A Calculated Display of Animated Space

Performance based works by Adrien Mondot and Claire Bardainne utilize animation practices to create a dynamic relationship between the choreography and projection by associating both living and digital tools as a unified installation. Their works put emphasis on the duality of mediums that play to the audience between the synchronized movements of human and digital forms, establishing a vivacious scene that contextualizes upon the interchangeability of ‘reality and virtuality’ within the boundaries of artistic medium.

Hakanaï presents a dance choreography that is performed alongside the projection of digital animation in the enclosed frame of a cube, where the harmonized movements evoke the illusion of being tangible through the reactiveness between the human gestures and fluidity of digital rendering. The digital animation moves in relationship with the motion of human gestures, this interaction contributes to a heightened expression of the human form that utilizes the flexible qualities of animation for further communication towards an audience.

The limitations of digital animation are explored and broadened by Mondot and Bardainne’s inventive use of projection to express the medium in a tangible context. Their technical use of animation creates an immersive environment in which the performers seem to interact with, and the boundaries of virtuality and reality are blurred into a singular coherent display. From performers crashing into waves to falling alongside walls of animated particles, The Movement of Air is also an another exemplary display of this relationship between digital and physical existence. The free play of animation is a powerful medium that contributes for visual communication and expression, and these works serve as an opportunity for artists to utilize and explore the capabilities of animation beyond conventions of a screen.

WEEK 6: The Mediums, Motions, and Materialities of Animation

MASTER OF DYNAMIC MOTION: SHINYA OHIRA 

The art in motion, especially in animated films, is that it can capture the audience in its exaggerated sense of movement regardless of its slight stray from realism. The master animated works of Shinya Ohira demonstrate abstract action sequences that are more or less a rarity in the cinematic universe of mainstream Japanese animation. Instead of following a strict style and technique Ohira pushes the boundaries of classical animation and has created a clear distinction between his work and the works of even some of his senior colleagues.

Shinya Ohira utilizes a somewhat improvised version of the squash and stretch technique that was revolutionized during the rubber hose era of animation. Every frame is packed with very minuscule detail that are sometimes lost with the passing of each complex sequence. Consider the following GIF, there is a certain depth that Ohira puts into his animations that consists of many layers. A lot of his sequences contain more than just characters moving, but the surrounding area being demolished or manipulated fills up the screen simultaneously.

Interestingly enough, Shinya Ohira has a bit of controversial style as he does not comply with the standard of animation seen so frequently in Japanese animation. It has created a dent within the anime community and has lost Shinya Ohira multiple employment opportunities and was cause for termination during his work with a few big companies. Although this occurred it is obvious that his style has become a sort of standard in many Japanese animated films. His body of works include, FLCL, AKIRA, KILL BILL, GHOST IN THE SHELL 2, ANIMATRIX: Kid’s Story, and The Wind Rises; just to name a few.

Most recently, his work can be seen in Blade Runner Blackout and has become my favourite animation sequence from him to date. The sweeping motion, colour, and camera movement adds a level of abstraction that is distinctly Shinya Ohira. You can almost feel the pressure of the scene as the soldier runs forward and is blown away by the explosion. Shinya Ohira does not underestimate his audience and their ability to follow the complexity of motion. It is obvious that he trusts his capabilities just as much as he trusts the viewers to comprehend the layers upon layers of movement in each sequence. However, there are some instances where overstimulation of motion on screen can prove to be too much for the viewer, Ohira’s abstract approach does not do this as it leads the eye to a clear end result per sequence. In Andrew R. Johnston’s Signatures of motion Len Lye would refer to this as, “sensory Ballet in which abstract forms and music are knit together with colour to produce sensations of motion.” Each stroke of the pencil has a purpose; a beginning, middle, and end.

A Collection of Shinya Ohira’s works:

 

 

Week 5: Exaggeration in animation using the film Redline as an example

Exaggeration is a principle of animation that is crucial in creating lively movement and expressions that need to be well timed and executed to create maximum impact on viewers. Takeshi Koike of Studio Madhouse’s 2009 animated film Redline is a prime example of well accomplished exaggeration through basing every motion on physics which grounds the film to reality. Koike wrote the storyboard and was the unit and animation director. The film took 7 years to animate with 100,000 hand drawn cels and no CGI. It used the traditional animation method because you cannot achieve the same level of exaggeration if done in different forms of film, such as live action.

The film’s purpose was to simply focus on pushing the boundaries of exaggeration through its theme of speed and acceleration. More specifically, its fast pace, non-stop action and the expressions and emotions of the characters is what defines Redline. Everything is constantly in motion. Redline’s science fiction plot is about the two racers J.P and Sonoshee, who are a part of the illegal interplanetary race called Redline that’s set on the hostile military planet Roboworld and their race towards the finish line.

The race car which J.P. owns has a turbo boost which uses nitrogen and gives the race car a burst of speed. When the nitro is added the acceleration is animated through a burst of bright blue light, the shaking of the vehicle and when J.P. hits the button for the nitro to be used as fuel, the engines exhaust pipes explode. The race car’s velocity increased dramatically and is shown through its exaggerated elongation and J.P. being stretched out as well. Exaggeration of the race cars are shown through the harsh speed lines and the fast moving clouds of dust and wind that they leave behind.

J.P. hitting that nitro

Redline is all about the thrill of the race, and throughout the film it never fail to remind the audience of that. From exaggerating facial features to look like they’re going  Mach speed to cutting the camera to show gears shifting there is a constant reminder that going slow is not an option.

The soundtrack in Redline has songs made for the film and all of them are fast paced and meant to played during racing scenes. Sound effects like tires turning and the race cars growling and burning fuel also play an important part in exaggeration by making what you see more believable through the sounds you have heard before.

Redline OST

Exaggeration is an animation principle solely because it can only be done in animation in the way this platform allows animators to add unrealistic elements in their works while still making them believable. Redline owns the term exaggeration through its focus on acceleration, racing themes and sound.

Redline Trailer

By: Jessica Chan

Week 11: Shapes in Motion

 

The first abstract film ever made is Hans Richter, Rhythmus 21 in 1921, the film was done using stop motion animation. Richard Suchensk, inspired by rhythm, creates a flow of motion where different kinds of squares and rectangles come closer to the viewer and then flows back. The artist transforms his drawings themselves into cinema by animating them and eventually creating what have been called as cinematic drawings. As I was watching it I was trying to imagine what kind of sound or rhythm inspired the artist, and my mind started to create connections between the time of the flow of the square and a reminiscent beat. Even though music is absent it is obvious that music acts as an ironic silent element of the piece.

Another film that I’d like to talk about is from Fernand Leger, Ballet Mechanique 1924. The film shows shots of a woman and then close ups of different kinds of geometrical objects. the music of the piece is a strong element as it builds up this feeling of a disastrous events, and acts as the narrator. the mind automatically connects the movement of the shapes with the rhythm of the music, and tries to tell a story out of it. What are these shapes saying? I thought of their history and what kind of physical experience these shapes have been through, and wether that acts as a metaphor for the struggle in the film.

Walther Rottmann’s (Lichtspiel Opus, 1921) is timeless as it futuristic, in my opinion it belongs in the contemporary art world today. The film is made with paper in stop motion. You can see that Rottmann uses the same language of shape as Leger and Suchenesk. A short film that acts as a mind exercise that is designed by the form of the shape. The music carries the viewer along the journey and acts as point of inspiration and reference to both the viewer and the film maker. A new kind of space is developed where the artist and the viewer can experience together the infinite possibilities born by these shapes in motion. All three of the pieces mentioned resemble visual music in a different way, by connecting motion to sound and telling a story using the form of the shape.

Surrealism in Movement

The Surrealism movement began in the early 1920’s, taking it’s first steps in fine art and theatre, best represented in the works of René Magritte and Salvador Dali. Surrealism is a style that focuses on the subconscious or non-rational imagery, highlighting the imagination and unexpected juxtapositions.

‘Bolero’ (1992) Ivan Maximov

The Russian school of the Formal Method has been regarded as the principle source for innovative trends, focusing on aesthetics and stepping away from formal construction of art. The Prague school elaborated the experimental ideas of Avant Garde, leading to unorthodox methods of literature and art, which we can see strongly in the works of  Jan Svankmajer.

‘Alice’ Stop-Motion

Jan Svankmajer works mainly with stop-motion clay and puppetry, which he uses to bring ordinary objects to life in unthinkable ways. Disney has also contributed to the surrealist scene by working closely with Salvador Dali and creating moments of surrealism in his narrative based films, still keeping with his style.

‘Destino’ (2003) Disney and Dali

Surrealism has been extremely influential in the world of animation, from Russian experimentalism, Disney, Salvador Dali, and Studio Glibli. From the success of the emergence between dream-like concepts and animation, creators are able to move away from real world logic to create the unimaginable through motion and space.

By: Brittany Logan

 

 

Performance-Capture and the Uncanny Valley within Blade Runner: 2049

Motion-capture has become a staple of the entertainment industry. Its facilitation of 3D animation and rigging, as well as its potential use to create fictional characters that nevertheless feel tangible, has engrained its use within all aspects, whether that be with regard to cinema, television, or video games. Its initial role was within the medical industry, and it has subsequently been used in other areas such as the military and athletic industries, but it is best known for its use within film and gaming. The motion-capture suit initially utilized retroreflective markers placed at specific joints which would relay the movements of the limbs to a computer. Performance-capture is a deviation from motion-capture which includes facial and audio recording as well as motion. Retroreflective markers are applied to the face to denote muscle groups and then, much like with motion-capture, these signals are relayed to a computer which concoct a digital mask of the character. Recently, head-mounted cameras have been developed to allow more freedom of movement as have infrared sensors which allow shooting in brightly-lit environments outdoors.

Advancements in the field of motion capture have made it easier and more efficient to record human actors, but there is still a debate regarding how “realistic” these characters can be made to appear with technology as is. The concept of the Uncanny Valley, coined by Japanese robotics engineer Masahiro Mori in 1970, delves into the human reaction to abstracted figures. He noted, when working with robots, that if inhuman objects appear somewhat human, people react more positively to them. Nearly human, but not quite human enough to be admissible, and the figures are met with repulsion. This area between the abstracted and the not-real-enough is the Uncanny Valley.

When it comes to the human form, the devil is in the details. The 2017 film Blade Runner: 2049 implements a brief scene during which a character from the original film (an android by the name of Rachael) is recreated using performance-capture. Actor Loren Peta was cast as the performance double in the scene, meaning that all but her head is used in the final cut of the film.

In order to recreate the character’s face and head, the original actor, Sean Young, was brought in and her head was scanned. Being that the film is a 36-year sequel to the original, Young did not have quite the same appearance as she had in the previous film, so the scan was used to create an anatomically-correct 3D skull which gave the model the correct proportions and integral facial features. While both actors were recorded in controlled facial capture environments, the scene was ultimately hand-animated and lined up with scenes from the original film to create an identical match. One aspect of Blade Runner: 2049 that many films do not have the benefit of is its utilization of an android character and therefore the ability twist the uncanny nature of motion-capture to its advantage. Any uncanniness is somewhat beneficial to the film in that it reminds the viewer that this character is not truly human. There is one moment in particular where the hand-animated facial gestures are apparent, as Rachael’s eyes blink too exaggeratedly for it to be a genuinely human movement. The plasmatic way by which she does this is the only moment where uncanniness seems explicitly due to technology. Again though, in employing this technique upon a character that in-film is pretending to be human, Blade Runner: 2049 plays to the strengths of this method and ultimately makes for a uniquely, and somewhat ironically, natural performance.

Week 12 The End of Golden Era

As we know Pixar is one the mega studios that have put popular animated films such as Toy Story, Wall-E, or Up. As of recent years many of the studios films have been slowly declining with many sequels that don’t live up to many originals. The start was Cars and then the sequel Cars 2 and then the last sequel Cars 3. Cars was one of the widely known worst film by Pixar not only did it not meet box office expectations but overall it just wasn’t good.

I get that many of these films are suppose to appeal to the younger audience but what about the many people who grew up watching this films. I myself would love to rewatch the Toy Story series all over again (probably the only sequels that live up to their names). The Toy Story series was legendary it connected with children and adults. The first Toy Story introduced us to the toys and when the series gradual goes on we see the main character slowly realize that he’s being out grown by his owner and it just connects with adults whom had to give up their past because they’ve outgrown this kind of stuff.

Once

Pixar was bought by Disney was when things started to go down hill. Pixar had this way of telling a serious kind of topic in a cartoon way that moves the audience. An example of this is Up this was a comedic tale of a young boys tale moving along a story of loss, grief and renewal. This was a serious subject that can connect to real life but delivered in a way that gave entertainment value. But with the new movies that have been released Pixar started losing its magic. The last film that was made before Pixar was bought out was Toy Story 3 and that was one of the most popular movies to date. Not trying to put down Disney but the way they go about their business with Pixar really made Pixar lose that creativity that it once had. The movies that are being created now stuff like The Good Dinosaur, the Cars series, and sequels like Monsters University and Finding Dory don’t live up to the Pixar name anymore. Overall though this is my opinion on Pixar and its recent years and its movies.

Week 13: Life in the Uncanny Valley: Animation, Motion Capture and Digital Performance

ANOMALISA (Trailer)

ANOMALISA – Character Sculpting

Anomalisa produced in 2015 is about Micheal Stone, a middle-aged man who has trouble finding someone to relate to. He goes on a business trip to speak at a conference, as he is a customer service guru and has written a big-selling book on the subject. Throughout the film we find that Micheal has trouble relating to others as they all seem to have the same exact voice that blurs out. However, when he is on this trip, he meets this woman who is bright in his eyes, even though he is married. The story and detail put into Anomalisa is very thought out and strong making it appear as if the animation was live-action. There is also a sense of realism in Micheals character as he portrays a man going through a mid-life crisis trying to find that spark to boost his confidence once again. The characters are sculpted by Carol Koch, who didn’t just model the characters from a picture however from their personality. As you can tell from the GIF above, as the film might be a stop motion animation, however the movements of the characters and the images all run smoothly into a believable live motion film.

Week 12: The Incredibles, Shrek and the Conventional

While The Incredibles (2004) develops its narrative around the visual contrast between the super and the conventional, the intro to the animated comedy Shrek (2001) illustrates the opposite, showing a kind of blending of these two worlds. In the Pixar feature, Mr Incredible’s heroic size and build struggle to fit inside the conventionalized world of his insurance company and his nuclear home life, squeezing through cubicles and breaking plates at the table.

In the DreamWorks movie, we see similar objects and situations of the conventional: things like toothbrushes, showers and mirrors, and the typical “morning ritual”, but in this case the superhero embraces these artifacts.

It’s interesting to see how these two different films have commented on the audience’s “real space”, one uses the modes of three-dimensional animation to highlight the mediocrity or “normalness” of not being a superhero, showing us impressive camera shots of cavernous evil layers only to be disappointed by toned-down scenes like the family dinner. The other celebrates these mundane and non-fantastic rituals of the audience, illustrating in a short sequence that even three-dimensional animated characters do the things we do. Shrek seems to celebrate and familiarize the audience to the quality of being animated while The Incredibles highlights the differences between this state of being animated to the state of not being animated.

Week 12 The Toy Story Franchise

(This post contains spoilers)

Toy Story 4 is confirmed to come out in June 20, 2019. That is 24 years after when the first Toy Story came out in 1995. Many things have changed in the animation industry over the past 2 decades. One of the major changes being Disney buying Pixar in 2006 and Pixar is now a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. It could be said that Disney is built on franchise and that’s partly what makes them as successful as they are today. However, In recent years the company has been criticized falling into the “franchise reboot” trap by making sequels such as Monsters University and Cars 2. Movies that not necessarily as captivating in nature as it is just a knock on nostalgia. Granted the reviews on the sequel Toy Story 3 is overwhelmingly positive as it is very well-made. Which might be one of the reasons the studio decided to make yet anther one.

It could be argued that making Toy Story 4 might not be the best idea, it would be very hard to continue to evoke nostalgia as the last movie ends with Andy leaving for college, leaving his toys in the care of his neighbor’s toddler. Woody says “So long, partner” as he sees Andy riding away in the car. Everything about the scene was tear jerking and no doubtfully a great ending to the franchise. The very last scene of the movie seems to be a reference to the opening scene of the first movie. The blue sky is filled with clouds that looked identical the wallpaper of evenly spaced clouds on a blue background at the start of the first Toy Story movie. This little detail really tied everything together. The ending really struck a cord with many viewers. They have seen the first movie when they were little or younger and have dealt with hardships of separation and beginning new chapters of their life themselves over the many years in between the making of each movie. Continuing Toy Story to the fourth movie might be pushing it since the third one had such a nice wrap up of the whole franchise. But who knows, it might appeal to newer generations and the studio might do just good of job as they did with the last movie. It’s hard to tell how well Toy Story 4 will turn out. But one thing’s for sure, the Toy Story franchise lasting over 20 years is an important part of the rise and continuing legacy of Pixar and Disney.

Beginning of Toy Story (1995)

Ending of Toy Story 3 (2010)

By: Jade Wu

WEEK 11: Visual Rhythm

Abstract films are non-narrative visual/sound experiences with no story and no acting. They rely on the unique qualities of motion, rhythm, light and composition inherent in the technical medium of cinema to create emotional experiences.

Walter Ruttmann’s Lichtspiel Opus I premiered in Germany in 1921, the first abstract film to be publicly screened. In the film, Ruttmann mastered the technical means to realise his abstract imagery in film. He patented his particular technical methods in 1921. William Moritz provides an interesting description of his method: ‘[Ruttmann’s] first animations for Opus No. I were painted with oil on glass plates beneath an animation camera, shooting a frame after each brush stroke or each alteration because the wet paint could be wiped away or modified quite easily. He later combined this with geometric cut-outs on a separate layer of glass’.” Against a dark background, several bright, curved or rounded shapes pulse towards the center of the screen, one at a time. They are followed by many other shapes, some irregular, some pointed, others rounded. The abstract shapes move into or across the screen in harmony with the musical score.

 

Another film that I’d like to talk about is Rhythmus’ 21 in 1921, by Hans Richter. Completed by using stop motion and forward and backward printing in addition to an animation table, the film consists of a continuous flow of rectangular and square shapes that “move” forward, backward, vertically, and horizontally across the screen.By restricting himself to the use of square shapes and thus simplifying his compositions, Richter was able to concentrate on the arrangement of the essential elements of cinema: movement, time and light. Syncopated by an uneven rhythm, forms grow, break apart and are fused together in a variety of configurations. Expresses emotional content through the mutual interaction of forms moving in contrast and relation to one another.

Week 11: Abstract movie

An abstract movie is a movie that expresses ideas through clips, visual techniques, sound properties, colour shapes and rhythm design of the film, giving people a free and informal feeling. A non-visualized movie that applies abstractionism in painting and music to film production. Originated in the European avant-garde films of the 1920s and became one of its main trends. Abstractism movies are influenced by the influence of modernist art. These modern arts mainly refer to some of Dadaism, Futurism, and Cubism that prevailed in the field of painting and poetry at that time. The greatest contribution is Dadaism because the source of inspiration for abstraction is mainly Dadaism.

One of the examples is Symphonie Diagonale (1924) by Viking Eggeling. The film’s transformational use of lines, arcs, cones, etc. to create, make its system and unexpected throughout the whole film. At the same time, it also through the harmonious link and segmentation of the image processing, make the picture and music form secretly together, and clearly expressed in the film. The effect of this kind of secret combination, or analogy method, because Mr green insisted that it should be silent in the film and appear more intense. Also here, like Simmental, the poem in the film depends largely on the grasp of form, rhythm, quiet speed, and single-shot camera shooting.

Another example is OpusI, II, III created by Walther Ruttmann. Ruthman created his avant-garde work in an original form of glass painting animation, each drawn shape is taken from above, and then wipe from the surface of the glass, and then redraw for the next frame. The first work in the series, ” Richmond I” ( 1921 ), was originally shown by a live band and is considered the first experimental animation ever shown dramatically. The changing shape of Ruthman’s works deliberately lacks a set meaning, but the rhythm and use of color create a variety of contrasting visual emotions. The animation in opus I am usually circular, and their movement looks smooth and calm, like watching heated wax in an aurora borealis or lava lamp and then interrupted by a series of troublesome triangles. It works two and three, the shape is sharper, the rhythm is crazier, and red and black create a more positive and unpleasant tone. Opus ii and opus iii use patterns and lines of square and rectangular, square and rectangular crazy change, music with the speed of shapes change increases, thus foil the atmosphere; The square and rectangles in that third part separate circle after crazy changes so that a 3d effect appears. The director expresses the mood and content of the film through the change of shape and the contrast of color, and once again expresses the dada style.

In general, abstract films express content through lines, geometric shapes and colors, which are more meaningful and exploratory.

Week 11-See the sound and listen to the colour

Experimental animation refers to a kind of animation work that is still in the exploratory phase. It is an early stage of development that focus more towards academic. As animation works enters the late stage which are commercialized, the creations deviate from experiments and become cartoons that people often see on television.

vimeo.com/183833066

One of the example will be SELRES_78bb0244-d8ba-4999-8784-98eeb5c6e2fdSELRES_595a92b8-4a9e-4cbe-b4a8-3c07bc5fd016Komposition in Blau (1935)SELRES_595a92b8-4a9e-4cbe-b4a8-3c07bc5fd016SELRES_78bb0244-d8ba-4999-8784-98eeb5c6e2fd by Oskar Fischinger. This is an abstract film in which every motion is in strict synchronization with music, so the description must be read in terms of the overall impression it gives. In the film, all kinds of geometric and three-dimensional shapes done with colour paper folding and cutting. Different method of transformation such as moving, flip, flash, superimpose, divergence, aggregation and other methods are combine with classical music, which form a “visible music” work that has a smooth animation and accurate timing. The climax of the film features a multitude of shapes in Busby Berkeley-like formation, as various circular figures grow and disappear among a simulated sky, with the blue colors giving way to red.

vimeo.com/28834678

Another example will be A Colour Box (1935-193) by Len Lye, this was one of the first animations to be painted directly onto the film. It’s a sponsored film that was produce for the British General Post Office (GPO Film Unit) as an advertisement for “cheaper parcel post”. Lye himself created a new way that was called “direct films”. He worked directly on film, painted and scratched it without using a camera. The abstract colour pattern arrange with swinging, hue conversion, moving and other method that brings a stimulated visual feelings with the rapid African dance music, trying to make a 2D effect in 3D.

Overall, until now we can also see medias according to the experimental animation, if we open the window media player or iTunes in the computer, the animation that generates base on the music will show up automatically.

Week 10: Animating Reality – Animation mets Ted Ed

 

“The treadmill’s dark and twisted past” animated by Yukai Du and lesson by Conor Heffernan is one of many animated short videos by Ted Ed. This merit of engaging animation and audio makes learning enjoyable, specifically for youth and young people.  The animation here is dependent on the the text to enhance the lesson, incorporating text when necessary. For example, when stating dates, statistics and quotes. The style of animation is minimal, with the use of graphic shapes, lines and limited colour. Du uses cycling as a way to animate the words in which certain frames could be used as a loop or gif. Her use of framing and shapes to transition between scenes are reminiscent of panels in comics. Her transitions also contain a sense of plasmatic quality as flowing lines transform into figures for example.

Using animation as a tool to educate is Ted Ed’s way of meeting three specific goals as mentioned in the video above:

1.Educate more people.

2. Empower more people.

3. Connect more people.

This gives young people access to learn, to be inspired from their learnings and giving opportunities to take action. Ted Ed provides the platform for artists to collaborate with teachers for education.

Japanimation II (Week 9): Nichijou

Nichijou is a comedic slice of life anime produced by Kyoto Animation that depicts the normal (or perhaps not so normal) everyday lives of three female students in high school.

What makes this show special is that it dances between the line separating the mundane and the absurd; the ordinary and the extraordinary. Although the narrative, cast of interesting characters, as well as its comedic gags are a gem in their own regards the show truly shines with its over-the-top animation sequences where the animators are allowed to brandish their skills and passion for the medium with highly detailed and fluid action packed scenes depicting mundane situations. This contrast proves exceptionally hilarious when typically normal everyday scenes are randomly and unexpectedly escalated into a high octane action packed scenario.

The style of animation is reminiscent to Eisenstein’s theory of the ‘plasmatic’. During these intense action sequences the character’s body is at times exaggerated and stretched in order to portray a greater sense of movement; the animators distort the body in order to portray movement as opposed to perhaps a more comical slapstick nature as seen in a typical Looney Tunes short. However, both share similarities in that they display the fluidity and transformative qualities of the plasmatic figure.

This is actually a technique often used among animators in the anime industry in that the in-betweens don’t hold as much significance when compared to the keyframes, they are hastily drawn and undetailed at times (mostly due to a tight budget) but it is their goal to provide a sensation of swift and dramatic movement; Nichijou is an example of this technique pushed to the extreme.