Norman McLaren-Neightbours (1952)
I love the animated short Neighbours. Right when the flower first dances at 1:20, the viewer can see what this short is all about. The way in which the flower dances beckoning the two men is great. The narrative maintains symmetry throughout which I found both interesting and compelling. The symmetry levels the playing field so to speak with both characters. Neither man is better then the other or deserves the flower more.
The flower causes the two neighbors to almost go on a trip, the flower is euphoric to them. This is magically displayed by the use of stop motion. The characters become quite strange and trippy, hovering in the air and gliding across the ground. McLaren does a good job showing the drunkiness effect of the flower. I loved the part in 4:18 when the character are putting up and tearing down the fence. The fence plays an important role in the remainder of the short and it was interesting to see how they introduced it. The obvious message of the piece was to display greed and that if people indulge or are selfish about something good in their life they will lose it. As the universal message states in the final credits "love you neighbor!"
Monday, September 26, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Week 3 Animation Blog
Lenka--Heart Skips a Beat
The addition of animation in the music video for Lenka's Heart Skips a Beat adds complexity to an otherwise simple video. Even simple and repetitive animation jazzed up the video, making me want to continue watching the video. I loved the example of rotoscoping on 1:30. Just the drawn outline of the singer perfectly portrays all of her distinct features such as her nose and hair. I think that this example will help me with my rotoscoping exercise because I can better visualize how I would frame a face and shade in the mouth to illustrate movement and shadowing.
Out of the Inkwell--Modeling
I loved when the clown drew the face of the model posing for the sculpture in 3.37. The animation in this piece is very innovative and timeless. I still connected with the piece even though it was created in the 20's. The entire time I was imaging how precise the artist had to be in order to make this piece. The end result it fantastic. I love the interaction between the drawn characters, the inkwell, and the live action characters. It is an upgraded way to interact with an animation in relation to Gertie the Dinosaur.
The addition of animation in the music video for Lenka's Heart Skips a Beat adds complexity to an otherwise simple video. Even simple and repetitive animation jazzed up the video, making me want to continue watching the video. I loved the example of rotoscoping on 1:30. Just the drawn outline of the singer perfectly portrays all of her distinct features such as her nose and hair. I think that this example will help me with my rotoscoping exercise because I can better visualize how I would frame a face and shade in the mouth to illustrate movement and shadowing.
Out of the Inkwell--Modeling
I loved when the clown drew the face of the model posing for the sculpture in 3.37. The animation in this piece is very innovative and timeless. I still connected with the piece even though it was created in the 20's. The entire time I was imaging how precise the artist had to be in order to make this piece. The end result it fantastic. I love the interaction between the drawn characters, the inkwell, and the live action characters. It is an upgraded way to interact with an animation in relation to Gertie the Dinosaur.