My PGC stage presentation.

My PGC stage presentation.

Artefact 08

Artefact08 from Adam Weaver on Vimeo.


This is the final Artefact of the PGC. In this i have tied all of the separate elements together in one narrative to show how they can work. This is particularly relevant for the abstract manifestations of confusion. The artefacts where i have used animals as the foundation for creating gesture do not show confusion according to the feedback. However, within this storytelling context they work. This is important because it provides something internal for the audience to understand and can act as another form of information where a character lacks a face, and therefore becomes harder to read though process.

So in this storytelling context we have:

Non-abstract gestural character performance;

Abstract non-character performance (no personality);

Abstract character performance (with personality);

There are both linear and cyclical narrative forms manifested in different elements;

The rhythm is dictated through different techniques - video reference, audio and through my own interpretation; 

As highlighted in a previous post (here) we have music (sound) guiding action, Co-ordinated Action and Sound, and Music guiding Action.

Artefact 03 Reduction

I created the third artefact using my findings from the first two artefacts. I have applied:

• change in tempo to performance 
• utilised the concept of a beat so it is more apparent through gesture (visual over audio)
• applied a similar performance to a reduced form
• used both linear and cyclical narrative forms

MA Artefact 01

So here is the second pass at the scene i have been working from. As an artefact, this has been built up using the pipeline that is taught at animation mentor. The idea of this first artefact was use reference footage to improve timing and spacing of my animation. The feedback was that the resulting action spaced out effectively but was very pantomime in the gestures. There is quite a bit of over-action and not enough refinement or internal monologue coming from the character. Looking back over the other elements of the artefact highlighted issues with the character design and the reference material. The design of the character did not take into consideration both the aesthetic and movement required. This will no doubt be a result of the character being designed without a specific goal and prior to the narrative I had conceived. There were several issues i had during the generation of the two passes, mainly caused by the size of the hands. The pointing finger dominated much of the scene, which I think is why there is such feeling of over action, which isn't aided by the slight walks in each direction; the latter is a result of the reference footage shot. The footsteps timing was used as the foundation for the performances pacing. A positive offset of this was that the weighting felt much stronger than i have previously done. What was interesting was driving all of this was my own internal monologue; from character design and reference footage of myself.

The other issue i came across was the characters break for the thought process. I noticed while animating that it was far too quick but thought I’d run with it as it kept with the rhythm of the piece. This was noticed by my supervisors, which prompted a discussion regarding my interests. In truth i was waiting for the issue (of the thinking time) to be raised. At the time i knew it was wrong, but my own stimulation from watching it flow overrode (and it represents a good limitation of live-action reference). However, as discussed at the very start of the project that sounds influence on timing and spacing was my primary interest, and after revising it towards my longer-term aspirations, that of character performance, we established that it could actually could be the primary focus of the research, and the others - performance, timing and confusion as secondary purposes that ultimately feed the project. I feel it is good to have made this distinction because it helps build the context and direction towards what I am trying to achieve.

The narrative of the piece was a play on the virtual puppet being given constant (Rhythmic) instructions. Upon meeting the crossroads (A Glitch in the system) he suddenly has to think for himself, which creates the confusion. One question asked was, is the performance right for the story? By this, was the consistent rhythm right? To pull this back to the internal monologue, surely the reaction would be more reserved and frozen up upon reaching the glitch, which is true, I feel it would have been better in that regard also. To conclude, this artefact shows why reference material should be suitable for the narrative. It also signifies the importance of designing and producing a character fit for purpose. It has also highlighted that on some subconscious level I am stimulated and engaged through rhythm through other purposes than just storytelling in a large studio process.

Next step: I am going to produce some really short pieces of a character showing confusion. To increase productivity and to start thinking about how rhythm can be expressed with narrative.

Mapping narrative and action

As result of my investigation into defining confusion, i became aware of the need for understanding the relationships that occur between narrative, action and thought.

'Animation is narrative through movement ... Narrative can be something as concrete as physical action ... the very first questiom is 'why' ... whatever the answer may be, when you animate a shot you must be concerned first and foremost with characters motivation, purpose, intention, drive etc'.

- Aaron Gilman Animation Mentor Tips and Tricks 2 Pg. 19

'Your character should play an action in pursuit of an objective while overcoming an obstacle.'

- Ed Hooks Acting for Animators 2009

Example: Romeo and Juliet: 

Action = Fall in love.
Objective = Get Married.
Obstacle = Their families hate each other.

The narrative I have produced (the key poses i posted yesterday is from a single shot) is as follows:

Our character is a puppet that has spent his whole life following an arrow - this is his equilibrium. He comes across a split in the road, an arrow pointing left and an arrow pointing right - this is the disruption. There is no resolve - yet - as the ability to not be able to decide which way to go creates the confusion. 

Action = Taking clear orders from the road markings.
Objective = To keep his equilibrium: not to have free thought but to serve.
Obstacle = The split in the road; a choice. Having never come across this anomaly before he is forced out of his equilibrium and into disruption by having to make a choice. This is stressful for the character.

The above graph i have created shows the breakdown of the action and reaction in narrative and character performance terms. By filling in the each section it allows the animator to link movement and thought of the character to storytelling poses, and helps aid overall scene planning through developing understanding. Below, i have applied this formula to the key poses i posted yesterday, the action in the poses only describes one shot from the wider context of the narrative. I have produced a rough storyboard which will be posted at some point over the weekend once i have revised it. However, the action in this shot will remain the same although the last action/3 poses has been removed for reason described in the post due to follow regarding today's feedback. 

Research Workflow...

A couple of videos used by animation mentor to promote their courses. As their workflow is designed to run by an industry process it makes sense to follow this lead in my research. Previously, as highlighted, i followed the 11 Second Club process and the dominance of the audio file heavily influenced the out come of the research, as rationalised here. 

The first part of the Tips and Tricks series by Animation Mentor says to start by observing, then to gather reference material before finally creating thumbnails. All these are crucial to the planning stage and Shawn Kelly says that planning is 20% of the scene, and underpins its success.

My next stage is to establish a definition of confusion. Once i have done this i will create a scenario to plan an animation to, using the process mentioned above. 

A Lack of thought, communication, interaction and Empathy (Sir Billi)

Just checked out the trailer for the Scottish feature of Sir Billi and my first reaction was that this is one hell of an ugly film. This breaks one of the 12 fundamentals of animation - appeal. Once you get over the initial ugly nature - and this is a typical symptom of low budget productions, you realise this could be seen as thinking the biggest part of the iceberg is above the waterline. 


The approach seems to be a focus on producing a natural performance. It appears the whole production staff have only an understanding of the lead character. The affect of this focus has caused severe problems in this teaser (and I'm dreading the movie). 

Firstly, it is a sensitive memory sequence trying to communicate the fond memories of a loved one, so one has to anticipate the softer weighted movements in performance. However, it is apparent the movements have been timed to pace the music, or at least stretched out after the initial blocking passes, causing the movements to feel as though they are moving in slow motion. 

Secondly, the women that he so longs for is actually a puppet. Nope, that wasn't a spoiler! She lacks emotional thought or reaction, but not always, and not always in synch. The worst offending shot is the spaghetti shot. At two stages the male lead thinks and reacts to the situation, she on the other hand doesn't. She doesn't blink, her eyes are static, her eyelids contract, but you really have to pay attention to see this - and the action doesn't playout in a recommended speed to convey such a reaction (and especially one she didn't show any signs of thought about doing). This action has to be clear to the audience. They cannot see that she is as committed to him as he is to her. In the shot where they are looking over a crib there gestures communicate their attachment, their bond, and we can see they are thinking. This creates empathy. The last scene, with the titanic impersonation, (which contradicts what they are trying to convey in terms of narrative to the audience) it is clear they have not animated below the waist on her. Even when his big bulging hands grab her there is no influence and it stays completely static - there should be a pull back at the very least (an exchange of weight). When she opens her eyes surprised she doesn't look behind to acknowledge it is her loving partner and everything is safe. She assumes and casually falls back into him. It's the lack of communication between them in almost every shot that is creating the problems.

Thirdly, if we critique the piece from a narrative and cinematic perspective, we can see in the wider context of performance where these issues arise from. I would like you to watch this scene (if you haven't already) from Pixars UP.



First off the co-ordination and interaction between the characters is clear, concise and is meaningful. Sir Billie has taken popular ideas from successful films (lady and the tramp and titanic for example) and tried to use them in a satirical manner. The problem with this is that neither character acknowledges that they are doing it (satire). They act as though they are the first to do it - this makes it unfunny. It kills the humour. What would make it funny, in the lady and tramp scene for example (the spaghetti shot), would be if the spaghetti split half way through, and they acknowledged it. Lets use Up as an example as to explain why this would work. In Up, Carl is accident prone. When they experience an activity together as a couple (to become close in the initial stages), Carl exposes his flaws. Such as his hand print on the mailbox and the cart that floats away. They are both aware that something satirical has happened - if its real to them its real to us. She accepts him despite these accidents. This creates a bond.  The bond is not the humour itself but the acceptance of each others flaws. The acceptance of flaws creates empathy. This is why reflecting a cultural representation of love and repackaging it as satire does not work on it's own. They are not aware they are performing satire, there is no weakness exposed so no empathy can be gained from the audience. In Up the exposed flaws of Carl in a satirical manner allow the transition into a dramatical acceptance of Ellies flaw - she can't have children. That is the empathic and emotional hook that melts the audiences guts and creates a sense of loss that is the central driving force of the narrative - Carls reason for the journey. This does not happen in Sir Billi - we do not care about the reason for Sir Billi's journey because we do not empathise with their relationship. 

It is hard to make a full and conclusive comment without seeing the completed movie in its complete context. However, Up shows you can have satire and drama in the same sequence and make it progress the narrative, as well as creating empathy with the audience.

If this is a direct scene from the film then the blame surely lands at the feet of the director(s). If it was generated for PR purposes (which i doubt they would have the budget for anyway) they need to establish what they are trying to sell. Any film with a skateboarding Grandpa should surely be sold as a fun and engaging film. (if your read the websites synopsis [here], place that against the teaser and you'd think we are talking about separate films!) So if this has been made for PR purposes then the blames lies with them. However, the animated character performances are equally to blame. This film will be counter productive for British animation. Sylvan Chomets' comments regarding the poor quality in British animation certainly seem just at this moment in time if this is what other continents see as our export.

Overall what the movie lacks on every level from director, producer, animator and the action, narrative and characters themselves are thought, communication, interaction and empathy, and i don't shed a tear!

The Sound - Narrative Relationship Explored

What is sounds relationship with animated narrative and direction?

In order to establish and develop understanding about this relationship we must look it’s birth. Without trying to open the can of worms centred on the question of which was the first fully synchronised animation and sound audio-visual, the popular – and very much disputed idea – is that Disney’s Steamboat Willie was the first.

To illustrate the passion the topic can produce, I have found a conversation spreading from a book over to the Internet between Stephen Cavalier, Rodney Baker and Mark Mayerson. Initially the conversation begins when Mayerson commented on the errors found in Cavaliers’ book The World History of Animation. The blog post commented:

‘On page 97, Cavalier says that Steamboat Willie was half finished before Disney made the decision to make it a sound cartoon. This is wrong. The synchronization that is Steamboat Willie's great advance was due to planning the musical beats in advance of animation.’ (Mayerson 2012)

This instigated a response from Baker via his blog that questioned the validity of Mayersons’ comments on this particular subject. Baker says:

‘The most compelling evidence to suggest Cavalier is at least mostly correct is the storyboard for ‘Steamboat Willie’. Note how right after the “-Main Title” there are very specific instructions for a live orchestra. The way it is written cannot be instructions for and orchestra enlisted to record a sound movie because of its suggestion to create various arrangements coupled with its emphasis to hit certain cues. I must say it certainly reads as written for a live performing orchestra. If the film was not intented [Intended] for live orchestra accompaniment then this document’s origin should be considered suspect.

…My thought: Since at this time not all theaters [theatres] were likely equipped to play sound in sync with moving pictures, Disney probably targeted theaters [theatres] both with and without the technology. Given that cartoons were often held onto and reworked until they fit into proper scheduling, I think it reasonable to say Walt Disney originally did not plan the movie to be gifted with sound but saw the opportunity and took advantage of it. (I seem to recall the xsheets/draft indicate several strategic additions to allow Mickey some breathing space…. I’m willing to guess it was for sound).

At a minimum, the storyboard suggests the author’s assertion of the film being half way done before shifting to sound may require further thought. Knowing Cavalier’s reference would certainly shed some more light on the subject.’ (Baker 2012)

Baker goes on to question Mayersons ability to spot mistakes. Mayerson responded:

‘…I need to say that not everything I note ends up being an error. Many times I question things that turn out to be right. Rodney, my system is dead simple. When I'm reading, if I find anything that might be wrong, I write the page number down on my bookmark. Once I'm done, I return to the pages I've selected and then compare the information with other books on my shelf or with information that's online…I need to say that not everything I note ends up being an error. Many times I question things that turn out to be right.’ (Mayerson 2012)

Cavalier accepts and lists the reasons for many of the errors highlighted by Mayerson and says they will be amended for the new addition of the book. With regard to Steamboat Willie, Cavalier says:

‘Steamboat Willie- In the accounts I've read (ie Charles Solomon's Enchanted Drawings, Leonard Maltin's Of Mice and Men), a test screening was arranged with the film, in Disney’s words, 'half finished'. The silent film was projected and the sound effects were produced live in another room. The audience reaction was very positive and they then went ahead with the production. As this was a test as to whether the sound worked with an audience, then it seems to me that the decision about viability of sound hadn't been fully made at that point.’ (Mayerson 2012)

Finally, Mayerson responded with:

‘No one disputes that Steamboat Willie had a proof of concept screening when it was half finished to see if the idea of synchronized sound would work with animation. However, on page 97 you wrote, "The movie was already finished as a silent short before Disney had the idea to make it a synchronized sound film." The decision to make Steamboat Willie with sound was made before the short was started, as everything in the film is animated to a musical beat.’ (Mayerson 2012)

The significance of the subject and the way people define the different areas of audio present in animation could be causing the confusion. Mayersons last comment doesn’t expend on what type of sound was decided on, though he hints that it was a musical score [albeit through tempo] rather than a sound effect. This is important for a number of reasons; a live orchestra could play a musical score. Sound effects, one would assume, would be more difficult, as a musical score playing at a certain tempo could keep in time with the animation if it, and Kaufman (1997) confirms this. Meaning the music may not have been pre-determined in its finished form, but merely a foundation for a score to be produced from. In his book Animators Survival Kit Richard Williams describes the process of sound synchronisation development in two phases:

The first - ‘The Felix cartoons led straight to the arrival of Walk Disney, and in 1928, Micky Mouse took off with his appearance in Steamboat Willie – the first cartoon with synchronised sound.’ [Emphasis added on the latter]

The second - ‘Disney followed Steamboat Willie with The Skeleton Dance. For the first time, action was co-ordinated with a proper musical score.’ (Williams 2009 p.18)

Steve Roberts talks about the relationship between sound and animation and also makes the assertion that Steamboat Willie was somehow the first animated production.

‘Ever since the very first animated productions, Disneys steamboat Mickey and Fischinger’s abstract film Brahm’s Hungarian Dances, it was clear that there is a strong relationship between animation and music. This relationship can be explained on two accounts. First both elements have a basic mathematical foundation and move at a determined speed. Second, since animation is created manually frame-by-frame, it can be fitted to music in a very exact manner. It is further able to capture its rhythm, its mood and hit the beat right to the frame. Most animation makes good use of this advantage.’  (Halas and Whittaker 1981 p.130)

Where Roberts uses the term production, it’s difficult to establish if he means a production with sound or production in general. If it’s the latter this is incredibly hard to believe considering Felix the Cat and Ko-Ko the Clown had been produced since 1924, whereas Steamboat Willie was produced in 1928 (McLaughlin 2001). J.B. Kaufman highlights the ambiguous nature of the topic further. In the paper, The Transcontinental making of the barn dance, he states:

‘It is an unbroken rule in film history: for every film that has achieved recognition as a classic or milestone, other equally noteworthy films lie forgotten in the shadows. The early “Mickey Mouse” cartoons of Walt Disney are a case in point.’ (Kaufman 1997 p.36)

Steamboat Willie did have two predecessors, Plane Crazy and The Gallopin’ Gaucho, but these were not released until after Steamboat Willie. The reasoning was ‘that Disney could, technically, approach distributors with three sound films…However, of the three, only Steamboat Willie had been designed to exploit the sound medium to maximum effect.’ Referring to the previous discussion above between Baker, Cavalier and Mayerson, this ‘design’ was that of a pre-planned beat.

‘Dinner Time [by Paul Terry] (1928) is perhaps the most significant cartoon in animation history that no one has ever seen. It was one of the few synchronized sound cartoons produced before (though released after) Disney’s Steamboat Willie. It played a small but pivotal part in Walt Disney’s creation of his first Mickey Mouse sound cartoon. It was this film, shown to Walt in New York on the cusp of recording his track for Steamboat Willie, that gave him the confidence to press on with his plans.’ (Brewmasters 2008)

There is however another that claims to be the first sound cartoon, and that is Max Fleischers Ko-Ko song car-tunes. Some had been made and recorded with the Phonofilm sound-on-film process in 1924 (Furniss 2007). However, watching these back one can clearly see that animation and sound isn’t synchronised effectively and doesn’t inform the timing or pacing of the animation. The only aspect synced with any unified purpose is the ‘famous bouncing ball’ (as it states on the DVD casing). The process for creating the effect of the bouncing ball is told by Bernard Fleischer (son of Lou Fleischer):

‘They worked out a situation where they put the lyrics on a drum, which would be turned as needed, and my dad had a laton[? Stick] which was all black except it had a white ball on the end, and he wore a black glove and he would actually bounce the ball and the drum would turn to the next set of lyrics.’ (Fleicher 2002)

The only truly synced part of the shorts was not animated. This explains the expression of calling them series ‘The first sound cartoon ever!’ This is an important distinction. The term sound, void of synchronised, is the first and opposing stage of the relationship between action and audio. Audio has no influence on performance and is merely an accompaniment. This stage would also include Plane Crazy and The Gallopin’ Gaucho because they had been animated with no pre-planning for audio synchronisation, as the idea to include this was an afterthought (Kaufman 1997). The second stage could be seen as what Richard Williams calls the First phase, where sound and action are synchronised at a predetermined level. The second stage can appear quite ambiguous, especially when you could consider both Steamboat Willie and The Skeleton Dance to be in the latter despite having clear differences. Although Williams says The Skeleton Dance followed Steamboat Willie, in this regard he means in animation innovation as opposed to a chronological release and production. As Kaufman (1997) highlights there were other Mickey Mouse releases after Steamboat Willie such as The Barn Dance.

The Silly Symphonies, as Williams (2009) describes, sees music take a more central role rather than the extended accompaniment previously. According to Mayerson (2006), a reason for this is ‘because the marriage of picture and sound was one of the main selling points of cartoons in the early '30's, directors had to deal with musical beats in order to make the films work.’ To find what ignited the prominence of music as a central driving force for the action we have to look back to Steamboat Willie.

‘He [Disney] knew that, if steamboat Willie did achieve a popular success, it would be essential to follow it up immediately with other films… The first, unsuccessful recording session for steamboat Willie had taken place on 15 September and, after hearing results, Walt had a much better understanding of post-synchronization. The main problem was not synchronizing the music – which rolled along at a steady, predictable tempo – but synchronizing the sound effects, which popped up at random intervals and difficult to anticipate.’ (Kaufman 1997 pp.37-38)

It was only natural that Disney would evolve into the Silly Symphonies. Disney was very conscious of not repeating gags and staying ahead of the competition (Kaufman 1997) and this is not surprising.

In search for the differentiation to separate the two types of predetermined sound – action relationships (stage two), the Warner Bros offer a similar reflection. Maureen Furniss cites Scott Curtis

‘… He finds that ‘ostensibly’ the Warner Bros. series split worked on the same principle as disney’s, that is, action taking precedence in the Looney Tunes and music guiding action in the “Merry Melodies” … He also indicates that, while most of the scoring for the “Looney Tunes” series was recorded after the production of images, the music director was still consulted at the beginning of the process, so that timing could be indicated on sheets of written music.’ (Furniss 2007 p.104)

The two statements present the central difference. Music guiding action can be seen as the third and final stage. Where action holds narrative importance, such as Steamboat Willie, it should be seen as action taking precedence, and The Silly Symphonies, can be seen as music guiding action. Although Steamboat Willie was designed to exploit sound with the pre-planned beat, it only holds up for part of the film and falls back to be freed from the musical structure, allowing action to be timed freely. The Skeleton Dance however, uses both musical timing and pitch as a means to manipulate movement from start to finish, and although with a linear narrative structure (start and end), the importance of the action is secondary to the music, and it’s the last statement that defines the third stage.

However, music guiding action was not without its issues, according to Maureen Furniss who cites Chuck Jones in Animation Aesthetics (2007), the concept of sound driving action developed the expression ‘Micky Mousing’, which was ‘being used to describe a situation when sound and visual elements are deemed to be too tightly matched.’ Thus, ‘music guiding action’ became a limited technique and is often saved for more abstract and non-linear narratives. It is still important for budding animators to learn as John Kricfalusi points out:

‘I'm convinced that the quickest way to learn the basics of animation is to start by animating fundamental animation techniques using rubber hose designs. I mean Hell, it worked for all the greatest animators in our history. It could work for you too and you the advantage because you have their stuff to study. They didn't have any reference. They were making it up from scratch through trial and error. Animating to a regular beat teaches you: … Rhythmic timing: it feels better- imagine a song with no beat, it wouldn't be much fun. It would meander. General timing - you get used to what different amounts of frames feel like - what 12x feels like as opposed to 8x. Classic animators and directors were like drummers. They automatically thought of their scenes as rhythms and that helped make their timing so crisp.’ (Kricfalusi 2007)

Just as the first conversation above illustrates, it can produce a heated discussion among animation historians. And although Cavaliers information was incorrect, it is still the ambiguous nature of the topic that causes such debates. Searching the question ‘what was the first animated sound film?’ and one is presented with a variety of responses, each claiming to be correct – and all could be – depending on the interpretation of the definition of the word synchronised. Paul Wells suggests the narrative and action relationship could be seen as the Chicken and Egg question, he says:

‘In arguing for the autonomy of the composer and music itself, Halas fundamentally drew attention to animations ‘Chicken or Egg’ question – Should music be written and recorded before the animation, or synchronized after? In the first instance, the soundtrack essentially delineates the nature of the visuals, as evident in the more abstract works, which have often used music formally as a creative stimulus or a kind of illustration, either of the lyrics of a song or of a popular, often narrative based or symbolically charged instrument melody. In the latter instance, the soundtrack is always subservient to the needs of the visuals with regard to the post-dubbing lip – synced dialog, diegetic sound or atmospheric, mood-determining music.’ (Coyle 2010 p.45)

Conclusion

In searching for a place to start my master’s program, I first had thoughts surrounding where my previous research had ended. Sounds relationship to narrative and performance had influenced the results, and my curiosity and need for further understanding of why it played such an influential role seemed a logical place to start. I had anticipated this would be where my research this year would lead. After further rationalising I realised the sound – narrative relationship in all its forms (abstract, linear and non-linear) would be too big from initial research. Realising I want to use this opportunity to produce a piece of animated character performance to a portfolio standard, I decided the best approach would be to explore the first steps of sound and animation synchronisation and move on.

The relationship between sound and animation was an evolving process. Evidence of this is apparent by the multiple ideas expressed from various sources explaining which was the first synchronised sound animation. Each of the ideas can be acceptable, but only through merit with clear definition (which most have struggled to define). Through the course of the document the interpretations have been categorised into three stages:

1)   Action and Audio = no pre-determined concept of sound integration with action, but sound can be added later. The narrative takes complete lead over action. (Max Fleicher’s My Old Kentucky Home; Disney’s Gallopin’ Gaucho and Plane Crazy; Beuren Studios’ Dinner time)

2)   Co-ordinated Action and Sound = some pre-determined concept of sound in the planning stage, but action/narrative takes majority lead role. (Steamboat Willie)

3)   Music guiding Action = Pre-determined concept of sound in the planning stage and takes lead over any narrative forms and ideas. (The Skeleton Dance (Silly Symphonies) and Merry Melodies)

Each process can be interpreted as synchronisation. Each stage involves a relationship between the visual and audio senses. In the quest to answer ‘which was the first’, further into the discussion (outside of this document) one can see how technology allowed progression onto the next stage. This can also influence an individual’s response to the question. This has been purposely avoided in this discussion because the overall objective was to rationalise sounds influence on narrative and establish the different forms of the relationship. These forms were explored and evolved when sound was exploited for market purposes.

In answer the bigger question, why did the audio affect the outcome of the animation in my previous research? It is clear by the three identified stages that the third stage had been used as the process. Using pre-recorded audio had shaped the action, timing and performance. I had highlighted this at the time, but what I didn’t understand was the context of the process and its relationship with other processes. Now I understand the context, my future research and practice will produce better-informed choices.

Bibliography

Baker, R., 2012. Steamboat Willie: The Sound of Transformation. Newartofanimation [online blog], 17 January. Available at: http://newartofanimation.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/steamboat-willie-the-sound-of-transformation/ [accessed 20 October 2012]

Brewmasters. 2008. Cartoon Brew TV 3: Dinner Time by Paul Terry and John Fisher. Cartoon Brew [online blog], 29 September. Available at: http://www.cartoonbrew.com/brewtv/cartoon-brew-tv-3-dinner-time-by-paul-terry-and-john-foster-7499.html#comments [accessed 1 November 2012]

Coyle, R., 2010. Drawn to Sound. London: Equinox.

Furniss, M., 2007. Art in Motion: Animation Aesthetics. Revised ed. Eastleigh UK: John Libbey.

Furniss, M., 2008. The Animation Bible. London: Lawrence King.

Kaufman, J.B., 1997. The Transcontinental Making of the Barn Dance. Animation Journal, 5(2), pp.36-44

Kricfalusi, J., 2007. Animation Course Level 1, Lesson 1 – The Beat – Kali Does Bosko. John K Stuff [online blog], 5 August. Available at: http://johnkstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/animation-course-1-lesson-1-beat-kali.html [Accessed 9 October 2012]

Mayerson, M., 2012. Review: The World History of Animation. Mayerson on Animation [online blog], 15 January. Available at: http://mayersononanimation.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/review-world-history-of-animation.html [accessed 20 October 2012]

Max Fleischer’s Ko-Ko Song Car-tunes, 2002. [DVD]. Morley Avenue, Michigan: Inkwell Images, 2002. [Region 0]

Mclaughlin, D., 2002. A Rather Incomplete But Still Fascinating History of Animation [online] http://animation.filmtv.ucla.edu/NewSite/WebPages/Histories.html[accessed 27 October 2012]

Halas, J. and Whittaker, H., 1981. Timing for Animation. Focal Press.

Williams, R., 2009. The Animators Survival Kit. Expanded ed. London: Faber and Faber.

A coversation with Simon Eltz

Having previously posted (available here) about the music video for the song Superfan Unknown by Goodrun. It was created by Simon Eltz and I had asked some brief questions regarding the piece. Here is the resulting conversation...


Firstly, What was the inspiration behind the piece?

The name of the song is "superfan unknown". So I thought I can show a variety of charakters, anyone could be a "superfan" of the band. This worked nicely together with an Idea I had of those Childrenbooks, where you can mix Bodyparts together and make funny characters. I wanted to try something similar but with moving characters. Those were the main Ideas I had in the beginning. Then came also some economic thoughts, the good reusability of the walkcycles, how to fill the minutes in an interesting way, but with not too much effort behind.

Was the concept of the video your sole creation or did you have input from the band?

I developed the whole concept and asked from time to time the band if its ok.

The characters move to the same beat, except where there are scenes with multiple characters (where there has been a slight offset). Was this a conscious decision?

Yes, I didn't want them to be too much like Robots, to give it a more natural look.

There is no linear narrative structure in the work, what was the decision behind this?

I like music videos as a field for experimenting, where you can leave some rules behind you. Well, this video is not very experimental, but I was working with visual Ideas (including Ideas about different characters etc..), and not with narrative thoughts. I tried to develop something that is fun or interesting to watch, that could catch the interest for this short amount of time. 

Could you tell me more about the character who hit's his stomach?

There is the hand of the Illustrator that draws all the characters, but he hasn't everything under controll and doesnt always achieve what he wants. Also I was searching for different ways of interacting with the Hand, I wanted to do alway something slightly different. So I had the Idea of complete changing the style of the drawing, after three unsucsessfull attempts of the illustrator to make a motivated young female superfan. I wanted to make a complete different style of character, children's drawing like, with a silly attitude. But.. also a real superfan of the Band. Well the belly hitting is just another visual Idea. In german you can say "timbal" (if its the right word in english) for a huge belly, so he just hits the rhythm on his timbal.. look at the attached image to see which instrument I mean :) By the way, hitting the "timbal"- is some kind of german expression, leo.org translates it with "to paint the town red"

Final Thoughts

I am in the process of completing a rationale for the relationship between audio and narrative that is due to be published on this blog at some point this week. It highlights 3 different stages that can be applied to the synchronisation process. This concept of the video is music led (the third stage) and this is an obvious statement to be making because of the nature of product. The idea that this area can be used as an experimental playing field is not a new one - this was central to the philosophy of the silly symphonies (see Animation Aesthetics by Maureen Furniss). This area can also be used in terms of practical practice and for expressing non-linear narrative structures. 

Although there is a lack of linear narrative the piece is broken down through a series of alternative actions that conceive the creation of different characters. This is needed because for 3 minutes of continuous walking would see the audience switch off, and this action forms the narrative structure that is guided by the music. Simon talks about wanting keeping a natural look and avoiding mechanical movement, and for this to work there has to be a reserved use for how much influence the music has over the actions - in other words by avoiding Micky Mousing! 

I'd like to say thanks for Simon Eltz for taking the time to answer the questions and for having patients through the language barrier. 

Group Tutorial: Things I don't like

On Thursday we had to present things we either liked or disliked. I came prepared with two things i didn't like, they were quite specific compared to others, so here they are with a rationale...

In the Corpse Bride intro, as the hand writes there is absolutely no weight or pressure being applied to any of the movements. No pressure or muscle movement from within the hand itself makes it look dead, and causes one to question what is the driving force? The elbow appears to be the top of the chain. The wrist only articulates any movement when easing in and out to the page. On has to assume that as a stop motion that they did not 'animate' the whole of the physiology. 

Animating the whole physiology, even when not in shot, is important. All movements force is driven primarily from the trunk and without consideration can cause performances to look off. This can be seen below in my Viva Voca posted below, and was also established in a workshop i attended last year about Laban movement theory held by Elisza Ribeiro.

However, having never worked with stop-motion i'm not fully aware of the technical capabilities. Although, i am aware to produce a model with such flexible hand movement could have adverse affects regarding control. This would surely make it far-less cost effective, and is the most probable cause. This brings me to the aesthetic of the work. Compare it to Nightmare Before Christmas, it appears CG, whereas NBC is clearly stop-motion. However innovative NBC was, we can feel the textures, this sets context. The Corpse Bride however, at the benefit of technological capability, has an ambiguous context. This ambiguousness causes the conflict in shots such as the writing hand in my opinion (because in CG it is entirely possible to general such movement). 

Further on in the scene, the towns folk all follow the beat of the music, which is accompanied by a tick. This breaks the rules for creating performance but is acceptable as its function is to set the context - a boring, monotonous and repetitive life that the protagonist (not bound by such conditions) needs to escape. We did highlight however the larger characters lacked weight in their walks. 

This was not however the worst example i could find. Roll on DFS, and their Arthur Christmas endorsed ad.

There are many fundamentals wrong with this characters performance it's difficult to decide where to start. Firstly, in gestural terms, his trunk and legs are not synchronised with the hands and head. In animated performance, it is never advisable to separate a bodies movement into two actions that do not influence each other. A coherent performance will be difficult to produce for 8 seconds of animation, due to lack of thinking time, but it clearly does not work having both separate parts running constantly, with no structural narrative purpose. The second aspect that doesn't work is the expressions. They neither have storytelling purpose nor any emotional value. The character is dead behind the eyes. A reason for this might be a poor designed character that was suitable for the limited emotional value they provided for the original feature film. (One thinks to Studio AKAs lead in Lost and Found, but they had more time for better timing and spacing, and relied on gesture over expression, and aided by an narrater. Remember the design principle, Form follows Function?)

I can hear you say well the dialogue doesn't offer much so how do we convey an engaging performance with a limited character?

This can be difficult, but the answer is simple: planning.

They had not established 2 things: Storytelling poses and the major/minor emphasis points. What it appears they did do was produce a walk cycle that would composite with the length of the distance to the door in 8 seconds and bake gestures on top. I have no conclusive evidence of this, but based on experience this is my prediction. [I am in the process of finding out who produced the ad to find this information out, i have contacted VTR North and Ink Films who worked together to produce the 2011 ads]

This draws me back to my comments regarding Corspe Bride above. All movement starts from the trunk. We have two performances in the DFS advert between the physiology causing a conflict. The problem essentially starts where they have used the walk cycle as the storytelling pose - this is okay - but it doesn't deviate. It's mechanical. The upper body doesn't move on the major emphasis points. This is a must to work with the excited tone in the voice, and ad purpose to the dialogue.

Major emphasis points = whole body

Minor emphasis points = arms + head

The storytelling poses tend to be most appropriate for Major emphasis points - a significant moment. The minor emphasis points are ideal for the transitional period.

This brings us back to the face. It makes it difficult to comment again because i have not seen the rig set up. In the discussion we agreed that the poor emotional expressions could be down to a poor rig. To really find out the answer we would need to find out if they used a character that was produced for the film. In the clip below, watch from about 1.15 in, the performance provided here shows what can be achieved if a rig from the film was used. This also raises the question of if it is from the film, what was its role in the film? was it a primary/secondary or background character? 

Once i have a response from my initial enquiry i shall be asking these questions (if applicable). The above clip is important because it expresses storytelling significance, and uses major and minor emphasis points as well as using expression. The character appears to be thinking, something that is clearly missing from the DFS advertisement. 

Check out the link below for more examples of how the character (if from the film and fully rigged) can move in terms of physiology. This is surely evidence enough to place blame at a poorly planned scene. 

http://youtu.be/g3JI0ZcONkU

http://youtu.be/dYgM6WpjCy8

When i have a response i shall update on another post.

Journeys & Destination Response

For the presentation i said -

"I obtained images from each individual and mixed them together to form a collective narrative based on experience. I then composed them on an abstract journey to create a unique metaphorical representation of non-collective experiences creating new ones together".

I have added emphasis on the last word as i will be returning to this point later. Firstly, Frank Abbott's comments stripped down said our presentation lacked cohesiveness and it felt like 3 or 4 presentations instead of one, and although i agree, i'd like to make the case that all of our personalities were evident, and while it may of not been as glossed over and as for the audience as other groups, i maintain that we were able to not only share each of our own insight with each other, we were able to present it with everyone. Where they asked for more of the video i presented at the end, it was actually a suitable metaphor for the way we had interpreted the brief. 

Our group presentation contained a rap/dance, slide shows and a video (in that order). We settled on the theme of difference. The first to show was Rita, who had decided to present a performance based on her initial experience of western/Nottingham culture. By writing her own words to a Fergie song (i'd never heard before) certainly was a loud - but entertaining - start to our presentation. The rest of the group then presented via the traditional presentation format - pictures on a slide show and spoken word. A little dull in my opinion, but being respectful (and not fully grasping what i was trying to achieve with my initial idea that i carried on as a summation aspect) I accepted that this was how they wanted to express themselves - on a creative course i'd expected they'd attempt to be more adventurous. The themes ranged from Art, Design, Architecture and Fashion, and comparing western and chinese versions. Que the video i had made.

The early enthusiasm i had for this metaphorical representation was not passed on to the group. It may of been due to a language barrier, it may of been too abstract (i later found that they get taught lots of technicality but little creativity in their homeland), or it may be that they just didn't like the idea. Realising no differences can be obtained from a place i had spent three years living, i pushed on with the kaleidoscope idea, and i wish to state now that i didn't stick with it through arrogance. I was inspired by Edmund Whites idea of the Flaneur, a book i had read over the summer. Definition here. The concept is to travel on a journey with no end goal, but to explore aimlessly absorbing through the senses everything around. I felt that reflected the situation we were all in. And although we had a goal (in that of a presentation), i did not see it in that regard, i felt it was more of an outcome than a goal. You could argue the last statement supports Frank Abbott's comments - which would explain why the presentation was not cohesive.  

Together. 

We were a pool of our collected non-shared experiences. We shared a journey in which we each had our own previous experience to reference from. In this, our cognitive processes filtered the information through our personalities. We had Rita, very animated and expressive, Edison, Benice and the others were quiet calm and relfective, and myself, searching for a deeper meaning. The poor structured and un-glossed presentation will certainly be remembered a lot more for those reasons than i wish. I will repeat the last three words of my explanation of the work, new ones together. 

Think about that for a second. Let me ask you, what do you think that means in the context of the presentation? (Not the video alone) 

Frank was looking for a new ONE together. To unify to one single goal and singular outcome. 

We had created new ONES together. We unified at a single moment for multiple outcomes.

Which would you say the video represents more? 

It has to be the latter. It's neither static nor definitive. Much like our journeys. This changes the form of the presentation into a subjective manner. On the journeys of our careers the moment will be as significant as any other in the narrative of our lives. We have all been drawn to the specific point in time due to circumstance, we will manifest this outcome and spread back out into new circumstances. Thats all i have to say about it, for now! You never know what might come back of it in the future. In the mean time, i'll leave you with this, i hope you can see why its relevant.

(Narrative) Structural Design

The following narrative structures have been taken from the book Art in Motion: Animation Aesthetics by Maureen Furniss. Although they imply storytelling forms, they will play a role by informing the evaluation of other works when establishing the role of sound and sonicity. 

Linear Narrative Structures

1. Beginning, Middle and End - Enjoyable because they conform to the ideology of work ethic: moving forward, achieving goals and making progress.

2. Interactive Narrative - (Such as animated games) - Rather than one linear narrative, the participant is offered many.

Non-Linear Narrative Structures

"An artist can utilise an alternate structure for the purposes of disturbing a viewers sense of equilibrium"

3. Cyclical - ...does not reach a conclusion but rather comes back to it's beginning. Such as myths, natural occurrences, life and death and the changing of the season.

4. Episodic - The most common place...is in weekly television series...[they] involve recurring characters and settings, with out without the addition of an on going narrative. 

5. Thematic - ...Creates an experience that can be quite different than that of a linear or cyclical production. Rather than moving forward, or even in a repeated pattern, thematic works tend towards stasis. In that respect, they can be described as meditative or poetic in nature, exploring an experience, emotion or other abstract concept in depth.

Where will my masters sit within my subject?

With my masters degree set to start next week after this last weeks introductory period, i'm taking the time now to establish with the audience of this blog where my research has previously been and where it is going. 

To start, please watch my final presentation from my BA. Although almost 20 minutes in duration, it is a complete summation of the project, meaning it moves through the experiments and the findings, and the overall narrative arc quite quickly. 

During the initial introductory lecture, Frank Abbot asked us to think about where our MA research will sit in context to our subject. He said it should be on the periphery of our subject as opposed to being central. In other words, having been central to our subjects during our BAs, we should be seeking to enter new, less established ground. The below graph visually represents where i intend my research to sit in relation to my subject.

Sitting between animation and character performance, my research concerns itself with the relationship between Timing & Spacing and sound. 

MA Introductory Project; Self Managed Research into the City of Nottingham

The first project of my MA was to write a report on a cultural experience i had gained whilst out with colleagues from other MA subjects. This is the subsequent report.

Journeys & Destinations:

Self Managed Research into the City of Nottingham

After meeting my group (Group 12) of colleagues for the first time on Wednesday 3^rd October, I was excited to be exploring the city in which I had spent 3 years of my life living in again amongst a group that have only recently arrived here. Having just moved back home to Birmingham following the completion of my bachelors’ degree in Nottingham my own sense of ‘home’ had become distorted again. I had never moved back home over any of the summers, so Nottingham really did, only briefly, become home. As I am now commuting to and from Nottingham the distorted nature familiarity is attacking me on both fronts.

My group consisted of people who have come from the Far East though many are well travelled and have been to various countries within Europe. This presented us with both mutual ground to relate. All of us had been detached from our comfort of our homes, albeit a further distance than I had myself.

We settled on meeting at the Photographer’s Hub. This was pleasing as I had never been before, meaning we would all be sharing a new experience together. Whilst waiting for others to arrive, I noticed that the street directly opposite the entrance was called East Street. I felt it was very fitting and quite a coincidence and added to the narrative of the moment, although my colleagues didn’t quite grasp what I meant, well at least to my face they didn’t. Once all the members of group 12 arrived we went on up to the Photographer’s Hub. No one answered the buzzer so we could get through the security door. Thankfully a lady from another unit within the building let us through. Unfortunately the Photographer’s Hub was shut. Now usually in this situation I would of left, but my colleagues didn’t give up as readily as I did and continued to look around and poke their noses into other studios. Which was interesting as we got to see other creative’s at work.

Following this we walked through Lace Market to the Nottingham Contemporary in the hope that they were not in a change over period between exhibitions. So you can imagine our disappointment when they were. After a quick look around the shop and parts of the show being put up, we moved onto the current shop of Paul Smith.

In my three years living in Nottingham I had never been in there.  Now my colleagues had changed from their inquisitive enthusiasm in the previous locations to delight. It was an intrinsic response. What surprised me was as a native I felt less about the brand that’s thought of so highly here than the people from thousands of miles away. In the store I felt very intimidated by its presentation and price however aesthetically appealing the clothes were. This is not to say I have anymore right to enjoy the brand more than my colleagues or to say that I am an inverted snob. It just didn’t appeal to me in the same way as my international friends; this could easily be explained by the fact they are all taking a fashion or fashion related master degrees. This experience caused me to realise culture is not contained or defined by international boarders or language barriers.

Near the start I drew on the fact we had coincidently started opposite East Street. I drew on that comparison, as I was aware of my colleagues in my presence, in what I felt was my context. I’m sure they, though in my presence, did not see the point of the comparison. They were seeing me in the same context that they were seeing themselves. Frank Abbott said something in his opening lecture that I now understand that context to be. It is something that I never really accepted before, and something that will change - on huge proportions - the way I shape my future.

‘You are now an international student.’