Semester 2.4 [April 17th]
Trying to weave the dissertation findings into the animation production and vice versa is no easy task, it is an art in itself but undoubtedly worthwhile.
Paul Well's 'Understanding Animation' is giving some deep insights into the platform of animation that is causing me to rethink the flow of the dissertation as well as reconsider the subject of the essay. The differences between experimental and orthodox animation have persuaded me to think of what I'm trying to achieve as developmental animation.
This is because Paul Well's believes that orthodox animation lacks the presence of an artist, whereas experimental does have a dominant sense of an artist. The meld of the two is known as developmental animation.
Ed Hook's book on 'Acting for Animators' has also been a great help in highlighting techniques to truly bring character's to life and their importance in the animated film. In a similar vein, I watched 'The Pixar Story' which proved to be a very intriguing film on the rise of the Pixar studios. Pixar's early success seemed to be attributed with their attention to content, mixed with their new art form. They focused on making their characters alive and complimentary to their stories. I emphasis the connection between their overarching theme and their characters. Extra effort was put in to assure that their characters embodied the message and reacted to the subject matter of the film.
Furthermore, I was able to conduct another digital interview, this time with Ed Hooks himself;
1) You spoke a lot about the 'next Pixar'. What do you feel the 'next Pixar' will look like and where is the industry heading? More importantly, will that movement be the result of a 'crazy', as you called them, who is unique and thus gives the audience something unique?
I am currently reading Ed Catmull's new book, "Creativity, Inc", which is an account of Pixar from birth up to present. He is, as you probably know, one of the original founders of the studio and still works as its operation manager. At the half-way point in the book, I am more convinced than ever that Pixar, DreamWorks and Disney are done. They are so huge and so regimented and so oriented to a production line process of movie production, that there is no reversing their clock to days when they could be nimble and enthusiastically creative. They have painted themselves into a financially successful corner, and that is where they will remain. The future belongs to the next generation, those who will build new studios. And, yes, I expect the next generation to have more than its share of crazies. In the first place, the next Ground Zero for animation can be anywhere in the world. All eyes do not need to focus on Hollywood. There will be new business models, new production models and narrower audiences. It simply is unnecessary to spend US$150 million on an animated movie, Steven. You, me and eight of our closest friends can make a movie in your garage now, and it will have decent production value. The technology is there, and the avenues for exhibition are varied. it is not like you have to sell your movie idea to a big studio that might put it into a production line. You really, seriously, can do it yourself. And this is MAJOR! The time for innovation is ripe.
2) You also touched on the potential for animation targeted at an adult audience. If I'm correct you weren't thinking 18+ content so much as you were talking about mature concepts and themes: Could you elaborate on this? What would an animation for adults look like in comparison to an animation for children?
I presume you read the newspapers like I do. You may have noticed that the world is going to hell in a hand basket. The skies above us are rotting, suicide bombers are hiding around corners, Israel and the Palestinians are in worse shape than ever, the Internet has everybody glued to mobile screens instead of looking into one another's eyes. Throughout history, when tribes have been in trouble, they have turned to their shamans for guidance. Right now, very few shamans are standing in the circle in the dirt. All Hollywood wants to do is get the tribe to get out its group wallet to buy more stuff. The execs may realize that the tribes are in trouble, but they must figure they will be safe because they can afford to buy their own private islands. I read recently that 85 individuals in the world control as much wealth as the next three BILLION people combined! This is an insane situation, Steven. (By the way, your last name is Forbes. Lot of money in the Forbes family, I think. I hope you got some of it. )
Yes, animation is ripe for adult themes. I'm not talking erotica, nothing like that. Children cannot be expected to relate to the catastrophic scenarios I am talking about here. We can't depend on Disney's Prince Charming to ride in on his white stallion and save the day. We are going to have to do this ourselves, and we had better get busy soon or we will all go the way of ancient Rome.
3) I was inspired when you spoke to try and tell a story that I felt only I could tell: A story I cared about. How important do you think it is for an animator to be communicating their vision or message? Do you think the overarching theme of an animation (the intention of the film) can come across in the individual acting of its character's? If so, how?
Rule Number One of powerful storytelling: Tell stories that are important to you. Do not spend a second trying to tailor your story to what you think they will "buy". A good story comes out of a single mind.
4) Lastly, more broadly, I'm wondering what your opinion on 'auteur theory' and 'method acting' is? Do you think these are correct methods?
Well, "method acting" doesn't have much to do with "auteur theory". Method acting is actually Lee Strasberg's interpretation of Constantin Stanislavsky's early work at the Moscow Art Theatre. Strasberg's Method is all about stimulating yourself emotionally, and the performance will ensue. ":Auteur theory" is, in my mind, Woody Allen, Igmar Bergman, creative geniuses who want to have total control of all facets of a movie. They are the opposite of what is happening in Hollywood right now and, in general, I applaud them.
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