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. :)