3D Printing and Animation

This post relates more to how amazing 3D printing is and how it relates to stop motion animation. There is nothing I love more than miniaturized anythings. Whether it be a doll house or claymating characters, I think the intricate art of piecing together detailed aspects of characters/ houses/ any setting, just highlights the artistic talent and dexterity. Doing all of that handmade is a feat on it's own, however now that we have 3D printing, I think it's a step towards efficient and ground breaking animation. Please check out this amazing video on how the artists for Paranorman were able to capture an unrealistic amount of expressions by 3D printing every characters face!

Oscars Snubs

This awards season, a number of enraged outcries bubbled to the surface when the Oscar nominees were announced. The nominees revealed that the Academy was made up of a number of white, old gentlemen whose tastes in cinema were blinded by their own privilege. Not only did it reveal how truly awful the academy is at recognizing worthy female and minority actors and directors, it also revealed how much of a sham the animation category is. Although the category included some really beautiful foreign animated films (as it should), its domestic nominees were less than impressive. The nominees included How to Train Your Dragon 2, Big Hero 6, and The Boxtrolls. Although the first two domestic films were both critically acclaimed and beautiful, they lacked a certain amount of imagination that one looks for in a fresh animated film, and relied too heavily on repetitive children's film tropes. The Boxtrolls was altogether forgettable. There was one film that was not included in the nominees, which was critically acclaimed, and challenged the repetitive nature of many animated films. This was The Lego Movie, which managed the add a new spin to the animation genre. The film is fun, imaginative, and features some really impressive computer animation techniques. If any film, aside from Song of the Sea (that's some beautiful stuff) deserved to be in the category, it would definitely be this film. It's really unfortunate that this film was snubbed, and goes to show the carelessness involved in this year's Oscars.