European Animation

Throughout Europe, a vast range of animation mediums are found. Each country has its own characteristics and strenghts. eastern European countries are particularly recognised for stop-motion and puppet animation, such as Czech Republic's animator Jiri Trnka. Whereas western European countries like France and Germany are often framed for their cell animation or film.

Allegro non troppo Valse Triste-Bruno Bozzetto





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8Oc_J1Lu-o

"Allegro non troppo "by Italian animator Bruno Bozetto has been compared to Disneys "Fantasia",

Allegro non troppo ( a musical term meaning "lively, but not too much") has been described as a parody of Disney's Fantasia. In many ways, however, it is not comparable in either parody or style to the Disney masterpiece. Allegro non Troppo stands on its own by expanding the technique of blending music perfectly with the animated art. (Animation Art, P 254)

The animation in the sequence "Valse Triste" shows a mixture of techniques, the cat and its surroundings are animated in traditional hand-drawn animation while the ghosts of its masters are filmed in live action. The piece is filled with emotion, combining a burst of colour and music with the explosion of memories conjured up throughout the sequence.

Le Roi et L'oiseau- Paul Grimault





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Sg6qzpa_wc

Paul Grimault is a famous name in animation throughout France and the rest of the world. His work before the war mainly consisted of short animated commercials but he then began animating theatrical pieces such as "Les Passagers de la Grande Ourse"(1941) and "Le Petit Soldat" (1947)

The film "Le roi et L'oiseau" was previously released earlier as the film La Bergère et le Ramoneur (1952). The earlier film was released unfinished due to many difficulties and problems arising throughout production,

"The whole production experienced a particularly turbulent journey. This was due to many factors: pre-completion hype, spiraling production costs, delays and a court case declaring that director, Paul Grimault, who had worked on the film for three years, be removed from the project."(Animation Art, P170) ]

Grimault was later able to complete the animation as he had envisioned it, completly re-animating the feature film.

The development of the individual characteristics of the animal figures in the story is crucial to the progression of the story. The mocking bird, for example acts as a narrator at the beginning and performs a crucial role as a guide and a rescuer.

There is an interesting play on the role of animation film making. The characters who are painted in the portrait come to life and replace the main characters in the animation, thereby drawing attention to the idea of fantasy taking over reality to create a more imaginative sequence.

The setting of the animation is based within an intricately designed castle city, made up of different layers, houses and columns. Modern devices are placed within older architecture creating humour and surprises throughout the setting. There seem to also be a class system within the castle, with the royalty and nobility at the top of the castle and the lowest class based within the dark underground barely remembering what sunlight was like. This idea may reference the periods before and during the French revolution.

Research Russian

The early stages of Russian animation history between 1900 and 1930 was a period of experimentation of styles and techniques. Different animation mediums used at this time were puppet animation and stop motion, although they were used less as the century progressed.

It was after world war two that influences from Disney could be seen in Russia's animation. Following the creation of Soyuzdetmultfilm-Studio,

"Genre and styled were completely hindered by the "social realism" mandate. As such, all creative talent and technologies at Soyuzmultfilm during the 1940s and 1950s were used solely for the creation of moralistic fables and fairy tales" ( Animation Art, P 140)

The cinematography and the narrative are beautifully conceived and executed in animation during this time. Ivan Ivanov-Vano, who is known as Russia's Disney, made some of his most famous films during this period, such as "The Twelve Months"(1956). The main problem of the social realism genre was that the animation became generic and lacked imagination since the films were being produced for commercial means rather than artistic means.

The Snow Queen- Lev Atamanov

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg3pGB_Yfp8

The Snow Queen is an example of animation from the "Social Realism" period and it is one of Lev Atamanov's most popular films. The film utilises the folk idiom of Russian costume and design in a range of vibrant colour and pattern. It also exploits the seasonal changes of landscape and the rich variety of Russian architecture.

The Hedgehog in the Fog- Yuriy Norshteyn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRsXU4Q6a0Q

During the 1960's, Russian animation returned to free experimentation in its animation and a range of new styles and mediums were used creating more artistic and imaginative films. One of the main animators is this period is Yuriy Norshteyn. His animation the Hedgehog In The Fog has won many awards. The film is based on a Russian folk tale and the technique Norshteyn uses for his animation creates rich textures and detail in his characters and backgrounds.

"Norshteyn uses a special technique in his animation, involving multiple glass planes to give his animation a three-dimensional look. The camera is placed at the top looking down on a series of glass planes about a meter deep (one every 25–30 cm). The individual glass planes can move horizontally as well as toward and away from the camera (to give the effect of a character moving closer or further away)." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuriy_Norshteyn

Battle at Kerzhenets- Yuriy Norshteyn and Ivan Ivano-Vano

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJaqbl102Sg

The same technique is used in Norshteyn's older film "The Battle at Kerzhenets" which was a collaboration with Ivanov-Vano. The use of old frescos in this animation is reminiscent of old tapestries. The Bayeux tapestry in France supplies ready made narrative form for the illustration of everyday life and epic events, it also lends itself easily to animation. In the same way, Russian icons and tapestries tell the story of their historical events. This film successfully implements the narrative potential of Russian fresco and tapestry, depicting famous battles in history. The crackulure and rich colour effects are used in background sequences.

Research Stop motion

"Also called stop-action photography, stop-motion cinematography. a special effect, carried out while shooting, in which the performers stop their motion and the camera is stopped while an object or performer is added to or removed from the scene, with camera movement and action then resumed for the remainder of the scene: used to create an illusion of sudden appearance or disappearance of persons or objects." http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/stop+motion

Stop motion animation as a cinematic technique dates from around 1900, a time were various animation techniques were being created and as people experimented with the new media of film. However, animation as a medium actually predates cinema. People have always had a fascination with the illusion of movement eg. Plato's allegory of the Cave, were figure view the movement of shadows cast by a fire. It was through a fascination and experimentation of animation that people were led to invent the medium of cinema. One of the earliest animation devices was the Zoetrope (1833), which is actually predated by the Victorian device the Thaumatrope (1824). In the 1870's it was Eadweard Muybridge numerous experiments with photography in an attempt to show movement in animals and humans that led directly to the development of cinema. There are several examples of early pioneers of stop motion,

"Pioneer narrative film-maker Edwin S. Porter and his use of stop motion dolls in his short, The Teddy Bears (1907)" and "Leon Gaumont (1864-1946), who was awarded a French patent for stop-motion animation (stopping and starting the camera while a change is made in the scene being filmed) in 1900." ( Animation Art, P12)

For most of the 20th century, stop motion was the main technique used for special effects in films until CGI was later developed and perfected. Some of the main icons of stop-motion animation were Willis O'Brien who created the special effects for films such as The Lost World (1925) and King Kong (1933), and Ray HarryHausen, O'Brien's successor in the medium.

Ray harryhausen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9kmjW73-v4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP4cLBjHwZs&feature=related

Harryhausen has created many iconic creates and monster throughout his career but many agree that his most famous animation sequence was in "Jason and the Argonautes"

"In what is probably Ray Harryhausen's finest film, Jason and the Argonauts(1963), there is a stunning episode in which live- action star Todd Armstrong fights a skeletal army, born from the scattered teeth of a Hydra......It is a breath taking sequence of screen magic which has inspired many animators including Aardman's Peter Lord and Dave Sproxton"" (Cracking Animation, p46)

My favourite scene of Harryhausen would be the fight between Kali and Sinbad in "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad". I thought the synchronized movements of the stone statue fighting several opponents was very impressive.

I have always found that Harryhausen's creatures felt more realistic and believable within his films than the CGI monsters and creatures in todays films. It's even more amazing that he animated most of his animation sequences by himself, since he preferred to work by himself. For example in a radio interview on BBC radio 4, he explain how he painted out the strings in every single frame for his UFO sequences,

Harryhausen used a complex method for his animation "The process involved elaborate setups that sandwiched the stop-motion animation models between glass matte paintings or optically matte foreground elements and rear-screen- projected background plates" ( Animation Art, p159)

The problems I would have using this method would be trying to get the resources together for the models and the setting.

Jabberwocky - Jan Svankmajer

Another famous stop-motion animator I have researched is Jan Svanmajer, an artist and filmmaker from the Czech Republic. I think his method of stop motion animation would be more suitable for this project. He brings life to different objects creating surreal and grotesque animation sequences,

"Svankmajer's films play on universal phobias: dark cellars and empty houses; dead things- such as ox's tongue- that look uncomfortably human; and dangerous things such as nails, scissors and broken glass." (Cracking animation, p27)

Considering my budget and timetable for this project, I think this method of stop-motion would be more effective. Of course the overall imagery of the animation will hopefully not be as dark Svankmajers films.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT6KsgbwE3g

Svankmajer has used themes of childhood within two of his animations, Jabberwocky (1971) and Alice (1988),

In Jabberowcky, for example, the theme is one of the struggle between fantasy and reality....Before the young boy becomes the suited young man, he has to put away the things of a child for those of manhood. Svankmajer is obviously ambivalent about given his acknowledgement of the roots of the imagination and art in childhood, while at the same time knowing that this is also an escape from what he sees as the cruelties, fears and anxieties of that stage of life" ( Svankmajer, The Communication of Dreams, p18)

I like how he uses the poem Jabberwocky as a bases for a theme, but then comes up with his own view of the story. The film itself is made up of random occurrences between the objects in the room. The narrative is deliberately disjointed throughout the piece but the interesting visuals invite the viewer to engage with their own imagination. Svankmajer put himself in direct opposition with mainstream animation such as Disney.

Alice- Jan Svankmajer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2-TPdB70Lg&feature=related

Alice was the first Svankmajer animation I saw as a child and it greatly influenced me with its surrealistic characters and settings. Svankmajer again uses the Lewis Caroll story as a basis and constructs the film from his own memories and imagination.

My favourite sequence in the film is the scene introducing the cards. The scene combines numerous types of animation, such as stop motion, cutout, traditional drawn animation and live action footage.

Svankmajer never restricts himself to a technique in his film, but rather uses what is necessary to convey his work.

Project proposal

Design disciplines in project:
Animation (2D)
Film / Video
Illustration

Project background:
So far in studying design through film and animation, I have explored and experimented with posterising and Rotoscoping.


In this next project, I would like to develop these skills further and also explore other areas of animation such as stop motion and traditional animation. By doing this, I will be able to utilise many different forms of this media to commuinicate my final design solution. I will also have primary research to carry out, such as character, scene and setting observation.

The existing artworks I will be studying for stop motion will be animations and films made by Ray Harryhausen, an Ameriacan animator who specialised in special effects for mainstream movies, and Jan Svankmajer, an animator from the Czech Republic who has created surreal artistic films.

For traditional hand drawn animation, I have already done some research into American animation such as Disney and Japanese animation such as Studio Ghibli. For this project I would like to research different European and Russian animations, as it has an illustrative quality which I would like to explore.

To carry out this research I will be examining a number of books such as The Five C’s of Cinematography, Visual Creativity, Stop Motion: Craft Skills for Model Animation, The Fundamentals of Animation, Animation Art. I also plan to research a number of journals through the university library such as, Animation Magazine, Computer Arts, Film Ireland

Project description:

The theme of this project will be childhood memories, I plan to explore this theme fully and create my own narrative through different imagery and sound media. I estimate the film to be at least three mintes long. The rationale behind this will be the use of personal imagination and memory and use of my own primary material to make the film unique and innovative. The use of mixed types of animation and live action filming will also help in commuinicating differnet themes throughout the film.

As for the purpose of this project, I am planning to enter it as a short film for a number of film festivals such as

DepicT, an international short film competition which challenges filmmakers to create super-shorts of under 90 seconds. For this I will shorten the film down to suit to brief of this competition.
Evora an independent International Short Film Festival organized by the non-profit associations University of Évora Film Society
CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival



Im hoping that the film will be entertaining for quite a broad group of viewers including children and young adults interested in animation.

However the problems which I will probably face will be producing a fullscale animation with a limited budget and timespace. I will have to come up with a timetable and workflow that will bring me to the design solution I desire.

Project aspirations:

My aspirations for this project are to broaden my expertise in various animation techniques so that I become comfortable within any disapline in this area. In doing so I hope to be able to place myself in a industry standard stituation and be able to fill out my design proposals in the most effective way. I am hoping that this with also give me good experience for the film industry, as it will involve all aspects of production used in making films.

This will also be a start for producing work in order to gain recognition in the professional field and therefore build my portfolio of work so that I can apply for a number of different scholarships and residencies to further my studies.