Animating the Boob-Tube Blog 9
This week’s reading deals with how animation grew. I especially liked the article on Ren & Stimpy. I remember watching it when I was a kid although I didn’t it like too much since I thought it was kind of gross. Although now I love it since it really stands out from the norm. The article talked about the show being geared to children and adults which I already knew. This goes with a lot of shows such as Rugrats. I also knew that some of Ren & Stimpy had been edited. I am kind of surprised Nickelodeon agreed to show it in the first place due to a lot of the humor. I can really see why it was so popular among young adults and did so well on MTV. The article also talked about fan culture or animatophilia. It kind of reminded me of the whole anime fan base.
I don’t agree with the only main animation American audiences know is humor. There is a lot of drama in series such X-men, Teen Titans, Gargoyles, and Aeon Flux. Anime is a very good example of in depth story lines and characters. I wish American cartoons would take more elements from anime.
The other article talked mostly about Gumby. It was interesting to learn about Gumby’s creator since I never thought about him before. The characters always did seem simplistic to me in looks and personality. I understand now why the creator wanted it this way. I also liked reading of how children’s television spread and how The Mickey Mouse Club led to this. There are a lot of kids so it’s a large market and it’s hard to imagine when kids didn’t have toys of their favorite cartoon characters. Furniss’s chapter seven goes more into what the articles covered. Since it’s mainly about the appeal of animation and its history on TV.
For last week’s lecture I liked the experimental section a lot better than I thought I would. The music video for Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds felt very surreal and was very well done. I never knew about Oskar Fischinger but he did some things that were very revolutionary. I liked his Fantasia piece but he had other work just as inspiring. A lot of the experimentals felt psychedelic and I could see a connection with forms and shapes in experimental over the years. I especially liked the last segment we watched in class with the digital media. It was so colorful and had kind of a magical feeling.
Magen Thornhill
Friday, March 19, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
The Disneyfication of Animation Blog 8
Blog 8
I always liked reading about Disney since there are so many takes on it. As mentioned in class I also grew up with it. It’s really interesting to think where Disney obtains its stories. If you count their major motion pictures such as Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Alice in Wonderland, Aladdin, Hercules, and The Princes and Frog, they all come from legends and folktales. Also if you think about it the female characters are usually the protagonists. Although with some exceptions such as The Lion King, Aladdin, and Hercules.
I feel for the most part Disney does a good job of showing the female character’s point of view. Alice goes on an adventure in Alice in Wonderland, Belle dreams of getting away from her small town life in Beauty and the Beast, Ariel explores sunken ships in The Little Mermaid, and Mulan goes to war in Mulan.
The Lion King also resembles Kimba the White Lion. The names are very similar as well as the plot line. For instance both lion cubs lose their fathers and hesitate with becoming king. This link compares them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S0nnCTlcIM
Art in Motion talked some about censorship and promotional strategies. I think Disney’s done a fairly good job of staying family orientated although they may have jokes that go over the kids heads. They also market themselves to the point where I get tired of seeing so many adds and previews. Although, it would be hard to imagine Disney not being apart of my life.
Magen Thornhill
I always liked reading about Disney since there are so many takes on it. As mentioned in class I also grew up with it. It’s really interesting to think where Disney obtains its stories. If you count their major motion pictures such as Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Alice in Wonderland, Aladdin, Hercules, and The Princes and Frog, they all come from legends and folktales. Also if you think about it the female characters are usually the protagonists. Although with some exceptions such as The Lion King, Aladdin, and Hercules.
I feel for the most part Disney does a good job of showing the female character’s point of view. Alice goes on an adventure in Alice in Wonderland, Belle dreams of getting away from her small town life in Beauty and the Beast, Ariel explores sunken ships in The Little Mermaid, and Mulan goes to war in Mulan.
The Lion King also resembles Kimba the White Lion. The names are very similar as well as the plot line. For instance both lion cubs lose their fathers and hesitate with becoming king. This link compares them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S0nnCTlcIM
Art in Motion talked some about censorship and promotional strategies. I think Disney’s done a fairly good job of staying family orientated although they may have jokes that go over the kids heads. They also market themselves to the point where I get tired of seeing so many adds and previews. Although, it would be hard to imagine Disney not being apart of my life.
Magen Thornhill
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Issues of Representation Post 7
I really liked this week’s reading. I never thought of the role of gender in representation but Paul Wells had some very good examples. Some I was more familiar with than others. There are a lot of powerful female characters in cartoons. Such as Aeon Flux, She-Ra, Wonder Woman, the Powerpuff girls, Raven in Teen Titans, and the women in X-Men. In anime it’s very noticeable. There are several examples but I’m only going to name a few. Lucy in Elfen Lied. Lucy has mental abilities and breaks out of a top secret laboratory killing everyone. In Higurashi, Shion goes insane and murders her friends. In Gunslinger Girl little girls are trained to be ruthless killers.
Here’s a trailer from Elfen Lied, although warnings since it’s very violent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RLN42dWLsY
Sometimes female characters don’t have the same roles as their male counterparts and are kept in the background. For instance Sakura in Naruto, Supergirl, Catwoman, Kagome in Inu-Yasha, ect.
I also see the role of gender bending and cross dressing a lot in anime. For instance in Ouran High School Host Club a girl dresses up as a boy to entertain other girls so she can pay off a debt. In Strawberry Eggs a man dresses up a woman so he can teach at a school that only hires female teachers. In Sailor Moon males can even change into females. The best example I can think of in American cartoons is Bugs and others cross dressing. Maureen draws some of the same ideas but he goes into a more cultural view point.
I think the role of cross species comes up best when live action is crossed with animation. Such as in Who Framed Rogger Rabbit with Jessica and Donald and the girl in Three Caballeros. I have to say I loved the Three Caballeros, it was very entertaining and I liked the animation style. The Disney lecture was really interesting. Disney has a market on so much. Although it seems like they haven’t been paying so much attention to animation. The Disney channel is mostly tween shows. I saw The Princess and the Frog. It was mainly a kid’s movie but it had a good storyline and I’m glad Disney got back to some traditional animation.
Here’s a trailer from Elfen Lied, although warnings since it’s very violent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RLN42dWLsY
Sometimes female characters don’t have the same roles as their male counterparts and are kept in the background. For instance Sakura in Naruto, Supergirl, Catwoman, Kagome in Inu-Yasha, ect.
I also see the role of gender bending and cross dressing a lot in anime. For instance in Ouran High School Host Club a girl dresses up as a boy to entertain other girls so she can pay off a debt. In Strawberry Eggs a man dresses up a woman so he can teach at a school that only hires female teachers. In Sailor Moon males can even change into females. The best example I can think of in American cartoons is Bugs and others cross dressing. Maureen draws some of the same ideas but he goes into a more cultural view point.
I think the role of cross species comes up best when live action is crossed with animation. Such as in Who Framed Rogger Rabbit with Jessica and Donald and the girl in Three Caballeros. I have to say I loved the Three Caballeros, it was very entertaining and I liked the animation style. The Disney lecture was really interesting. Disney has a market on so much. Although it seems like they haven’t been paying so much attention to animation. The Disney channel is mostly tween shows. I saw The Princess and the Frog. It was mainly a kid’s movie but it had a good storyline and I’m glad Disney got back to some traditional animation.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Experimental
Experimental
Post 6
The readings for this week were about experimental animation. I never cared much for experimental animation since I prefer something with a narrative. Although what I got from the book was that a viewer can take away different meanings from experimental animation. I agree some of it is very well done. It can be very beautiful visually. I really think it’s up to the viewer to consider what experimental means to them.
I think a lot of experimental animation has a lot to do with sound. It helps to give an impression like in The Boy Who Goes Boing. The visuals and sound usually go together very well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdUUx5FdySs
This isn’t experimental but it’s an example of how visuals and sounds go together. There’s no dialogue and it’s a student project, using Maya about a kiwi bird. I’ve just always loved the piece since it conveys so much emotion.
The reading also talked about how the brain worked which was interesting since I found a lot of it related to me. Such as when I’m working for awhile I’ll start daydreaming. The readings also mentioned mandalas and Pythagoras which also adds importance to sound in animation. Sound can be technical and have its own rhythm. However, it can also be relaxing and have a mystical feeling.
Post 6
The readings for this week were about experimental animation. I never cared much for experimental animation since I prefer something with a narrative. Although what I got from the book was that a viewer can take away different meanings from experimental animation. I agree some of it is very well done. It can be very beautiful visually. I really think it’s up to the viewer to consider what experimental means to them.
I think a lot of experimental animation has a lot to do with sound. It helps to give an impression like in The Boy Who Goes Boing. The visuals and sound usually go together very well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdUUx5FdySs
This isn’t experimental but it’s an example of how visuals and sounds go together. There’s no dialogue and it’s a student project, using Maya about a kiwi bird. I’ve just always loved the piece since it conveys so much emotion.
The reading also talked about how the brain worked which was interesting since I found a lot of it related to me. Such as when I’m working for awhile I’ll start daydreaming. The readings also mentioned mandalas and Pythagoras which also adds importance to sound in animation. Sound can be technical and have its own rhythm. However, it can also be relaxing and have a mystical feeling.
Narrative Strategies Continued
Narrative Strategies Continued
Post 5
I really liked the lecture on narrative. Now that I think about it I see metamorphosis in several animations. I’ve also seen it in anime. Although, with anime I think it more has to do with the characters’ expressions. With anime that’s supposed to be realistic I don’t see it as much. I was surprised by the Betty Boop cartoons. I’ve seen a couple of them in the past but it was such a long time ago I don’t remember too much about them. It just seemed the cartoons pushed boundaries especially for the time period.
I’ve seen elliptical cuts before. I think they go along with condensation in order to give a lot of information in little time. With series I don’t see it as much but it’s really common in shorter animation or if maybe a cartoon has a fifteen minute episode and the story doesn’t carry over. For instance Ed, Edd, n’ Eddy. Each episode is short, to the point, and non continuous. There is also a lot of fabrication.
I really liked the concept of showing animation to make a statement as in Jumping. It felt very surreal, made a powerful statement, and had a variety of deeper meanings. The Hand used symbolism and metaphor to make a statement. I was very into the story and hoping the main character was able to break away from the hand. I feel it’s really amazing what animation is able to get across.
I’ve never seen Who Framed Rogger Rabbit before but now I just may have to check it out. The animation and live action worked very well together. Although now there’s films like Avatar where the animation is virtually undetectable. Jessica really embodies human characteristics and the film combined several different elements such as acting, performance, the uncanny, and the choreography was very well done.
Penetration in animation, I think would be a lot easier to do than in live action. It’s easy for animation to draw someone into a different world and make an impression. For instance Silent Hill when the protagonist has to deal with a disturbed little girl. Sound really helps to get the story across in animation. It can set the mood as in The Boy Who Goes Boing. I also think sound can go with acting and performance due to voice acting.
Post 5
I really liked the lecture on narrative. Now that I think about it I see metamorphosis in several animations. I’ve also seen it in anime. Although, with anime I think it more has to do with the characters’ expressions. With anime that’s supposed to be realistic I don’t see it as much. I was surprised by the Betty Boop cartoons. I’ve seen a couple of them in the past but it was such a long time ago I don’t remember too much about them. It just seemed the cartoons pushed boundaries especially for the time period.
I’ve seen elliptical cuts before. I think they go along with condensation in order to give a lot of information in little time. With series I don’t see it as much but it’s really common in shorter animation or if maybe a cartoon has a fifteen minute episode and the story doesn’t carry over. For instance Ed, Edd, n’ Eddy. Each episode is short, to the point, and non continuous. There is also a lot of fabrication.
I really liked the concept of showing animation to make a statement as in Jumping. It felt very surreal, made a powerful statement, and had a variety of deeper meanings. The Hand used symbolism and metaphor to make a statement. I was very into the story and hoping the main character was able to break away from the hand. I feel it’s really amazing what animation is able to get across.
I’ve never seen Who Framed Rogger Rabbit before but now I just may have to check it out. The animation and live action worked very well together. Although now there’s films like Avatar where the animation is virtually undetectable. Jessica really embodies human characteristics and the film combined several different elements such as acting, performance, the uncanny, and the choreography was very well done.
Penetration in animation, I think would be a lot easier to do than in live action. It’s easy for animation to draw someone into a different world and make an impression. For instance Silent Hill when the protagonist has to deal with a disturbed little girl. Sound really helps to get the story across in animation. It can set the mood as in The Boy Who Goes Boing. I also think sound can go with acting and performance due to voice acting.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Narrative Strategies
Post 4
Well’s chapter three looked at different aspects of narrative. He described symbolism and what relates to a world of story. He described sound, character traits, and how characters function. He also looked at metamorphosis in a story. I feel animation can be classified as many things and can branch out in different areas. I like that animation can go against the norm and be unrealistic. Some of the clips we saw from previous classes prove this such as Duck Amuck and Gertie the Dinosaur.
I’ve gone over some of these or similar narrative strategies in film analysis and film theory. It made me think of a few live action movies that share these elements such as the symbolism in Fight Club.
Animation is very good at breaking the fourth wall or have real people interacting with an animated character. Video games also break the fourth wall since in some cases a person can interact with a character, such as in Nintendogs where you take care of a pet dog and it responds to you.
I love to read and write. I’ve noticed there can be reoccurring themes in a piece of work but it also has individual traits. I don’t think it’s bad to classify something as just one thing but it would probably be hard to do.
Everyone has their own view about what they think of a piece of work. I feel Wells looks at animation as a whole. He does a fairly good job of breaking it down into components. However, I feel a certain style can have several layers as there might be more to a hero, villain, or someone in distress. Or there might be more than a standard beginning, middle, and end. Disney’s Fantasia would be hard to fit into a narrative category. It tells a story but not in a traditional way and has separate segments.
Well’s chapter three looked at different aspects of narrative. He described symbolism and what relates to a world of story. He described sound, character traits, and how characters function. He also looked at metamorphosis in a story. I feel animation can be classified as many things and can branch out in different areas. I like that animation can go against the norm and be unrealistic. Some of the clips we saw from previous classes prove this such as Duck Amuck and Gertie the Dinosaur.
I’ve gone over some of these or similar narrative strategies in film analysis and film theory. It made me think of a few live action movies that share these elements such as the symbolism in Fight Club.
Animation is very good at breaking the fourth wall or have real people interacting with an animated character. Video games also break the fourth wall since in some cases a person can interact with a character, such as in Nintendogs where you take care of a pet dog and it responds to you.
I love to read and write. I’ve noticed there can be reoccurring themes in a piece of work but it also has individual traits. I don’t think it’s bad to classify something as just one thing but it would probably be hard to do.
Everyone has their own view about what they think of a piece of work. I feel Wells looks at animation as a whole. He does a fairly good job of breaking it down into components. However, I feel a certain style can have several layers as there might be more to a hero, villain, or someone in distress. Or there might be more than a standard beginning, middle, and end. Disney’s Fantasia would be hard to fit into a narrative category. It tells a story but not in a traditional way and has separate segments.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
In The Early Days
In The Early Days
Post 3
The reading From Comic Strip and Blackboard to Screen focused on how comics related to animated film. Comics gave narrative and some had reoccurring characters. They were also easy to put on screen. The reading claimed that comics had great people working on them who made leaps in animation such as Blackton. I couldn’t agree with this more. Blackton was very amazing. The Enchanted Drawing and Humorous Phases of Funny Faces were both very imaginative.
This is what the reading referred to as Lightening Sketches or drawings that come to life. There was also the presence of the filmmaker. This made me think of experimental animation and Duck Amuck. This goes with McCay’s earlier work, Gertie the Dinosaur, and Alice’s Wonderland since the artists interact with animated characters. Gertie reminded me of a comic book character since she had personality.
I thought it was really amazing what some of these people were able to accomplish. I especially liked Melies’s Cook in Trouble. All of it was done in camera and it must have taken a lot of planning and work to get the right effect. The Cameraman’s Revenge must have been very tedious but the effect was great.
Reiniger’s work was wonderful. It’s hard to imagine the time she must have spent working on Prince Achemd. Paper is very thin and the characters moved very fluently. The whole thing was beautifully done especially the backgrounds. The reading Some Critical Perspectives on Lotte Reiniger looked as Reiniger’s life and how she got into animation. She dealt with some very complex issues in her work such as women’s rights and homosexuality. I agree that her ideas were thought provoking. Her work is classic and can be admired by all ages. I like how she used silhouettes and I agree with the reading that silhouettes can be very beautiful or very scary since they give a certain element of mystery.
Post 3
The reading From Comic Strip and Blackboard to Screen focused on how comics related to animated film. Comics gave narrative and some had reoccurring characters. They were also easy to put on screen. The reading claimed that comics had great people working on them who made leaps in animation such as Blackton. I couldn’t agree with this more. Blackton was very amazing. The Enchanted Drawing and Humorous Phases of Funny Faces were both very imaginative.
This is what the reading referred to as Lightening Sketches or drawings that come to life. There was also the presence of the filmmaker. This made me think of experimental animation and Duck Amuck. This goes with McCay’s earlier work, Gertie the Dinosaur, and Alice’s Wonderland since the artists interact with animated characters. Gertie reminded me of a comic book character since she had personality.
I thought it was really amazing what some of these people were able to accomplish. I especially liked Melies’s Cook in Trouble. All of it was done in camera and it must have taken a lot of planning and work to get the right effect. The Cameraman’s Revenge must have been very tedious but the effect was great.
Reiniger’s work was wonderful. It’s hard to imagine the time she must have spent working on Prince Achemd. Paper is very thin and the characters moved very fluently. The whole thing was beautifully done especially the backgrounds. The reading Some Critical Perspectives on Lotte Reiniger looked as Reiniger’s life and how she got into animation. She dealt with some very complex issues in her work such as women’s rights and homosexuality. I agree that her ideas were thought provoking. Her work is classic and can be admired by all ages. I like how she used silhouettes and I agree with the reading that silhouettes can be very beautiful or very scary since they give a certain element of mystery.
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