The fifth film we watched in theory was Chico and Rita, a 2010 Spanish film, centered around 2 lovers from Cuba, set in the 1940s-1950s.
I felt like Chico and Rita was my favorite film so far from the films we had watched. The art of background was stunning in my opinion, reminding me of the graphic artwork used in the game Borderlands. I also found the soundtrack interesting, I normally dislike this type of music, but felt with the film it worked well and was pleasant to listen to.
Although I feel it was indeliberate, I found the characters designs slightly racist and outdated. Rita had the typical hourglass figured desired during the time, which shows the patriarchal ideology coming through, the women having to dress themselves and weight how they are desired to by the men. Rita would also dissapear into the shadow due to her skin coour being the same as the darkness of the shadow. I doubt the director intentionally due to hate, rather by accident, but it can still be seen as racist by some and perhaps offending.
We also see the racism common during the time, mainly when they are not allowed into the clubs as it was 'Whites Only'. If a club did such a thing today, it would be met with severe reprocussions, but during the 50s this was common place. It is interesting and shocking to see how the racist ideology at the time was so severe. White people being treated as superior to the locals, even though they were minority in Havana.
Tuesday, 9 April 2013
Animation Theory 1 - Kirikou & the Sorceress
The fourth film we watched in theory was Kirikou & The Sorceress, a 1998 animated French film about a small boy named Kirikou that attempts to save his small village in Africa from a local Sorceress and her minions.
I enjoyed the soundtrack of the film, it worked well with the films upbeat friendly atmosphere. I also liked the art style of the film as it was a traditional animation. The biggest ideology that you see in this film is the capitalist ideology. That Kirkikou rises from absolutely nothing to become a strong tall warrior who is the leader of the village and has the Sorceress as his wife. In reality this is completely impossible, free to be whoever we want no matter the obstacles in our way.
The film also displays patriarchal ideology. The village is mainly left with women, all the men having been eaten by the sorceress and so when Kirikou comes along, being a male he is seen as more important and is so the main character/hero we cheer for. In reality this is obviously false, at least within our country, were both genders are seen as equal, but seeing as this film takes place in South Africa, which has ideologies and customs of its own, different from us. But you must also remember that the film was made in France, thousands of miles away which has no similar ideologies or customs, which means its not a true example of South African ideologies and representations.
I enjoyed the soundtrack of the film, it worked well with the films upbeat friendly atmosphere. I also liked the art style of the film as it was a traditional animation. The biggest ideology that you see in this film is the capitalist ideology. That Kirkikou rises from absolutely nothing to become a strong tall warrior who is the leader of the village and has the Sorceress as his wife. In reality this is completely impossible, free to be whoever we want no matter the obstacles in our way.
The film also displays patriarchal ideology. The village is mainly left with women, all the men having been eaten by the sorceress and so when Kirikou comes along, being a male he is seen as more important and is so the main character/hero we cheer for. In reality this is obviously false, at least within our country, were both genders are seen as equal, but seeing as this film takes place in South Africa, which has ideologies and customs of its own, different from us. But you must also remember that the film was made in France, thousands of miles away which has no similar ideologies or customs, which means its not a true example of South African ideologies and representations.
Animation Theory 1 - Animal Farm
The third film we watched was Animal Farm, a 1954 animated british film, that was funded by the CIA. Knowing this we can assume there are a few ideologies represented in it.
The film is heavily biased towards the risks and dangers communism have. The film begins by showing the harsh cruelty the animals suffer under the heel of their master/owner, Mr Jones. We then see the animals plan and lead a revolution, taking over the farm and evicting Mr Jones. At first it seems like this is an excellent solutions that works for everyone, but soon its 'flaws' begin to show, with one species becoming more important than another, eventually becoming superior to all the other species and ruing them with an iron fist. We then see the animals leading another revolution against the Pigs (communism) a and were ead to believe that capitalism and democracy takes it place and everything is going to be perfect.
The main ideology of this film is that although Mr Jones rule was harsh, it wasnt nearly as horrible as the rule of Napoleon (Communist), one which steals from us all freedom and equal rights. Viewing it now it seems ridiculous that anyone could be oblivious to these ideologies, but at the times these dominant ideologies were used by the government to gather support for them and grow hate and fear for communism, preparing the country for a growing Cold War, something the Soviet Union were doing at the time aswell.
The film is heavily biased towards the risks and dangers communism have. The film begins by showing the harsh cruelty the animals suffer under the heel of their master/owner, Mr Jones. We then see the animals plan and lead a revolution, taking over the farm and evicting Mr Jones. At first it seems like this is an excellent solutions that works for everyone, but soon its 'flaws' begin to show, with one species becoming more important than another, eventually becoming superior to all the other species and ruing them with an iron fist. We then see the animals leading another revolution against the Pigs (communism) a and were ead to believe that capitalism and democracy takes it place and everything is going to be perfect.
The main ideology of this film is that although Mr Jones rule was harsh, it wasnt nearly as horrible as the rule of Napoleon (Communist), one which steals from us all freedom and equal rights. Viewing it now it seems ridiculous that anyone could be oblivious to these ideologies, but at the times these dominant ideologies were used by the government to gather support for them and grow hate and fear for communism, preparing the country for a growing Cold War, something the Soviet Union were doing at the time aswell.
Animation Theory 1 - Waltz with Bashir
The second film we watched in Animation Theory was Waltz with Bashir, an Israeli animated documentary released in 2008 following the story of a once young soldier, questioning old comrades about their actions in the 1982 Lebanon War, and any guilt they felt since. Ending with the massacre of Palestinians at the Sabra and Shatil refugee camps, carried out by Lebanese Phalangist militia, the same year.
I found the film rather shocking, especially the ending. With an animated film it is difficult to read the facial expression of characters, or respect the importance of certain events, by including real footage of the massacre at the end, the viewer is reminded that the events discussed and illustrated are reality and took place over 30 years ago, a reminder that the young and innocent are the true victims of war and fighting.
The film also showed the soldiers as cold hearted, who feel no remorse for the killing and brutality they committed during the course of the war. It breaks from the dominant ideology we are accustomed too, since when watching the film we know the things that are done are bad, and cause the deaths of innocent and destructions of homes, but they were told by their superiours that they were the 'good' guyes, what they were doing was justice and right, which allowed the soldiers to repress their memories from the war and continue after the war without guilt or remorse. An odd thing for those surrounded by another countries idelogies at a different time.
I felt the soundtrack also added to the films meaning. The tense music added to the suspense and atmosphere of emotional and deep moments of the film, while the pop music used reminds us that these soldiers were still really just children, who had no real idea what they were fighting for or why, but rather moulded into what they needed to be by superior powers.
I found the film rather shocking, especially the ending. With an animated film it is difficult to read the facial expression of characters, or respect the importance of certain events, by including real footage of the massacre at the end, the viewer is reminded that the events discussed and illustrated are reality and took place over 30 years ago, a reminder that the young and innocent are the true victims of war and fighting.
The film also showed the soldiers as cold hearted, who feel no remorse for the killing and brutality they committed during the course of the war. It breaks from the dominant ideology we are accustomed too, since when watching the film we know the things that are done are bad, and cause the deaths of innocent and destructions of homes, but they were told by their superiours that they were the 'good' guyes, what they were doing was justice and right, which allowed the soldiers to repress their memories from the war and continue after the war without guilt or remorse. An odd thing for those surrounded by another countries idelogies at a different time.
I felt the soundtrack also added to the films meaning. The tense music added to the suspense and atmosphere of emotional and deep moments of the film, while the pop music used reminds us that these soldiers were still really just children, who had no real idea what they were fighting for or why, but rather moulded into what they needed to be by superior powers.
Animation Theory 1 - Persepolis
For our first Animation theory lecture, we watched the film Persepolis, an animated french film released in 2007, which revolves around the coming of age a young woman experiences while set during the Iranian Revolution.
I personally liked the film, its art style was nice and the animation of high quality. But when speaking about the ideologies behind the film, I felt it was a bit hypocritical how in the film they were blaming western powers, and yet the dubbed voices were mainly from westerners. It was ridiculous to hear in my opinion.
Another thing I notice is the dehumanization the director does for the evil characters. For the soldiers massacring the civilians and torturing those in the prison we always see them either from the chest down, or gas masks covering the entire face. Much like they did in Star Wars with the Clone Troopers, because once you cover the face and make them all look the same, you begin to forget they are human just like you instead of just evil monsters. They also did this with the design and movement of some evil characters, for example the nuns in this scene at 1:30, they slide across the floor and move like snakes, while they faces look cold, and reptile like. They also have sharp faces, which have been proven to be trait humans see as suspicious and sinister. While the 'good' characters are often seen wearing bright colours such as red and white, compared to the black used for others.
Since the film is made by a western country, its biased with our ideologies, dominant ideologies that are familiar in our daily lives, and by now seen by us as natural in the world. For exampe the religious followers are seen as evil fanatics who hate everything and everyone, while every western aspect in the film is seen as the saviour that brought Iran into a more 'modern' world, even though it was western powers that put the country into such a unstable state in the first place.
I personally liked the film, its art style was nice and the animation of high quality. But when speaking about the ideologies behind the film, I felt it was a bit hypocritical how in the film they were blaming western powers, and yet the dubbed voices were mainly from westerners. It was ridiculous to hear in my opinion.
Another thing I notice is the dehumanization the director does for the evil characters. For the soldiers massacring the civilians and torturing those in the prison we always see them either from the chest down, or gas masks covering the entire face. Much like they did in Star Wars with the Clone Troopers, because once you cover the face and make them all look the same, you begin to forget they are human just like you instead of just evil monsters. They also did this with the design and movement of some evil characters, for example the nuns in this scene at 1:30, they slide across the floor and move like snakes, while they faces look cold, and reptile like. They also have sharp faces, which have been proven to be trait humans see as suspicious and sinister. While the 'good' characters are often seen wearing bright colours such as red and white, compared to the black used for others.
Since the film is made by a western country, its biased with our ideologies, dominant ideologies that are familiar in our daily lives, and by now seen by us as natural in the world. For exampe the religious followers are seen as evil fanatics who hate everything and everyone, while every western aspect in the film is seen as the saviour that brought Iran into a more 'modern' world, even though it was western powers that put the country into such a unstable state in the first place.
Flash
The second project given to us in this module was a Flash Animation, which was taught by Ged Haney, a veteran of animation, having been in the career for over 30 years. In order to get to know and admire Ged's skill we spent our first lecture with him looking at his past work, including work he had done with Film Bilder that have received huge success such as Bla Bla Bla and The Riddle for still unknown Gigi D' Agostino, Kings Of Siam in 1992, and other...debatable pieces of work such as Milk Milk Lemonade. Although Ged did not seem as enthusiastic as previous tutors to be teaching us, he still had a massive amount of skill, with which he could teach us how to use flash, or at least the basics.
Geds lectures were not as structured as well as Rozi's After Effects lectures unfortunately. But he still gave us some guidance. I would have to complain about the poor scheduling involved with his lectures, as we only had 5-6 weeks of his help, with which we wasted the first watching his work (Interesting but ultimately unnecessary for us to complete our work) and the second simply showing Ged our storyboards (I don't understand how it took near enough 3 hours to go through less than 10 storyboards). Although by the 3rd week I had my final storyboard in hand, and had already drawn the scenes on Photoshop ready to be imported into flash on layers.
For the next two sessions I worked on tweening scenes for my animation. I felt I was making progress, slow progress, but progress nonetheless, even with my crippling fear of Flash. The problem I encountered was creating the more complicated scenes. I had created the layers on Photoshop without telling Ged, and so when he saw them I was informed that because my images were more detailed, moving scenes would be more complicated, with his normal methods unable to do what I wanted it to, and no solution in sight.
Ultimately Ged could not solve some of my problems. Needing his knowledge every 5 minutes to finish one movement was impractical in a room with a dozen other students in the same hole as me. So I began using tutorials found online on sites such as Youtube and FlashKit for guidance. Over the course of the Easter holiday I learned a little bit more on how to use Flash, but some scenes were still to complicated for a Flash greenhorn such as myself. In the end I decided to create each frame for the difficult scenes, such as the main character reaching for his sword.
Audio wise for this project, I had the same problem I found with After Effects. Having to make sure I do not include any copyrighted music or sounds. Fortunately it was sound effects that were needed for this one, and most sound effects are in the public domain, and frees me to use them as much as I want.
Overall, I am surprisingly pleased with the animation. It feels like a real 2D animation, one I've hoped of making for a while. The walking animations are smooth and realistic, with both the character and background moving individually. I am also pleased with the sword grab and head fall. I had originally planned on a sword fight, but felt it would've looked too silly and double the time it would've taken to finish the animation, but I feel the sudden cut to black and sound effect works well, with the viewer knowing what just happened. Although the animation does have its weaknesses. For example when burned onto DVD, the screen stretched for an unknown reason, and cut out the blink and gulp audio at the end, which without affects the animation, making it seem unfinished. One thing I would change if I could would be to add more splatter and spurting of blood when the antagonist is decapitated, as its too clean and PG for my liking. The audio I used Is effective in my opinion, when watching it compared to one without audio, It felt like a whole different film, in particular the mexican stand off. I was lucky enough to find a western song which fitted the face zooms of the characters without needing too much editing.
After Effects
2013 brought with it a new semester and a new module for us, Animation Practice 2.
I was excited for the new work we would be creating, mainly because we were moving away from traditional techniques, and branching out towards adobe software. Something I have been looking forward to since taking an interest in animation.
We began by viewing films and animation on Mystreetfilms.com. A website where people around the globe can upload films between 1-10 minutes long, revolving around their street. This could mean locations, people, stories, practically anything noteworthy about the area the individual lives in. While going through the hundreds of films available, I tried to find films that included animation. Unfortunately I only found a handful that did so, with most being real time documentary or discussions with people in their community.
After searching through the website for 30 minutes, Rozi discussed what our first project for this year would be, which was to create an animation through Adobe After Effects, that could be uploaded to the website once finished. My first thought upon hearing this was 'How on earth am I going to be able to create an animation about an area in Leeds I barely know?'. An alarm that went off in a number of my classmates heads as well, one which Rozi defused quickly by explaining the film could take place anywhere we knew a lot about. So I immediately began thinking of locations back home in Wales I could use as a basis for my animation in the back of my mind as Rozi began introducing us to the basics of After Effects.
At first I found picking up After Effects to be quite daunting, but after a few sessions, as well as help from Rozi and tutorials on sites such as YouTube I was confident in my ability to use After Effects to create an effective animation, from basic title sequences to transitions.
For my After Effects project, I decided to create a smudge and click stop motion, with a small amount of real time footage. I settled on this after stumbling across an animation on Mystreet I felt worked incredibly well, and wanted to create an animation around the same basic idea, which was to draw a symbol/image with chalk on something natural found in the area, for example a stone or the bark of a tree. I began by writing down a list of locations back home that could serve as shooting sites, and from there narrowing them down to a practical amount, as I would not have enough time to visit each significant area, unfortunately. Once I had the locations, I created a storyboard of the animation, to help me choose which order the scenes would go in, as well as the smaller details of the scenes.
Once I had my storyboard in place. It was time for me to schedule a suitable time to return home and film/shoot the footage. I decided I would return home and work for 3 days, between February the 14th - 16th, sacrificing the Friday lecture to gather the raw footage needed. On the train home I returned to my storyboard and made a few large changes, most notably including a person at the beginning to be the 'source' of the chalk eyes, as well as including the view from the car on the trip to the destinations.
Once I had arrived and was ready to work, I contacted my friend, who I had paid £30 pounds to drive me around and assist me if necessary. Here are the locations and route I took as I gathered the footage for the animation.
Overall I was happy with the footage I managed to get, although I did not have enough time to visit the most important and iconic location on my to do list. Therefore I had to return to Leeds without all of the footage I needed, but I wasn't too concerned as I had enough footage to work on before returning to Wales, and considering the time and planning it took to get to all the locations I had planned, I was rather proud of my ability to gather most of it in less than 3 days.
Once I had returned to Leeds I imported all the footage into After Effects, and began piecing together the animation, which took longer than I had anticipated, as I couldn't import all the footage at once without the mac/laptop becoming slow and unresponsive. Therefore I had to create the scenes in separate projects, and once completed bring them all together into one finished piece.
At this point I had finished most of the after effects (aside from the 3 ending scenes that needed to be filmed in Tryweryn) and so switched my focus away from The After Effects Project, and towards the Flash Project
given to us by Ged.
There was no obvious development to the After Effects Project until after we broke up for Easter holiday, since I now had time to return home and collect the last, but essentially needed footage from Tryweryn.
At this point I had to make a difficult choice, choosing between which location to visit personally and film at. Both locations had its advantages and atmospheres differed greatly, but still held true to the welsh history I had running through my animation. Ultimately I decided on visiting the Graffiti art located near Aberystwyth, as it held much deeper and sadder meaning, one which the old slate mine could not match.
Here is a map of the route we took to reach Tryweryn. It is a rather long trip, but my agreement with my friend still stood, and so we made the day trip down there for me to film, and to see the wall itself. It is something everyone home knows about, but few have actually visited the national landmark. another friend voluntarily accompanied us simply to see it. The shooting process went relatively smooth compared to the previous times. We reached the sight in good time, and the snow still left on the route there gave a very nice stop motion journey to the location. But the main thing I took away from the experience was the sense of welsh nationalism we felt seeing the wall. Reading about the incident that happened in 1965 is bitter, but seeing the aftermath in front of you, something you can touch and see with your own eyes is a whole different experience.
Once back home I imported the footage and begun finalizing the animation. I decided at the end to turn one of the welsh freedom signs underneath the writing into a red dragon, similar to that on the Welsh Flag, to symbolize how Wales as a people are still proud of their history and heritage.
Overall, I am quite pleased with the animation. I'm particularly proud of the beginning, where the eyes move from the head to the side of the shed. I feel it was smooth and well done. I am also proud of the Tryweryn scenes. The stop motion journey to the wall is interesting in my opinion, showing the variation of scenery North Wales has to offer, from the tall forests ,to the snow capped mountains. I also enjoy the shot of the Wall. It shows the wall completely, not only the main writing, but also the symbols underneath, which symbolize welsh language and the FWA (Free Wales Army). There are some scenes which I felt did not go as I had hoped, mainly the scene at the beach. As I was trying to draw the eyes on the rock, the crashing waves would distract me from the work, as well as smudge the eyes since the salt water running down the boulders would ruin any small movements I tried to make, mainly the pupils moving. If I could go back and improve on any scenes, it would definitely be this scene by filming at a better time when the waves are further out. I did not put any music in the film as I felt the only audio that would compliment the purpose of the film would be a welsh song, something which is of course copyrighted, and so unable to be used I'm afraid. Although I did put a dragon growl at the end as a sing the film had finished, giving it a small closing in some way. The dragon animation I am pleased with. I felt it was smooth and effectively done on After Effects. I created it the same way I created the morphing animation in the first module. Wings and all four limbs would have made the dragon more effective, but I felt it would have changed t0o much from the original shape.
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