When producing a bouncing ball, attention should be paid to the rotation, squashing and stretching of the ball. By observing and experiencing physics, it can be noted that the ball will roll back a bit before stopping completely.
Week 5: Story arc& Characters breakdown& Character timeline
Note:
I would like to choose the film Zootopia to analyse
story arc analyse:
You: Judy has been working hard in the town to become a police officer in Zootopia and has finally graduated at the top of her class to become a police officer and is looking forward to a new life working in Zootopia.
Need: Judy is eager to get a real case instead of being a traffic cop upon arriving in Zootopia . This is when Ms. Otterton comes to the police station to report a case and shows Judy a turnaround. Chief Bogo gives Judy 48 hours to get to the bottom of the case.
Go: Judy locks in Nick’s connection to the incident with limited clues. Judy and Nick as partner set out on a quest to find the truth.
Search: Nick and Judy succeed in finding the missing carnivore. But the stereotypes expressed by Judy at the press conference hurt Nick as well as the other carnivores.
Find: During Judy’s time of reflection back in the countryside, she discovers that the reason carnivores become brutal is because they are injected with a serum rather than being so by nature. Realising her mistake, Judy finds Nick and apologises to him and hopes the two will work together to find the real killer.
Take: In the process of getting the evidence and playing the villain, Judy’s leg is injured and Nick is almost hit by the serum and becomes violent and then hurts Judy.
Return: Eventually Judy and Nick replaced the serum with blueberries and recorded the villain’s confession. They successfully solve the case
Change: Zootopia is back to its usual calm. Everyone put aside their prejudice against foxes, which allowed Nick to succeed as Judy’s partner in becoming the first fox officer in Zootopia.
Character Archetypes Breakdown:
Judy: HERO. Judy as the main character, I think she is a heroic figure, full of justice as a police officer who never forgets to keep the citizens safe.
Nick: Allies, Judy’s partner.
Assistant Mayor Bellwether : Shadow, the villain who plans the conspiracy.
Main Character Timeline Before Film Start
Judy: dreams of becoming a police officer in Zootopia and keeps working towards it.
Nick: lost his chance to junior Ranger Scout because of the stereotypes people have of him (foxes are cunning). Now he does different small businesses to support himself.
Sheep: Promoted to assistant mayor because the lion mayor needed the herbivore vote. She has resentment in her heart for always being bossed around by the Lion Mayor.
Week 4: Mise-en-Scène
Note:
What is Mise-en-Scène?
- A French term meaning what is put into a scene or frame
- Visual information in front of the camera
- Communicates essential information to the audience
- made up of various elements
Elements of Mise-en-Scène?
- Settings & Props
- Costume, Hair & Make Up
- Facial Expressions & Body Language
- Lighting and Colour
- Positioning of characters/objects within the frame
Research Activity 1
Can you describe how the elements of Mise-en-Scène in the following scenes?
Settings & Props: This short film is filled with chemical equipment to let the viewer know that the story takes place in a chemical laboratory. The animals are probably students.
Costume, Hair & Make Up: The characters all wear goggles, indicating that they are conducting experiments. The female foxes wear halter dresses to distinguish between the sexes.
Facial Expressions & Body Language : The fox in the white coat is concentrating on his experiment. The female fox next to him, however, keeps looking to her left, indicating that there is someone or something she cares about outside the camera.
Lighting and Colour: The light throughout the scene is warm, suggesting that the story taking place in this scene is warm and calm.
Positioning of characters/objects within the frame: The characters all team up and stand at their respective lab tables, indicating their lab teammate relationship.
What role does the shot choice (Cinematography) play in the scene: The fact that the shots move in parallel and are all medium shots shows that each character is equally important.
Research Activity 2
Can you describe the mise-en-scene in this picture? How are the characters placed in the frame?
In this scene, there are two characters, a male and a female. You can tell that the male character is older than the female character from the way they are dressed. Moreover, the male character is relatively relaxed in this scene. From the set up, I can guess that they are in a hotel room based on the disposable slippers, the bed and the lighting in the room.
Research Activity 3
Can you describe the relationship between the characters?
Rebecca was the hostess and Mrs Danvers was the housekeeper. I could tell by the look on the housekeeper’s face that she didn’t seem very enthusiastic. This left Rebecca a bit at a loss.
Week 3: Political in Animation
Note:
We are surrounded by a wide range of media, which send us a variety of messages every day. It is easy to see that these messages also include politics. From the games we play to the films we watch, everything is influenced by politics. For example, in some Japanese films about World War II, we find that they very subtly package anti-war as anti-defeat. This certainly infuriated people in anti-fascist countries. But there are also good examples, such as the Korean film Parasite, which exposes class conflict. Then there are the latest several Disney films where the protagonists are chosen as minorities to help them advance their status as citizens in the US.
One can find both good and bad political messages in films. Some are empathetic some are delusional in their attempts to brainwash the masses. So, as viewers, we should keep our heads above water and think critically about the messages fed to us by the media.
Week 2: Q1 answer
Paul Wells suggests that ‘Animation as a form has predominantly been understood as a ‘cartoon’ medium, and largely defined by the presence, and performance of Disney Animation from 1928 to the present day. lt may be argued, therefore, that all other forms of animation may be addressed through the ways they relate to or differ from the Disney model. Many animation studios across the world have sought to imitate Disney aesthetically, industrially, technologically, and commercially, while others have resisted this approach, viewing it as something which may misrepresent their own engagement with the medium’ (2002,2).
Can you think of any animation studios/forms of animation/animators who have imitated or been influenced by Disney’s hyperreal animation aesthetic in their editing? How do they do this? Include animation in its myriad forms in your consideration of your answer.
Can you think of any animation studios/forms of animation/animators who resist this aesthetic? How do they do this? Include animation in its myriad forms in your consideration of your answer.
As a giant in the animation industry, Disney has really set the benchmark in terms of aesthetics, industry, technology and business. This hyper-real animation aesthetic is accepted by most audiences. This also means that more practitioners are looking to replicate Disney’s success. But there are also many studios that will stick to their own style of animation.
Firstly, many animation studios have been influenced by the surreal aesthetic of Disney. For example, China’s COLOROOM studio and France’s Le Gaumont et Compagnie. Their productions such as Nezha: Birth of the Demon Child and Ballerina can be seen in Disney’s shadow in terms of character design, character acting, scene-setting and prop settings and business model. It’s a smart way to get audiences to buy into their work, as long as it’s not too bad.
There are also many studios that reject or even resist the Disney style. Examples include Studio Ghibli’s many works Howl’s Moving Castle, Valley of the Wind and Studio Asmik Ace’s Tekkonkinkreet. The Japanese style of animation is unique. Although it is inevitably influenced by the Disney style in the face of globalisation, the audience can clearly feel the difference. Firstly, most Japanese animation studios still stick to 2D animation. Secondly, their character designs are relatively realistic. A comparison of BEASTARS and Zootopia reveals a significant disparity in character design between the two countries. Secondly, Japanese anime is mainly based on the adaptation of manga into animated episodes. This is also different from the commercial process of Disney’s original animated films.
Week 1: Good and Bad Animation
Good animation.
I think good animation follows the 12 principles of animation on the one hand and is impressive on the other. For example, a lot of Japanese animation doesn’t always follow the 12 principles of animation. Audiences often see Japanese animation characters who don’t move and say their lines. Most Japanese animation is not good animation if it is measured strictly by the 12 Laws of Animation. But the fact is that Japanese animation has its successes in narrative that people can learn from. This includes Chinese ink animation as well. Of course, I also like animations like SpongeBob SquarePants and Inside Out . We can easily tell from the silhouettes which character is in these animations. An interesting and memorable character is the first step to good animation. Secondly, according to the 12 rules of animation, the characters should be interesting and eye-catching in a way that makes physical sense.
Bad Animation:
While this animation may have been made to be a spoof, we can tell that it really is a bad one. Firstly, the character design is uncomfortable. Secondly, the movement process is stiff. The walking pose does not follow the movement pattern. The cloak does not follow through the movement either.
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Week 1: the 12 principles of animation
12 priciples of animation is:
- Squash and stretch: used to emphasizes speed, momentum,weight and mass. Objects undergo deformation during motion and collision, resulting in compression and stretching. By exaggerating these physical phenomena, things become more elastic and dynamic, making animations more interesting.
- Anticipation: Setting up expectations is to attract the audience’s attention and let them know that an important action is about to happen. At the same time, it reserves potential energy for the action, making it more fluid. If the expectations are violated, it can create unexpected surprises.
- Staging : is the presentation of any idea so that it is completely and unmistakably clear.The purpose of the stage is to focus the audience’s attention on important things.
- Straight-ahead action and pose-to-pose: Straight-ahead action is drawing frame by frame from beginning to end. Pose-to-pose is drawing key action first and then completing the intermediate actions. In 3D animation, P is Pose-to-pose commonly used.
- Follow through and overlapping action:Follow through refers to the physical phenomenon of natural fluttering or delayed movements such as animal ears, clothing, hair, etc. Under the unconscious control of the character. Action overlap refers to the time difference between the various parts of the character’s limb during the performance action.
- Slow in and slow out: do not like mechanical. rule of fade-in and fade-out refers to the fact that almost all movements start slowly, then accelerate, and end slowly. This is one of the important principles for realistic motion, and it makes things look mechanized without getting faster and slower.
- Arc: means that moving things in circular paths. It will appear more natural and attractive in the animation arc motion.
- Secondary action: Gestures that support the main action to add more dimension to the character animation. Proper secondary action can make the character more live.
- Timing: The personality and nature of an animation is greatly affected by the number of frames inserted between each main action.
- Exaggeration: By means of exaggeration, we can achieve greater expression, precision, more dynamic poses, and motions.
- Solid drawing: use of basic drawing principles such as form, weight, and volume to create the illusion of a three-dimensional object.
- Appeal: animators should keep their charactors outlooking interesting
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Week1：Timeline and Understanding of the History of Film, Animation and VFX
NOTES：
The Timeline of the Early Film
1877-Adweard Muybridge captured motion images of a horse galloping.
1891-the American inventor Thomas Edison had perfected the kinetoscope.
1892-Emile Reynaud projected the first animated film on his praxinoscope.
1895-In England, two pioneers Robert W Paul and Bert Akers had invented the first British 35-millimeter camera
1895-Dec 28th Lumiere Brothers demonstrated their first film in Paris
First Film in Paris
1896-Lumiere system was display in London. Lumiere cinematograph was a much more reliable system.
1897-George Melia builds the first film studio. This studio projected the film A Trip to the Moon in
1897-Alice Kee became one of the world`s first female directors and producers.
1901-Andre Deed became the first comic star.
1906-Max Linder became the most famous comedian after Andre Deed left Pathway.
1914-World War 1, Max Linder got terribly hurt.
1917-Carlie Chaplin became more and more famous. It also meant that the centre of filmmaking moved to Hollywood.
End World War 1, Hollywood took over as the leader of world cinema. the language of cinema was already fully formed. The film pioneer invented not only the moving the picture cameras. They also invented film techniques–editing, fades, screen wipes, double exposure, an early system for colour and camera movement.
The Timeline of the Animation
1609-The magic lantern
1800-The first actual animation. Thaumatrope (a sisc toy) and Zoetrope.
1914-The first characteristic animation, Gertie the Dinosaur.
1928-Steamboat Willie is Disney’s first shot and showed the Mickey to the world. It was the first animation to produce music as sound. Violence also shows up in this animation. It is the first time.
1929-Black Tuesday. People keep going to the theatre to watch cartoons as entertainment because of the great depression.
1933- Claymation was used to create realistic and bizarre creatures before has CGI technology.
1937-Snow White, the first full-length feature film. Multi-depth camera used in Snow white
Multi-depth camera
1970-Animation is used in advertisements.
1986-Pixar Studios was founded. CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) is used to make animation.
1988- Anime (like Aquila) was introduced to the west.
1995-Animation had made its way to being one of the most popular children’s entertainment in the world. Pixar releases a full feature CGI film called Toy Story, which is the first feature-length film made entirely by computer animation.
2009-Avatar, James Cameron’s 3D film Avatar because of the highest-grossing film.
2014-CGI is becoming important in animation. Animation and CGI managed to find a way to work together.
The Timeline of the VFX
1933- King Kong (stop motion)
1958- The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
1963- Jason and Argonauts (use skeleton battle)
1985- Yong Sherlock Holmes (ILM)
1989- The Abyss (ILM)
1991- Terminator 2 (liquid metal robot)
1993- Jurassic Park (ILM) (use computer created skeleton, textured skin and detailed muscles)
1995- Casper（ILM creatd the first computer animated character in the film)
1995- Toy Story (Pixar first feature-length film made entirely by computer animation)
1996- Dragonheart (Mouth animation)
1999-Star Wars
2001-Final Fantasy (first hyper-real CGI film)
2002-The lord of the Rings
2002- Star Wars 2
2003- The Matrix Reloaded
2005- King Kong
2006- Pirates of the Caribbean:Dead Man’s Chest
2007- Beowulf
2008- The curious case of Benjanmin Button
2009-Avatar (Face scan and Advanced motion capture)
Mini Essay: My understanding of the history of film, animation and VFX
After watching the history of film, animation and VFX, I feel a lot of harvest. I find that their histories overlap and that progress in one promotes progress in the other. In this essay I would like to share my understanding.
First of all, I found that the development of early films is closely related to the level of technology. Continuous innovation in technology encouraged early filmmakers to create richer film works. Of course, the lack of technology did not stop them from creating enthusiasm. Before using CGI technology, artists used claymation to create realistic creatures. Another example is that before the invention of colour roll film, artists could painting with a brush each frame. Even if the photography equipment is single, filmmakers will still use the method of cutting the lens to enrich the picture. With their efforts, movies eventually replaced traditional stage arts such as musicals and dramas as the most popular entertainment method.
In the development history of animation, it is also constantly influenced by the development of film. At first, people were just exploring images of motion. Later, as the film industry boomed, animators explored creating characteristic animation . With the establishment of Disney Studios, the content of animation became more abundant. The increasing demand for animation makes 2D animation mature gradually. Snow White, for example,excellent feature-length animation constantly produced. With the advent of the third scientific and technological revolution, computers were used in the field of animation. It not only replaces the traditional way of drawing, but also uses the concept of CGI in the animation industry. I think Toy Story marked the beginning of the age of 3D animation. As CGI continues to mature in the field of animation, it has also been used in movies. Avatar marks a huge success.
Artists are obsessed with using visual effects to surprise the audience before computer technology was widely used in film and animation. For example, they use stop-motion, miniatures, rear-projection and optical compositing using live actors and puppets to create a monster king Kong. As ILM continues to experiment, we see more and more strange creatures in Movies like Jurassic Park and Terminator 2. By the time Avatar came along, the most commonly used visual effects technologies, whether motion capture or facial recognition, had been perfected. In the future, I believe visual effects will give us more surprises.
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