My final Piece

The Power of Perception

"The Power of Perception" is an abstract animation making use of the digital cutout, analog, and kinestasis techniques. It captures the contrast between my dark and whimsical stream of consciousness.

My final piece in progress

I am in the process of creating my final project. I had the idea to do a self reflection. I am going to focus on my beliefs, my interests, my image and create an abstract piece using multiple techniques. I had a very difficult time starting this project, because while I had an idea, and many images floating around in my head, I just couldn’t get a grasp on where to start and where I was going. I sat down to work and drew a blank. So... for the first time in my life I created a story board. It helped me ALOT! I have a path of imagery and transition between ideas, however I strayed further and further away from the “Me” part of my self-reflection. I am using images of myself, and a lot of photoshop techniques to abstract them, but beyond that I wasn’t sure how to incorporate the rest. So I thought that I was already using nearly all of the techniques we used in class, why not try something else! I decided to use a technique like mothlight after seeing Brittany using celluloid in class. I am just going to use tape, though, and I am just using it as a “container” for things I want to be seen in that style. I haven’t made it yet so I am not exactly sure where that is heading, but I want it to be far different than the previous examples, but  I want to keep the hands on feel. That is something I loved about animation from the beginning. There are a lot of opportunities to do physical, tactile work that used the computer only in the end. While new media is growing on me, it gets very monotonous. As far as sound goes, I am going to (also for the first time) try and create my own mash up in garage band... or sounds from garage band and use final cut to compose it because I have taken on a bit more than expected and the last thing I need to to try and learn a completely new program! I hope everyone’s projects are going well, and am looking forward to critique!

Cut out animation

"Prancing Paper"

By: Diana Walker

To go along with our cut-out animation study this weekend, I thought it only fitting to find an example and share it with you all. I thought this animation, found on youtube, entitled “Prancing Paper” by Diana Walker was great because it fit with multiple topics we have been discussing.
The first thing that caught my eye was the background. It was colored glass, with a light shining through, and I though it was beautiful. It played an enormous part in the success of the piece, and displayed characteristics of kinestasis. The artist moved the camera around to create movement while the background stayed stationary, as well as in the beginning, she explored the cut outs through camera movement, not subject movement. It created a flickering effect.
I thought that the artist created nice contrast and balance by using solid black and white organic cut out’s in front of the colored, geometric background. The silhouette effect and clean edges of the cut outs created an eye pleasing piece.
The artist used many different body movements, and I would be curious to know how many cut outs it took to create this, but I did notice several parts in which she used the same motions repetitively. I thought it was a good choice to add multiple dancers and use kinestasis because it took my attention off any repeating of positions.
In terms of sound, it’s obvious that it was needed. The animation was choreographed directly to the music but due to the nature of the subject matter, I feel like I’m speaking the obvious yet again.
One thing I did want to point out, however, is the way that she included the title and credit in the middle of the animation to separate songs. I didn’t like that choice at all. I think that there could have been some other transition used instead.

My stop motion piece

I had a lot of trouble coming up with an idea for an analog animation. I didn't want to use other people, because it has yet to work out for me, and I didn't want to use my go to method of capturing still frames from video because I wanted to try something new. When I found the wooden mannequin video last week, I got inspired to use inanimate objects, as  I said in my last blog post.
While perusing the magazine aisle at RiteAid, I came across a wrestling magazine, and I finally found my inspiration. While it is far more silly of a topic than I would usually take on, I really liked making the project. I used Wooden men, colored their outfits on them, and posed them in different positions to create a narrative. It was a huge challenge, because they don't bend quite as much as I wanted them too, and they are not stable enough to stand on their own. I ended up using sticky tack to get them to stand, or to stick them together to put them in dynamic poses. It worked out, however wasn't strong enough to hold them for as many frames as I needed, so there are less frames than I would have liked to have.
As far as the sound goes, I tried to make it just as ridiculous as the images themselves were. But I have to admit to not having much experience with sound. Overall, I think it worked out. It's funny to me, and something completely outside my realm of comfort.

Inanimate objects in animation

I found this stop motion piece while searching for inspiration for my own and I had to share it. I wanted to shed light on stop motion animation’s ability to give life to inanimate objects. Many of our classmates have discussed how difficult it can be to work with another individual, and I too have been faced with this challenge. It is difficult to find somebody who understands your vision and can help you bring it to life. While this video is... well it’s somehow cutesy to me... I thought it was a clever way to eliminate the need for another person. 

This idea holds the possibility of taking your own photographs, which allows you to have more of a hand in your process, and you never have to worry about poor acting or listening skills! I also feel like the frames will be more precise with something that cannot move on its own.

But now, more about the video. I found the video on youtube, and as you can see in the end, it was animated by somebody named Hans Segren. I found it to be very successful in terms of sound. The track was whimsical and the sounds of drawing and frustration, as well as other sound bits, were well placed and helpful to the animation. The wooden mannequin showed a lot of emotion, which i didn’t think was possible due to the lack of facial features. 

I actually thought the video was quite funny, and it was interesting to show this scene through the drawing subjects perspective, versus the perspective of the artist. Once I heard the sounds of frustration from the artist, I thought about what facial features would be captured for a piece done on him. The interaction between the unseen artist and the mannequin was entertaining.

While this piece contained no flash, or fluff, it holds its own sort of charm. It is just one more example of the multitude of mediums that can be used to create animations. I think it is very important to decide the medium depending on scenery. This video and the post-it note video that was posted last week had a great choice of medium and subject matter correlation.

Abstract animation and sound

A Man And His Dog Out For Air

Robert Breer

1957

Robert Breer used a technique inspired by Paul Klee, which incorporated line and free form. According to Ubuweb.com, "Breer used the dynamics of drawing and line to capture humor and motion." In class we discussed abstract animation, and we started to delve into the relationship the pieces had with sound or without it. This piece got me thinking about the way sound helped to define abstract imagery, and in this particular case, created a whimsical narrative. There is one particular portion that abstract, simple lines transform into birds. Sound helped greatly in defining those forms, and setting forth the idea that a narrative may be possible. In my opinion, without sound this piece would not have read anything more than transforming line and rudimentary animation. The sound kept another aspect in the back of my mind, and I was waiting for something to happen. While I was viewing this piece, I took note of the way he created it. He used pencil and index cards creating a simplistic look. This simplistic look is what took my mind in a completely different direction, away from sound and animation all together.
My studies in child development and elementary art education came into play very quickly. During the symbol making stage of artistic development, children start making symbols that people know to represent real things (such as the typical "V" shaped flying bird as seen in this video). Also, from start to finish, I saw this video through the stages of development. Children start by scribbling, and then closing their scribbles to create forms. They then take those forms and realize shape, and begin to create compositions. Once they have an eye for composition, they begin to create symbols and narratives. It seemed to me that this video followed these stages quit closely, which then made me think of the entire field of child development as one, very long animation. 
But back to the video itself. Do we get a better sense of narrative because of the sound? Or because of the transition from scribbles to shapes, symbols to narrative objects? Or is there no narrative at all? Does the sound help or hurt the piece? Can it be considered minimalist, or is it just simplistic?

Proto-Cinematic Presentation: The Flip Book

Burnt Out

     I chose to put a contemporary and technological spin on an animation presentation device dating back hundreds of years. While flip books are most often done through drawings and doodles, I chose to use digital images. To take this one step further, I took the images from a video to play with the idea of transforming the modern moving image into moving image of a different time.

     I started by taking a short video, and uploading it as an .mp4 file. I imported it to final cut pro and then exported the sequence as still images. From there I kept every third still and discard the rest. I opened them in photoshop and decided to change the image using a filter. I thought that this would make the images themselves more interesting. I then took all of the altered stills and opened them in iPhoto to print contact sheets which I then cut out to create my flip book. 

     The first time that I flipped through it, I could see sections that were very dynamic and interesting, while others were dull, boring and showed little movement. This is the point where I began editing. I had about 230 images to sort through, so I took small chunks and flipped through, removing any access cards that did not do anything for the animation. I then looked at the whole animation together and started the editing process over again. 

     This is where I started to think about how I would have changed my process. At the very beginning, I would have handpicked my images, instead of randomly discarding. This would have allowed me to choose images that would give me the most dynamic changes from one image to the next, and look the most interesting when changed in photoshop. Then, I would have adjusted each image in photoshop to get the most out of them. Because of time restraints, I applied a filter and moved onto the next without any adjustment to line strength, smoothness or opacity.

     I love the idea, and the process was fun and worth the outcome. I easily could have done this animation digitally, but I enjoyed the hands-on aspect far more. I was disappointed with the print quality, but through careful editing I was able to create a visually interesting piece.