Animation and Gaming Blog: November 2018

Form in film/animation

http://www.elementsofcinema.com/film_form/FILM-FORM.html

Narrative filmmaking refers to the types of movies that tell a story. These are the films most widely screened in theatres, broadcast on TV, streamed in the internet, and sold as DVDs and Blu-rays. Though fictional filmmaking is another term for narrative cinema, the word “fictional” doesn’t imply that such movies are purely based on fictive events. In some cases, veracity and creation blend together.

One of the storylines in James Cameron’s Titanic, for instance, pertains the steamship RMS Titanic that struck an iceberg in her maiden voyage and sunk soon afterwards – a real, greatly documented incident that happened on April 14, 1912. However, the romance between Rose and Jack, another prominent storyline in the movie, is a product of Cameron’s imagination, just like both characters.

The terms “fictional cinema” and “narrative cinema” carry the understanding that the filmmaker has the freedom to create storylines and alter historical facts as he or she sees fit. This freedom allows the director to shape the movie and perfect the story. One of the many reasons why Titanic broke a box office record was because the audience could identify with Jack and Rose and root for them.

The Classic Structure of Narrative Films

Fictional films are composed by a string of events and structured based on cause and effect. While the beginning of a movie and the introduction of certain characters are always arbitrary, the subsequent scenes, all the way to dénouement, must happen for a clear reason; an identifiable motivation that justifies character behavior, action, and goals. The occurrences in narrative cinema are never random; rather, they are always organized based on a main line of action and connected through theme.

In The Shawshank Redemption (1994), when Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and unfairly incarcerated (cause), he begins to plan his escape (effect).

In Tootsie (1981), when Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) is confronted by his agent who says that he will never find job in show business, Michael decides to dress up as woman and prove that he is a great actor worthy of major roles, regardless of his gender.

Contrary to narrative cinema, which tells stories that are usually pure fabrications of someone’s imagination, documentary filmmaking is concerned with the exposure and analyses of real facts and historical events. Subjects of documentaries can be the hunting of endangered species, the presidential campaign of Barack Obama, and the downfall of the Nazi regime.

Even though documentary cinema explores actualities, not all documentaries present the absolute truth a hundred percent of the time. Filmmakers, like any other artists, are both privileged and burdened by the power of manipulation. As such, they are blessed and cursed by the possibility to bend the truth.

While some directors choose to simply broadcast occurrences, like Jacques Perrin with Winged Migration, others prefer to judge them, like Michael Moore with Bowling for Columbine. Still others work to alienate an audience, like Leni Riefenstahl with her Triumph of the Will, a famous propaganda movie.

Despite their different purposes, the three movies above are considered documentaries because they debate and analyze real events.

The Structure of Documentaries

At its core, documentary filmmaking is an opinion former and a trendsetter. Its structure is built as to allow the filmmaker freedom to manipulate and persuade. Even the purest directors fall prey on their position and the liberty of the medium, and they end up being biased enough to impose their own perspectives onto the world.

Documentary filmmakers have the following weapons in their arsenal for persuasion:

Voice of God: This is the voice-over heard in the movie. The pretentious reference to the almighty is due to the influential force the voice-over has in documentaries. In narrative cinema, voice-over offers exposition and personal comments. On documentaries, however, voice-over is used to state unquestionable veracities. If you hear the sentence “There are only 80 pandas left in the entire world” spoken by a deep voice, you will believe it. That’s the reason why most narrators are men and many from Britain – apparently the British accent is more persuasive than American English.

Documentation: To make a point convincingly, the filmmaker must present evidence from legitimate sources. The evidence is the documentation. A letter from your Uncle Bob carries less legitimacy than an article from the New York Times, hence selecting sources is paramount for documentaries. Newspaper articles, bank statements, government records, surveillance footage are all fair game for the filmmaker because they carry the weight of truth. For the most part, at least. Occasionally, directors may intentionally misuse documents and take it out of context to mislead the audience.

Interviews: Much like documentation, interviews are common on documentaries and equally necessary as sources. In the documentary Super Size Me, since the movie director, Morgan Spurlock, has no official knowledge over heart health, he has to consult with cardiologist Stephen Siegel, MD, who becomes his expert witness.

Expert Witness: An expert witness is anyone that has great knowledge on the subject that they are testifying on. It requires no degree but vast experience. An illiterate farmer from Texas could be considered an expert witness on a documentary about cattle manure used to fertilize soil. As a general rule, the audience is much more likely to listen to an expert witness than a random John Doe from the streets. Expert witnesses don’t always have to be interviewed on camera. Their statements or archival footage also carry great weight.

Also known as avant-garde, experimental films are rare and totally unpopular. Some people may spend their entire lives without ever catching a glimpse of an experimental movie. Most will never sit through one.

As the word “experimental” suggests, this type of movie is trying something new, different...so different that, at first, it will cause confusion, if not annoyance on the viewer.

In simple terms, experimental films are incredibly easy to define but quite difficult to understand since most people have no preconception of what they are. Imagine a movie that is neither narrative nor documentary. What remains? Chaos, disorder, incoherence … An amalgam of ideas forced together by the filmmaker without any regards for characters, structure, or theme.

The vast majority of avant-garde films are not screened in theatres, aired on TV, or sold in discs – they are not mainstream and have no commercial life whatsoever.

So who makes them and why?

Like any other art form, cinema can also be a therapeutic activity. This is not to imply that those who make them are ill or demented, not at all. However, some directors are not concerned about what people may think or commercial success – they make movies for themselves.

Occasionally, an experimental movie may become popular despite its peculiarities or even because of them. Salvador Dali and Luis Buñuel achieved quite some renown with Un Chien Andalou (The Andalusian Dog). A surrealist, 16-minute movie from 1928, Un Chien Andalou is generally considered the most famous experimental movie. Here goes the first minute…

Un Chien Andalou opens with a title card that reads “Once upon a time,” followed by a tight shot of a razor being sharpened. After sharpening his razor, a man (played by Buñuel himself) walks to a balcony, from where he gazes at the moon, which is about to be obscures by a thin passing cloud. Then there’s a close-up of young woman, who sits calmly at the balcony. The man looks at the moon again, and, as he looks back at the woman, he slits her eye. End scene. Another title card: “Eight years later.” Another man bicycles down a street while wearing a nun’s habit…

Again, experimental films are not imprisoned by story structure, character arc, or common sense.

Digital content in film/animation

https://www.myfirstjobinfilm.co.uk/digital-content

WHAT IS DIGITAL CONTENT?

In its broadest term, digital content refers to data (video, written, information) that can be viewed on a digital platform. Within the spectrum of filmmaking, digital content refers to the variety of film or video content generated for specific online use. Free digital content can be accessed by anyone with a computer, tablet or mobile phone. YouTube and the television networks all have online outlets that can be viewed for free and streamed as real time or downloads. There are also online subscription services that provide access to a host of films and television programs for a nominal payment each month.

This has become such a popular way to view content that Amazon and Netflix now output their own productions, attracting talent from the film and television industry to work on their original content. Amazon’s Amazon Studios operate their film and original series development, with filmmakers from around the globe contributing ideas in the hope of a development deal. Amazon operates an open door policy with the aim of providing feedback in 45 days; anyone can apply. Their shows such as Man in the High Castle, Transparent and Mozart in the Jungle have received critical praise, and viewing figures some broadcast stations could be envious of. Netflix original series Orange is the new Black, and House of Cards have also been lauded as compelling original productions, attracting A-list talent on both sides of the camera.

The meteoric rise of branded content and content marketing has seen a significant shift in the work of the creative agencies and corporate production companies. Companies realised they could reach out to their customers in a personal and engaging way using online commercials and content created specifically for their market. Video content creators are in high demand, primarily produced by corporate and commercials companies who understand the how to output a message using creative media, new start-ups are entering the marketplace regularly and the trend has shown no sign of slowing down. The Dollar Shave Club is an example of one of the most effective forms of a film for content marketing to date, their ‘advert’ going viral with 4.7 million views in the first three months from shares on social media. After 48 hours on YouTube, the company had 12,000 new subscribers, which crashed their servers and had them advertising for a logistic manager. Alongside a few adverts on Google, this was the only marketing output costing $4,500.

The concept of webisodes, or if you are using your phone to access - mobisodes, started in 1995. They refer to a repeated web series as an alternative to TV, featuring A-list talent (producing similar content with a significant reduction in cost) and by brands who seek to engage their consumer base through active web content and social media. YouTube has been the natural home for webisodes, Steve Coogan's Mid-morning Matters, Mike O’Brian's 7 minutes of Heaven and Jerry Seinfield's Comedians in cars getting coffee, have all been immensely successful web series, producing multiple episodes of only 4 - 7 minutes in length.

Animation

https://www.filmsite.org/animatedfilms.html

Animated Films are ones in which individual drawings, paintings, or illustrations are photographed frame by frame (stop-frame cinematography). Usually, each frame differs slightly from the one preceding it, giving the illusion of movement when frames are projected in rapid succession at 24 frames per second. The earliest cinema animation was composed of frame-by-frame, hand-drawn images. When combined with movement, the illustrator's two-dimensional static art came alive and created pure and imaginative cinematic images - animals and other inanimate objects could become evil villains or heroes.

Animations are not a strictly-defined genre category, but rather a film technique, although they often contain genre-like elements. Animation, fairy tales, and stop-motion films often appeal to children, but it would marginalize animations to view them only as "children's entertainment." Animated films are often directed to, or appeal most to children, but easily can be enjoyed by all.

Classic Animated Films:
The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926, Germ.)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Gulliver's Travels (1939)

Fantasia (1940) - and Fantasia 2000 (2000)
Pinocchio (1940)
Dumbo (1941)
Bambi (1942)
The Three Caballeros (1945)
Song of the South (1946)
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
Cinderella (1950)
Alice in Wonderland (1951)
Peter Pan (1953)
Animal Farm (1954)
Lady and the Tramp (1955)
Sleeping Beauty (1959)

More Recent Greatest Animated Films:
101 Dalmatians (1961)
Gay Purr-ee (1962)
Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
The Sword in the Stone (1963)
Mary Poppins (1964)
The Jungle Book (1967)
Asterix & Cleopatre (1968, Belg/Fr.)
A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1968)
Mad Monster Party? (1968)
Yellow Submarine (1968)
The Phantom Tollbooth (1969)
The Aristocats (1970)
Fritz the Cat (1972) - X-rated
Snoopy, Come Home (1972)
Charlotte's Web (1973)
Fantastic Planet (1973, Czech/Fr.)
Robin Hood (1973)
Streetfight (1975)
Allegro Non Troppo (1977, It.)
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
The Rescuers (1977)
The Lord of the Rings (1978)
Watership Down (1978)
The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979)
The Muppet Movie (1979)
Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!) (1980)
American Pop (1981)
The Fox and the Hound (1981)
Heavy Metal (1981)
The Last Unicorn (1982)
The Plague Dogs (1982)
The Secret of N.I.M.H. (1982)
Fire and Ice (1983)
The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985)
The Black Cauldron (1985)
An American Tail (1986)
The Flight of Dragons (1986)
The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
Ninja Scroll (1986, Jp.)
Transformers: The Movie (1986)
The Brave Little Toaster (1987)
When the Wind Blows (1987)
Akira (Jp.) (1988)
Alice (1988, Czech.)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988, Jp.)
My Neighbor Totoro (1988, Jp.)
The Land Before Time (1988)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Kiki's Delivery Service (1989, Jp.)
The Little Mermaid (1989)
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Aladdin (1992)
Bebe's Kids (1992)
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
The Lion King (1994)
Arabian Knight (1995)
Babe (1995)
Balto (1995)
Pocahontas (1995)
Toy Story (1995)
Beavis and Butt-head Do America (1996)
Ghost in the Shell (1996, Jp.) aka Kokaku Kidotai
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
James and the Giant Peach (1996)
Space Jam (1996)
Anastasia (1997)
Hercules (1997)
Princess Mononoke (1997)
Antz (1998)
A Bug's Life (1998)
Mulan (1998)
The Prince of Egypt (1998)
Rugrats Movie (1998)
Fantasia 2000 (1999)
The Iron Giant (1999)
Perfect Blue (1999, Jp.)
South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut (1999)
Tarzan (1999)
Toy Story 2 (1999)
Chicken Run (2000)
Dinosaur (2000)
The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
Titan A.E. (2000)
Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001)
Metropolis (2001, Jp.)
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Osmosis Jones (2001)
Shrek (2001)
Spirited Away (2001, Jp.)
Waking Life (2001)
Ice Age (2002)
Lilo & Stitch (2002)
The Powerpuff Girls Movie (2002)
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)
Treasure Planet (2002)
Finding Nemo (2003)
The Incredibles (2004)
The Polar Express (2004)
Shark Tale (2004)
Shrek 2 (2004)
Corpse Bride (2005)
Madagascar (2005)
Robots (2005)
Cars (2006)
Happy Feet (2006)
Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)
Monster House (2006)
Persepolis (2007, Iran/US/Fr.)
Ratatouille (2007)
Shrek the Third (2007)
The Simpsons Movie (2007)
Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)
Wall-E (2008)
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)
Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)
Up (2009)
Tangled (2010)
Toy Story 3 (2010)
Despicable Me (2010)
How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
Shrek Forever After (2010)
The Adventures of Tintin (2011)
Cars 2 (2011)
Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)
Puss in Boots (2011)
Rango (2011)
Brave (2012)
Dr. Seuss' The Lorax (2012)
Frankenweenie (2012)
Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)
Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
The Croods (2013)
Despicable Me 2 (2013)
Frozen (2013)
Monster's University (2013)
Big Hero 6 (2014)
The LEGO Movie (2014)
Inside Out (2015)
Minions (2015)
Finding Dory (2016)
Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)
Zootopia (2016)
Coco (2017)

Timing and spacing

https://www.pluralsight.com/blog/film-games/character-animation-fundamentals-timing-spacing

Timing and spacing is really one of the easiest principles to understand when described properly. However, it's probably one of the most difficult principles to get right in an animation. Having a basic knowledge of how this principle works, and understanding the description of it in the 12 Principles of Animation doesn't always relate to implementing it properly into an animation. As you can see from the image above, timing refers to how long the action takes, and spacing refers to where that object is at each frame of an animation. Since film is run at 24 frames per second (FPS) you use this as the building block for your timing. If you have an object moving from point A to point B in 24FPS that means it takes the object one second to reach point B. Spacing refers to where that object is at between the other 23 frames. Depending on where you position the other 23 frames can give the illusion of acceleration, deceleration, or a constant even speed.

To understand timing and spacing more thoroughly, the best place to look for examples is not in other animations, but rather in real world reference. After all, the principle of timing and spacing is derived from how people and objects move in the real world. Once you understand how timing and spacing works outside of pencil and paper or mouse and keyboard you'll have a strong point of reference that you can hang a hook on, and you'll understand why this principle is so important to your animations. Every movement that you make in the real-world can be broken down into timing and spacing examples. Every time you reach for your phone to look at a text message what is the timing on that movement? To move your hand from the mouse to your phone did it take one second, maybe two? Or maybe it was really important so it only took half a second. To break this down even further, what is the timing on how long it takes for you to press a key on the touch screen of your phone? Maybe a quarter of second? Or maybe it takes a full half a second because you're knew to texting on a touch screen. You can see how important timing and spacing is because it really describes the speed of every single action, whether it's big or small. It also can show the thought process for someone. If a person takes a full second to press a single key on their touch screen you probably know they aren't familiar with typing on a phone. Whereas somebody who zips through the keys has probably done this many times before. Right there, that simple timing difference can describe someone's current state of mind. If it takes that person one second to type each letter on the touch screen you probably know they aren't very tech savvy. As you start to dive deeper into animation, this is something you'll have trouble getting out of your head because now everytime you go out into public you're going to be examining every person's movements and running through the timing and spacing scenarios in your head. This is both a gift and a curse for an animator!

Pixelation

https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-pixilation-140460

Pixilation is a style of animation that is very similar to stop motion. While it's not incredibly important to declare pixilation in a general public sense, it has developed as a different style and medium than other stop-motion work.

The Difference Between Pixilation and Stop Motion

Pixilation is stop-motion animation using people instead of puppets. So instead of making an armature and photographing that, you photograph a person doing small incremental movements. The result is a surreal look at our real world. The laws of physics and the real world no longer apply since we're using animation, but since our environment and characters are real places it puts a unique twist on filmmaking.

The way you do pixilation is just like stop motion, only you need at least one extra very patient person besides the animator. Your actors hold a pose as you take a picture, they move incrementally, and then you take another picture. It's as easy as that!

The History of Pixilation

Pixilation has been around since early film, in its earliest forms you can see it in films that date back to the 1910s. Pixilation didn't really take off though until the 1950s with a man named Norman McLaren. McLaren's most famous film in pixilation, and arguably the most famous pixilation film is Neighbours. The film reflects anti-war themes through two feuding neighbors, and using pixilation makes it take place in our own world, if not a more exaggerated one.

One of the most prominent animators working today with pixilation is the animator PES. His Oscar-nominated short film Fresh Guacamole combines pixilation with traditional stop motion in a fun and creative way. Pixilation not only has had a big role in the world of independent animation, but also in music videos.

Popular Examples of Pixilation

Probably the most famous example of pixilation is Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer. Like PES, it combines pixilation with traditional stop motion. Even today pixilation is still big in the music video scene. The White Stripes Hardest Button to Button, Radiohead's There There, and OK Go End Love all use pixilation and traditional stop motion.

The reason I enjoy pixilation so much is more on the creative end. There is such a low entry cost to create pixilations, all you need is some friends and a camera. OK Go's video is a great example of this. All they really needed was their sweatshirts and a camera to get going, they even filmed it in a park so you don't even need any kind of crazy sets.

Pixilation As a Gateway to the World of Stop Motion

I think pixilation is a great entryway into the world of traditional stop-motion, with quick turn around you can create shorts quickly and take what you learned doing those into the world of armatures and sets. Everything that applies to a pixilation video also applies in traditional stop motion, so it's fun to play with them back and forth.

There's a reason it's been around for so long and people turn to it time and time again for their visuals. Smartphones have such brilliant cameras now, you could make an entire music video with what's already in your pocket.