Final Blog

One of my favorite animated feature length films of all time is The Iron Giant, which made me excited that we were going to be watching it this semester. It is extremely different to watch this film as a kid and then re-watch it within an animation class because you begin to realize how incredibly impressive the film is. Directed by Brad Bird, who also directed Ratatouille, the animation that is presented exceeds all others that were released around the same time. The film has become an American classic, being nominated for the Top Ten Animated Films by American Film Institute and winning Best Feature Film by the British Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. It is a staple example of how animation can bring the viewer into a completely different world and tell an interesting narrative.

The inspiration behind the animation in the Iron Giant stemmed from Norman Rockwell, Edward Hooper and N.C. Wyeth, who are all incredible artists. In order to make sure that they could achieve the magnitude that they were setting forth with, a specific computer was created entirely for the project. The entire crew on the film was extremely hands on and collaborative. In fact, Teddy Newton (the storyboard artist) was given creative freedom on many of the scenes and came up with ideas that ended up being the most memorable scenes in the final product.

 One of the greatest strengths of the film is the ability for it to be an incredible action film without using special effects or live-action stunts that have become synonymous with action films. The action grabs the viewer in and makes them forget that they are watching a computer-animated film. The storyline is also exceptional, with many different plot turns and heart wrenching moments that keep the viewer focused on what is going on screen. The color choice also helps to make The Iron Giant shine, using brightly colored gradient backgrounds as a way to emphasize the greys of the giant himself. In an age where high budget live-action films are outshining all competition, it is refreshing to see a film that achieves all that other films do without all of the bells and whistles.

Anime

Anime is a very distinct and interesting style of animation. After researching into the world of anime, I was very surprised to find out that it is not solely a Japanese style of animation. I was also surprised to find how popular the art form is and that there is a large culture that exists within the anime community of people who are extremely enthusiastic about what the style of animation stands for.

I found Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple to be the most interesting examples of anime. One of the things that stood out to me the most was the use of color and how consistent it was throughout each individual episode. Most of the other anime examples that I watched used over exaggerated colors, which is interesting within itself, but this particular example focused more on the facial expressions and actions to make it unique and entertaining for the viewer.

One of the other elements that I really liked was the use of humor throughout the animations. Although much of the humor was not intentional, the lightness of this particular example made for the viewing to be more pleasurable. Oftentimes, with other anime, it is difficult to stay within the story because of how graphic or over-the-top it may be. This one, however, managed to blend together the perfect amount of over the top animation with serious action. I think that this one was the most easy to follow and enjoy.

Even though anime can be over the top with the animation, I feel like this example has some elements that relate to Disney animated films, especially ones of the 90s. One of the first things that came to my mind was the Disney animated film Atlantis because I feel that the style of that film and this series are very similar.

An interesting side note, one of the characters in Pixar’s film Toy Story 3 came from anime. It was a small role in the scene where Woody gets taken to the girls house accidentally, but it shows how much of an influence anime has on the animation culture.

Here's an example of some of the animation in this example:

Advertisements

I really enjoyed looking through all of the different advertisements; each had a very distinct and unique feeling to them. It is very important for a company to have eye-catching designs that will bring in the user and pursue them to purchase whatever product they are trying to sell.  Oftentimes, advertisements look very mundane and similar to others that come before it. When an advertisement manages to get across a point while making the user remember that particular piece, it is successful. My favorite one, however, was the advertisement regarding Carona by the Pereria & O’Dell Company.

One of the things that I appreciated the most was the interactivity of the advertisement. It was very unique that, when the user goes to try and get the bottle of Carona, a shark takes the cursor. I have not seen something like this before in advertisements on website and it made me replay the animation over and over again. This is something that makes the audience become more prone to purchasing the product because it is something that they might have not seen before.

Besides the interactive element of this particular advertisement, I also liked the atmosphere that was created by keeping the animation consistent with the background. The water itself looked very realistic and the shark did not seem overly cartoonish, even though it was doing an action that does not happen under the sea in actuality. The color itself gave the feeling that the user was underwater and that is important when creating a successful design. Even when the advertisement was picturing a beach, it felt very realistic and natural instead of forced and cartoonish.

After looking at the website for the Pereria & O’Dell company, I realized that they make many advertisements that are like this. They also make many that are extremely unique and better than anything I have seen before. It was great to research them and look into what the company offers. I’d love to see more of there work on websites that I go on often.

Overall, I really enjoyed this particular advertisement and it makes me want to go out and get a Carona!

Poetry Blog

Poetry is a great way to create a narrative within an animation. The use of words allows the artist to create a separate story around the already written ideas. Each of the examples that are on the PBS website are excellent in their own ways, however there were two that stood out amongst the rest.

I agreed with the recommendation of “The Language” and was my particular favorite.  The thing that I liked the most was the use of various close-ups throughout the animation. It gave emphasis to individual words, which is an important aspect of that particular animation and poem. The color choice was also very muted and worked well with the narration. I thought that the scene with the eyes was extremely successful and stood out in my mind. Having the eyes be in color when the rest of the animation was in black and white was a brilliant move and worked well to make the poem stand out amongst the animation.

I also really enjoyed “Shiver and You Have Weather” because it was a simplistic drawing piece that had an interesting poem. Last weeks blog discussed how beneficial simplistic drawing can be to an animation and I think that this is a great example of that concept. I particularly liked how many sections of the animation were continuous and used panning as a way to continue the narrative. The lightness of the drawing interested me also because it was different than anything I had seen before. Another aspect that I really enjoyed is the way that objects disappeared by getting “picked up by the wind”. It played really well with the poem and kept me interested throughout.

OMG, I Can't Draw

Simple drawing is a useful and effective style in relation to animation. Personally, I think that a simple animation is more appealing because it allows a great amount of focus on the narration itself instead of how aesthetically pleasing the drawings are. However, simple drawings can create beautiful and interesting scenes that are unique and interesting. For example, in "These Are The Boring Bits", the viewer is taken into a world that is the definition of simple. I especially liked how the drawings were incomplete and purposefully sketched out. The viewer is forced to focus on the narrative because of the lack of colorful and detailed backgrounds, while being drawn into the simplicity of the characters. Although there isn’t a lot of zooming in or frame movement, the transitions between scenes was interesting and well done. It also played well with the simple animation that was being presented.

My particular favorite was “Bendito Machine” and I believe that it successfully balanced an interesting story with simplistic drawings. I am a big fan of the use of silhouettes, having all of the character and main scenery in black while having the background appear in a bright orange, and think that it worked well with the story. The use of long shots allowed for a more aseptically pleasing picture to be painted without losing much detail. I think the strength of this particular animation was that a great amount of interesting visual aspects were maintained despite the animation being quite simple. The color choice of the background also inspired me because it becomes a character within itself. It does not distract the viewer however it works well with the style of drawing that is unique to this particular animation.

Simple animations are unique in the sense that they do not go above and beyond to focus on character detail; instead they serve as a way to balance an interesting narrative with a creative style. I find myself watching more simple animations because it creates a style that is not often seen in animation. All of the examples utilized simple styles to make for a great overall piece.

Happy Tree Friends

My favorite animation out of the list was the “Spin Fun Knowing Ya”, which was the first Happy Tree Friends episode. To start off with, the color of the animation stood out to me the most because of its use of vibrant colors that created a very aesthetically interesting scheme throughout. Although the video itself is very gory, the color allowed for a somewhat child-like feel to be at the forefront. The drawing style also played well along with the color scheme. The animals are each very distinct looking but have a similar quality that is different that anything I had scene before. The overall look of the animation was extremely unique, which was the reason why I found this one to be my favorite out of the list. I think that this video was the most professional looking also, while maintaining a unique animation style that has not really been used before.

As far as the story goes, I’m not normally one to be into gory things but I think that it was done in a way that was entertaining and lighthearted. I’ve seen a few of the videos before and think that they do a good job of setting the characters up into situations that are fun to watch. The animation is fast paced an upbeat which keeps you interested throughout the entire length of the video and there are not any points that seem to drag. Some of the other videos had points that were a little bit slow or awkward to watch. This video kept me entertained throughout the entire time. The music also helped to continue the narrative and added more to the playful feel that the animation style and color had created. I especially liked the music in the beginning credits and the similarity that it had to the music during the actual video.

Overall, I believe that this video is the most successful example of good animation in comparison to the other ten videos. The other ones were also entertaining but I believe that the Happy Tree Friends managed to create a narrative that was interesting and unique.

About Me

Hey, I'm Corey. I'm a senior at Quinnipiac and a Film major with an Intereactive Design minor. I've worked at Quinnipiac designing posters for the events on campus. I'm really big into music and always down to have a good time. I'm easy to get along with and have a good sense of humor. I also don't really take anything too seriously. I'm excited for this semester and can't wait to learn some new things.