I had not planned to do it in this way. After testing it for the first time, however, I was immediately happy with the results. I opted for this method as drawing dark scenes for animation is a difficult task as so many shades of grey and black are needed and sometimes hard to discern from one another. The best example of drawn animation that has alot of night scenes is the anime 'Akira'.
This is a quote taken from http://www.bbakira.co.uk/prodreport/prodrep.htm

"The film takes place mainly at night. If you take a look at the colour chart, you will
see the tremendous variety of dark tones, many colours you'd never see in any
other animation. There's such subtlety in the variations that you wouldn't notice them
on a television screen, but in the theater, the large variety of colours, it really makes
a difference. It helps to create the night scenes".

      - Yamana, Chief Colourist

In the case of using silhouettes, the shadows created by the natural curling of the paper helped to define the character in the dark.