Spirited Away

Although I've seen some anime animations before, I never really paid attention to the strong details, the shadows, and the overall beautiful drawings. I love how the animation had a fantasy like feel to it. It made me feel like I was in a different world. Also, everything included in the video had some type of detail, no matter how small or irrelevant. For example, in the beginning, the character was struggling to get safely down the stairs. When I looked closely, you can see every grain and splinter in the wood. Also, I loved how much emotion was in this scene. You can see in her face and her body movements that the poor girl was frightened and cautious.

Another detail I thought was great is the use of shadows. Every step and movement the character made was followed by a realistic shadow. Also, there were constant highlights and shadows on her clothes and body depending on where she was. Although I did not understand the story-line as much, I felt really sorry for the main character even though it was unrealistic. I also loved the creativity of the story.

Lastly, another detail I noticed was the water. Rather than showing every detail, they used parts of it to show the flow of the water. The put highlights and strips of color to make it look like it was pouring out of the bath and like a foam detail at the top. Also, I loved the rain throughout the middle of the scene. I was watching how he did it, hoping to gain some tips :). It was so simple, yet really powerful. Each drop had a small puddle but it created so much emphasis. I really enjoyed this film and find I have more appreciation and respect for anime and animation as a whole!

Figli-Migli

In this animation, everything was strictly black and white. Although there was not too much detail- there was so much going on! Throughout the entire video, I found myself mesmerized by the music and the animation. I thought it was brilliant how the animator created each step, movement, expression, and flight to be coordinated with a beat of music. Also, repetition was very important in this video. The birds were all simultaneously moving as though they were one. It is amazing how the animator formed this video so the birds would be like a "military." I also found it interesting how every character was a simple silhouette, but to me, they looked so complex. I also loved how he would put real life pictures through the windows. This created a great contrast and showed the difference between reality and fiction. Lastly, I really enjoyed the story-line. I felt it was very original how the birds were sick of the cuckoo clock and had so much life and personality to them. I really enjoyed this film and am still blown away by the music and animation!

The Fan and the Flower

The Fan and the Flower was completely based off exaggeration and the act of bringing inanimate objects to life. I loved the simplicity of the animation, the black and white contour drawings and the lack of color. However, to describe the love between the fan and the flower, color was added to the flower to emphasize the degree of emotion. Also, the animator added exaggerated angles that illustrated the unbearable distance between the two lovers. I was really captivated by the use of transition and "time." To show the amount of time gone by, the owner of the house walked by the room and the viewer only saw the shadow. Each passing showed a transformation of the woman, a slouched back, a walker, and soon a wheelchair. The use of silhouettes showed that the woman was there, but not a main character. Also, symbolism was a key factor in this animation. When the fan performed his heroic act by leaving a hole in the ceiling for the rain to get through, the flower was then planted outside. Her petals magically transformed into a fan-like appearance. Later on, the fan soon befriended a bird and immitated the flapping of the bird's wings. This element of the animation was truly my favorite. I really enjoyed how the objects took upon human characteristics and emotions.

John Canemaker "The Moon and the Son"

In the beginning of the video, I was rather confused why this video was so respected. However, when I kept watching it, I understood immediately. I loved how Canemaker went from real life video and photographs to his quick drawings and animations. He would take symbolism that he was discussing and make it real through his drawings. For example, when he was narrating about his father being an angry man, he drew the father as a lightning bolt constantly ready to strike. Everything was exaggerated, but the story. Because I have always been a fan of cartoons, I loved the exaggeration. The police coming as a pack, their legs so small and their shoulders very wide. My favorite element was definitely the use of perspective: particularly when the son opened his mother's bedroom door. He was waking her up and stood at the doorway. However, only his neck and his head came closer to the camera. I really enjoyed this video. The use of the different colors and the transformation of images really reminded me of the Danish Poet introduction not only because of the changing images, but because of the black and white foreground and backgrounds. Lastly, this animation was not just a simple, entertaining cartoon, it was a story. Although there was animation that looked so simple and drawn at times, it was so moving and informative. I really enjoyed this video and can call this one of my favorites.

Bitey of Brackenwood by Adam Phillips

This animation was very intriguing. I feel the video was the epitome of Flash animation. For example, the use of the camera movement in the beginning was great. I loved how it started from the top of the trees to focusing on a character. Also, there were camera movements that zoomed into the characters facial expressions to emphasize their feelings because their is no dialogue. My favorite element of the video were the uses of highlights and shadows. Adam Phillips had the sunlight only hit part of the objects and brightened those highlighted colors. Also, when Bitey was walking through the forest, he was darker and then the color transitioned to a brighter tone as he walked into the field. Then, the camera zoomed out and the character was almost a black color with a white highlight to create a far away feeling. While I was watching this video, I kept thinking about how many layers and symbols were used. I feel like we have learned most of the elements and tools he has used, but Phillips expanded and created a masterpiece to me. I also enjoyed the eye blinking and the background sounds to create a sense of realism. Lastly, I enjoyed the little sparkles from the sunshine and water. It seemed to me that he might have used the glow filter and motion tweens to make them sparkle. In the beginning of this course, we would watch animations and be in awe of how the artists created them. Now, I love how in this video, I have a better understanding and relation to the creation of Bitey and the amazing stories of Adam Phillips. :)

Jan Svankmajer's "The Dimensions of Dialogue" and the Brothers Quoy

In the beginning of this video, I felt very confused as to what the animation meant. Throughout part 1, there was a constant, repetitive cycle in the story: two characters (conducted by random objects such as silverware) would fight and eat one another and then spit the remains out. However, each cycle, the character would evolve and finally became a human being. My favorite element of the story was the humans were made out of clay, leaving them very fragile. I loved how they became one as they touched and each formed a dent in one another. For example, the man and woman were intimate and soon became violent as their relationship progressed. The way the clay was being clawed away was brilliant. I was constantly questioning how this was animated and I am assuming it was stop motion. I have so much respect for the animator because the process must have taken so long because each move and element is so precise. However, I feel part 2 was my favorite. Originally, I was truly taken aback at the animation because it was odd to me. I did not understand the meaning of the character's relationship with the toothpaste and toothbrush. On the other hand, I really was captivated by the animation. Everything looked so real! For example, the tongue looked as if it actually had saliva, and the toothbrush's bristles each looked individual. Once the video progressed, I realized the theme was we all have to be different to get along. The stop motion animation also was used in the Brothers Quay animation. Like the first video, both animators used normal objects and made them come to life. Also, both animators brought to life things that our society would not even think of. However, the Quay brothers used music rather than dialogue to captivate the audience. My favorite part was the characters "performing surgery" to make a customized character. It was interesting how the brothers made these objects move and have a personality through stop motion animation and simple music. Although I was not open-minded to the videos at first, I feel I learned new ways to animate and that sometimes things that are "not normal" are exactly what we need.

"The Danish Poet"

At first I was rather skeptical about this animation.  When the scene opened, it included a narration and different drawings meshing into each other to explain the background of the story.  However, once the story began, I found myself immediately captivated by the story.  The contour lines gave the look such a simplicity that made the message even more complex.  Many things captured my attention in the video such as the animator's use of different perspectives.  For example, the audience looked through the main character's perspective as he walked into the psychiatrist's office.  Also, there were many exaggerated elements in the video such as the book from the library being 3 times the size of the character and the woman's hair being 10 feet long.  In response to Disney's "The Old Mill," the rain in this video are lines across the screen rather than individual droplets.  The thing i found most interesting is the act of repetition and the constant routine cycle.  Throughout the story, he would go to the psychiatrist, get on the boat with the drunken crowd, and get off at his stop.  It is so amazing to me how there can be such repetition but the story can still be captivating and exciting.  However, like the Disney video, they were different each time in the fact that one was joyous while the other scene is depressing.  I also enjoyed this film because although it was not realistic, in fact rather drastic, the video was still very moving and heartfelt.

Walt Disney "The Old Mill"

Watching this video reminded me of my childhood because I have always been fascinated by Walt Disney's animations.  However, I never really paid close attention to the detail.  I really enjoyed the different stories that were being told in this short film.  The mill is home to various animal families and it is introduced by zooming in on each character from the bottom of the mill to the top.   I also found the use of weather interesting.  The rain in the video are not lines or streaks across the screen, they are more like droplets.  I noticed when the water hit the ground it would transform into puddles and connect with one another.  Also, I found the frog scene to be very visually dynamic as well.  I loved the complexity of the ripples in the pond and the color change when half the frog's body was underwater.  Disney truly tries to tie fantasy and reality together.  His animations are inspired by realistic events but he puts a creative twist on it.  Lastly, I found the opening spider web sequence to be the best part.  The way it was shown with just highlights and shadows was brilliant.  The video then closed showing the spider web all torn apart, blowing in the wind because of the awful storm.  I really enjoyed this video and its use of various characters to tell an overall story.

"Beyond the Clouds"

As seen in class, I was truly amazed by this video.  In the beginning, I immediately understood how the main character was feeling just from her expressions and body language, which is not as common in animation as it is in real life video.  I loved how the highlights and shadows are exaggerated because it creates an intense look.  The movement of her hair and the movement of the clouds were just remarkable.  Makoto Shinkai created such a realistic, yet fantasy-like video that incorporated great use of perspective.  I truly enjoyed watching this trailer.

"Gertie the Dinosaur"

Before watching the video, I predicted an animation that would be amateur and rather boring because of the year it was created and the lack of technology.  However, I was truly surprised.  The contour drawings actually gave the video a simplistic touch that made the clip have a carefree atmosphere.  Winsor McCay incorporated different perspectives and shadows.  The narration made the video comical and I found myself laughing throughout it.  I found the splashes of water to be very advanced.  My favorite part was when McCay was transformed into a 2D character after previously being seen as himself. I really underestimated this video.