THAT 70's SHOW TRANSITIONS

Well this is the second time I'm writing this blog because of some fun connectivity issues so I apologize for my blunt writing style this evening. I swear the first time around I was painting word pictures that would be hanging in the Louvre in a hundred years if that ever becomes an exhibit.

Earlier today I began the long journey of watching the hit television sitcom That 70's Show from start to finish. As I laughed watching a young Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace make their careers, I was also reminded of one of the shows most fundamental elements: the transitions from scene to scene which not only featured the character who would be starring in the next scene but also had them moving or dancing in front of an animated background.

Here are a couple of examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy7kr5pTKJ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PG_w-z5vOI

These same transitions were used throughout the years that the showed aired but the first two seasons featured some very interesting transitions that weren't used again in the later years. Using a very cost-effective technique known as "Syncro-Vox" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syncro-Vox) pictures of Farrah Fawcett and Richard Nixon were shown screaming rock lyrics. Syncro-Vox was developed by Edwin Gillete in 1956 for advertising purposes - making animals look like they can speak for commercials. History lesson aside, what I realized is that the caliber of animation in a hit television show is at the same level as the reel we watched in class on Thursday showing the work of previous Motion Graphic & Animation classes. Needless to say, I'm excited to see what kind of work I'm producing at the semester's end.

It's me again, tapping into my inner passion for the childhood television series that lit up a rather dark childhood.

Whether this show is animated or not is debatable, but nevertheless played a very big part of my childhood when I was very little. It's definitely not a non-fiction series because the last time I checked, trains don't have faces, but its a show that will always resonate with me and quite recently I learned about the kind of production that goes into making this show; Thomas the Tank Engine. They shoot the show as if it were an actual set, and they build everything from the engines, scenery and people from scratch and have different faces for different expressions. I think it's incredibly neat what these producers and directors have been able to do with this show. I'm sure a lot of you saw at least a few episodes while growing up, but below me is one that stands out as one of my favorites.

The Newsroom Title Sequence(s)

     The Newsroom is one of may favorite television series right now so I thought I would post about both seasons title sequences. The season one opening credits are my favorite due to the old school rather nostalgic look it conveys. The opening score also grabs my attention as it is much more interactive and fits the shots of the early beginnings of television news and its production. The title sequence does a fantastic job at intriguing the audience and ultimately peaks their interest in watching the show. Additionally the sequence starts out in the early days of television news and subtly transitions to a more modern feel of television news production in a seamless manner. Greg Wolf mentioned Aaron Sorkin's obsession with incorporating government and politics in his other political drama West Wing. His decision to include the title sequence in this manner does justice to that obsession while also revealing the other side of the political process which is how the news portrays issues and the internal struggles that accompany delivering those stories. Maybe I am biased because I am a television radio major but it is much more appealing and almost has a magical sense about it as opposed to the second season title sequence. Here is a look at the season one title sequence...
     

     

      The season two of The Newsroom was created by Huge Designs a design company founded in 1993. Hugo Moss was the director for The Newsroom opening credits for the second season. Although I really like the overall product of the second season it doesn't rise to the occasion of the first seasons title sequence. Even though they tried to make it interesting it just doesn't have the same feel and ultimately lacks the sense of spirit that is conveyed in the previous season. Unlike the season one title sequence the synergy between music and the the footage is just not as good, overall it is less inspiring. From start to end I just feel as if the production team figured it was a safe bet for the sequence yet there is little to set it apart as it is pretty general in the beginning and additionally while it does get better as the sequence gradually progresses the audiences attention span is lost before it hits the climax. Lastly if you look at the majority of comments about the season two title sequence it is repeatedly called out for not being up to par. Hopefully as season three premieres in Spring 2014 the series will incorporate fan criticism in their next title sequence as a large number of individuals weren't satisfied with the season two sequence and would also like to keep the theme music by Thomas Newman in the first season title sequence. Here is the second season title sequence...

'Six Feet Under' Title Sequence

I was recently brainstorming for my final animation project and wanted to look into the creative process. I wanted to see what goes into making a title from nothing but still creating something that centers around a main idea. I watched the 'Six Feet Under' sequence for inspiration and it lead to storyboarding and looking into artist Danny Yount's work. He explains his creative process and how planning ahead is key to animation and creating titles. Each shot must capture the mood of the show and stand alone as a beautiful composition. We talked about composition and framing but storyboarding and coming up with alternatives and backup plans are necessary when creating a title sequence. The sequence refrains from using actors and the ambiguity of the characters and emotional shots create a sense of sorrow and darkness. The font and titles are simple but the composition of the shots is amazing and truly draws the audience in to the main theme of the show in a dark yet beautiful way.

WATCH YOUNT'S TALK BELOW

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

Community: Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas

One of my favorite comedies is Community on NBC. Aside from the great characters. They have always been able to do great genre specific episodes. One of my favorite episodes was Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas. This christmas themed episode was done in Stop Motion style animation.

The style lent itself to the episode very well, reminding the audience of christmas specials from when they were younger. Since I'm Jewish I didn't really ever watch any of the classic christmas movies and haven't seen stop motion done that often.  It really does add a "child like" feel to the story, despite the story itself being very adult.

One of the coolest things for me was the behind the scenes making of the episode. I learned a lot about stop motion that I didn't know before (not that I knew a lot before.) They started making the episode very early in the season because of how long stop motion animation takes. One of the most interesting things that I learned is that the hardest shots to make are group walking shots. Each time a character is walking, A drill/screw is put into a hole in the character's foot, and is screwed into the stage. This keeps the character standing up and balanced while the other foot is in the air. Than screw is painted over. When the shot is over and it is time to move the other foot in the air, the process is repeated and the place in the stage where the screw used to be is also painted over.  This process can get very annoying and tedious when you have six or seven characters walking at once.  It is probably very tempting to cut corners and make the models walk at the same time or not have the group shots. The fact that no corners were shows how dedicated the team was. The main animator even won an Emmy for his work.

Behind the Scenes of "Heroes"

After completing the first project, the opening title sequence of a tv show, I decided to research a little more into the television show I chose, Heroes. I watched the first two seasons of Heroes when it originally aired a few years back and I must say, it was one of the most visually stunning television shows I have seen. Every episode felt like a mini movie with all of the high quality special effects. In the first season alone, the show utilized over 1000 visual effects. I found this article that describes a lot of the visual effects used in the pilot episode (which if you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend checking it out just for the visual effects alone!)

I also found this video that goes into great detail about the special effects used in the show. It interviews the visual effects crew and they go into depth about how they create the stunning images seen in the show. It is amazing that they are able to create all of these effects for a show that airs every week.

Pan Am: Using Visual Effects to Create Different Worlds

One of the new shows that I've really enjoyed so far this season is ABC's Pan Am, which centers around a group of Pan Am stewardesses in the 1960s. The show is shot in New York but takes place all around the world. In the past four episodes alone it has taken place in Hong Kong, Paris, Jakarta, London, New York City, and Berlin. The show has done a great job of portraying these different locations and is very convincing. A lot can be attributed to the visual effects team and art department.They are able to build entire cities without ever leaving their studio in New York. This is especially important for a show that's main focus is the different cities the

flight attendants go to.

Even the scenes that take place in the Pan Am terminal in New York are extremely convincing and well done. The sets are huge and you can tell that the production doesn't hold back, especially when it comes to its visual effects. I found this article that describes the making of the pilot episode. I found out that Stargate Studios, the visual effects company I posted about a few weeks ago is the company behind the visual effects of Pan Am. The article goes into detail about how the Pan Am features one of the largest virtual sets ever created, the main airport terminal set. Rather than build the entire set, an area of 150 square-feet was covered in green screen and used for shooting.

The production used Stargate's VB-live real time compositing system, which requires the studio to pre-build all of the virtual sets so the actors can see them on monitors as they are filming. After shooting, they fine-tuned the shots in Maya and After Effects. The results are stunning in my opinion. Pan Am is beautifully shot and so much of that can be attributed to the visual effects team. I definitely recommend you all check out the pilot! Here is the trailer:

Then and Now

Meet Harry Marks, the "father of modern broadcast motion graphics". He was the first recipient of the Broadcast Designers Association Lifetime Achievement Award and is an Apple Master. His graphics influenced forever what we see in television today. It is significant that he started as a typographer back in his native England and was instrumental in moving motion graphics from the animation stand into the computer generated graphics of today.

Introduction

Harry Marks, Broadcast Designer | by Harry Marks

Breaking into television

Harry Marks, Broadcast Designer | by Harry Marks