Task 3 - Personal Project (Animation 2 Part 2)

Task 3 - Personal Project (Animation 2 Part 2)

Selected Artist Analysis

Tetsuya Nomura

Task 2 - Proposal & Topic (Animation 2 Part 2)

Task 2 - Proposal & Topic (Animation 2 Part 2)

Introduction to Animation

Bally is a ball that’s trying to cross the road and the first attempt he crosses without looking left and right and almost got hit by a car. He then saw the signboard and tries a second attempt and crosses by looking left and right and managed to cross successfully without any problems

Problem Statement

Mantin has a lack of zebra crossing and also have a serious parking problem that obstruct other vehicles from driving safely

Objective

1.      Research about the Mantin town

2.      Analyze the Mantin town issues on road safety

3.      Apply the concept and project on Mantin town animation

Aim

To create awareness of road safety to the town people of Mantin and the consequences of road safety ignorance

Method

Experimentation (Animation 2 Part 2)

Before I start with the animation an experiment of method needs to be done, in this experiment I used rotoscoping digitally

Capturing a video using my phone I then changed the the video into frames

Using AI Illustrator tracing the movements using the frames I recreated the video

Similar to rotoscoping but instead of a lightbox here I used digitally traced rotoscoping

Sequence/Storyline

Opening sequence would be Tin man appearing and introducing himself, and then a kid trying to cross a road. Tin man saw this and moves towards him and starts to teach him how to cross the road the proper way. Showing him to look left and right for cars before crossing and use the traffic lights and zebra crossings. Then he move on to the driver that is coming up the road during that time and tells him things that what would have happened if he ignores the road safety and shows the consequences. Finally he goes up to both of them and tells them the moral of the story

Task 4 - Film Review and Research (Film Theory)

Task 4 - Film Review and Research (Film Theory)

Choosing two movies to review and research, here are a few titles that I give

Alice in the Wonderland

Alice in the Wonderland (1951)

Alice in the Wonderland (2010)

Transformers

Transformers (1984)

Transformers (2007)

Snow White

Snow White (1812)

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

Batman

Batman the animated series (2002)

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Samurai X/Rurounin Kenshin

Samurai X (1994)

Rurounin Kenshin (2012)

Finally I chose Samurai X as the movie I would research and review

Experimentation (Animation 2 Part 2)

Experimentation (Animation 2 Part 2)

Before I start with the animation an experiment of method needs to be done, in this experiment I used rotoscoping digitally

Capturing a video using my phone I then changed the the video into frames

Using AI Illustrator tracing the movements using the frames I recreated the video

Similar to rotoscoping but instead of a lightbox here I used digitally traced rotoscoping

Task 3 - Film Analysis (Film Animation)

Task 3 - Film Analysis (Film Animation)

1.0 Introduction: Spirited Away

Fig.1 : Spirited Away Poster

The title of the movie is called Spirited Away by Studio Ghibli from Japan, it is a supernatural fantasy kind of movie that shows a family that when on a vacation but was somehow teleported to another dimension where spirits and gods lived. The family somehow finds themselves in a somewhat abandoned town and they started to eat the food there because they were hungry. As time goes by and night arrived things in the town began to turn into a more dark turn as spirits began to emerge from the darkness and weird things began to happen, the main character was scared and return to her parents only to find out they have become pigs and soon she was dragged by a friend and tells her to escape, only to find herself trapped in the bathhouse belonging to a witch. The main character then slowly work her way out of the world with a little help here and there. The entire experience is a roller coaster as the movie shows what happens to the main character during her stay in the enchanted bathhouse.

2.0 Character Design

The movie character design is unique in a few ways, one is the drawing style that Studio Ghibli has that is different from the Japanese anime drawing. Their own distinctive drawing style has a very special feel, the drawing style is very hand drawn like and they gives a very good expression of mood and emotion and the drawing style does not goes outdate.

Fig.2: Spirited Away Character

The main character Chihiro, is very down to earth girl that is like any normal girl but that changes as her parents are gone and she has to live in a harsh condition. The character development of the main character is very good as the movie shows a normal little girl grow into an independent and strong girl.

Fig.3: Chihiro Drawing

Studio Ghibli’s drawing style is very unique and they hold out through time, the drawing style never feel old and its distinctive different than the common anime style drawing in Japanese animation.

3.0 Narrative

Narrative is also known as genre in movie field, but here the narrative part of the movie is how the story is conveyed and how it is put together. Spirited Away is a movie about a girl diving into an unfamiliar world where all the logic and senses she knows does not apply, a world where she is alone with no one to help her or comfort her.

The story begins slow as the movie introduces the characters at a soothing pace as the story unfolds as the characters drives and talking like a normal family

Fig.4: Spirited Away Opening Scene

Then as they found the abandoned village the story starts to pick up the pace and starts to speed up as Chihiro the main character finds weird happenings occurring in the village as night falls. The movie then speed ups the plot by sending her into danger and increasing the tempo for a certain time length then slow it down. The movie has a very good atmosphere and good pacing like a wave

4.0 Miss-en-scene

Miss-en-scene is considered the lighting, costume, background of the animation/movie that adds in the atmosphere and feel (David Bordwell and Kristen Thompson, 1979). In Spirited Away it give a bright and joyful lighting in the beginning where Chihiro and her family are on vacation and are enjoying themselves, as the plot began to delve deeper the lighting changes from bright to dark to convey the nightmarish atmosphere that Chihiro will face as night falls all sorts of weird activities began to emerge.

Fig.5: Spirited Away Opening Scene

Fig.6: Spirited Away Night Scene

It has a very good vibe during the night time as it feels freaky and scary at times, plus with the animation and expression of the characters it give a very good live like feeling. The drawing of the eyes, mouth and facial expression are so well done they looks very real even it is on a fictional character.

Fig.7: Spirited Away Chihiro Screaming

Crying scenes in the movie is very emotional and very convincing thanks to the well done, atmosphere setting, animation facial expression and voice acting.

Cinematography

In movies camera angles determine what the audience could see, it also the way the movie is being shot from the camera. In Spirited Away, cinematography is not difficult to do as it is a drawing animation therefore the shots such as Long shots, Close ups are done nicely that not many scenes audiences would actually ask themselves what is happening.

Fig.8: Spirited Away Close up shot

Fig.9: Spirited Away Falling shot

The shots are done properly and not many confusing elements like modern action movies where the action are too close to the camera and the audiences can only see fragments of the movements

Fig.10: Action Movies Fighting Scene

Modern movies fighting scene are fast and certain points the movements becomes blur and addition to the shot being too close the audience have a hard time to grasp what is happening it is like looking at a whole picture using a magnifying glass. Spirited Away doesn’t have this problem because even during fast movements the shots are done so that the entire movement is captured at a distance but not too far away that it becomes small and hard to see.

Fig.11: Spirited Away Action Scene

Conclusion

Almost all of Studio Ghibli’s animation films are widely considered to be a great success Spirited Away is no exception, from drawing to cinematography Studio Ghibli knows the way of striking the audience in heart and emotion. Story wise they always try to do it very closely towards humanity making audiences able to relate with themselves. However even with all the good points that was stated, Studio Ghili is still struggling with culture acceptance as the animation are all very heavy influenced by Japanese culture and the animation is still having troubles being accepted in the western cultured countries. Even so the positives of the animation are not missed by most and their animation are widely loved by all.

Reference

Spirited Away,  Google Images, [Online],  available at: http://cdnvideo.dolimg.com/cdn_assets/0dcfe3c2c4aac937273d5563ca9a029753f1acb6.jpg

Spirited Away Chihiro, Google Images, [Online], available at: http://d12vb6dvkz909q.cloudfront.net/uploads/galleries/25465/spirited-away-2a.jpg

Chihiro Drawing, Google Images, [Online], available at http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs19/f/2007/273/0/6/Spirited_Away_Chihiro_by_Confetto.jpg

Spirited Away Opening Scene, Google Images, [Online], available at: http://cmsw.mit.edu/angles/2013/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/pic6.jpg

Spirited Away Opening Scene, Google Images, [Online], available at: http://136589870a6a35f2061a-300fd00344af618df2fc22640adefd09.r37.cf1.rackcdn.com/splash/05-2013/spirited-away-1.jpg

Spirited Away Night Scene, Google Images, [Online], available at: https://swilliamson94.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/bhjm.jpg

Spirited Away Chihiro Screaming, Google Images, [Online], available at: http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/043/5/9/spirited_away__stairs__by_nearinsanity-d4pjdps.jpg

Spirited Away Close up Shot, Google Images, [Online], available at: http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/043/5/9/spirited_away__stairs__by_nearinsanity-d4pjdps.jpg

Spirited Away Falling Shot, Google Images, [Online], available at: http://moviemezzanine.com/wp-content/uploads/spirited-17-1024x552.png

Action Movie Fighting Scene, Google Images, [Online], available at: http://www.toplessrobot.com/co4.jpg

Spirited Away Action Scene, Google Images, [Online], available at: http://japanfocus.org/data/Screen_Shot_2014-09-29_at_2.56_.31_AM_.png

Task 2 - Film Theory (Film Animation)

Task 2 - Film Theory (Film Animation)


Introduction

In animation we are to learn about film animation and movie film as well as they all share the same aesthetics and concept. It will help as animators to learn and build a strong story, theme, concept and narration in a film or animation. Film animations are drawings, paintings all photographed frame by frame each differs from each other slightly with each is a proceeding version of previous frame giving a moving illusion when flipped or when showed in a very quick speed. Film theory is a study on movies and films on their essence to summarize the relationship of the movie to the society of reality. (Christopher P. Jacobs)

Film theory is split into 2 fractions, story and narrative. Although both sounds the same they are not as story is plot that defines the whole movie the summary of the movie whereas narrative is how the movie is put together to show the story or to tell the story to the audience.  Narrative can be also said as the genre of the movie, examples: Science Fiction, Horror, Action and etc.

Also, within film theory there are also other factors like Character Design theory, Mise-en-scene and Cinematography that are important in film making process. Each theory is used in almost every modern film making, some films would look and feel weird without these theories as the audience would feel like something is missing.

Narrative

Narrative is the types of movies that defines its content like horror, action or comedy it is often known as genre. Narrative will determine how the movie will be told and put together by the filmmakers to the audiences, and it is also helps the audiences to make decision when wanting to buy a ticket for a movie. Narrative in films determines the reaction of the audiences towards the movie and how the visual and auditory effects play in the narrative? (David Bordwell, 2007).

Genre helps the film makers to identify the actors/actresses, the cinematography, the scenes to be shot and the atmosphere. It is similar to like identifying mood for example, happy, sad or depressing, genre of the film sets the way the actors moves, talks and acts along with the story like for example, an action movie the actor will move quickly, talks aggressively and acts rough for most of the movie and the sound in the movie will be loud and chaotic with multiple sounds like explosion, gunfire and destruction, in contrast to a romantic film where the actor will move slower, talks softer and acts more gentle in the movie this is how the genre is made and identified.

Character Design

In most films, character is the most important part because they are the factor that drives audiences through the film. In film theory there are a few character design and formula that must be followed to create a good and entertaining film. In most films there are 4 characters that must be in, the Hero (protagonist), the Villain (antagonist), the supporting actor and the heroine. A famous film theorist Vladimir Propp says, that a film should have 7 types of character (Vladimir Propp, 1958).

Hero                : The lead role

Villain             : The person who will give a negative effect to the film

Heroine           : The center figure of the film

Helper             : Sidekick

Donor              : Gives clues/power to the hero

Mentor            : Guides the hero

Father              : Gives award to the hero

With Propp’s theory the character theory is hard to fulfill because of the high number of characters but most film nowadays in the modern age still follows his theory. Each film needs this theory to bring the audience together along the ride together because in films the props and objects are all dead, the only thing that’s connecting with the audience is the actors and actresses.

Mise-En-Scene

Mise-en-scene is theory that defines and helps the film/movie to be identify the genre. Mise-en-scene is important to set the mood of the film as David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson says, “that mise-en-scene consist of lighting, setting, costume and figure expression”. It is the details that audience do not focus on but it is there to make the film experience better. For example, in a Horror genre the film is mostly shot at a low light condition to create the scary mood and thrilling feeling. Mise-en-scene also includes the setting like the place and location the scene is shot the costume that the characters is wearing and their facial expression during a scene. The dialogues the character shares between each other. For a normal audience these factors seem small and not important but to the film industry these are the things that make the film a film. Mise-en-scene is what we considered as the props, objects and effects of a film. (David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, 1974).

Cinematography

Cinematography is the method of making a film/movie consist of camera angle, composition motion and shots. Blain Brown says, “It is easy to think that filmmaking is just putting an actor in front of a camera and just shoot” but film making is more than just that. Cinematography helps the audience to perceive the scene of the film and how the director wants the audience to see and feel. For example, to show that a person is in a weak spot the camera is shot from below, Low-shot to express the feeling of looking up at someone and at his/her mercy. (Blain Brown, 2011).

Shots are the most important part in a movie as it determines what the audience can see and what the director wants the audience to see. Shots are what drives the audience into curiosity and also to show the small details that the audience would have a hard time seeing during a moving motion or a very large scene. For example, if the heroine is being scared by the villain in the movie the camera shot cannot be too far away from the heroine because the audience would not be able to see her expression, but it cannot be too close as the audience can’t see or know what the villain is doing to scare her therefore lowering the impact of the scene, the camera must be exact position where the expression and action can be seen together to deliver the wanted mood.

Conclusion

To summarize this essay, film making in a hard process with many theories to fulfill and understand before a film can be made. How the character is shown, acted and portrayed to the way the shots are taken each factor affects the entire film in a way that is why the theories exists for us to understand how each theory is carried out and how each theory affects the film making process, how small little things like what characters wear can be seen as a big mistake or how the camera is being shot can confuse the audiences.

Reference

Mise en scene, Mediaed: teach film, media and filmmaking, [Online], Available at: http://mediaed.org.uk/film/teaching-mise-en-scene, Accessed 6^th February 2015

Cinematography, College Film & Media Studies, [Online], Available at: http://collegefilmandmediastudies.com/cinematography/, Accessed 6^th February 2015

Blain Brown, Cinematography: Theory and Practice, Second Edition, [Online], Available at: https://soma.sbcc.edu/users/davega/filmpro_170/FILMPRO_170_Text/Cinematography_Theory%20and%20Practice%202ndEd.pdf, Accessed 6^th February 2015

Elements of Cinema, Narrative Cinema, [Online], Available at: http://www.elementsofcinema.com/film_form/narrative-cinema.html, Accessed 5^th March 2015

David Bordwell, Understanding film narrative, [Online], Available at: http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/2014/01/12/understanding-film-narrative-the-trailer/, Accessed 3^rd March 2015

Sketches (Graphics Design 2 Part 2)

Sketches (Graphics Design 2 Part 2)