New Music

A few days ago, Chris got in touch with me again about the music. This time he had created a longer version of the soundtrack music. This one starts the same as the previous version, but changes halfway through and becomes lighter and more uplifting. He wants to me to send him the correct timings of all of the actions in the animation so that he can tailor the music better to suit it. I think I will create a detailed animatic using Photoshop so that he can see for himself the precise positions of all of the shots within the storyline.

Sandra Dieckmann

“Imagine a thing and bring it to life to share your inner vision”

Sandra Dieckmann is a German freelance illustrator working in East London. Her skills have been applied to a wide array of international commissions and projects, and in 2011 Sandra won an award for Upcoming Talent in Illustration in the UK.
Her work combines the emotional depth of the hand-made with the boldness of graphics. I have always admired her style of drawing, and it reminds me very much of Julia Pott's own artwork. She often focuses on animal characters with a cartoonish appearance, making the lines and patterns stand out in her pieces. She in another artist who's work I try to emulate slightly in my own.

The link to a full tutorial of Sandra's Photoshop process can be found here.
This helped me a great deal when I was creating the backgrounds for my scenes. Seeing her process helped me to get into a flow of my own and grow more comfortable and confident with what I was creating.

Presentation

Tomorrow I have to give a short presentation to my animation class about the proposal for my animated piece. I prepared a slideshow to run through with all of the class. It contains minimal annotations, as I plan to talk a lot over the slides. I included as many visual references as possible and kept it concise. I even went as far as creating a sound-cloud account so that I can play Chris' music to the class as part of the presentation.

Brother Bear - Production Tests

Brother Bear Animation Moose Tony Stanley and Broose Johnson from Helpful Bear Productions Inc.

Original Moose Test from Helpful Bear Productions Inc. 

Castle In The Sky

Castle in the Sky is a 1986 animated adventure feature film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It was the first film officially produced and released by Studio Ghibli. 
In the film's backstory/ exposition, human civilizations built flying cities which were later destroyed by an unspecified catastrophe, forcing the survivors to live on the ground while the sole exception Laputa remains in the sky, concealed within a powerful thunderstorm. 

The name 'Laputa' is derived from Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, wherein Swift's Laputa is also a flying island controlled by its citizens.The anime also makes references to the Hindu epic Ramayana, including "Indra's arrow", while the name of the main character Sheeta may be a reference to Sita, the female lead in the Ramayana. This ties the fantasy element of the story to recognizable elements of our human society.

Some of the architecture seen in the film was inspired by a Welsh mining town. Miyazaki first visited Wales in 1984 and witnessed the miners' strike firsthand. He returned to the country in 1986 to prepare for Laputa, which he said reflected his Welsh experience. It shows how animators use their own experience and knowledge to delve into for their creations.

As it is one of Miyazaki's older works and takes much place in the everyday world, the film is not as visually spectacular or deep in its storyline as Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, or even Princess Mononoke. 'Castle' is very accessible to people of all ages, nationalities and backgrounds. The dubbing or subtitles allows it to be seen across the globe, and as it focuses more on children as the central characters many questions of representation or adult issues don't come into play.

First Sound Draft

My friend Chris sent me a first rough draft of the sound production. It is the soundtrack that will be used at the start of the animation, in the more melancholic scenes. He has said he will continue to work on it and refine it, and send me later versions of it soon. I am getting pretty excited now!

'Bounce' Version 1, Chris Barker

Completed (Yet Unfinished) Storyboard

Using the template provided on Study Direct by our course tutors, I created a very basic initial storyboard. It finishes earlier than I intended my plot to finish, so I will have to supplement it later with additional pages. I created it in Photoshop with my pen and tablet input, and typed all of the text. I tried to include both plot description, and lighting, sound effects, camera angles and movements.

John Lewis' Christmas Advert

This year, John Lewis' advert int eh run up to Christmas is an animated piece, featuring a bear and a hare preparing for Christmas celebrations, accompanied by Lily Allen singing Keane's Somewhere Only We Know. The animation uses traditional line drawing for the animal characters (by artists who worked on The Lion King), who echo the creatures of Watership Down. The commercial uses a unique animation style that combines traditional 2D hand-drawn animation, stop frame, and 3D model made sets. This is apparent in the scenes where animals are frolicking in the snow with their presents. The wrappings paper and gifts seem to a a distinctly different material to the backgrounds and the animals.
The advert id poignant, and it's aim is to create an emotional connection with the audience, with sympathetic characters and a sentimental storyline. Many  viewers have commented on crying after watching it. As well as holiday celebration, the unifying theme is friendship and gifting loved ones.
The colours are light and airy, emphasising the aesthetically beautiful parts of winter rather than the gloomy ones. The animals are not depicted particularly cartoonishly, like in Julia Potts works, although they possess anthropomorphic features, such as the hare's large, doleful eyes.
The framing is constructed very well, with the Christmas tree always appearing in the centre of the shot as a focal point of the scenery.
There is a clear, defined narrative to the video, which plays out in just over 2 minutes. This shows how much I could accomplish if I scripted my plot well for my own 2 minute piece. The structure of the narrative follows typical conventions, with the setup introducing us to the main characters; then creating a dilemma/conflict; bringing it to a head in the climax; and then the story ending with its resolution.
Update: Just found out on the Toon Boom website that Toon Boom Harmony was used for the production.

More practicing of artwork

A poorly photographed image of a sketch I am working on. It looks better in real life, I promise.

Practice drawing

Death Note

I recently started re-watching the Japanese animé 'Death Note.' This time around, because of the learning in class around sound and sound mixing, I noticed a lot more about the soundtrack and scoring of the programme. I will take the first episode as an example for a case study on sound in animation.

The first thing the viewer is greeted with is a minute and a half long introductory theme tune. This sets the tone for the rest of the show I find. It is fast paced, dramatic, contains a lot of varying rhythm and heavy instruments to create a dynamic, interesting sound. The lyrics are Japanese, setting the location for the action. The intro allows a time for an abstract, out-of-time sequence of images featuring the characters of the show in varying situations that they are not actually presented with throughout the plot. The intro theme plays again at the closing credits but without the accompanying animation this time.

Atmospheric sound is used throughout the entire show. An eerie, ethereal tone is set with the non-diegetic placement of choir-like voices singing. It sounds sombre and dramatic: exactly mirroring the mood of the plot line. There is also a hollow, whining sound employed at parts to the same effect. Sound FX are very appropriately and intelligently placed. They help to create a mood and atmosphere in each of the scenes. They focus the viewers attention to certain details, such as the whistling of the wind through a barren land. Voices have been edited in certain parts to make them sound like they are being transmitted through a radio or television, without having to show this visually. In some instances, the action slows down and the voices become echoed, to focus the viewers attention and signify an important part of the plot. There is nearly no part in the show that features complete silence, nearly every second is filled with background effects or atmospheric noise.

The music has three or four main themes that are played throughout each of the episodes of the show. they seem to be times to be placed at certain plot points in each of the episodes' story lines. At points early on in the story, there is an isolated 'plinking' piano sound played, as the storyline develops, to add tension. In montage moments of high dramatic tension, usually at the climax, a symphonic orchestral music plays coupled with choir noises, reminiscent of some of the music in 'Star Wars Episode I.' Although they do not feature in this episode, in other parts of the series we are introduced repeatedly to the same reoccurring themes. I have gotten used to them at certain plot points, and to expect something from their presence. For example, a piano piece called 'L's Theme' plays at points of resolution between, or within, characters.

For the first time, I watched the show with English dubbing, as opposed to the subtitles that I have watched it with in previous times. I much preferred watching the show with the original Japanese voices, as they were cast by the shows director and intended to be listened to. I felt that some element was lost in the dubbing process. the new English voices in some cases did not add up to the characters, in the case of 'L' for instance.

Motion Graphic Design, Jon Krasner

Rhythm

This chapter focuses on the notion of 'rhythm,' both in animated visuals and in sounds.

In music, listening to the beats and accents in a song can identify its rhythm. It is directly related to pace. A rhythm with a consistent pace can be recognized easily. One with a variable pace breaks predictability, so the choice depends what purpose the producer wants the piece to serve. Rhythmic editing is used when subordinating narrative concerns in the editing process to instead establish rhythmic patterns. It began with French Impressionist and Soviet Avant-Garde filmmakers. It can also been seen in Hollywood productions to a lesser extent in dance sequences and musical dramas/comedies.

Timing differs from 'tempo.' Indicates the number of beats in a measure.Timing of beats and accents helps to determine the underlying visual rhythm.

Frame Duration is the length that a composition's segments remain onscreen. You govern the amount of time viewers can see the content. can be as short as a single frame, or as long as a thousand. To create a consistent rhythm, one should make the segments approximately the same duration.

Repetition of Image and Action recurring elements that have matching or similar images or actions can create a uniform rhythm. In music, notes and patterns of notes that repeat at regular intervals create the same effect.

Variable Rhythm changes over time to vary a composition's mood. Breaks predictability and allows new material to be introduced.

Emphasis marks an interruption in the fundamental pattern of events. Can break predictability and define a focal point. Is achieved by providing accents, or exaggerating character movements. In motion design, it is used to contribute towards a visual hierarchy.

Varying Event Frequency and Tempo for example interrupting regular motion with slow motion. The purpose is to block a viewers normal expectation of a narrative.

Varying Frame Duration combining sequences consisting of different frame lengths creates irregular rhythms. Shortening each consecutive sequence can produce a notion of acceleration. Serves to refresh the audience's interest.

Pause varies a composition's rhythm. Can be a series of black frames, or an interval of frozen action. Gives viewers time to rest, to emphasize a point, to create tension.

The Compete Animation Course, Chris Patmorr

This chapter felt relevant to the current animation course that I am studying, and I felt I learned a great deal more from it than other previous readings, in just a mere few pages. It also seemed to be more recently written than the former two, so the information was not as dated. It spoke about home recording as well as professional standard sound production, which I would intend to use more of in my work. Patmore gives a few tips and instructions for setting up a functioning recording 'studio' setup at home. It gives advice for people searching for sound FX to browse online resources, or to look at CD's for purchase. Likewise, he mentions software to use for home music production, and ways to source them online. We are warned of the dangers of using noncredited copyrighted music without permission.
Patmore delves into  the techniques behind lip-syncing, and gives detailed instruction on how to do it accurately for inexperienced animators. I would have found this very useful were not for the fact that I won't be including speech in my animation, though I no doubt will come back to these tips if ever I am in future.

The final section of the chapter discussed crediting and working with musicians.  paid particular attention to this part, as I wanted guidance and advice for working with my music composer for my animation's soundtrack. It advised bringing the composer in at the storyboard stage, which I have indeed dome already,a and intend to send him also a copy of my completed storyboard. This way the animation can perform to the cue points and synchronize in moods.

A tip was also given on how to create credits for a film. It recommends including them at the end of the piece, and to include the names and jobs of all the people who contributed to working on the animation. This includes copyright notices and other legal disclaimers. It gives a diagram of how to create rolling credits using both Adobe After Effects, Flash, and Premiere Pro, which is very helpful.

Animation: A Guide To Animated Film Techniques, Roger Noake

Chapter 3: Sound and Image

The animators of films usually create the visual images after the soundtrack has been recorded, which allows them a lot of control over synchronization. Like previous readings on the subject, this sound reading delves into the history of sound recording in combination with visual arts, namely animated movies. It talks about the different types of sync movies can contain, such as 'parallel' where sound and image run in parallel, or 'printing sync,' when the sound is advanced slightly to make an allowance for screen projection logistics, or 'lip sync' which is the synchronization of lip movements with speech. The reading was a bit dated because it talks mainly about recording on physical film, while nowadays most animation is finalized digitally. It is interesting in terms of a historical learning perspective, but not particularly useful. One term popped up here again that I remembered from a reading previously: Mickey Mousing refers to sound matching perfectly to the action on-screen, which can appear mechanical and forced. Instead these days it is common for sound to occur a minute second after an action, as we would hear it in real life.
this reading adds another category of atmosphere to the already existing three sound categories.
A point brought up that had not been mentioned before in our classes or readings was using a documentary approach to character voicing; that is, instead of recording voice-overs for existing characters, instead animating sourced dialogues. I can think of two prominent examples of this that I have watched. The first is Brown Bag Films' 'Give Up Yer Aul Sins' which reenacts original recordings of children in Dublin schoolrooms in the 1960's.



The second is 'The Ricky Gervais Show' which is a TV series released by HBO, which is animated to original recordings of Gervais and his friends for an online podcast.



This chapter went into great depth of detail about the technicalities of sound recording and syncing, which although interesting and useful for the future, I did not find particularly relevant to my studies at the moment.

Art In Motion, Maureen Furniss

Chapter 5: General Concepts: Sound and Structural Design

A big difference between amateur and professional animation is how sound is employed. Typically the most important sounds will be the loudest; such as dialogue in most cases.  This is a hierarchical classification of sound. The listener perceives this hierarchy and it focuses their reading of a scene.
The reading goes into detail about synchronizing lip movement to voice tracks for character dialogue, though I will not focus on this in particular as other than a broad knowledge, the specifics are not very useful to me. I am glad I have to avoid the painstakingly precise work that it requires! Voice recordings are important both both for the development of action and also for affecting characterization. This was apparent in Aladdin, ad the voice of the genie clearly affected the way he was designed.
Some very famous animated characters have no voices at all, such as Road Runner, Tom and Jerry and the Pink Panther. All of these are animal creatures, which is what my main character will be, so I feel more secure in my choice to not make him speak now. He will rely on his physical actions and facial emotions instead. I also want to avoid language barriers that are presented alongside dialogue.

The chapter takes a case-study look at Danny Elfman as a composer of popular animation scores and soundtracks. He wrote the intro themes to 'The Simpsons' and 'Desperate Housewives.' He provides the voices for characters on many films, and has worked on pieces such as 'The Nightmare Before Christmas,' 'Beetlejuice,' 'Mission:Impossible,' 'Men In Black,' and 'The Corpse Bride.'

Film Art, David Bordwell & Kristin Thompson

Chapter 7: Sound in the Cinema

This chapter looks at how sound in film is constructed separately from the images and is not a natural occurrence. Because it can be manipulated independently of the visuals, it gives flexibility to the sound designer. The writers go into detail about the history of sound in cinema, from 1920's talkies to old classics like 'Casablanca,' to contemporary works such as 'Star Wars.'
Psychologically we are conditioned to connect with the things that engage most of our senses. The viewer gets a more complex perceptual experience both watching and listening at the same time.
Sound serves multiple functions in film: to focus our attention in one direction, eg the creaking of a door off camera signifies something about to happen, and makes us more wary. It cues us to form expectations. Horror genre films often use this to their advantage. Sound also gives another value to silence. This is a feature that I hope to employ in my own animation. It can act as a counterbalance and negative, bringing contrast and a moment of reflection or tension to the visual piece.
Sound is divided into speech, music, noise (or effects).

Loudness is the volume of the audio. Soundscape often drops when dialogue is introduced. Loudness helps to perceive distance.
Pitch is the highness/lowness of sound. It helps us distinguish music and speech from noises, also between different objects, e.g. a hollow sound created with a thump. Important in casting vocal actors,
Tibre is the colour or tone quality of sound. An example is a voice being nasal. It is what the listener feels when they hear a sound.
Mixing is the process of combining and working on sounds. It is the construction of the stream of auditory information that plays across the images. Mixture can be sparse or dense.
Synchronous sound is the matching of audio with visuals. It can by rhythmically related.

Animation typically records the music, dialogue and sound effects before the image track is made. My friend is not composing a piece to go alongside the animation, while I have just shown him initial ideas and designs. I will not have any dialogue in my animation, so there is no need to record vocals or have voice actors. I don't want to make a feature or focus of sound effects. This is both for practical reasons, because I do not find myself that strong in sound editing or recording, and also because I want to make the two minutes more like a music video with a narrative, than a story enhanced by music. I want the track to be one of the main features, undistracted by other elements. Because I don't have particularly action filled sequences there is no need to give effects to them to enhance the atmosphere.

Diegetic vs. Non-diegetic sound
Diegetic sound has a source in the story world. It appears to be created in the on-screen image. Dialogue, sound effects, atmospheric noise, and music of which we can see the musicians playing are all included in this. Sound perspective can be suggested by the loudness, pitch and timbre of the sounds. Non-diegetic sound would be that which is purposefully constructed off screen. It comes from outside the story world, such as a narrative voice-over, the score tracks and most music. My piece will feature mainly the latter, because I will have no dialogue, and the soundtrack will have music that will not be visibly played on-screen.

Storyboard Preparation

Today I started work on my storyboard for my animation. I have to hand the completed work in was part of my first assessment, due on 31st October. I have an un-outlined idea of a few key concepts and plot points for the piece, but I do not know yet how to sort them into a linear narrative. I started to draw a few randomly chosen frames in Adobe PhotoShop with my tablet. They are as of yet not in chronological order, but I will piece them together on the storyboard sheet when I get a clearer idea in my head of the plot as a whole. I want to look back at my completed readings to reference while doing this and to get some tips.

Arrietty

Based on the book 'The Borrowers' by Mary Norton, 'Arrietty' is a Japanese retelling of the children's tale set in 2010. It is directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi for Studio Ghibli with the help of Miyazaki scripting. Narration is provided at the start of the film by a boy, Sho, who is used as a device to help the viewers understand the exposition. The story is fantastical and tells the tale of a species of minuscule people, who 'borrow' goods from humans to sustain themselves. They live in fear of detection or capture.

The target audience is clearly children, as it is a literary adaptation of a classic novel. The protagonists are young and relatable to a young audience, and we feel sympathy for the trials and tribulations they face. Arreitty takes the role of brave and smart young heroine that is common to Ghibli films. The film operates to a dramatic deadline, as Sho is dying of a fatal illness and must receive treatment. The fantastic elements speak to one's imagination, and the relationships between the characters are heart-warming. We leave the film feeling refreshed and cheered. It is not as heavily-laden with serious subject matter as the likes of 'Princess Mononoke.' Even though humans are mildly destructive here, it in no way matches the scale of the former, and does not contain any of the allegorical nature.
It is a great adaptive take on the re-narration of a story. It is formal in its narration style and features a maturation story at its heart.
The different scale of many of the characters give the audience a view of their own world, but from a different perspective, adding a new element of visual interest. Perspective is used to make you feel a sense of largeness of the outside world. The animation is hand-drawn, and ravishingly coloured and textured.

I personally did not enjoy this as much as other Ghibli features, probably because of the lack of adult subject matter and heavier themes. I did enjoy the animation a lot however, but I just felt that the childishness and lack of dimension of the characters was not enough to draw me in fully, so I would not invest in watching it again.

Princess Mononoke

'Princess Mononoke' is yet another Hayao Miyazaki masterpiece, released in 1997 in japan, then 1999 worldwide. It is a period drama set in long ago Japan. It was released as a Studio Ghibli production. The title can be confusing to some English-speakers, as Mononoke is not the name of the character but instead her title of 'Spirit Princess.' The film is hand drawn, with 144,000 individual cels. Each is hand-drawn and then coloured by computers. It incorporates a tiny bit of CG animation, designed to blend in with the traditional, which I thought it achieved much better than 'Origins' and other such films I watched previously. The film is a fantasy tale but also a historical account of a country's legend, and with a clear moral message.

The film's opening sequence has vocal narration to focus the audience and introduce the plot. This is a very story-line and narrative heavy film, and follows a distinctive plot cycle, so in this way is not abstract.

The film's mise-en-scene places it in ancient feudal Japan, in the countryside. It features a few small villages and towns as locations of habitats, but much of the action takes place within a forest setting. The landscapes and backgrounds are gorgeously hand painted and epic in scale. The colour palette is overwhelmingly green, and I like how Miyazaki uses colours to evoke senses and feelings in the audience. Hand-drawn movement of pouring water is beautifully done and looks realistic. The language is simple and relatively primitive to give the sense of a different language common to people. There is a lack of modern technology and only primite weaponry is being invented and used. Trading takes place with stock rather than money.

Sound The music is a wonderful backdrop to the film, utilising both the western and pentatonic scale. It is mainly classical and melodic. Silence and natural sound are used as a counter-point to the score and dialogue. It highlights points of tension. I noticed this distinctly while watching the film, which did not include many ambient sounds like footsteps, etc.

Characters Miyazaki always tries to break conventions with his heroes and heroines, in this case the main character of Ashitaka is a melancholic, earnest boy rather than a typical brave man. San, the title character, follows the lead of previous Miyazaki heroines in being fierce and brave, and wise beyond her age. We see much development take place in her character as she learns to distance herself from hatred. She is portrayed alongside Lady Eboshi, a town ruler and commander of an army. She has a strong and secure personality which is atypical of a woman from that era. She dresses as a prostitute of the time, but has more ownership of her position. Character design came after the drawing of initial storyboards.

Anthropomorphic animals appear in the form of spirit gods. Moro, a giant wolf god, acts as San's adoptive mother. She can speak and reason, and cares for her daughter. The Great Forest Spirit uses metamorphosis to change into the Nightwalker, so varies between a fanciful deer creature and a spirit.

Theme A central theme of 'Mononoke' is the environment. It has a political statement to make and a clear moral message. Humans are a destructive force against nature. It is very similar to both 'Origin' and 'Nausicaa' in this sense, and reminded me well of them. In Taylor's themes it could probably be described as fairytale, political and primal. common people and industrial workers feature mainly as characters, rather than nobles and gentry.

Miyazaki says that the scar Ashitaka carries symbolises  illness such as AIDS that ravage the modern world, making the protagonist a hero for a contemporary generation as well as his own.

I most enjoyed the very human element of this film. The story is emotional and moving; the audience is plunged into it and feels attached to a focus that has a contemporary appeal. The characters and humane and tender, and so instantly likable and easy to make a strong connection with.

Fantastic Planet

'La Planète sauvage' is a 1973 cutout stop motion science fiction allegorical film directed by René Laloux, The story is based on the novel Oms en série, by the French writer Stefan Wul. It comes under the guise of a children's film, yet is really intended towards the older counterculture.

The film depicts a dystopian future in which human beings, known as 'Oms' (from the French word hommes, meaning men), are creatures on the blue alien species; Traags' home planet. The Traags are humanoid  but a hundred times larger than humans and they live much longer. Each Traag week is equivalent to a human year. The Traags also bleed blue blood, and have no physical distinctions between males and females. Although some Oms are domesticated as pets, they are seen as pests and are periodically exterminated. The Traggs debate whether the Oms are in any way intelligent or civilised. They treat them as inferior.The plot is linear and easy to follow, so although it is surreal it still has an understandable narrative and is not completely abstract. The surreal world draws the viewer into its own inner logic. Narration is supplied by the protagonist, Terr, as in retrospect he describes his existence as part of the Traag family, and afterwards when he escapes. This tends to act as a device to answer any questions the audience may have that are not answered in the visuals or plot structure.

The film is chiefly noted for its surreal imagery. The landscape of the fantastic planet is full of strange creatures, which are chiefly irrelevant to the plot, but are used in the mise-en-scene to add another degree of fantasy and outlandishness to the feel of the world. Metamorphosis is shown in the Traag practise of meditation, whereby they transform their shape and colour, and levitate in the air in spheres. Terr's life passes by through condensation, we see him at various stages of adolescence within the first half of the film. Sound is used to great effect, with a lot of attention paid to the strange clicking, humming whistling noises made my the alien species. Symbolism is shown in the creatures and plants, which evoke images of make and female sexual organs. The score is oddly paced and jaunted, which fits the narrative very well. It is used as a mood setting rather than a device to forward the narrative. There is not much play between light and dark, which I think is something that could have added well to the mood. I want to use contrasting illumination in my animated piece as a method of penetration and expressing visually the characters' moods.

The entire film feels like it could be a metaphor with a moral message. I would go as far as to call it 'Political' out of Richard Taylor's genre categories, though it is also a literary adaptation according to Wells. While the Traag council continues to think of revenge on the Oms towards the end of the movie, it is proposed that the two species finally create peace between each other. This could be allegorical an allegorical theme relating to the Cold War, when the film was made and published. 

Animation Session 6: Sound

In today's session we spoke mainly about the feature of soundscapes and music in film, specifically animation. Sound guides the perception of image of a viewer, and influences the way they perceive the visuals presented to of them. Music is a trans-cultural language. There are two main rhythms in a piece; one from visuals and one from audio. An example of soundtrack music we were treated to by our tutor was from 'Peter and the Wolf.' The audio is very dramatic and clearly adds to the narrative - it has a distinctive mood and feel, and features highs, lows, climaxes, drops and other narrative features. It was recommended that we complete a sound moodboard to complement our storyboard, which plans the points at which the sounds heighten and drop, and how they will add to the visual narrative.

'Salad fingers' was given as an example of atmospheric music, which is used in the background, is not very lyrical or distinctive, but evokes some emotion in the viewer.
Some music, such as in Norman McLaren's 'Neighbours,' combines different elements as senses, like smell, feel and sight and suggests a feeling of them.
If I were to use mouth action or voice overs in my animated piece, it would have to be very precise, and so would be very difficult to do. I have decided to not include any vocals, and just have music and sound effects rather than monologue or dialogue in the soundscape.

What is the effect of adding audio to a narrative? What does it contribute?


Application to my own project
In the poem 'Love After Love,' not much action takes place. The music that features should be melodic and gentle, rather than dramatic with many highs and lows. Because my piece will start of with a sense of hopelessness, I want to create a sombre, forlorn, lacklustre mood with the soundtrack. It will be slow and match the visuals of the unhappy protagonist. As the mood grows lighter and the main character's spirits lift up, I want to make the music lighter and more cheery, perhaps evoking springtime and lively feelings like the music in 'Peter and the Wolf.' I know my friend who is composing the music works mainly in acoustics

Hercules

'Hercules' is a 1997 classic animated Disney film, directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. The character design is clearly based on ancient Greek sculptures and pottery. I enjoyed that it did not look particularly like every other classic Disney film, but instead they chose to let the animation echo the subject matter. Each character had a separate lead animator, which lent to them all looking very distinct. In my own animation there will only be one main protagonist, so I don't need to worry too much about uniqueness between characters. It is a formal, hegemonic animated film, typical of Disney Studios.
The legend has been tidied up for a younger audience, yet retains the era, setting, characters and protagonist. The mise-en-scene depicts the two former elements well. It is clear that the target audience is both children and adults alike; silliness and wacky animation combines with inside jokes and asides. Disney adds a narrative thrust to the story that did not appear in the original fragmented legend. Gender representation is traditional, with a physically very feminine heroine, and macho, uber masculine hero. Gods are coloured with a glow, with males having darker, earthier colours while godesses have pastels and light shades like pink, with sparkles.
Metamorphosis and fantasy combine in depictions of Hades the god, and his demon minions. An ellipsis of time (example of condensation) occurs while Hercules is training with Phil, as we see him transform from a young, lanky boy into a strong adult.

The song score favours tunes that propel the story rather than focusing on character enhancement. In many instances some of the story is narrated by the vocal artists, giving background information at the start of the film and bringing attention to some of the important plot aspects. I think this leaves something to be desired, which most character-guided scores have. Most of the songs were very lyrics-heavy. As well, I flaw I saw was the combining of genres for the music. It was not distinctively Greek, and was let down by a motown twist to it. The one song which was a redeeming feature was 'Go the Distance,' appearing as the feature song sung by the protagonist.

Aladdin

Disney's 'Aladdin' (1992) is a retelling of an Arab folk tale, made into a western form as is typical of most Disney animated features. It contains many features of cultural redefinition of ownership as if often seen in  Disney films. the narrative takes on a very Hollywood style. Characters have anglicised features and are voiced by American actors, the musical numbers are Western rather than sounding traditionally accented, many of the ethnic elements are flattened down to show an outsiders' take on the culture of Arabia rather than including any of its subtleties. The humour, provided mainly by the comic relief of the Genie, is clearly American.
The mise-en-scene sets the story in very early 'Agrabah' (a fictional Arabian city). Technology is not present and the characters wear very basic, traditional middle-eastern clothes. The rich are signified by their finer clothes and adornments. The buildings in the city are primitively made from clay and earthen stones, while the palace is very ornate and towers over the rest of the city. They are based on buildings in present day Iran.

Anthropomorphic animals are included as sidekicks/ companions of the main characters, as in many other Disney films. Some of them, like Jafar's parrot, can talk while others such as Jasmine's tiger and Aladdin's monkey, cannot speak but give very human reactions and expressions. People are displayed very caricature-ishly, visually displaying their personalities on the exterior. The design for most characters was based on the work of caricaturist Al Hirschfeld, which production designer Richard Vander Wende also considered appropriate to the theme, due to similarities to the swooping lines of Persian miniatures and Arabic calligraphy.The 'evil' characters are either thin and gangly, with hard angles and sneering features, or brutishly large with small heads; suggesting a lack of brains. The good characters like the protagonist Aladdin have open, friendly faces with large eyes. Generally garment colours go along with this as well: protagonists have lighter jewel colours and antagonists have darker blacks and reds.
Computer's were used for the colouring and creating some animated elements. I personally disliked the combination of CGI and hand drawn images, similar to 'Origins,' I found them to very crudely integrated together, and the CGI was very obvious. I would put this down also to the fact that I personally prefer hand drawn animation.
Light and dark are used to great effect. Dramatic, scary scenes like when Jafar takes hold of the empire are clouded and cast in shadow. Many scenes take place during the night time also, using the contrast of the visible forms effectively. Eyes, fire, ripples on water and the stars and moon appear brighter at these times. Positive moods are emphasised with a blue glow from the natural lunar light, while dangerous scenes take place indoors in artificial fire illumination. More so than other films i have watched, this made me think about illuminating subjects and how to depict characters in the dark. In this, white colours become a shade bluer in the dark. Black hair is lined with an indigo blue.

Metamorphosis is used a lot in this film to emphasise the fantasy thematic. The Genie has the power to change into any shape he desires, and can change others also; a power which he uses on many occasions such as changing the shapes of various animals. At one point Jafar changes into a genie also, and grows monstrous in size and shape.

Complaints in 'The Simpsons'

I read an interesting article on The Telegraph website (by Charlotte Runcie) regarding 'The Simpsons,' censorship and public reception. It detailed all the complaints that had been made in the USA in the past 3 years by the public to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This reminded me of the reading a few weeks previous from Forbidden Animation by Cohen. It brings in to question the notion of decency in cartoons. The complains listed show that even now, years after the harsh standards of cartoon decency in the early 20th century, many viewers still take a hard line on what they consider appropriate to be shown in cartoon form.
Some of the complains were made to address the show's apparent use of 'bad language,' such as poop, pee and toosh. Others called in to question some of the show's scenes of partial nudity, while more complaints still made accusations of blastphemy in episodes such as the Tree-house of Horror specials. 
The prudish nature of these complains makes one question whether some viewers are easily offended and very particular, or whether the public takes a harder line on scenes of a mildly graphic nature and minimal swearing because they are being depicted in cartoon form, and as such they expect it to be more childishly innocent and produced with a young and impressionable audience in mind.

DreamWorks Animation Production Process

Dreamworks Animation, which is based in Glendale, California, is an American animation studio that creates animated feature films, television programs, and online virtual worlds. On their website they have a 'Behind The Scenes' section, which gives information about their productions, their employees, their company culture, and the technology they work with. 
I found the section about the production process to be very informative and useful. The website allows you to browse through a slideshow which details each stage of the production of a film, from script writing through to release. It also gives the time frames for each of the stages. I found out, much to my surprise, that up to 18 months can be spend on the storyboarding process to get it just right! This really made me rethink my view on the importance of storyboarding in the development of animation.
By learning about each of the departments and the stages that they are responsible for, I got a better idea of what I would personally like to work in, if I ever was employed in a large studio. The visual development department looks very interesting, and a way to work specifically with creating artwork. Each feature film they create averages 5 years in production length before release.
I learned a lot of terminology through the slides such as 'armature,' 'rigging,' 'surfacing' and 'assets.'

A second section detailing the technical specifications of their films and the equipment they use at DreamWorks' studios was mind-blowing. In a single 90 minute feature, up to 120,000 frames need to be created and stored. The technology that's required for one film includes 300+ graphics workstations, 60+ million render hours, 17,000 cores used simultaneously, and upwards of 200+TB of disk space. That is a millions times more than anything I could ever aspire to achieve technically, let alone while still in university. I know that some smaller animation companies send their work for rendering to 'render farms' so that they don't have to spend a large budget or time on this labour-intensive process. DreamWorks artists use tablets like Cintiq, as well as scanning in hand-drawn images, which gives me more purpose in doing this myself for my own pre-production process. 

Aaron Blaise's Animation Tips

I discovered a series of YouTube videos by an ex-Disney Studios animator called Aaron Blaise. He gives short tips and tricks about designing animated characters, which I am finding very useful for my own work. It is helping me to create more professional looking images. The first video I came across is one in which he speaks about basing your character positions on the > and < shapes, to emphasize direction of focus and increase clarity. The videos are specially aimed at beginner animators such as myself.

The second video I watched was the first in his series. In it he discusses 'evenness' in composition, which he gives tips to avoiding, because it is visually boring to look at. He gives examples of symmetrical vs. asymmetrical works. The asymmetrical pieces look a lot more dynamic because they have greater contrast and varying perspectives.

The third tip, which comes in really handy for this point in time when I am supposed to be storyboarding, is how he emphasizes the importance of thumbnailing when planning out an animation before you actually begin the motion creation. It help you identify key frames in the animation and determine the mood that the movement of your characters gives. He gives examples of his own work on the film 'Beauty and the Beast.'

From around 5:00 onward in the following video, Aaron describes how to create gestures and lines of action in animal forms, which is useful for me, because I want to create anthropomorphic creatures for my animations. getting this right created fluidity and movement in your characters and makes their positioning more believable. 

Origin: Spirits of the past

Last night I watched Gonzo Productions' 'Origin: Spirits of the Past,' directed by Keiichi Sugiyama. It was released in 2006 firstly in japan, where it was made, then worldwide. It is yet another in a series of Japanese anime films that I have been making my way through. It is a fantasy sci-fi film, and very similar in vein to Ghibli's 'Nausicaa.' It echoes the setting of a post-apocalyptic world where civilization is at war with nature, and there are warring factions of humans. Although I have not watched 'Princess Mononoke' yet, I am told that it reflects a lot of similarities with that film also. Akira is recalled in parts, such as when Agito's arm transforms (example of metamorphosis) into a tree-like growth.

Most of the art is hand drawn animation, or hand painted background art, which is striking and one of the great feature points of the film. I liked the epic quality of the scope and cinematography. What I disliked mostly was the integration of CGI with the traditional artwork, which I though was very crude and poorly executed. I would like to be able to emulate the beauty of the traditional artwork, but it has made my shy away from trying to use multiple production techniques or styles together on one piece, because I can see how noticeable and garish it can look when not done well. An example would be the machinery the humans use as weapons, and the vines that come to life and snake out in tendrils from the forest.
One thing I enjoyed in the narrative was the personification of non-human entities, such as the 'Zruids' and other forest creatures.

The soundtrack plays beautifully into the narrative, and it synchronizes very well into the action. In some places, there is a noticeable juxtaposition of calm, melodious music with dramatic events on screen. An example is the scene when Agito falls down through the work structure he is suspended above, which is frightening and quick paced, yet classical music plays. I likes the whole of the musical soundtrack, as well as the sound effects utilized and the synced dialogue in Japanese. Though I will not be using dialogue in my own piece, seeing this makes me excited to get to work on the soundtrack for my animation with my composition artist.

Toon Boom Animate Pro II

I downloaded and started practicing with Toon Boom Animate Pro II, a piece of Animation software used by studios such as Walt Disney Animation Studios, Warner Bros. Animation, Rough Draft Korea, Cartoon Network Studios, and Pixar, which are my favourite studios and greatest inspirations. 'Happy Tree Friends,' 'Family Guy,' 'The Iron Giant,' and 'The Princess and the Frog' are all examples of animations produced using this software. 

On the Toon Boom website https://www.toonboom.com/ there are a myriad of resources for beginners to learn to use the software. I was able to access video tutorials, walkthroughs, FAQs, guides and forums to help me ease into familiarity with the software. They also have a section of tips and tricks for animators. My tutor recommended Toon Boom to study personally as an advanced version of Adobe Flash. So far I have been following the tutorials regularly to try to become familiar with the Animate Pro II interface.

Art In Motion, Maureen Furniss

Chapter 3: Alternatives in animation production

This chapter explains the differences and similarities in the modes of production between the commercial and independent animation industries. One cannot be understood without acknowledging the other. In fact, most independent animations artists have at one point in their careers worked for the commercial industry.

The dominant features of each form are as follows: (most of these are exaggerated extremes)

• Hegemonic forms tend to have big budgets, while subversive work to small budgets.
• Industrial are made by groups as opposed to independent made by individuals.
• Traditional forms utilise traditional techniques, but experimental forms alter media.
• Hegemonic are intended for a mainstream audience, subversive are limited to small-scale exhibitions.
• Industrial are dominated by marketing concerns, independent favour aesthetic concerns.
• Traditional forms are typically narrative, while experimental forms are not.
• Hegemonic productions are mimetic and linear, but subversive productions are abstract and non-linear.
• Industrial forms reflect western, traditional societal norms, while Independent reflect alternative lifestyles.
• Traditional forms support dominant beliefs, experimental forms challenge them.

While the dominant studio style employs cels to create animation, many independent artists who have studied fine art prefer to employ different methods of creating 2D images. Some use drawings and paintings on paper, which is what I would be a fan of using. Both for budgeting reasons, because acetate cels are expensive to come by, but also for aesthetic reasons, this is the technique I prefer to use. They talk about examples of watercolour backgrounds, which i would quite like to experiment with for my own piece, as I like watercolours as a medium and the effect they create.

Motion Graphic Design, Jon Krasner

Chapter 9: Conceptualisation, Developing Ideas

Defining the objective Every design begins with an objective. My objective is to create a 2 minute animated piece with a soundtrack and a clear sense of narrative story line. This should be kept in mind from conceptualisation through to the final execution.

Targeting the audience Visual communication (i.e. animation) must facilitate a reaction from an audience, so it is important to define the audience you are aiming towards with your production. My audience is fellow young adults, like myself.

Researching the topic A thorough analysis of your subject matter should occur before you begin to conceptualise. This has occurred throughout the course already with the amount of class sessions and readings I have been assigned, through which I have learnt all about animation as a discipline and form of communication. I have been conducting research in the form of searching through books, films and online for inspiration for my piece.

Understanding the restrictions Budgetary constraints can limit the use of materials and equipment. I have been able to download any of the software I need online, and the remaining ones I believe I will use are all provided on the university computers. Creators must be realistic about what can and cannot be accomplished within the given window of time that is available. I have a limited time frame in which to create the animated piece, and will be restricted within that by how much animation software technology I can teach myself, and how much time I can dedicate to working on this particular project while also balancing my other coursework from different modules. I am also restricted by the brief I am working to, as it must be based on a poem of my choosing; have an obvious narrative structure; feature credits; have a soundtrack but no narrative voice-over or dialogue or lyrics.

Considering image style There are several types to choose from such as realistic, photographic, abstract, illustrative etc. These also sub divide into visual styles of of graphic, textural, sketchy, blended etc. The style should reflect the theme or message of your narrative. I have been looking at inspirational illustrators and animators to gather ideas from, and have been practising with character design in my spare time to try to decide on a visual style that I am, strong at creating and that I personally like.

Brainstorming I brainstorm at home on my laptop, while listening to classical music. I try to remove myself from any other distractions. I typically draw out mind maps using my tablet directly onto Photoshop, which I can then upload on my blog, but otherwise I carry a small sketch book around with me so that I can write down any ideas that spring to mind.

Evaluation This must take place once you have completed brainstorming, to determine what to discard and what to keep. Is it realistic enough to implement technically? Will the means to implement it fit within a budget? Will it appeal to my desired audience?

Clarification and Refinement The book talks about these terms with relation to client viewing and criticism, but since I am not working for a client, I must receive criticism and advice from my animation tutors to work off. If there are any sequences, concepts or ideas that they do not understand, I have to find a way to convey them differently so they will be viewed by the audience as I have desired.

Storyboarding This is the final phase of conceptualisation. It is a cohesive succession of frames that provide a visual map of how events will unfold over time. I am required to complete a storyboard to prepare for my animated piece, of about 25 frames over 5 pages or so, and each needs to reference a key frame in the animation. I am having a difficult time at the moment setting out the storyline of the narrative, and visualising what exactly will happen in my animation. There must be continuity and a cohesion between the style of images. Most storyboards work to a 4:3 ratio.

Animatics These are the next step on from Storyboarding, as they add motion to images and addting transitions and synchronized sound. We are required to create a short animatic for our first hand-in assessment. This piece is not meant to span the whole length of our narrative, but instead be a reflection or indication of the style, aesthetic, mood and form of animation we will use. It will allow both myself and my tutors to pinpoint potential problems related to light, cinematography, motion and sound production. I have been working with my sound composition artist to have a short piece ready for the time of the hand-in deadline.

Film Art, David Bordwell & Kristin Thompson

Chapter 4: The Shot: Mise-en-Scene

This chapter delves in to the notion of 'mise-en-scene' in films. Translated from French, it means 'putting into the scene,' and derives from the early days of play direction for the stage. It encompasses aspects of staging like setting, lighting, costume and character behavior. It is usually the impression left with the viewer when they recall watching a film. Mise-en-scene can be used to create an impression of realism, for comic exaggeration, to add terror or suspense, as well as for a whole other host of functions. the director sets the mise-en-scene for the entire production, as I would be required to do for my own personal animated piece.

Setting is both the container for on-screen events, but also can play into the narrative itself. I want my setting to be in modern times and to give an impression of realism. I want to depict an everyday, instantly relateable and recognizable scene to the viewer. props are included in the setting, and I need to decide what props my character will interact with. I am thinking that I want it to open a set of curtains, and to look in a mirror. All the props I place in the scene need to match the scene location in style and form.

GIF practice

Julia Pott

Julia Pott, an animator and illustrator, is one of my favourite artists at the moment. I have spent a great deal of time recently watching videos of hers on YouTube. She has animated music videos for some of my favourite artists such as The Decemberists and Casiotone For The Painfully Alone, which is how I first discovered her work.
She is British with an MA in Animation, currently living in NY, USA. She was names one of three 'animators to watch' by Creative Review in 2013. She has a blog in which she posts very interesting and useful videos and sketches, to give an insight into her work process.

I absolutely adore the aesthetics of her drawings.  She creates images with basic line drawing. There are very few light effects or shading employed. I would like to emulate this, both because I like the look, and also because I can imagine it would be easy to animate for a beginner! The animals are not realistic, but have kind of distorted anatomies. They are stylised and cartoonish, but still maintain most of the recognisable physical attributes of the animals they are based on. This allows creative licence with character design, which would be great for me also. She uses what some would consider imperfections of her animation technique and turns them into positives.
Her animation is based in a world that is like real life, only better. Scenes and characters are recognisable and relatable even though many elements could not exist in the real world. It gives an element of fantasy and the abstract to her work. The viewer accepts what they are seeing in front of them because the abstract is presented very clearly and continuously. I think I would like to be able to create abstract imagery like she does, with colourful, patterned backgrounds and objects that emphasise different moods in a scene and to add more visual interest. I particularly love the example of using anthropomorphic animals as the characters. Her work is something I would love to emulate, without copying exactly. I know there are many elements of her animations that I will transfer into my own narrative.