Archer

So the new season of Archer is here and that means more antics from H. Jon Benjamin's character Sterling Archer. Other than the hilarious plot of the show, Archer has a unique style of animation that combines 2D and 3D animation into a show. The backgrounds are 3D whereas the foreground, usually the characters, are 2D.  The scenes in the show where this is most noticeable is in the car chases. The best way to illustrate this is to watch "Archer and Conan's Day Out" above if you haven't already.

Batman or Gotham Titles?

Ok so for the next project (the title sequence project), the theme that I am thinking of is based on the Batman franchise, but I'm torn between 2 ideas.

The first idea is basically to recreate the Title sequence from Batman vs. Robin (aka the worst of the Batman movies). Now why would I want to recreate this? I grew up watching these movies and, while it is a bad movie, the title sequence was pretty good. Although not great. When I watched it back recently I was commenting on how static the camera movement was until the bat and robin symbols fly in. But otherwise, there isnt too much in terms of the motion. And I was thinking, may using sure target and some clever ideas, I can make a a much more dynamic title sequence. Also maybe change some of the color and style to make it feel less sci fi and more gritty like Batman should be (Schumachers Batman movies I always found looked too futuristic and sci-fi-ish for Batman). I'd also make this one a parody, using references to what fans hate about this movie, like Bat credit cards and the infamous batsuit nips. So thats one option.

But I had another idea. It still pertains to Batman, but its for a TV show: Gotham. Gotham just started its second season, and is actually a pretty good show that serves as a prequel to long before Batman started roaming the streets of Gotham, following the character of Jim Gordon and most of the popular villains before the Dark Knight showed up. Anyway, it is a good show, but there was one thing that always bothered me, and that was the opening graphic title. Its because its WAY TOO Simple, its literally text moving pass the camera in Z space on a background of dark clouds. Its actually really sad in my opinion. I was expecting much more from it. So I want to try to challenge myself with this option. I would want to make my own title sequence for this show, something thats much more dynamic, something that reflects the show very well.

So either way, Im thinking Batman, but I'm not sure which way to go. Right now I'm leaning more towards the Gotham option mainly because I can be as creative as I want. But I could also do the other one and have a little bit of fun with it. I could really go either way. What do you guys think? Leave a comment and let me know which bat idea you like better.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2

For the final blog I chose to look at Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 because I just watched it on Netflix and found myself marveling at the animation.  I think what impressed me most was the different textures that the animators created - from the wild tufts of hair on the main characters head down to the patterns in the antagonist's lab vest. 

I also enjoy how the animators use subtle things to convey the characters changes in emotion - the pupils getting bigger to show excitement, or the eyebrows furrowing to show disappointment and sadness.  Overall, I thought this was an impressive, and hilarious, movie that everyone should take some time to watch!

Bob's Burgers

This week I chose to look at Bob's Burgers - a comedy on Fox.  The episodes are only 30 minutes, but the creators find ways to pack in comedic situations and hilarious banter from all of the characters.  The animation is more of a cartoonish style, reminding me of early South Park episodes.  I like how drawn the characters appear because it keeps the show light and funny.

I also think that the casting director did a good job getting voice actors for each character.  Two of the female roles (Linda and Tina) are actually voiced by men.  However, the voices match the character so much that viewers can't even tell that the characters are voiced by men.  I think each characters voice plays a key role in the success of an animation, and Bob's Burgers has an all-star cast.

Storytelling in Animation: South Park

This week I thought I would switch things up a bit with a look into the storytelling behind South Park since I've always wanted to write about this topic! While many of us are consumed with the aesthetic elements which make up our animations as we progress we should really  incorporate a strong plot in order to convey a cohesive product. Lastly while I am not trying to tell you to create ridiculous animations this is food for thought in what provokes your audience and how you can catch their attention.

  
  South Park has long been considered a major source of uncertainty for millions of Americans and citizens of other nations alike. Often known for exploiting social hierarchy, corporate America and depicting hundreds of other cultural references South Park uses unique provocative satire in their storytelling along with animation to construct social criticism and exploit wider issues in society.

Satire is found in many past and present-day plays, literature, television shows, media, commentary and has been a crucial part of South Park’s success in their 17 seasons as an American adult animated sitcom. South Park embodies a complex set of comedic values to project preferred meanings about social criticism, corruption of America and other political and social concepts involving worldwide phenomena. The storytelling behind the animated sitcom is considered so controversial it has been the source of much critical analysis by college students and scholars alike in the media and literary fields. The cultural norms displayed on the television series are often an exaggerated form of comedy used to shock the audience. While many people might explicitly reject these absurd recreations of human interaction, the questions raised by the production team in many of their episodes are something to consider. An interesting aspect to explore with the show is how the graphic material affects the way in which the individual views the world and therefore how their actions are based on their reactions to what they are viewing. For example, in many occurrences episodes contain disturbing even comedic mockery of major catastrophes and tragic events that have occurred. While some people are outraged at the show and even call the witty artistic expression a disgrace, people in America especially tend to alienate themselves from information about foreign/ national events making the show an interesting pill to swallow for the people of this nature. The show can also utilize subliminal tactics making it hard for the uninformed to pick up on the irony, satire or symbolism being used; this is sort of an “inside” joke if you will. This also raises another interesting question about whether the American public and international citizens alike can handle the ugly truth of worldwide corruption. The fact of the matter is while South Park may not be the actual event occurring in live time the animations created by this unique production team exposes the traumatizing real life truth of the world we live in.

South Park remains a controversial source of media due to the programs ruthless demeanor and unorthodox form of artistic expression. Consequently, South Park producers Matt Stone and Trey Parker utilize a compacted and convenient television show as its medium to deliver brilliant manifestations of irony and sarcasm focusing on critical worldwide issues to awaken an other wise naïve audience.

        Here are some examples of my argument... 

http://www.timesofisrael.com/south-park-sacrifices-red-heifer/

http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/episodes