Are these the most bizarre birds?

Yes, I definitely think they are!! Zeitguised are pro’s in making every day objects and people becoming the strangest. In one of their many animated videos they have experimented making birds out of the craziest objects such as foam, chocolate eggs, a skeleton, coconuts, eggs and even worms!! It’s mad, wild but totally amazing. The video is completely computerised and 3D, which makes it that much more impressive. The work is extremely creative and extraordinary. It makes something such as birds (which are quite the norm) become flamboyant, modern and extremely unique. 

I’m not too sure if theres a specific message that is being expressed throughout this video. I think this video more expresses how you can create an incredibly detailed animation from absolutely anything. it shows us to have fun, be free and expressive. It is supposed to be seen online in different forms of social media. It is aimed at anyone interested in animation, 3d art or graphic design. I imagine the target audience to be relatively young (teens and young adults) due to the vivid colours and over the top themes throughout.

I think the video is extremely successful. Its a crazy fun and interesting video using the most unusual objects and media forms. It;s so bright and eye-catching you cannot help but watch and be intrigued. You wonder what their inspiration was from, how did they gain their ideas and how did they create such a detailed video? Its great to watch and even greater to think about and question.

Website: http://www.creativebloq.com/3d/are-these-most-bizarre-birds-youve-ever-seen-51411519

http://www.zeitguised.com/

 

PES

PES is one of the most brilliant stop motion animation creators currently out there. It creates short films using a diverse range of materials which are fun, quirky and creative. The films often center around a person creating a meal of some sort, yet within the animation the person is using everyday or random objects such as the balls used whilst playing pool, grenades, play dough, bubble wrap, pencils, money and even poker chips. The videos are so detailed and they even include sound effects to make them even more realistic. Its incredible.

For example, in the beginning scene of one of the videos named Fresh Guacamole, the person cuts a grenade in half (which is meant to represent an avocado). There is green plasticise in its centre and a pool table ball to represent the nut. There are so many sound effects used in this short scene too which makes it only more realistic and interesting. The creators and animators go to so much time and effort to create this unique videos that they get nominated for oscars!!

PES is personally one of my favourite animators of all time. Their videos are so unique and different. The amount of detail that goes into such a short film is incredible.

“PES puts a new spin on the familiar in a way that we haven’t seen since Warhol worked in soup cans,” says David Levy in Directing Animation (Allworth Press).

PES is attempting to make random and every day things that we do such as cooking seem 10 times more exciting and creative than they already are. Their ideas behind these tasks are so unique and have never been thought of before. It’s so simple yet so genius.

The videos are supposed to be seen worldwide online through social media, yet they have travelled so far that experts have seen them and are nominating them for academy awards.

The designer has considered every single aspect of what he could and couldn’t do throughout creating his videos. We can see this through the level of detail that goes into creating them. Overall they are incredibly successful and popular. The process that has gone into creating them must have been very exhaustive, extensive and complicated. The colour and layout of every scene is bright, eye-catching and interesting. The movement throughout the videos is very fluid and flows very well too.

Websites: http://www.eatpes.com/

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/12/31/50-incredible-stop-motion-videos/

 

Creating Armature Sculptures

For my animation I bought a professional armature sculpture which helped me craft my models and be able to move them freely. But for my other 2 characters I simply bought some wire and created the figures myself but in order to do so I needed to gain help as I had never made an armature before.

The video I discovered is on Youtube and is supposed to be seen online, specifically by people who are looking at how to  create an armature sculpture. This video is far too specific to be found accidentally. Yet it is easily found if searched for, which provides very useful.

The video is supposed to be communicating to an audience of any age. The woman (narrator) in the video explains how to create a sculpture extremely easily. I presume teenagers and above will be watching or attracted to this video as it tends to be this age group that deal with animation.

The narrator is extremely helpful as she not only explains how to create an armature sculpture but she also shows us how to do it by creating several herself in the video.

The video is really successful as its easily found on Youtube and it is explained in an friendly and easy format. The video isn’t too long either and the narrator also explains the different positions and forms the sculptures can take.

Website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqlqGe9WHtg

The Sandman

Paul directed the short stop motion animation in 1992. the story follows a young boy who is being terrorised and frightened by a scary man who we presume is called The Sandman. At first this animation seems to be appropriate for children yet the end scene is quite shocking and terrifying which would make the animation suitable for older teens and young adults. The video is supposed to be communicating a short scary night terror, it is bringing an old legend to life. It is supposed to make children and teenagers fear what is in the night and it meant to make them question whether these legends are true. They communicate this by creating a scary narrative, dark scenes, dramatic music and exciting props. This animation is incredibly interesting and unique as it it set in an old traditional style. The lighting, sets and props used have all ben created in dull dark colours to create the ultimate tense experience. The animation is incredibly successful as it creates a very daunting, formidable and and chilling atmosphere all through the use of music, dark sets and the characters body movement and facial expressions. this is a very hard thing to be able to do well and Paul Berry has managed this as well as including some gruesome and upsetting elements, all through a short stop motion animation. It’s amazing. I’m inspired by Berry’s work and want to be able to create such a powerful response from my own animation.

Bottle

Bottle is a stop motion animation created by Kirsten Lepore filmed at the beach, in snow and even underwater. It’s supposed to be seen online, through diverse forms of social media. This suggests its aimed at older children, teens and young adults, as they are the people who use social media sites most frequently. The video is aimed at a young audience as its a narrative everyone can follow, understand and enjoy. Especially due to the fact that its shots in a very unique and interesting format, which will attract a lot of attention. Specifically people who enjoy stop motion animations or art students will search, find or enjoy this video. Im not too sure of the purpose of this video, perhaps it’s purely for fun, or perhaps there are hidden messages within it such as different types of people can come together or that not all friendships or good moments end well. They are communicating this through the interesting and unique narrative where two people from different sides of the world befriend one another and eventually attempt to meet up. I think this animation is incredibly successful as it presents a beautiful story of two very different beings becoming friends, by simply showing one other where they live. Its incredible new and exciting. Its simple and beautifully made. I was inspired by this artist to perhaps attempt to create a beautiful or interesting narrative. I wanted something without dialogue, purely music, so that the reader can purely focus on the characters actions, which will make it a lot more intense. Just like with this artist, I want to consider every aspect within my animation. Lepore has gone to the trouble to over analyse everything within her animation to make it perfect.

Coraline

 

Coraline was one of the most incredible and quite frightening stop motion animation films ever (in my opinion.) The detail and time that went into creating it was exquisite and is one of the many reasons people don’t believe its a stop motion animation; simply because its so impressive and looks so realistic. I always knew i wasn’t going to be creating anything like Coraline for my final piece as it didn’t suit the theme or idea I had for my project. The over the top elements used didn’t fit my depression theme at all. Yet I did want to gather knowledge on different directors, producers and animators to compare diverse styles of stop motion animations for help and to gain ideas. The film is supposed to be seen by young children and teenagers, yet I think this film could also appeal to young adults too.The narrative is dark and unique, as wells the technique in which its made, which makes it appeal to a wider audience. This film is trying to communicate several messages such as ‘be careful what you wish for’, as well as ‘not everyone is who they seem.’ These were important messages in the film and were constantly stressed throughout. I also wanted to apply similar tactics for my own animation. I wanted to include hidden messages within my narrative. I do not want to sugar coat my subject (Depression), i want to show that its an incredibly difficult illness to suffer with and that trying to better yourself and recover is extremely hard but possible. i also want to show the side effects of it, not as obviously, but still made clear. Such as the strain it has on family relationships, friendships, appearance etc.  Coraline communicates their messages through specific dialogue as well as body movement, gestures and facial expressions (as they were done quite secretly.) I took this as advice for how to include my own messages in my animation. Coraline is such a successful animated film as it uses stop motion, which is a side of animation that appeals to wide range of audiences as everyone appreciates the detail and time that goes into it. Its also successful due to the diverse and unusual dark narrative which also makes a cartoon film appeal to an older audience. Its interesting that the animation may appeal to younger people but the narrative will draw in older audiences, its very cleverly created. I am using this tactic with my own animation. I am using a serious subject which will attract older audience but the stop motion format will attract younger audiences. This way my important messages will get across to a range of people.

Link : https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/coraline

The Hidden Meaning of the Movie “Coraline”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coraline_(film)

 

Wallace and Gromit – the legends of stop motion animation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk6zbY8i4_8    (Link to a short clip of Wallace and Gromit.)

Wallace and Gromit is one of the most successful and well known stop motion animations of all time. The amount of detail included within each scene is breathtaking. The creators manage to film things like drinks being poured or things falling, which for a beginner of animation, is extremely interesting. One of the elements I favoured about Wallace and Gromit was the fact that they showed us a comical personality for a character, Gromit, that doesnt even talk. From Gromits simple change in facial expression and body language, we figure that he is incredibly intelligent and often frowns upon and is unimpressed with Wallace’s stupidity. I was inspired by this for my own project. I wanted to create an animation without any dialogue, so I needed to express my characters personality traits through facial expressions and body language (an incredibly difficult task.) Wallace and Gromit is an animation that appeals to all ages, whereas mine is supposed to mainly appeal to teenagers and older children. I can definitely take elements used in Wallace and Gromit and put them in my own animation such as humour, cartoon characters and a simple storyline. These are all elements used successfully in Wallace and Gromit and they help to appeal to a wide range audience. Even though I want a specific target audience, these aspects will help me create a successful animation in general. I can then make them more specific so they begin to appeal to my target audience.  Every decision within Wallace and Gromit was discussed, such as the level of detail that goes into its narrative, sets and characters. I wanted to express this for my own animation too. Another obvious aspect that appealed to me was the stop motion, and that it was made using plasticine. The clay was always kept so clean and it was always created so delicately it was amazing that the figures never changed slightly throughout production. The movements of all the characters were fluid too, to make it as realistic as possible. Since I wanted to think about all aspects of my animation I knew I wanted mine to differ from this. I wanted my characters appearance to change slightly, to suggest that he, at times, stops caring what he looks like due to his illness. I also wanted my characters movements to appear a little jumpy to show how rigid and unusual you and others around you feel whilst being depressed. Wallace and Gromit uses realistic colours too, to ensure the animation looks almost real. I wanted to use this form of realism too. aI wanted my animation to deal with a serious problem, in a realistic way but at times using abstract mannerisms. 

 

Cartoon Animation – Preston Blair

 

Cartoon Animation by Preston Blair is another helpful and useful book on animation. Blair explains his extensive knowledge in the diverse forms of animation as well as explaining his techniques and skills that he has and has gained. His book helps and describes how to create a cartoons body, shape, personality, features, expressions and mannerisms such as walking, running, stretching and dancing etc.  As well as this, the book also includes famous character sketches, drawings and development. The images above are pages from within the incredibly helpful and informative book. A lot of his book is based on animal cartoons as well as humans, which I think makes the book a lot more interesting and diverse. Preston Blair is an animator who I look up to greatly and often look to for inspiration. He has worked with the likes of Disney and Metro Goldwyn Mayer. I read thoroughly through Blair’s book and it helped me gain many ideas on how to successfully develop my character and possibly others too.

The Animators Survival Kit – Richard Williams

 

The Animator’s Survival Kit written by Richard Williams is an extremely useful book on traditional, computer, stop motion, games and internet animation. Williams is an incredibly talented animator and was the director of animation for the famous Hollywood movie ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’. Animation is becoming a more widely popular and creative aspect to be included in films/adverts/TV shows etc. Williams began his career with traditional animation before moving onto digital and 3D animation too. His book included hundreds upon hundred of drawings as well as information including his top tips and secrets. He provided the readers with the principles and definitions of animation that everyone needs to know. He includes a range of levels such for beginners up to expert animators. I bought this book after it being suggested to me by a tutor. After thoroughly reading through it, it has provided me with a detailed foundation of information on the diverse forms of animation. It has not only provided me with information but also helped me gained a great deal of ideas for my own project development. Williams is an incredibly talented animator and the fact that he has shared his wisdom ideas with many is great for aspiring animators.