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[mixedmediaanimation]

Assignment #3: Si Se Puede

[mixedmediaanimation]

Reading Reflection #8

Chapter 20 of Austin Shaw’s design for motion begins by talking about the process and importance of one’s character design.  Shaw understands that character design can be a daunting task for those who do not have strong drawing skills, however, he believes the process of conceptualizing the character as well as the research and references that come with it pay off in the long run. He believes a good starting ground to be a written profile of the character because of the quality that including mannerisms, behaviors, and other emotional characteristics can bring forth to your overall portrayal of the character as a whole. Shaw believes in spending time actually drawing loose sketches of the characters at first in order to experiment with different designs until they are closer to the actual look of your character overall.  The animator will then need to visit other areas such as creating action poses in order to visualize the characters movements and gestures, actually rigging your character for the actual animation, and even the creation of a design board that is based off different aspects of your character as well.  

Chapter 3 of the animation bible talks about the pre production process in regards to animated work.  This article talks about the different ways in which the concept of the work overall can be developed; whether it be through the producers and directors themselves, or other people hired from outside of the production itself.  Either way, it is important to ask a number of questions in order to better and more precisely envelope the idea behind the work ranging from, “What is the central goal of the story line?,” to “How will artwork, digital files, and other components of the work be archived when they are no longer in production?”  After completing these questions it is time to pitch the project which will vary depending on what industry you are trying to export your work to.  The article explains that it is good for the person presenting to provide three or four of his or her best ideas about the film with the ability to extend and talk about those concepts to those you are pitching to. This article goes on to explain all of the other aspects of pre production including the making of a script or veering away completely from having one at all, thinking about the sound design of the piece, pacing and timing, storyboarding, animatics, scheduling and budgeting and many more areas to consider.  

[mixedmediaanimation]

Reading Reflection #7

Scott McCloud's Chapter 1 of Understanding Comics starts off talking about comics in the terms of Eisner as to resemble something like sequential art.  McCloud sets out to get a more reformed definition, where he suggests that it could be considered similar to animation.  However, comics must "occupy a different space," where animated films are "projected on exactly the same place."  Films are hence are linked through time where comics use the idea of space.  He goes on to make a hilarious sequence which alludes to his definition of comics as, "juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence."  McCloud then goes into the history behind comics, actually starting as far back as 1519 in a pre-columbian picture manuscript.  Comics can be found in places all over the world from this time up until current times.  Printing ended up bringing comics out of the grasps of the wealthy and made them accessible by everyone.  He expresses the vast world that comics live in and how we might be surrounded by much more than we think with the use of diagrams or even sequentially placed photographs.  

Chapter 2 of Understanding Comics begins by talking about Magritte's painting known as “The Treachery of Images.”  Within the image it has a phrase that says, “this is not a pipe,” which it is just a painting of a pipe, and since it is in this book it, it is a printing of a drawing in a comic panel of a painting of a pipe.  He then begins to address the word  “icon” to mean any image that can be used to resemble a person, place, thing, or idea. McCloud talks about how icons can be a almost direct representation of the original thing or can be completely abstracted in various degrees.  As an artist breaks down the image and simplifies it, it begins to move farther away from realistic representations of real life, however, it is still deemed acceptable to the human eye.  Scott states that cartooning isn’t just a way in which an artist can draw, but a way in which we can see something.  Also the simplification leads to more and more people being able to identify with.  He then goes on to even draw random curves that are connected, just adding a circle in a dot, thus getting a reaction out of pretty much all humans that that random drawing now is a face.  McCloud basically is stating that we can see ourselves within the simplified comics, thus we become more invested because of human’s oh so selfish nature.  

[mixedmediaanimation]

Reading Reflection #6

In Chapter 17: Of Austin Shaw's “Design For Motion,” he starts off by talking about the importance of typography and its relevance towards motion design.  Shaw believes all motion designers need to know the basics at the very least of how typography works.  Typography comes in two types of “families” which are known as serif and sans serif.  Serif is the more traditionally used because it is more readable, while san serif is usually used for headlines and display signage.  Shaw then goes on to talk about the “baseline,” which is the invisible line that the bottom of each of the letters rests against and the importance of keeping it within the line to maintain visual balance amongst the text. Shaw Goes on to explain the adjusting of kerning, (the space between two individual letterforms), tracking, (the space between all of the letters in a word), and leading (the space between lines of typography), encouraging people to play around with these spacings but to be aware of the legibility of the words while adjusting.  He also believes that it is necessary to think about typography in particular shots in pre-production in order to not make it feel like a “secondary consideration” in your final product.    

In Chapter 8 of Austin Shaw’s “Design For Motion,” He talks about the idea of the outer and inner eye.  Shaw states that, “there is a balance between the spectrum of looking inside oneself for inspiration and looking outside of one’s self for inspiration,” which as a creator will always be a constant battle for myself personally.  Shaw emphasizes the fact that even though you can take inspiration from outside sources, one must not copy an artist, but take the inspiration and make it a unique style of your own.  Shaw then goes on to talk about Mood boards and how they can actually increase productivity and efficiency, by helping you to more easily visualize your design goals and actually can help inspire your overall look and feel for the entire project.   

In Chapter 10 of “The Animation Bible” by Maureen Furniss, begins with talking about different types of stop motion and how to incorporate different particles for the animation process.  She talks on how sand is one of the most popular particles that is used within stop motion, because of its malleability and ability to metamorphosize. She then goes on to talk about pinscreen animation, which is a white surface set that houses thousands of pins that can be “pushed in or out, depending on the shapes and patterns desired.”  She uses this platform to express the pure vastness of stop motion animation and how even though it may take a lot of time and effort, it is a very interesting and unrestricted medium.

[mixedmediaanimation]

New’d Beauty

Leann Gill is a very interesting and forward looking nude photographer, paving a way for the empowerment of women of all races and body types.  Gill is an artsy blonde hair blue eyed woman who has a lot of spunk in her step and a very down to earth and bubbly personality.  Leann started getting into landscape photography in high school due to a long infatuation with nature.  During that time, she was introduced to a women studies course at Diablo Valley College, which began to open her mind about media and societies suppression of sexuality on the female body.  Leann then transferred to Sonoma State where she pursued a degree in Women and Gender Studies.  She noticed that the media portrayed a lot of images of women which society and media defines as “beautiful” and “in shape”, and even exoticized women of color, dehumanizing them in front of the lens.  Leann then stumbled across a professional nude photographer named Corwin Prescott who takes nude photos of women in nature, although, he usually sticks to societies depiction of a “slim” body type which inspired Leann to take on her own approach.  Gill began her journey on taking nude photos of women of all body types, of all races, of all heights going against the grain of media’s depiction and bringing forth this beautifully progressive photo series.  She has since been receiving messages from women of all ages to join join her in her journey of women empowerment, which has enabled her models to reclaim their body and their beauty in an attempt to look at the human body as an art piece and not as a sexual object when presented in the nude.  Even though Leann is at the moment primarily photographing women, she is very hopeful to start photographing Men and Transgendered people as well to encourage everyone to accept their bodies and love themselves for who they are and what they are as well as to be in touch with natural world around them.  I believe it is very important to spread her photography and message with the world in hopes to empower all those who are struggling with body image or accepting themselves because of media influence or personal insecurities.  We are all only given one body as our temple and through this style of photography many people can finally see their body as an ornate piece of art; their own palace that can shine it’s light through even the darkest of places.  

(These Photos were made in photoshop)

[mixedmediaanimation]

Reading Reflection #5

In Chapter 10 of Austin Shaw’s “Design For Motion”, he begins with talking about how important it is for animators and motion designers to really inhabit the roll of director on their projects.  This is because the animator is in charge of what the people see on the screen, the camera's positions, proximity, set design and mise en scene.  Shaw then begins to break down different types of shots and what they can convey.  Within these shots we can bring the viewer closer or farther away to the subject, show the most intimate details or just to show the character being introduced to the setting, and how these different types of shots can convey different emotional connections with the audience.  One way to quickly give “vision to our ideas” is to make a thumbnail sketch, which is a drawing that roughs out the composition of an image very quickly.  They also help develop your hero frames, which are frames that hold the very important or heroic moments within your story.  He also incorporates the importance of including hand drawn storyboards, but insists that they are not permanent; more of a revisualization of the action and composition.  

In chapter 7 of Shaw’s “Design For Motion”, he starts out by talking about the importance of internally editing our thoughts to be “polite in civil society,” however, he does believe that you should not completely edit yourself to be totally P.C. all of the time, and to explore with “freedom and curiosity.  The essay then shifts to talk about free writing, which is defined as a “continuous stream of conscious thoughts written down on paper or typed on a computer.”  This is a way to get all of your ideas out in a very fluid and uninterrupted motion, which can allow you to access the “more restrained parts of your brain,” which can bring them out and allow for a very interesting idea for your film.  He also finds an importance of approaching free writing with a sense of play to it.  He then goes on to talk about far more uses of writing including making word lists of key words or key points you want to make, making connections with mapping out your mind with a graphic display, to be engaged and to follow through with an idea to the tipping point of your project.

[mixedmediaanimation]

Reading Reflection #3

In Chapter 2: Preproduction – Concept, Ideas, and Research, Andrew Shelby talks about the way in which to develop a conceptual framework within animation.  Shelby talks about the process starting with inspiration grown from whatever interests you as an individual, then taking the scripts, pilot episodes, educational materials, etc. and continue your own research and obtaining material to make that idea more and more concrete.  Shelby even talks about taking into account the moral and legal restrictions, or even changing certain events within the form of animation itself.  He then talks about the importance of sketching out ideas and even making flip books in order to be able to project your vision more clearly to those around you.  All in all the, with the details ironed out and your work tested and researched, this pre production preparation will make production go a lot more smoothly in the long run.

In Susanna Shaw’s article, she talks about the importance of movement and how to translate everyday movement into the movement of the characters within stop motion animation.  Shaw talks about “anticipation, action, and reaction,” and how these three words can really put a realistic and naturalistic sense into your animation to really sell the illusion of movement to the audience.  She even suggests taking videos of yourself performing an action, then breaking that movement down to transpose it onto the character you are animating.  An important thing to keep in mind is also the rhythm and pace that goes into a movement and how things in the real world will follow a sort of bezier curve of motion/acceleration, and even dives into the hurdles that animators must overcome in rigging and even hiding the actual character having to walk/run from point A to point B.  

In Austin Shaws article, he talks about the importance of design boards and what their function is.  He describes design boards as a succession of style frames that can be used to tell a story in a motion design project.  They are like a very detailed story board that can include notes that have camera angles, distance from a focal point, movements, etc.  Shaw states that these boards can be used as a way pitch your idea and also as a source to direct the view of your production and also help with planning.

[mixedmediaanimation]

Reading Reflection #2

Andrew Shelby’s article begins with talking about how to plan for a production, and the roles in which people will partake in within the production itself.  He gives us a general list of questions to ask when thinking about all aspects of the production, which should in theory allow the members to understand the different jobs and to assign the roles accordingly.  Shelby breaks down these roles into a few categories, really putting into perspective the things that you should be thinking about before creating a film/animation and the responsibilities that these people working on your project should hold in order to create a very economic and fluid production.  Shelby then talks about the idea of scriptwriting and how in animation it can differ from ordinary film.  

The fact that this medium can move outside the bounds of physics and and have its characters effected by the real world, gives the animator an entire knew malleability on the narrative approach to their work.  With the incorporation of animation vocabulary, such as metamorphosis, condensation, anthropomorphism, fabrication, penetration, symbolism, and illusion created by sound, the scriptwriter can take on a very informative approach to the narrative thus building upon the premise and plot in order to really sell the narrative in the terms of animation.  The script becomes one of the most important factors of the entire production, containing very important details of the story line, character, setting, etc. to really bring your entire production together.

In chapter one of Maureen Furniss’, “The Animation Bible”,  she begins by talking about the importance of a concept within animation, and how it is basically the start to your entire production.  She goes onto explain the ways in which we can obtain idea, through study, reflecting on everyday events in a journal, reading, research, and many other ways.  However, Furniss goes onto explain how important it is for the creator to really question the value within your idea and what people are going to get from it.  Furthermore, she goes into the importance of creating your style and incorporating your character design with right movements, timing and metamorphism in order to really sell your idea as a whole, effectively assessing the feedback you receive in order to build and grow more successful as a artist of this medium.