Drawn to Animation

I, like many, have grown up watching some form of animation, from classic Disney and Pixar films to Spongebob. I’ve always thought about the difference in production time between two-dimensional animation and stop motion animation. The two offer completely different feels, especially two dimensional because of the vast amount of artist styles that can be employed. Well I guess the same can be said about stop motion and and three dimensional and just about any type of animation. The fact that animation can range in not only content but style as well is very interesting to me and a reason I chose to at least learn a a little about it.  

I’ve always felt more connected to stop motion animation, only because my skills with a pen and pad aren’t as great as skills with a camera and figure. Growing up the animation in Henry Selick’s “Coraline” or Tim Burton and Michael McDowell’s “A Nightmare Before Christmas" has always mesmerized me and on many occasions I have thought about making them myself. (I’ve realized I might not have the patients for it, although now I’m in an animation course that will be equally time demanding.) Watching these films now I think about the movement and precision and the dedication each person these sets must have. Recently I watch the film, Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson’s “Anomalisa" and was completely astounded. When I first viewed the trailer I was amazed to realize that it was stop motion animation and not a live action film. (The trailer also lead me to believe the film would be taking a completely different turn than it actually did, but that’s a topic for another time.) Clearly during the film you knew the character weren’t live action humans from the line that splits the face as well as the the way the characters walk. It was a stunning film as strange as it was.

All in all, even though I seem to be stuck on stop motion, I do enjoy many different animation styles and I am excited to be learning new skills throughout the next couple months that I will hopefully develop beyond this course. 

IC Grad Graphics Genius

My first semester in Ithaca was Spring 2013. During this semester on Ithaca College Television, the Station Manager was none other than George Ahlmeyer. Under George's time as Station Manager, he helped redesign the look of many ICTV shows with his extensive knowledge of After Affects along with several other programs. His work really revamped the look of not just the shows of ICTV but also ICTV itself as he created most of the graphics seen during commercial breaks on ICTV. This video posted below is the sizzle real from his website http://georgeahlmeyer.com .


George Ahlmeyer 2013 Reel from George Ahlmeyer on Vimeo.

It's OK to Be Different.

As a current attendee of Ithaca College's, Park School of Communications, I have noticed a certain tension between students studying Television/Radio and students working towards a degree in Cinema. Because the two majors share similar territory, every determinable difference between the two degrees are immediately picked out and then blown entirely out of proportion. Recently, I've come to the realization that the stereotypes held between TV/R and Cinema majors are strangely reminiscent of those between American, and Japanese animators.

I know it sounds ridiculous now, but allow me to elaborate. You may discover that the comparison isn't as absurd as you thought.

STYLE:

Let me start out by describing some stylistic characteristics of American animation. Here in the U.S., many animations tend to lean toward a "cartoon-ish" animation style.

For example, cartoon characters often possess rounded, highly exaggerated features. Furthermore, the characters/settings of this style of animation tend to lack both detail and shading.

The character, "Cheese," from Cartoon Network's show,
"Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends"
is a great example of the American "cartoonish" animation style.

Compare this style now to that of Japanese animation-- specifically anime. Anime characters often possess large, detailed eyes and small noses/mouths. Japanese animators are known to use angular strokes, and pay far more attention to shading and highlights than their American counterparts. 

Below is a classic example of the "anime eye."

Notice the degree of detail portrayed through color and highlights to add depth to the eye. 

One of the primary reasons that American animators avoid including so much detail in their animation has to do with merchandising. It's a lot easier to produce a Mickey Mouse doll than it is to produce an intensely detailed anime character.

                   Mickey Mouse Doll--  $0.50 to produce,

                   extremely cuddly, and very durable.

    

                                                                       Anime Doll-- $10.00 to produce,

                                                                    not so cuddly, flyaway hair guaranteed 

                                                                    to snap off on the ride home from the toy 

                                                                                            store.

Another stylistic difference between Japanese and American animation has to do with camera angles. Anime makes sure to incorporate creative angles and unconventional perspectives-- something that the majority of American animation lacks.

^Japanese angle chosen for dialogue between 2 characters ^

^American angle chosen for dialogue between two characters^

     

PRODUCTION:

I realize that so far I've been successful in making American animators look like lazy, money-crazed SOBs; I can fix that. What American's lack in technical detail, they make up in animation. As a rule, American animations contain far more animation than the Japanese do. Why? Well, the answer is simple really: the Japanese are a bunch of rotten cheaters. That, or they're just a little bit smarter. Maybe both. 

Here are ways our asian counterparts cheat the system:

1. When a character begins reciting a long monologue, the creators only focus on moving the character's mouth and perhaps a few strands of hair-- ignoring the rest of the scene. 

1. Action sequences are created by moving the background in a quick, stylized fashion, while the character remains frozen in a cool fighting pose. (see below)

AUDIENCE/CONTENT:

One of the main inconsistencies between American and Japanese animation has to do with the target audience: or the people whom the animation caters to. 

For example, the majority of American animation is intended for child viewers. Furthermore, the few animated series that DO cater to adults, (think Family Guy, The Simpsons, American Dad!, etc.) often possess absurd plots and vulgar humor. Because of their content, even adult animated series' may be considered "immature." 

In Japan, animation is not confined by generational boundaries. Anime is followed and enjoyed by children and grandparents alike. (This is why many American parents are shocked when they discover "mature" content in the anime "cartoons" their children are watching.)

Also, unlike cartoons in America that can be watched out of episodic sequence with little to no penalty, anime is distributed in serial episodes. Serial episodes require the viewer to understand the content revealed in previous episodes in order to fully appreciate the current episode. Some shows that follow this sequential building style in America include dramas like, "American Horror Story," or "Breaking Bad." 

REASONS WHY TVR STUDENTS ARE LIKE AMERICAN ANIMATORS AND WHY CINEMA STUDENTS ARE LIKE JAPANESE ANIMATORS:

1. Japanese animators like making the bad guys blonde-- Cinema students dye their hair dark to appear more "artsy."

"I hate blonde's because they're evil" -the Japanese and/or American cinema students

Ok, ok. You were right. My initial comparison between Japanese/American animators and Television Radio/ Cinema majors was unreasonable. But at least you learned a little something about animation. You'll thank me later.

Stop Motion Genius

Jan Švankmajer is a Czech filmmaker, who focuses most of his work on stop motion animation, particularly claymation. I remember back in Film Analysis and Aesthetics with Dr. Patricia Zimmerman we watched this short. At first, I saw as pure entertainment and quirky. As we discussed it more and more I realized a deeper meaning. It was crazy how so many perceptive ideas were tossed around, in a seemingly light-hearted piece. Aside from the subject of the short itself, the animation is amazing, done by Bedrich Glaser, who works with Švankmajer on most of his films. The approximately six minute short is made so realistically as each pieces of a man is composed through the senses. Have a look yourself!


As for some of Jan Švankmajer's other works, here is a short compilation.

Darkness Light Darkness: The Collected Shorts of Jan Svankmajer from Cinefamily on Vimeo.
Saturday, September 8th. Selected shorts, part of our month long The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer series.

Let's Get Smokey

So I've spent the past couple days devoting all my time and energy to my Fiction Field final project, a film called Dog House. It's awesome, and it looks GREAT. I can safely say that despite the sleep deprivation, I loved working on this film. I'm so happy I got to spend so much extra time on After Effects, because I can definitely say I feel a lot more comfortable using it, as well as more confident in my color correcting capabilities.

Apart from coloring the film, I also did most of the graphics for it, including the intro sequence, which required a smoke .mov file I downloaded for free from a free stock-footage website courtesy of videocopilot.net. By following this tutorial, I was able to quickly and effectively adapt the smoke title lesson into a great title sequence for the film.

I've looked at a few other videos by this guy, HPnoticTutorial, and he's pretty good. His accent can be a little hard to understand at times, but so long as you increase the player quality to 360p you're good to go. 

So yea, that's it for this post for me! I'll see you all tomorrow!

(Also, the Fiction Field Production 1 screening is from 10-12 this Saturday, December 15th, so be sure to stop by if you're free! It'll be a great time!)

Nice Job Andy

A few days ago, I went down to WENY-TV to talk with them about interning there next semester. I met up with Andy, a former IC grad, and he showed me some of the stuff that they do there. He told me that when I'm there next semester, we'll be covering a lot of high school basketball. He wanted me to get a glimpse at what it will be like so he showed me a reel of high school football from a few months ago. He bragged about how he made the opening in after effects before he showed me the video. I was ready to be blown away with what a TV "professional" could make. Then he showed me the video. Needless to say it was pretty cheesy. You can observe the cheesiness yourselves. Let's just hope I get better with after effects so I can make them a better opening next semester.

Final Post

Well, since it's the end of the semester, I thought I would follow the common theme and do one final post about what most of us have spent all semester working on, opening titles. It's pretty amazing the appreciation 4 months of AfterEffects can give you for the few minutes that come at the beginning of a television show or film. I think we all can agree that it's a lot more effort than we probably expected, and some films in particular have opening sequences that are not only done to perfection, but incredibly memorable.

The photo above shows some of the greatest opening sequences from today and years past, from Vertigo to Catch Me If You Can. A nice list of some of the best opening can be found here. I'm sure someone at one point or another has posted that website, but regardless it's always worth a second look!

This is my final "assignment" before I am officially done at Ithaca College, so I'd like to hope all of you the best of luck whether it's as a student next semester, working in the spring, and last but not least, being a professor at IC! I had a lot of fun.

End of the Semester

It was great seeing everyone's work screened at Cinemapolis. I didn't expect to see Fiction Field 2's project which were very well done. Being a part time student next semester I look forward to taking the knowledge I gained from this class to work on graphics for Thesis projects next semester. It is surprising to me how little knowledge I knew coming into this course about After Effects and the working grasp I achieved in just a couple of months.

I was looking to further my knowledge in this field so I searched for additional instructions. Though I have acquired information from tutorials I believe enrolling into a program specifically related to After Effects would be worth the cost for the additional tips and tricks learned. My search came across an "Adobe After Effects - Advanced Training Course offered from Ledet. The course is a $1400 3-day program offered in Washington DC. They also offer the course in other locations and Ledet is a pretty good reputation from some reviews that I have read. I will also be looking over break for literature related to the field. Possibly some of the books Arturo suggested. This course has added beneficial skills to my TV-R degree and I would highly recommend anyone with course space to enroll.

Projects, Life, and Motion Graphics

Hey All,

I just wanted to use this last blog post to reflect upon the things in class. When thinking back to how much a didn't know before I took this class, I finally realize how much I've learned during this class. I came in with no knowledge of motion graphics and now I feel like I can basically get things done, on my own, with no assistance from google or other people. For me, that feels like an accomplishment. As a video production concentration, I feel like a more well-rounded student. This class has also inspired me to take on a few project on my own and in my own time. I'm going to be studying in London soon and what I hope to do is take my Nikon N80 film camera, a couple rolls of film, and just take photos. After I come back though, I want to develop the rolls of film myself and upload them online. I think it's kind of a personal/adventure/nostalgic project. I wish everyone luck in their future endeavors and projects!

College Television Awards

This past weekend I was in Los Angeles for the College Television Awards. My documentary from video workshop, "Bound By Hope" one Family's Story," won third place in the documentary category.

The award show was amazing! Besides the celebrity presenters, the quality of work in all categories was amazing. The first place winner in my category was done by a graduate student who spent two years shooting her film in Senegal. It was an honor to be a winner in such a distinguished competition.

The animation winners were also very impressive. We were only shown trailers of the winners, but the main component that seemed to set the winners apart, besides the animation itself, was the music composition. These were the animation winners:

1 Place
Ting Chian Tey
Bridge
Academy of Art University

2nd Place
Nicholas William Allred
The Girl and the Fox
Savannah College of Art and Design

3rd Place
Tyler Carter
DreamGiver
Brigham Young University
Center for Animation

If anyone is interested in viewing my documentary, it can be found HERE