Animation Films Are Entertaining When We Know They Are Animation Films - Essay Example

Animation Films are Entertaining When we Know They are Animation Films: Chairy Tale & Who Framed Roger Rabbit Animation films are a large part of the film industry in general, however the subject of animation films is one which is more often than not taken much too simply, in that some of the most important and relative facts and issues about them are not taken properly into context; in order to be able to understand about animation films in general and to understand about how and to what extent we are actually aware of the animation process and as well in regards to how this awareness may be seen to affect our overall understanding, there are many different issues that are going to have to be examined and discussed. In order to do this, we are going to use two animation films in particular, Chairy Tale by Norman McLaren, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit by Robert Zemeckis, and this will thus allow us to be able to come to a much more informative and knowledgeable point of view and this is what will be dissertated in the following. There are so many factors and issues in regards to the animation process, and it is truly important to be aware of each and every one. Basically, traditional animation, which is also known by various other terms including cel animation, classical animation, and hand-drawn animation, for instance, is known to be the oldest and historically the most popular form of animation, especially when compared to the newer and more advanced forms of animation that have come out since then, and in traditional animation all of the animation work is done by hand, rather than say computers, as so much of the animation in today's world is done by. In regards to the storyboard of a traditional animation film, all animation films generally start with this as their beginning move, and basically what a storyboard is, is a script of sorts that is written using both words and images, or sometimes just one or the other, and it turns out to be similar to that of a giant comic strip. The storyboard shows how the film is going to go, and allows those who are working on the animation film to be able to get a really good idea in regards to how everything is going to work out and look in the end. "The images allow the animation team to plan the flow of the plot and the composition of the imagery. The storyboard artists will have regular meetings with the director, and may have to redraw or 're-board' a sequence many times before it meets final approval". (Wikipedia, 2007). Then there is voice recording which is used in many animation films - although of course there are some that are told without any words at all and these are usually accompanied by a dramatic soundtrack - and really it is before any true animation process begins that the voice recording is taken into consideration, and this is so that the animation may thus be more precisely and perfectly synchronized to the soundtrack. "Given the slow, methodical manner in which traditional animation is produced, it is almost always easier to synchronize animation to a pre-existing soundtrack than it is to synchronize a soundtrack to pre-existing animationas wellA completed cartoon soundtrack will feature music, sound effects, and dialogue performed by voice actors. However, the scratch track used during animation typically contains just the voices, any vocal songs that the characters must sing along to, and temporary musical score tracks; the final score and sound effects are added in post-production". (Wikipedia, 2007). Then after this is when the actual animatics come into play, and an animatic will typically consist of the pictures of the storyboard synchronized with the soundtrack; this is an incredibly important and helpful part of the process overall as it allows the people involved to be able to work out any part of the script that needs it as well as be able to work with any timing issues that are problematic. Then once the animatic has been approved, this is when the design and timing are perfected, and there are model sheets that are prepared now, which show how a character or an object looks from various different angles, with different expressions, and so on, and this is so that all of the people who are involved in the work of the film are able to work together and properly and so that they can all also deliver consistent work. There is often also figurines that are used in order to make this as understandable as possible, thus making the process even easier overall. There is a timing director that is involved in any animation film, and while the design is going on it is the timing director who is there to make sure that the right movements and expressions and such will be coordinated properly in each frame. Timing is one of the most important factors of all in regards to animation films, and it is good timing that really makes an animation film what it is, especially if there are no words used, because then all the viewer has to go by is the timing of the film. The layout begins once all of this is completed, and the layout process of an animation film is basically where the background layout artists will determine things such as what camera angles to use, what lighting and shading is the best to use, what paths the cameras should take and so on, in order to make for the best film possible. All of these issues will vary from film to film of course, although there are certain standards that you will notice that are alike in almost all animation films. Then once all of this is done, it is time for the actual animation process to begin. In the widely used traditional style of animation process, the animators will begin their work by drawing sequences of their animation and putting it onto sheets that are perforated to fit the peg bars. There is a key animator who is basically the lead animator, and it is this person who really makes all the decisions in this part of the animation process. "A key animator or lead animator will draw the key drawings ('key' in the sense of 'important') in a scene, using the character layouts as a guide. The key animator draws enough of the frames to get across the major points of action; in a sequence of a character jumping across a gap, the key animator may draw a frame of the character as he is about to leap, two or more frames as the character is flying through the air, and the frame for the character landing on the other side of the gap". (Wikipedia, 2007). There are many different factors that are used in an animation film, and the selection will depend on those involved in the working process, as well as on what the feel of the film is and what is expected to come out of it. For instance there is the option of using the traditional ink-and-paint and camera method, which is the actual photography process that is used in most animation films, especially the older ones. Once an entire sequence of drawings for the film has been transferred to cels, then the photography process can begin, and this process is one which is incredibly complex and time consuming. What happens here is that each cel that is involved in a frame of a sequence is taken and it is laid on another one, so that they are all stacked one on the other, and it is the background that will be at the bottom of the stack. Then there is a piece of glass which is lowered onto the artwork in order to flatten any irregularities. Then "the cells are removed, and the process repeats for the next frame until each frame in the sequence has been photographed". (Wikipedia, 2007). There are also other ways that animation films are produced, with other methods, and that includes digital ink and paint, and computers and video cameras. When we use specific animation films in order to see to how and what extent we are aware of the animation process and how this apparent awareness is seen to affect our understanding overall, it makes it a great deal easier to get the point, and so in regards to Chairy Tale for instance, by Norman McLaren, we see a film that is quite obviously animated, and it is an incredibly simple film that is somehow complex at the time. This film is one which was made in the year 1957, and basically the plot of the film is that there is a chair (which is animated by Evelyn Lambart) that absolutely declines to be sat on, and there is a single other character in the film, which is a young man, and during the film and the chair and the young man end up performing a sort of pas de deux. There are no words in the movie, it is only accompanied by a musical soundtrack, and this allows you to concentrate much more on the actual animation that is used in the film, and although one of the main - and only - characters is a chair which is an inanimate object, it is truly brought to life by the work of animation that is used in the film. This film is really great for everyone in regards to how it makes you aware of the animation process, however even in its incredible simplicity, it is still surprising how unaware people are in regards to the actual work that goes into producing an animation film - even one that is this seemingly simple. Chairy Tale is truly an innovative type of animation film in that the writer and director, Norman McLaren, created this movie at a time when animation was merely considered as being frivolous entertainment and his ability to truly challenge the limits of the genre overall were incredibly significant. This film is one which is purely evident of animation and which really can be used to present the animation process and how it all works considerably, and so this is obviously incredibly important. If we look at another animation film, one that is more popular, Who Framed Roger Rabbit by Robert Zemeckis, we get a relative and yet incredibly different point of view on animation films, as this one is full of characters rather than just having two, and it is considered as being "a tehnically-marvelous film blending animated, ink-and-print cartoon characters and flesh-and-blood live actors, in a convincing comedy/mystery noir thriller, set in Los Angeles in 1947". (Dirks, 1988). This film is great in that it truly shows us an incredible amount of animation, and different types and methods of animation at that, and especially the fact that there are real life actors as well as animated characters goes to show us the true dimensions that are possible with the animation process. By using this film we can see many different parts of the animation process and how they are critical to an animated film overall; the timing for instance in the movie shows how critical the timing issue is in regards to an animated process, particularly so when we see the actors and the animated characters working together and interacting. Basically in regards to the film's plot, the story revolves around the murder of a man named Marvin Acme and a Maroon Cartoon Studios actor known as Roger Rabbit is framed for the murder, and it is quite simply the story of a man, a woman, and a rabbit in a triangle of trouble. It was the director, Zemeckis, who is credited for the piercing together of all of the production that was involved and that went into this film, and this is in regards to how he brought together hundreds of animators who worked incredibly hard for this film, and it was truly unique and creative in many different ways. Overall from this review we can see many things, and especially after reviewing two animation films in particular in order to truly understand how aware we are of the animation process, we have been able to come to a much more informed and knowledgeable viewpoint on the issue overall. Animation is truly an amazing art form that really is only now getting attention from people around the world, and therefore it is really gaining more importance than it ever has before, and this is a wonderful thing because the animation process and animation films in general are truly cinematic and works of art, and so it is good that animation is getting the respect now that it has deserved all along. From this review we have also been able to see that we are perhaps not as aware of the overall animation process as we should be, and only after using particular selections of animated films in order to discuss how and to what extent we are aware of the animation process have we really been able to see how our relative lack of awareness may be seen to affect our understanding overall. Animation has truly now become an incredibly popular art genre in the world today, and some animated films are quite sophisticated whereas some are not, as we can see when we discuss two films such as Chairy Tale and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. However the great thing about animated films is that just because a film of this sort may not come off as being complex or sophisticated, we can still get as much out of it as we would with any other type of film, and for instance with Chairy Tale where there are not even any words, we still are able to completely understand the storyline and get a good grasp on the film overall, and this is what really matters. Works Cited Dirks, Tim. Who Framed Roger Rabbit 1988. 28 Jan. 2007 http://www.filmsite.org/whof.html McLaren, Norman. Chairy Tale. 1957. 28 Jan. 2007 http://www.nfb.ca/animation/objanim/en/filmmakers/filmmaker/film.phpfilm=&_onfplr_sel=plr&id=11192&idfilm=11152&formats=default&speeds=default&use_cc=no&use_dv=no Newali. The Magic of Animation. 2007. 28 Jan. 2007 http://newali.apple.com/ali_sites/ali/exhibits/1000678/The_Lesson.html Sobchack, Vivian. "Final Fantasies: Computer Graphic Animation and the [Dis]Illusion of Life," in Suzabba Buchan (ed.), Animated 'Worlds' (Eastleigh: John Libbey) 171-182. ThinkQuest. Animation Process. 2007. 28 Jan. 2007 http://library.thinkquest.org/J003075/animatio.htm Wanna Learn. Animation. 2007. 28 Jan. 2007 http://www.wannalearn.com/Fine_Arts/Visual_Art/Drawing_and_Sketching/Animation/ Wikipedia. Traditional Animation. 2007. 28 Jan. 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_animation Zemeckis, Robert. Who Framed Roger Rabbit 1988. 28 Jan. 2007 < http://www.filmsite.org/whof.html> Read More