Visual Language of Animation

Transcription

A Study of Process and Methodology in Animation
A Thesis Submitted to Parsons School of Design, a division
of New School University, New York in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts
in Design and Technology.
Ashley N. Burke
2007
Thesis Instructors: Anezka Sebek, Barbara Morris
Andi Deszo, Chris Prentice
Thesis Advisors: Leon Joosen, Jun Sassa
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am so grateful for the support of my family, friends, and all the wonderful people who provided me with both inspiration and advice without which these films
would not have been possible. Thanks to my family: Gail, John, and Lauren Burke,
and to my grandmother, Kay Hind. Thanks to my thesis instructors and advisors:
Anezka Sebek, Barbara Morris, Andi Deszo, Chris Prentice, Leon Joosen, and Jun
Sassa. And thanks to Elena Montijo, Lisa Tran, Alison Lividitas, Katy Garnier, and
all of my thesis class for their unwavering help and support!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preliminaries
Title
Abstract
Acknowledgements
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Introduction
1.1 Introduction
Chapter 2. Justification
1.2 Motivation
1.3 Inspiration and Research
Chapter 3. Methodology
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Wound Up
3.2.1 Story Development
3.2.2 Sound
3.2.3 Iterations
3.2.4. How it will Be Shown
3.3 Head Over Wheels
3.3.2 Character Design
3.3.3 Prop Design
3.3.4 Iterations
3.5.5 How it Will be Shown
Chapter 4. Evaluation
4.1 Evaluation
Chapter 5. Conclusion
5.1 Conclusions
Chapter 6. Bibliography
6.1 Animation/Film
6.2 Books
6.3 Websites
APPENDIX
A.1 Storyboard for Mason Sinks
A.2 Final Styleframes from Head Over Wheels
Ashley N. Burke ( Thesis Document ) Page 0
Abstract
Animation can tell a story of greater depth and imagination than any other time based medium. It can embody whatever
reality we create and isn’t dependent whatsoever on what is real or known. There are relatively no limits to the variation
in visual style and technique in which a story can be told. And these choices in visual style and technique have the power
to affect an audience profoundly bringing up emotions of sadness, loss, anxiety, happiness and laughter.
Current technological capabilities allow for a huge amount of media to be manipulated and manifested in a variety of
ways using processes less complicated and more economical than our predecessors used in animation. It is the artist/
animator’s responsibility to take full advantage of these opportunities and thoroughly investigate a range of visual styles
and techniques in order to best communicate the mood, feel, and scope of each individual story.
To demonstrate this, I have created two contrasting short animated films, Wound Up and Head Over Wheels. With each
film, I used differing approaches. The films are an experiment in the use and implementation of different narrative,
aural, and aesthetic forms.
Introduction
Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
“The process of art evolving is always one which has fascinated me.” -Norman McClaren Norman McClaren is an acclaimed animator who ran the animation department at the National Film Board of Canada.
He kept very detailed notes on the production of each one of his films. He experimented in the different uses of mediums
and techniques, such as drawing directly on film stock, and ‘pixelation’- the stopmotion animation of people. McClaren
realized the importance of process and his notes allow for future animators like myself to rediscover his break-throughs
and see the ways in which he pushed himself to create films more stimulating and startling than his contemporaries.
This idea of an artist exploring different processes and experimenting in different mediums to create animations that are
visually unique and compelling is at the heart of my thesis. Every story is not best told in the same style. Animation creates a sense of life in movement, characters, and environments. The essential qualities of animation allow for malleability
and expression in its capability of unrealities.
Introduction
The process and methodology of my thesis created two distinct animated films that take on different visual styles and
techniques. Finding just the right styles for these films was an act of discovery and also of archaeology, if it can be called
that. I sat in the media section of the library soaking up hours of old animations wearing headphones in the darkness of
the viewing rooms. The influences I gained there added richness to my own style and helped me to see trying techniques
past what I’m comfortable with. The tedium, and incredibly long hours of working that animation requires created the
perfect setting for the tortured artist.
My primary focus has been on the methodology during the course of my project. The intent is to understand how the
use and experimentation in different media has helped me to clarify my process. I wanted to create a dialog with others in the field of animation, by providing for them my own methodology in the use and implementation of Head Over
Wheels and Wound Up.
Justification
Chapter 2. JUSTIFICATION
Motivation
2.1 Motivation
I overheard a conversation of two illustrators having a conversation. They were talking about illustration in general,
and more specifically about the current job market. After one commented that she believed that editorial illustration
had died out, the other responded that yes, maybe it had died, but illustration had sprung up everywhere else – in
advertising, billboards, commercials/motion graphics and animation.
I agreed. As a designer and illustrator, I have often thought about how illustration manifests itself in so many forms
and in so many media types, whether it is games and interactivity, advertising and print ads, or motion graphics and
animation. Coming from a background in print and web, I saw the potential of animation unlike any other form to
create an experience lasting longer than say for instance the movement of a page turn.
Today, the opportunity for an illustrator to transition into becoming a motion graphics artist is more plausible than it
used to be. Aside from talent, the independent animator is only limited by his or her technological capabilities because
the tools and software for making animation that used to be so expensive and scarce are not only accessible, but also
affordable. It is with these tools that I set out to experiment with, but I made very sure to have a firm grounding in
traditional means of animation and ultimately did stay tied to traditional cel animation by doing all of the illustrations
by hand and scanning them in.
With my first film I wanted to create an animated film that explored how my generation coped with anxiety as a result
of the pressures of contemporary American life. Specifically, I wanted to explore anxieties that dealt with distorted selfimage and the resulting obsessive behaviors.
Motivation
Before coming to this topic, I had done a series of iterations that involved portraits. They began as free form poetry.
Often the poems had a sort of narrative. I began drawing the characters, settings, and storyboarding to further develop
the poems visually. Some of the poems I had written were not so easily defined as portraits of people. Some seemed more
portraits of emotions – especially those of an anxious, volatile state. Along with the portraits, I wrote three screenplays
with the main themes of dependency, discontent, and a sense of disconnectedness. In the making of the iterations,
I found that there was a thread of commonality - this idea of obsessive tendencies, disconnectedness, and anxious
behaviors. In actively making the prototypes connected with my writings, I realized my observations and writings were
searching out in others, and myself, anxious tendencies and behaviors of anxiety.
After completing Wound Up, what most fascinated me the most was the process itself and the act of making those
discoveries – in starting over again many times, and then going back to the drawing board and drawing something else
out to create the animated environment that in was the final version.
Originally, I had only set out to make a variation of films on the subject of anxiety, but as I got closer to the completion
of Wound Up, I became interested in the idea of making an animated film drastically different in style and narrative.
Coming off the experience of Wound Up, I wanted to see how different the process would be in making a film for a
younger audience, with a character driven story meant to invoke irony and laughter. I set out to do this with Head Over
Wheels.
Inspiration
2.2 Inspiration
My inspiration for these pieces ran the gamut from theater and film, to comics, and radio. I narrowed down my domains
to: contemporary American culture, visual style, non-linear, experimental, and straight narratives, and black humor and
satire.
Inspiration
I referenced post-modern American fiction, contemporary theater, and American free form poetry. More specifically I
drew from The Corrections, (a book by Jonathan Franzen that was released in 2001), XTC:Pursuing Lady Macbeth ( a play
directed by Lear deBessonet), This American Life ( a radio show broadcast by WBEX Chicago), The Humument ( a book a
non-linear and experimental poetry in combined with imagery by artist Tom Phillips), and the children’s books of Roald
Dahl.
This American Life, The Humument, The Corrections, XTC: Pursuing Lady Macbeth, Matilda
Described as a ‘tragic comic story.’ The Corrections is a book about the dynamics of a family and the social disorders of
the 21th century. The main characters are Enid and Alfred, aging parents who live in the small Midwestern town of
Saint Jude (so named for the patron saint of hopeless causes.) Alfred has Alzheimer’s disease and is slowly losing his
mind to it, and Enid is in denial about her husband’s condition, rarely happy, and sets herself on wanting only one
thing, Christmas with the family one last time in St. Jude Their 3 children all live very different lives with varying levels
of success. All of children are on a “…flight to the false consolations of sex, careerism and consumerism.” “They all lose
something in leaving behind their parents’ values,” says Franzen. “You wouldn’t want a marriage like Enid and Alfred’s,
but when you correct things, you get new problems.”(Lacayo)
I chose this book as one of my precedents because of the central struggle of each of the characters in their relation
to a changing contemporary American culture with varying levels of success. I felt this book as an experience. As I
Research
read the book, the author changes perspective from one character to another. At first, I found this jarring, but then a
fuller picture was created revealing each character’s central conflict, and that was then layered with the judgments and
opinions of the other family members. The story in this way deals with perception and anxiety. And the narrative is not
cut and dry with a happy ending. It starts with me asking many questions, and in the end, many of those questions still
linger, with more questions than answers. It invoked in me an emotional and relatable experience like what I would like
to create.
The play XTC: Pursuing Lady Macbeth (directed by deBessonet) is performed by a small cast of three. It is set up in a style
of montage or ensemble mode of theater. The theme centers on Shakespeare’s play Macbeth and tempers it in modern
day. In story of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth does everything in her power to make her husband king including persuading
him to murder the current king. Later though, her guilty conscience becomes too much to bear and she commits
suicide rather than allow the tormenting to continue. The new production “..pieces together fragments of inherited and
contemporary culture to offer a glimpse into what the mind of Lady Macbeth – as the paradigm of the modern woman
– might look like.”(Maxwell)
I have yet to see this play so it may seem odd that I chose it as a precedent. I accidentally happened upon it when reading
a review of it. The review or the reaction to the play is why I am so interested in it. It really pushed the audience to ask
questions about contemporary culture and about women and expectation. Also, the format of the play is made up of
fragmentary images that piece together a story, or as one reviewer put it, “a consciousness” – something I may be trying
to convey as well.
This American Life is a radio broadcast that is journalism in a rare form. Ira Glass and the staff at the Chicago radio show
take on a theme each week and act as storytellers. The stories are about ordinary people, in everyday life. They offer rare
glances into stories that you don’t hear about and take on ideas that rarely come into focus. There is some fiction on the
Research
show as well functioning like journalism. On their website, the show was self described as “… fiction that describes what
it’s like to be here, now, in America…Personal and sort of epic at the same time.” (Chicago Public Radio et al.)
The Humument, by artist Tom Phillips originally began as the Victorian novel The Human Document, by W.H. Mallock.
Phillips began altering it in the mid sixties and is still altering it today. What he does is select out words on each page
making a new kind non-linear, experimental narrative. He reveals only those words in his new poetry made from
the words of Mallock and masks out the other words on the page. With the new poetry are designs, collages, and
photographs. It can be seen as a post-modernist take on medieval illuminated manuscript.
I enjoy The Humument and chose it as a precedent because I appreciate the idea of taking existing material the artist
putting his own story onto it. I often hear that everything is done or re-used – a concept that appalls and appeals to me.
I was first drawn to the project because of the flow of words that closely resembled the free form poetry I was writing
about people and emotions at the start of the semester. The disconnection of the artist’s creation from the original
material, and the idea of layering concepts are ideas I might like to use in the make-up of my animation.
And lastly, I included Roald Dahl’s children’s books on my list. I devoured his books growing up. The stories are
generally told through the perspective of the child and often reveal the adult’s world to be twisted and strange. His
particular brand of black humor combined with the brilliant drawings of illustrator Quentin Blake made endless fodder
for my imagination. As a child, these stories spoke to me. They were ridiculous, gross at times, unreal, and yet there was
an underlying element of strength and the human experience. And taking on real subjects and concerns combined with
magic, alligators, and evil headmistresses made for great, highly entertaining stories. In making my animations, I want
to always allow for humor and not take myself too seriously. Else I imagine that if anyone had a remote in the theater
they would be sitting on the forward button till the end of the film.
Research
Visual precedents for Wound Up included influences of: Surrealism and DADA, Ralph Steadman, The Brother’s
Quay, George Melies’s ‘A Trip to the Moon’, Albrecht Durer’s etchings and woodcuts, early Edison Films, Saul Bass’s
title opening sequences, Edward Gorey, Jiri Trnka, Jan Svankmeyer, Frank Miller, and Psyop’s PDFA spots, William
Kentridge’s charcoal animations and drawings, and animations from the late 60’s from Eastern Europe.
Ralph Steadman, DADA, Frank Miller’s Sin City, George Melies’s Trip to the Moon
Visual precedents for Head Over Wheels included the influences of: the modern animation art style of the 50’s, UPA’s
Rooty Toot Toot and UPA’s work in general, Mary Blair’s concept artwork for Disney, Cartoon Network’s Foster’s Home
for Imaginary Friends, and illustrations of Lou Romano.
Methodology
Introduction:
3.1 Introduction
The explorative process and methodology I have used to create these two very different animated films is what embodies
the main idea of my thesis project. I’m asking the questions: How can the use and experimentation in different media
help me to clarify my process? How do the visual style, character development, and the type of movement combine to
imbue and enhance meaning of the narrative? Also, how significant a role does sound play in enriching the narrative
experience in the animations?
To answer these design questions, my process has been an ongoing discovery through an extensive series of iterations
and tests to varying degrees of complexity. These discoveries have proved deeply interesting, and only through discipline,
and the lengthy process of experimenting in different forms did I begin to have a clearer idea as to what the final films
would take the shape of, helping me to realize my visions for them.
With the creation of each new iteration, I gain momentum and insight. What I learn from each one as I go along allows
me to create a foundation onto which a clear and intuitive narrative with relevant and active visuals and sound can be
made. The iterations mainly have to do with visual style and multiple combinations of mixed mediums to create distinct
aesthetic forms. I also focused on sound studies- music, sound effects and a meshing of the two, as well as on different
narrative approaches through song, poetry, and even fully composed screenplays.
Because the two films I chose to create contrasted each other greatly in content, audience, and intent, I faced dissimilar challenges. The process of each film as I wrote about them is broken up into categories differently. These categories
reflect those dissimilar challenges. As the story of my process evolved with Wound Up and Head Over Wheels, so too did the
Wound Up
final films. Each evolved into something more personal to me and of a richer content and depth.
From the start of my process with blank pages, I felt the most difficult challenge would be the concept and story, so I
chose to focus on that first. I loosely knew the form of my project in that I knew it would be an animated film or a series
of short animated vignettes. As I began to write for thesis, I had to start thinking about what was not only important,
but also deeply interesting to me. And little is more interesting that me than the human condition. Early on, my response was to focus on my close friends and family and create what I wanted to call “Portraits”.
The easiest way for me to get words on a page is to write free form poetry. When I begin to write poetry, I try to work
with as few constraints as possible. In this early case, I decided it had to ‘make sense’, meaning I wanted to construct poems with a logical flow of actions. As I began writing, I found myself focusing, at first unintentionally, on vices and peculiar, obsessive behaviors of my friends. I found that particular focus was the most interesting and profound to me. In
the poems, I would warp and exaggerate personality quirks and habits. Seemingly, I was simplifying these people, whom
I knew so well, into more generalized characters - more like a characters in a comic strip with singular dimensionality.
I eventually completed 6 poems that I was happy with and sent them to few friends, asking for feedback. I had titled
them together “Portraits”. I asked if they had thought this was an appropriate name, and also if they could pick out any
common themes they found in reading the poems. I was trying to get a sense of what the words might mean to others
and if they might pick out some meaning or thread that I could not. They thought that the title seemed appropriate
– and sort of confirmed my prior thoughts of this idea of the bizarre and absurd.
Beyond that, I wanted to try to define the form of poetry that I was writing. Through some exchanges and feedback, I
Langston Hughes
discovered my poetry as being distinct its short lines and free verse similar to the beat poets of Harlem renaissance, par-
Methodology
ticularly that of Langston Hughes, Alan Ginsburg, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. They were heavily influenced by the era of
jazz in the 50’s and 60’s which I myself and influenced by - Of Billy Holiday and Louis Armstrong.
Along with the poetry I wrote, I wanted to experiment with the possibility of a full on script. I wrote 3 screenplays:
Alarmist, Conscience Monsters, and My Gap Heartless. Again, I sent them out and asked for comments and common
themes. The response was positive, and the responses indicated a similar response as to that of the portraits. My direction was in the realm of the bizarre, exaggerated and absurd. Ultimately, I decided not to use the screenplays because I
felt the narratives were less intuitive and more complicated than the portraits. Also, I wanted to be able to tell the stories
using little to no dialog with strong visual images and non-objective sounds.
3.2.2 Sound
As I continued to write more poetry, I begin to think how I was going to use the poetry and convert its initial form into
the final piece. This included trying to decide whether it would be a jumping ground visually, or it would be the words of
the omniscient narrator in the film or if maybe I could somehow turn those words into song. So I began to think about
melodies, reminiscent of jazz of the 50’s and 60’s. I combined those melodies with my poems and added and removed
verses to try and create palettes that complemented one another.
In past animations I have done, the best liked have been the ones that I’m singing in. I’m not sure if that was by chance
Louis Armstrong
or if it was in part because of the incorporation of song. I do feel like it is something that I can offer in an animation
that is unique to what is currently being created so it might be a way in which I could make something a little different.
I was at odds as to whether I would incorporate my voice or not. But after several tests, I concluded that the addition of
my voice did not facilitate the story.
Methodology
After these tests with translating my poems into musical compositions, I began experimenting heavily with sound effects. The loud grinding, unpleasant sounds used in some of Jan Svankmayer’s stopmotion films, such as Alice, as well
as the soundtrack of Dancer in the Dark, where noises and everyday sounds in a natural environment create musical information, influenced me. For example, in Dancer in the Dark, the main character works in a factory and imaginatively
hears hidden music with the musical composition being made up of machine sounds.
Taking aural cues from those references, I set out to discover everyday sounds of my own to incorporate in the
soundtrack. I searched in old tool sheds for rusted machine parts and for antique clocks that had long since stopped
working to be the source of my musical inspiration. I vibrated the chime of a clock and wound the hand of it, and I
crunched a mysterious metal tightening hinge against concrete among other things. It is important to note that the
machines and mechanical gears that I sound recorded are the same gears in video clips that appear in the final piece.
After gathering many high quality recordings, I created a small library of sounds that I thought would help to portray
the feeling of anxiety or stress.
Once I created the library, I found a composer with similar sensibilities who created a melody of these sounds. The final
soundtrack is a combination of the melody that my composer made and then of myself completing the final editing of
the sound – synching the melody to the visuals. I created a tension by interrupting the melody with the sound of the
generator of ship turning when the image of the machine would interrupt the images of the girl in continual motion.
Images of the inner workings of clocks
that I recorded the sounds from.
The tension even further heightened by raising the volume when the machines were visually represented on the screen.
The sound is absolutely, if not more important than the visuals in the final piece. Without it, the experience of the
viewer being put, in a sense, inside the experience girl’s anxiety would not be complete.
Methodology
3.2.1 Iterations:
Iteration 01. Mason Sinks
Narrative/Visual, Reached Colored Storyboard Stage
My first large-scale iteration was entitled Mason Sinks. The idea behind it was that I would take all of these so – called
“portraits” and bring them together to make one story about a girl and the pressures of society crushing down on her,
similar to the weight of water and the isolation of a boat at sea. The main story consisted of the struggle of a tiny boat,
with little control of it’s own destination, it clung to the waves in the sea with trepidation. The emotions of the world
were represented by the charging water that bare down on the tiny splinter of a boat. A girl was isolated in her room
aboard the ship, scared and hiding, as the world around her materialized itself in visions of a work-out routine, then
panting, then fires that became camels on a cliff which materialized themselves into great explosions of color. My intent
was for the effect to be both ridiculous and over the top and yet profound and compelling in its various interpretations
of meaning. I intended to use metaphor and symbolism to represent emotions combined with complex images and
sound – an idea I later incorporated into Wound Up.
See figure A.1 in the Appendx to view the storyboard to it’s entirety. Sample frame from the storyboard.
Methodology
Iteration 02. Monks in Procession
Visual Experiment
This animation incorporates high resolution, high contrast, black and photo photography with hand
drawn characters made using ink on paper.
Stills from Animation/ Iteration 02
Methodology
Iteration 03. Eye Blink
Visual Experiment
This animation includes cel animation done using Macromedia Flash composited in After Effects with a
collage of found architectural images.
Stills from Animation/ Iteration 03
Iteration 04. Black and Yellow
Visual Experiment
I took a painting I created of acrylic on board,
photographed it, and then took elements
from the photograph and recreated them in
Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop then combined and animated them in
Methodology Iteration 05. Passive Conundrum
Character and Environment Design
This iteration was directly a simplified version of ‘Mason Sinks.’ A more simplified version of the title could simply be ‘The
Girl in the Mirror,’ This simplified story version was the result of conversations with friends and family – mainly my 14
yr old sister. I was attempting to make a story that made sense to her, one that she would understand and appreciate. She
was more willing than most to give ideas from her imagination and to trust her opinion. I hope she doesn’t grow out of
that. The story is about a girl who is getting ready for school. On her way out the door, she stops and looks into the mirror.
Instead of her reflection, she sees all her fears and demons looking back at her. Ultimately, I felt this story was too cliché
and unintentionally similar to Alice in Wonderland. For this iteration, I completed preliminary sketches of the setting and
character sketches.
Character and Concept Design/ Iteration 05
Methodology
Iteration 06. Emily
Narrative/Visual/ Sound, Fully Timed Animatic with Sound
Emily1 is the title of one of my later poems. It did not follow the constraints of previous poems. Originally the poem was
not entitled Emily. Originally, it had no title at all. The poem was the result of me, myself, and I getting frustrated and
writing it out. So more than the others, this one is more personal.
I had divided the poems, Emily among them, into groups separating those I felt were more conducive to melody and repetition and those that were not. Out of the ones I converted to song, Emily was the one that I felt like was most successful. I had created a melody similar to that of ‘Gloomy Sunday’. I referenced two performances – one sung by Billie Holliday
and one more recent sung by Bjork.
Character and Concept Design/ Iteration 06
Methodology
Final Iteration. Wound Up
3 min. 5 sec. Animated Short Film
Wound Up became a short film that comments on the mechanical nature of a girl’s private obsessions. These obsessions
materialize themselves into a mechanism of repetition or of habitual routine. The main character, a young girl, is filled
with doubt and distorted self-perception. She is depicted alone on a dark color palette limited to only black and white to
further represent the dull, replete, and colorless nature of her life. The only other object appearing not lifeless is that of
an ominous bulbous eye, oversized and twitching, peering into her room through a large window and she sits in front of
a broken mirror she has smashed.
As with the eye, which was created to represent the on looking eyes of the all seeing public, metaphor and symbolism are
used though out this film. For example, I choose the title ‘Wound Up’ because at the beginning and the end of the piece,
I used the image of a turnkey turning to symbolize the emotions of the girl tightening, and metaphorically the tightening and signaling the movement for the gears inside of her as she repeats each movement.
Rather than creating an animation for casual enjoyment, I wanted to create an experience that might be troubling or
problematic for the viewer. The repetitive structure of the animation reemphasized the act of routine and obsession and
created a rhythm of experience for the viewer. Tension was created by these actions of repetition happening faster and
faster combined with the sounds and music growing momentum and becoming louder almost to the point of physical
discomfort.
Methodology
The final aesthetics combine surrealistic imagery in a collaged motion graphics form that is pared with experimental
and complex layered sound.
Animation Stills From the Final Film
Methodology
Animation Stills From the Final Film
Methodology
3.2.4 Target Audience and Audience Response
I had a user group of about 30 people view my film that were made up of my target audience, age 18-25. Some viewed it
together, and some individually at separate times. At most showings, the viewers would want to on average watch it at
least twice. After each viewing, I would talk to them about what they though it meant and where they saw it going. What
problems they had with it, if any, and what scenes visually they found were the most compelling and why. As a whole, the
audience understood what the film was about. I was pleased that the film drew very personal responses from most viewers. One user spoke of the outward self, and this idea of having to make up for something inside, being stressful, sad, and
vacant, the images of broken glass being particularly potent. One girl spoke of how it depressed her, the anxiety and tension, the machine, and that it she did not find the animation empowering for women nor did she have any strong feelings for the girl because of the girl’s obvious weakness. She did however find the juxtaposition of the imagery to be an
impactful series of images. When I asked another girl what it was about, she said, “It’s about trying to fix something that
isn’t broken, while trying to ignore something that is. It makes me feel self conscious about my own problems. About
pretending I’m fine when I’m not.” Then I asked that same girl what she disliked and she said, “I’m not sure I disliked
anything in particular. I feel a bit like I can only see my own problems in it, and not yours. Yours are probably not the
same as mine, and they remain hidden...It only made sense as it relates to my own shit. I don’t have a problem with that.”
Guys responded somewhat differently than girls, and typically felt less attachment. One said, “The story still needs to
be a bit more clear. . . I still see it as an abstract animation done for a class. Maybe I’m just not completely attached to it.
Can’t find anything to relate to through the way it’s be revealed to me.” But at the same time, he said, ”I especially like
the climactic scene where she’s sitting, holding the broken mirror, big, throbbing window . . . the composition of it . . .
makes her seem smaller. Surrounded by hopelessness in some way . ..” When I asked what he thought it was about he
said, “It’s something about her. Within her. She’s ‘wound up’, inside - trying not to reveal it on the outside. It’s getting
too tight. Losing control. Gears clank and pound more and more - ticking faster. Glass cracking. Everything too intense.
And then the breaking point. Breaks down - can’t stop the craziness inside. Lash out. Too overwhelmed. Loses her will to
Methodology
fight it . . .But still can’t make out what it’s completely about.”
3.2.5 Where is will be Shown
As for where I would like this animation to be seen, I’m drawn to the idea of it being in a gallery or animation exhibition, ideally hung alongside the work of William Kentridge and his beautiful, but startling and politically charged
charcoal animations. His work can currently be seen in the permanent collection at the MOMA in New York where the
film is projected from a projector mounted to the ceiling onto a blank white wall. I would like to show mine in a similar
way but to also add the addition of a frame. The frame, an elaborate portrait frame, will be mounted onto the wall with
a blank canvas, and the animation could be projected onto that canvas within the frame. This would help to give the
film another layer of meaning. By putting the animation in a frame, and onto canvas, it will allow the audience to make
the connection of my film to the idea of a traditional portrait.
Head Over
Wheels
3.3 Head Over Wheels
After creating Wound Up, for me to push my own strengths and push the kind of experimenting and expression that I was
trying to illicit out of animation, that I set out to create something very different. So instead of again focusing on a target
audience of my own age range, 18-25, I wanted to focus on the entertainment of a younger audience, a target audience
of 8-12. In the research and precedents I discussed wide range of my inspirations an influences so here I will focus on the
development.
Methodology
The story began as an image that I had in my head of a large furry monster awkwardly riding on a very tiny bike. As the
story grew from that initial though I wanted to keep the story as concise and funny as I could. To make the story more
humorous, I built the story on a series of gags similar to my first initial drawings of the monster on the bike and tried to
play up the ridiculousness of that situation. In this way, I took full advantage of the animated medium by creating situations that would not as exaggerated had they not been animated. Also, there is a role reversal, in that this big monster is
scared at first by the shadow of a much tinier girl. And then to build on that even more he is still frightened by the little
girl herself when he sees her though she is tiny and much smaller than him.
Once I began breaking the story down into shots, I had to be careful to make sure that each scene was clear, and stay
aware of my timing. The timing needed to be varied for interest: fast, slow, fast, slow. Also, there needed to be clear continuity from shot to shot and I needed to pay close attention to screen direction between shots.
3.3.2 Character Design
When choosing the main character of the white fluffy monster, I was influenced by mythology and folklore. He is based
on the idea of the yeti, which is also called an abominable snowman. Even the name “abominable” is affectionately
misleading because the monster I created is far from abominable and yet he is prone to goofing things up and causing
chaos. I also compare his personality to that of Frankenstein. Frankenstein is a big strong mass of a monster, and yet he
has good intentions. Despite the good intentions and being kind hearted, he is not aware of his own strength, and being
dim-witted, he breaks things and hurts people without intending to.
The girl is a tiny, timid, and curious young girl that has a terrible cold. I designed her body giving a lot of thought to how
it would affect her shadow since at first, in the story, the monster is scared by the girl’s ominous Medusa like shadow. For
Methodology
Selection of Concept Drawings
this reason I gave the little girl a pony tail with long curly tendril sticking straight up and in diagonal disarray. And to help to
facilitate the gag, her body and size compared to the monster still contrasts greatly, it is her shadow alone that stretches into
something menacing to at first scare the monster.
3.3.3 Prop Design
A lot of attention went into the prop since the main plot of the story of carried by them. The bicycle had to have the same tiny
cute quality as the girl so that the contrast of the monster on the bike was visually funny enough for a laugh. Also, with the
design of the car, I wanted it to seem more organic like the other characters and woods, and to not necessarily date the time of
when the story was occurring by putting recognizable technology within the story. So even though my design of a car is decidedly a car, it still seems like a rather fictional car that has yet to have been made or just imagined.
3.3.4 Iterations
Photo and Detail of Hand Puppet
Iteration 01. Monster Hand Puppet
Methodology
Iteration 02.
Initial Character Designs and Gags for the Monster and Girl, Done in Various Mediums on
Paper.
Methodology
Iteration 03. Monster Sculpture
The base is 8” by 6”, The Model is 4.5” by 7”
This character model was modeled using Sculpey modeling clay and painted with acrylic paint. The skeleton on
the monster is made of copper tubing and twisted aluminum wire for the arms and hands. The tubing is mounted into a wood base.
Image and Detail of Character Model
Methodology
Iteration 04. Girl Pop-Up Book
Image and Detail of Book
This book was created using combining the processes of screenprinting and book making. I first took the concet drawing of the gril and screenprinted it. Then I cut the image out and created a pop-up book with it. The rose embelishments
are heat embossed stamps. (figures to the left)
Iteration 06. Final Character Design For Monster
To create these Drawings I used aqua watercolor ink and pencil on bristol board.
Design Variations
Methodology
Iteration 06. Final Character
Design For Girl
Character Art
To create these Drawings I
used aqua watercolor ink and
pencil on bristol board.
Environment Design
Integrating the characters with the backgrounds and environment has proven to be one of my most difficult challenges in creating the look of this piece. I have experimented in using various mediums, and color palates to create the
environments and final look of the animation.
Iteration 01. Black Ink Wash
Methodology
Iteration 02. Aqua Ink Wash and Variants with Composite
I created these by hand drawing each scene by hand. I then scanned the drawings in and added the
colors and textures in Photoshop. The scene was composited together in After Effects.
Methodology
Iteration 03. Compososition created using vector resizble graphics
I wanted to experiment in Illustrator t see how a cleaner more stremlined apearance would look. This is generally the
style that animations done in Flash resemble. I ultiamtely opted not to do this style becasue I wanted the final look to
resemble an older illustrated children’s storybook.
Iteration 04. Final Iteration
As I had originally intentioned the final visual style oof the animtion did resemble an old illustrated book with slighty
yellowing pages. I hand drew eavh scene by hand beginning in pencil and then refining using black ink. Then I scanned
the image in to photoshop and colored it in there. My technique was to use a variety f brushes with different opacity
building the colors up to make it resemble a hand colored look. I used the teture of newsprint as well to give the textural
look of a sligthly yellowed page.
(Please see A.3 in the Appendix to see final styleframes for Head Over Wheels).
3.3.5 Where it will be Shown
The target audience for this animation is kids from 8-12 years old. I would like to see this animation shown as part of a
compilation on Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon in the early afternoon after school lets out sandwiched between Foster’s
Home for Imaginary Friends and Spongebob Squarepants for example. I plan on also submitting in to Children’s Kid’s festivals like ‘G-kids’ that was just here in New York, and other national and possible international shows.
Evaluation
Chapter 4. Evaluation
At the outset of the thesis process, I had set out to understand how the use and experimentation in different media has
helped me to clarify my methodology. I’ve done that. I diligently experimented and made multiple iterations using different mediums creating a map for others and myself. I focused on different facets within each of the films depending on
their individual needs, and I pushed my illustrations to rest within the realm of what the stories called for.
By which my criteria of evaluation reaches further than that into the qualities of the animations themselves, I had differing results. At my thesis review, the first comment was a compliment on the sound design of both animations. It was a
pleasant surprise. If I have learned anything in this process, it should probably be foremost the importance of sound in
animation and how it is absolutely intrinsic in almost all cases to telling a story. It should come early on in the making, if
not first, and this is especially true in a limited animations.
Conclusion
In both films, the sound came later, and in Head Over Wheels the sound came at the very end. It was an oversight on my
part not to have all completed all of the sounds in the animatic in the first run through and it really forced me to use
quick editing to tighten and complete the animation in the last stages. I also edited the sound in Wound Up as a last step.
In both cases it, my musicians could not finish the scores, so with Wound Up I edited the early version of my musicians
run-through and in Head Over Wheels, I redid the entire soundtrack with sound effects myself. I may have gotten lucky
since ultimately the scores did end up shining, but in future animation it will be done first.
In the final critique, the critics praised the illustrative styles of both animations. I was particularly pleased because one
critic associated Wound Up with the work of Jan Svankmeyer, Brother’s Quay, and another commented on it as being the
“Ralph Steadman-esque illustrative film.” All of those references rung true to my influences and I took the acknowledgement of their similarities as reinforcement of my intentions.
On male critic said that Wound Up was “over his head,” but then said that Head Over Wheels should be submitted to festivals. His response to Wound Up wasn’t entirely surprising considering that the males in my previous user testing has also
been confused by Wound Up and didn’t make it as personal to them as women.
I mentioned in the presentation that I wanted to take full advantage of the now technological tools (software, etc.) in
making animation. One critic wanted to reemphasize that technology is not the answer in all arenas, and even though
it is there doesn’t necessarily mean for example an artist needs a drop shadow because it is possible. I wholly agree with
this statement. Though I am grateful for the software, it is only a tool, and each creative process using software should
not require all the bells and whistles. It is important to avoid canned effects that are used so frequently, otherwise someone from the field could immediately tell the software you were using which is a distraction and should not be the focus.
Both of the animations I created are what is called limited or reduced animation and not full movement every 30 frames
Evaluation
of a second. Because of this, it was at times difficult to make the characters come to life. In Head Over Wheels, I created 25
+ shots for the animation. Because I had to spend so many sleepless nights completing all of the backgrounds for each
shot and deciding on the camera angles, I was less able to spend time on the movement in the animation. I think this
could have been avoided if I had used better judgment in creating a staging of the stories that would have revolved over
only about 3 different backgrounds then I could have spent more time on motion. I was saved from this possible crisis
because the illustrations were so strong themselves and that the style of the animation had been the focus of my thesis.
In the future I would like to balance that somewhat better –being the visual and practical.
Conclusion
Chapter 5. Conclusion
In conclusion, I am very proud of these films. They accomplished what I intended for them to accomplish providing a
new methodologies in which to make animated films. Each film has the potential to be pushed further, and I would like
to take the opportunity to do that in to coming months after leaving Parsons. Because of the limited time constraints I
was working under, the animations lacked some of the details and refinement in motion and sound that I might like for
them to have. From the experience of making these I have learned so much about my process, and my own strengths and
weaknesses. And perhaps that will be in the long term the most meaningful.
I have mentioned the words “process” and “methodology” many times, but another word that needs to be mentioned
is “production.” Creating these animations was a huge production, and time management as well as staying on a production schedule was absolutely crucial to finishing. I learned why producers and production assistants exist. There are
many times in this process I had wished I had an assistant working in the wee hours of the morning while I might get a
Conclusion
few precious hours of sleep.
Animation is the most challenging work I’ve ever done, but it has also proved to be the most rewarding. Once I have
made some small changes I would like to enter both of these films into festivals. I also want to continue to make independent animations on my own, and over this next summer I would like to create an animation using cut-outs, stopmotion, and almost no software - beginning with sound in the form of a simple improvisational song.
Bibliography
Chapter 6. Bibliography
ANIMATION/FILM
I. Animation/Film Full Length Feature
Princes and Princesses. Michel Ocelot. DVD (70 min.). South Korea, 2005.
Alice. Jan Svankmejer. DVD (91 min.). First Run Features, 2000.
II. Animated Short Films
Ryan. Chris Landreth, Ryan Larkin, Laurence Green. DVD (94 min.). Rhino/Wea, 2005.
The Idea (L’Idee). Animated by Berthold Bartosch. Videocassette (27 min.). Arthouse, Inc., 1996.
Gorgeous. Kaz Cooke/Film Australia.Videocassette (11 min.). First Run/Icarus Films, 1994.
Pickles. Bruno Bozetto. Videocassette (10 min.). Lucerne Media, 1992.
Un Chien Andalou. Salvador Dali, Louis Bunuel. DVD (55 min.). Transflux Films., 2004.
Meshes of the Afternoon. Maya Deren. DVD (76 min.). Mystic Fire Video, 2002.
George Melies- Melies the Magician, The Magic of Melies, Jacques Meny.
Bibliography
III. Compilations/Artist Specific
Cabinet of Jan Svankmeyer: Prague’s Alchemist of Film. Atelier Konick, Keith Griffiths,
Brothers Quay. Videocassette (14 min.). First Run/Icarus Films, 1984.
The Collected Shorts of Jan Svankmejer. Jan Svankmejer. DVD (172 min.). Kino Video, 2005.
Masters of Russian Animation, The Complete Works of Yuri Norstein (Vol. 5). Yuri Norstien. Videocassette (60 min.).
Jove/Soyuzmultfilm Studios, 1997.
Jan Svankmeyer: The Ossuary and Other Tales. Jan Svankmejer. DVD (128 min.). Kino Video, 2006.
The Puppet Films of Jiri Trnka. Jiri Trnka/ Kratky Film. DVD (156 min.). Rembrandt Films, 1999.
IV. Motion Graphics/ Commercial
The World of Oskar Fischinger: Pioneer of Abstract and Advertising Animation. Dir. Toshima Kawahara. VLD (60 min.).
Laserdisc Corporation of America, 1986.
Partnership for a Drug Free America Spot/ PSYOP. Tv
BOOKS
Beauchamp, Robin. Designing Sound for Animation. Focal P, 2005.
Bearsto, Ric. The Tyranny of Story: Audience Expectations and the Short Screenplay. Vancouver Film School, 1998.
Bluth, Don. Don Bluth’s the Art of Storyboard. DH P, 2004.
Bibliography
Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph Williams. The Craft of Research. 2nd ed. University of Chicago P, 2003.
Canemaker, John. The Art and Flair of Mary Blair. 1st ed. Disney Editions, 2003.
Corsaro, Sandro, and Parrott, Clifford J. Hollywood 2D Digital Animation. Boston: Course Technology, 2004.
Gorey, Edward. Ascending Peculiarity: Edward Gorey on Edward Gorey. Ed. Karen Wilkin. Harcourt, 2001.
Groth, Gary, ed. Drawing the Line. Fantagraphics Books, 2004.
Halas, John. Film and TV Graphics: an International Survey of Film and Television Graphics. Ed. Walter Herdeg. Graphis
P, 1967.
Halas, John. Art in Movement. New York: Studio Vista, 1970.
Hames, Peter. Dark Alchemy: the Films of Jan Svankmajer. Praeger Paperback, 1995.
Kitson, Clare. Yuri Norstein and Tale of Tales : an Animator’s Journey. Indiana UP, 2005.
Lassiter, John, and Pete Doctor. The Art of Monsters Inc. Chronicale Books, 2001.
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. Harper Paperbacks, 1994.
McCloud, Scott. Making Comics. Harper Paperbacks, 2006.
Patmore, Chris. The Complete Animation Course. Barron’s Educational Series, 2003.
Bibliography
Tuminello, Wendy. Exploring Storyboarding. Thomson Delmar Learning, 2004.
Williams, Richard. Animator’s Survival Kit. London: Faber and Faber, 2001
PODCASTS
Channel Frederator: http://www.channelfrederator.com/index
The Animation Podcast: http://animationpodcast.com/
WEBSITES
Lacayo, Richard. “Great Expectations.” Time Magazine. 10 Sept 2001. <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/
article/0,9171,1000729,00.html?internalid=atb100>.
Maxwell, Bryan. “In Search of Ecstasy.” The Cavlier Daily.16 April 2002.<http://www.cavalierdaily.com/CVArticle.
asp?ID=12133&pid=80>.
From WBEZ in Chicago: This American Life. 2006. 7 OCT 2006. Chicago Public Radio and Ira Glass. < http://www.
thislife.org/>.
The Humument . 2006. 15 OCT 2006. <http://www.humument.com/intro.html>.
Norman McClaren Quotes. 2007. Brainy Media. 12 Apr. 2007 <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/n/
norman_mclaren.html>.
APPENDIX
A.1 The storyboard for Mason Sinks
Appendix
A.2 Styleframes from Head Over Wheels

Visual Language of Animation

Transcription

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