Tuesday 30 September 2014

Understanding Animation (Wells. 2006: Chapter 3) - Notes


“Animation is a medium which makes available a multiplicity of styles and approaches in the telling of a story.”
Belgian animator, Raoul Servais, believes that whatever the methodology informing the construction of the [animated] film, and no matter how short it is, it should always have a story of some sort”. This could be in the same way in which all art forms can tell a story, even if one person’s way of interpreting this story is different from another’s.

Events formed by a chain of cause and effect – could be linear, parallel series, past events etc.

Metamorphasis is the ability for an image to literally change into another completely different image.” This can obviously be used however one would wish to within animation, there are no boundaries and endless possibilities. Can be used to change the mood and atmosphere of the animation, could also be used as a way of transitioning to/from scenes?

Condensation in animation prioritises the most direct movement between what may be called the narrative premise and the relevant outcome.” This will need to be used as my animation will have to be condensed from a folk tale to a short 90-120 second piece.

Synecdoche…a device by which the depiction of part of a figure or object represents the whole of the figure or object….
Can be use in two specific ways. First, to signify the specificity of a narrative event, and second, to operate as a metaphor within a narrative…

Particularly effective in drawing attention to the qualities, capacities and associations of ‘a part’ and its fundamental role within the ‘whole’.”

"Symbolism complicated narrative structure because a symbol may be consciously used as part of the image vocabulary to suggest specific meanings, but equally, a symbol may be unconsciously deployed, and, therefore, may be recognised as a bearer of meaning over and beyond the artist’s over intention.” This could also be used consciously though, could be a useful effect.
“The symbol invests its object with meaning.”

Metaphor essentially grows out of symbolism and serves to employ a system of ideas in a more appealing or conducive image system. The use of metaphor simultaneously invites interpretation but insists upon openness.”

Fabrication – Three-dimensional animation is directly concerned with the expression of materiality, and, as such, the creation of a certain meta-reality which has the same physical property as the real world…

In a certain sense, this is the re-animation of materiality for narrative purposes.”

Sound – The soundtrack of any film, whether animated or live-action, tends to condition an audience’s response to it. Sound principally creates the mood and atmosphere of a film, and also its pace and emphasis, but, most importantly, also creates a vocabulary by which the visual codes of a film are understood.”

’Acting’ in the animated film is an intriguing concept in the sense that it properly represents the relationship between the animator and the figure, object or environment he/she is animating…

The animator must consider all the possibilities available to the actor in order to create and develop ‘character’ long before the actual process of animation begins”
Define that character through medium and how it can/will express things eg costume, construction, movements, moods etc.

“Stanislavski suggested that the play text should be broken down by the actor into units and objectives, each unit of the text having a specific set of objectives which fall into three categories: (1) external or physical objectives; (2) internal or psychological objectives; and (3) rudimentary or mechanical objectives (Stanislavski, 1980: 119)”

Choreography, a direct extension of theatrical staging” How certain characters move and perform actions, reflects their personality and mood too.

Penetration is essentially a revelatory tool, used to reveal conditions or principals which are hidden beyond the comprehension of the viewer.” Can be used to show thoughts, dreams, even inside the body etc.

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