Chapter 1 of Art in Motion seemed to be an elongated love letter to animated films and works, brilliantly written by Maureen Furniss, so it presents the reader with both knowledge and respect for the art form. Furniss carefully traverses the important history of animation, detailing its birth, the preservation of works, and the technologcal advances still occurring in the artform today.
What I found to be most interesting in the reading was the discussion of how animated films were not always taken seriously, because they are not "real"/live action, too commercialized, too closely associated with fandom, and aimed towards children. This was such a surprise to me because I always thought of animated films as timeless works, in the sense that they've had a long history of entertaining generations of people. I never really thought of animation as being exclusive to children. Just because animated features tend to have a rating that's kid-friendly, doesn't mean that only younger audiences will enjoy it, it's just means that it's accessible for children. Disney and Pixar are very successful studios due to their animated works, most of which have a G or PG rating even though they contain a lot of adult themes. Behind the colorful characters, simplistic story, and clean look lies ideas of love, death, sexism, forgiveness, search for acceptance, environmental concerns, I could go on and on. The writing in animated features has to be clever, because you're writing a film for a range of audiences. There has to be jokes that are simple enough for children to get, as well as adult jokes that are sneaked in for parents. Animated films may be accessible for children, but that doesn't mean only children will enjoy them.
It was also fascinating to read about the preservation of animated works, and how that lead to a newfound appreciation for them. ASIFA, SAS, and especially the Animation Journal really helped to preserve works and develop a growth in discussion over animated features. Another great sign of growth for animation appreciation was the formation of WIA (Women in Animation), by Rita Street. This organization's purpose was to reveal woman's contributions in the field of animation, which is a terrific idea because women usually don't receive a lot of recognition in the film industry.
The chapter also presented several different ideas of what the definition for animation is:
Edward S. Small-"The technique of single-frame cinematography"
Charles Soloman-Two factors: imagery recorded frame-by-frame, and the illusion of motion which is created
Norman McLaren-"The art of movements that are drawn...animation is therefore the art of manipulating the invisible interstices that lie between frames"
I agree most with Charles Soloman's definition, because it is simple yet correctly discovers the vast amount of animated works. Cel animation, puppetry, and CGI all deal with recording the image frame-by-frame to create the illusion of motion.
The final idea of the chapter that I thought was worth mentioning was the idea that animated works are a product of time, and that historical, economical, social, technological, and industrial influences are prevalent through the works.
Understanding Animation by Paul Wells
Chapter 1 of Understanding Animation was more of a dull read to me, mostly in part due to Paul Wells' writing. Wells knows animation well, but the presentation of his research is a bit overwhelming because he shoves so much information onto a page, and jumps around ideas often. What I took most from his writing was the discussion over what animation is, and the different theories of how the illusion of animation is created.
Norman McClaren is mentioned again in this reading, and rightly so, because his ideas concerning animation are a fine read. A quote of his that I think truly captures the magic of animation is "what happens between each frame is more important than what happens on each frame". This is just such a profound statement to me, because the idea that the carefully created images are (in a sense) not as important as the spacing between the images, for it's the space between the images where movement occurs. To go along with that idea is the "Persistence of Vision" theory, which states that the human eye tries to keep up with the frames, resulting in the illusion of motion.
There was also a stress of the originality of animation in the chapter. Animation is unlike live-action, because animation provides original effects and allows for the artists to create situations which could be very difficult to film live. A director who has recently discovered the magic of animation is Robert Zemeckis, who was quoted as saying "animation allows one to do things which would be impossible in a live action film". Zemeckis, famous for such films as Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, and Cast Away, recently has turned to motion capture technology to direct animated features such as The Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol. It has been 12 years since he directed his last live action film. much to the dismay of his fans. The irony in Zemeckis being able to do "impossible" visual feats, results in a lack of story to his films these days. Animation can create original effects, but without a proper story the effects are for nothing.
The Thief and the Cobbler
The Thief and the Cobbler was a labor of love from Richard Williams, which was a result of 26 years in the making, only to sadly be changed by the studio and marketed as a simple children's musical, which a lot of people complained looked too much like Aladdin. I chose to discuss this film because it's truly unique and stresses the idea of an original look.
The Thief and the Cobbler Trailer
The Thief and the Cobbler Trailer
The film is cel animation, but looks as though it was done with computers. The way the characters move about the breath-taking scenery is surreal to see, because Williams had his animators draw out twice as many frames as the normal rate. Everything looks so fluid and clean in the film.
The scenery plays a huge role in the look of the film. The castle and city where the story takes place has visuals that are out of this world. A simple chase scene down a corridor, turns into a psychedelic trip through textile patterns, twisted architecture, and luscious courtyards and rooms. A lot of emphasis is but into creating a world that has never been seen before, and sadly that world was corrupted by the studio, when only a few more minutes of the film needed to be complete.
This film relates to the reading in several ways. The idea of originality is definitely present in the film, both in the look and creation of it. The film features a variety of complex images, and the doubling of the frame rate creates and eerie motion effect. The film is also proof that animated films are not just for children. I see this film as more for adults than anything, because of the dark writing and overall feel.
Progress on Final Project
I've made a lot of progress this past week on my final project. I found a group who's nice to work with, and we've briefly discussed a story that we all seem happy and excited with. I'm surprised that it's coming together so nicely, I just hope the rest of the production goes well. My group will soon meet to discuss the plot and actually write a script for it.
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