Premise: Uncanny Granny (Working Title) - Animatic Preview

Premise: Uncanny Granny (Working Title) - Script (Draft 1)

Uncanny Granny by on Scribd

@Alan - Premise: Scene 1 Storyboard Draft

The idea is based on a childhood memory of when I stayed at my grandmothers' one night. A sudden power cut incited me to get up from in front of the television and search for her, she had left some minutes prior. When entering a darkened hall from the living room from which I began she jumped out at me scaring me so badly that it started my fear of the dark which lasted a large period of my childhood. 

After talking with Phil it has become apparent to me that it is the essence of this story which I need to focus on, the uncanny grandmother. It will be important to focus on making sure I don't add anything in which doesn't need to be and try to work with items which are associated with the elderly to create an idea of the uncanny to create dread. 

It was suggested to try and make repressed fears of getting old a thing, like the sound of slippers on the carpet, teeth in a glass, old furniture... Doilies.     

Perspectives: Thesis OGR

Perspectives: Cone of Congency

Chapter 1:

The first chapter is going to broadly outline what I intend to cover during the dissertation, then move on to outlining the theory of capitalism, consumerism and Marxist theory and them moving onto the idea of what art is.

Consumerism: As a way of life -  Steven Miles

Postmodern Culture edited by Hal Foster

Post-modernism and Consumer Society - Fredrich Jamerson

Americana Style a la Mode Retro: Post Modern Pastiche Between Culture and Commodity

Post-Marxist Theory - An Introduction - Philip Goldstein 

Politics and Ideology in Marxist Theory - Capitalism, Fascism, Populism - Ernesto Laclau

Conceptual Art A&I (Art and Ideas) by Tony Godfrey

Avant-Garde and Kitsch Clement Greenberg

Chapter 2:

To delve into the art theory is and argue the case of the avant-garde of animation, to underpin what kitsch is, define what Dada is and its place retrospectively in art theory, moving on to the end of art theory and how it is not up to the author to create meaning in art and instead how it is how the observer gains meaning from it instead. This then leads on to auteur theory and once something into the public domain is it still the property of the author. Then use Andy Warhol's Campbells Soup as a point to explain visually an example of modern art.
     

Dada, Surrealism, and Their Heritage by William S.Rubin 

The End of Art Theory: Criticism and Postmodernity by Victor Burgin

Hitchcock's Films by Robin Wood

IDEOLOGY, GENRE, AUTEUR by Robin Wood

Truffaut on Cinema - Compiled by Anne Gillain

Andy Warhol - Campbells soup 

Chapter 3:

Fowlkes, I. (2009). Americana Style a la Mode Retro: Postmodern Pastiche Between Culture and Commodity.

I intend to explore theoretical frameworks of capitalism, consumerism and Marxism, I 

Will move on to discussing the pastiche between culture and commodity in Americana 

Style a la Mode Retro 

Film Review: Ethel & Ernest (2016)

Figure 1 - Ethel & Ernest (2016) - Poster

Ethel & Ernest (2016) is like the cottage pie of animation, it's utterly wholesome and does not profess to be anything more than what it is. A quaint animation about real people in the real world, it does a good job of creating an abundance of detail and interest out of a subject content which is almost alien to a modern day audience which is why it works so well in the current age of technology, there is a scene where Adolescent Raymond Briggs can't seem to get his head around the fact his father thinks he is too dirty to wash in the bathroom, of course, this is a discussion which we as a modern audience are also totally baffled by, but it lends to the flavour of the animation style, like old hand-painted Christmas cards of churches and snowy fields, which is in turn reflected in its characters where it is suggested "The despair and anguish found in Briggs' work" (Kroustallis, 2017). is embedded from the style of the houses to the cars to the doorknobs, life is brought from the haven of their home through character animation and personality.    

Figure 2 - Ethel & Ernest (2016) - Ernest becomes a Milkman

"What stops the film from sinking into mawkish nostalgia is the humour and level of detail." (Macnab, 2016)

Figure 3 - Ethel & Ernest (2016) - Ernest fighting fires in WW2

Ethel & Ernest fits perfectly into theories of modernism during each section of the film, during their younger life in the stages of being newlyweds common themes which relate to modernism such as optimism and a prospect for the future which slowly fades into the modern period where Ethel gets Alzheimers and passes away, which is followed by a soul-crushing scene of Ernest managing in their house alone and passing away as if one can't live without the other which is metaphorical of  ambiguity and pessimism of the post-modern era. "We seem always to be leading up to a big emotional event" (Bradshaw, 2016) which is the deaths at the end of the film, however there seems to be a nagging feeling of time is passing too quickly which could only be described as a great gravity of potential for the characters who spend their lives in a state of bittersweet innocence which creates a strong feeling of anticipation and anxiety.   

Figure 4 - Ethel & Ernest (2016) - Ernest living alone 

Bibliography:

Bradshaw, P. (2016). Ethel & Ernest review – moving adaptation of Raymond Briggs's graphic novel. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/oct/27/ethel-ernest-review-moving-adaptation-of-raymond-briggss-graphic-novel [Accessed 14 Feb. 2019]. 

Macnab, G. (2016). Ethel & Ernest review: Wonderfully evocative. [online] The Independent. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/ethel-ernest-film-review-a7381006.html [Accessed 14 Feb. 2019].

Kroustallis, V. (2017). Ethel and Ernest Review: A Love Shelter Below The Rooftops of London. [online] Zippy Frames. Available at: https://www.zippyframes.com/index.php/reviews/ethel-and-ernest-review [Accessed 14 Feb. 2019].

Illustrations:

Figure 1: Ethel & Ernest (2016) - [Film Poster] - Roger Mainwood, Raymond Briggs: British Broadcasting Corporation, British Film Institute, Ffilm Cymru Wales

Figure 2: Ethel & Ernest (2016) - [Film still] - Roger Mainwood, Raymond Briggs: British Broadcasting Corporation, British Film Institute, Ffilm Cymru Wales

Figure 3: Ethel & Ernest (2016) - [Film still] - Roger Mainwood, Raymond Briggs: British Broadcasting Corporation, British Film Institute, Ffilm Cymru Wales

Figure 4: Ethel & Ernest (2016) - [Film still] - Roger Mainwood, Raymond Briggs: British Broadcasting Corporation, British Film Institute, Ffilm Cymru Wales

Toolkit 2: Animation - Finished Infograohic

Life Drawing 11.02.19

Film Review: The Triplets of Belleville - Belleville Rendez-vous (2003)

Figure 1 - Belleville Rendez-vous - poster

Belleville Rendez-vous is a film full of stylised characters, locations and a tendency for macabre exaggeration, Chomet created a film born in French artistry as "It playfully alludes to Jacques Tati" (Bradshaw, 2003), a style which bleeds through every aspect of its characters alone with Albert Debout whose caricature is evident in the design of its exaggeration.  

Society gains meaning through history of grand narratives, this alludes to the creation of tradition in genres, Chomet has carefully deconstructed the understanding of what animation is and uses this to create animation which is eerily bittersweet to a western audience, the example of Disney, a style which is extremely prevalent in western culture depicts characters who cater towards a young audience, this is done by giving the characters personalities less developed for an adult and more receptive to a child. "Audiences inevitably draw a sharp contrast between the text they are engaging with and the encyclopedic knowledge of texts that they carry with them" (Levine, 2013) Levine suggests our prior knowledge of animation creates an imbalance with Belleville which is disquietingly refreshing because it is catering for a more adult audience without being exclusive, its use of subject matter including murder, kidnap, poverty and the French mafia whilst remaining light-hearted through its whimsical environment, wacky humour and comical characters. (here's looking at you frogs!).   

Figure 2 - Jacques Tati

"A deliberately antiquated visual style" (Dawson, 2003)

Figure 3 - Albert Dubout

Belleville is primarily about the connection with the people we love, and the efforts of persistence we make to the ones we love, Scott sums that up by remarking "The movie is more about passion and the importance of the bonds that we share" (Scott, 2008), its arguable that the films exuberance of French-ness attest to this comment because of our understanding of French history. A nation who has always stood up to 'Bullies', be it Politicians, Royalty or corporation. Its ability to explain personal connection is symbolic of the rise of big business, the home environment of Champion and his grandmother is of a quaint French town which over time has built up. It is arguably it is a humble amount to increase, Belleville is literally spilling into the sea where it is overflowing with the corporation. Food is symbolic of money it could be argued, which then suggests that the obese residents of the city are all rich, this is reinforced during the scene were Madame Souza tries to pay for hamburgers but has no money, connecting the two items together, this leads to her meeting the elderly Belleville Triplets who have very little in this world which suggests that having less is in fact culturally and creatively more. 

The film ends with blue, white and red fireworks and a discarded beret as the protagonists escape the city, all of which leaves us with a final taste of France. 

Viva La Francis!   

Bibliography:

Bradshaw, P. (2003). Belleville Rendez-Vous | Reviews | guardian.co.uk Film. [online] Theguardian.com. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_review/0,4267,1030893,00.html [Accessed 8 Feb. 2019].

Dawson, T. (2003). BBC - Films - review - Belleville Rendez-Vous. [online] Bbc.co.uk. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2003/08/06/belleville_rendezvous_2003_review.shtml [Accessed 7 Feb. 2019].

Scott, J. (2008). The Triplets of Belleville analysis. [online] Satirist.org. Available at: http://satirist.org/swapa/belleville.html [Accessed 8 Feb. 2019].

Levine, S. (2013). Intertextual Rendez-Vous: Viewing The Triplets of Belleville from an American Perspective. [online] Media Theory and Digital Culture. Available at: https://blogs.commons.georgetown.edu/cctp-748-spring2013/2013/03/13/intertextual-rendez-vous-viewing-the-triplets-of-belleville-from-an-american-perspective/ [Accessed 8 Feb. 2019].

Illustrations:

Figure 1: Belleville Rendez-vous (2003) [Film Poster] - Sylvain Chomet: Les Armateurs, Vivi Film, Production Champion

Figure 2: Tati, J. (2019). Untitled. 

Figure 3: Debout, A. (2019). Untitled.  

Film Review: Waltz With Bashir (2009)

Figure 1 - Waltz With Bashir (2009) - Film Poster

Waltz with Bashir (2008-09) is an animated retelling of the 1982 war of Isreal and Lebanon where the main character experiences repressed memories through his guilt for the Sabra and Shatila massacres which is told using a collection of interviews with people who witnessed the events first hand with the main character, the film is told from the perspective of members of the Isreali Defense Force allowing an audience to sympathise with them, "It is open to the objection that the overdog's pain takes precedence over that of the oppressed" (Bradshaw, 2008) Bradshaw suggests that the perspective is one that instead of being incredulous towards the oppressor, it leads an audience to understand the individual opinions of members of the IDF rather than the entirety of the nation collectively. The examination of the subject is interesting because of its ability to explain the destruction of war isn't solely held by the loser. 

Figure 2 - Waltz With Bashir (2009) - Painterly Scenery

Waltz with Bashir is "Told through painterly drawings in muted tones, it is an examination of repressed memories as much as it is of the Sabra and Shatila massacre that forms the agonizing core of its plot." (Bronner, 2008), it is arguable that the film is playing with animation to glorify the idea of war, a technique Folman uses to create an appeal to the film, and also to shield us from the brutality of graphic live action footage. The film works with the idea of repressed memories tying into the concepts of national guilt, Ari and his memory loss are metaphorical to Isreal and its repression of the events happening around the Shatila and Sabra Massacres which are widely being forgotten, the film suggests that the nation is repressing the events of 1982 from its history and therefore its memory.

Figure 3 - Waltz With Bashir (2009) - The camera breaks

Animation creates a lense in which to stylise a narrative, environment or in this case, a difficult subject matter, Waltz with Bashir uses animation to hide the extremely graphic nature of death, during an interview with a psychologist of Folmans she describes a technique used by one of her clients about how they dealt with the war, envisaging the war through a camera lense as a coping mechanism for the emotional impact on himself, the retelling is significant because it is a metaphor for the film itself in this regard it is suggested that "The camera breaks. We awake from our dream, unprotected." (Adams, 2008) which would arguably relate to the final scenes of the film where it suddenly loses the animation and switches to live-action footage of women screaming and mourning their murdered families amongst the destruction of their homes, it would suggest that our camera has broken and we suddenly see the real trauma which war creates, it is no longer romanticised and is fed to the audience in a naked, cold and merciless reality.  

Bibliography:

Adams, B. (2008). 'Waltz with Bashir': The Fallibility Yet Persistence of Memory. [online] International Documentary Association. Available at: https://www.documentary.org/column/waltz-bashir-fallibility-yet-persistence-memory [Accessed 5 Feb. 2019].

Bradshaw, P. (2008). Film review: Waltz With Bashir. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/nov/21/waltz-with-bashir-folman [Accessed 5 Feb. 2019].

Bronner, E. (2008). In ‘Waltz With Bashir,’ the Israeli Director Ari Folman Goes Looking for the Soldier He Used to Be. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/movies/14bron.html [Accessed 5 Feb. 2019].

Illustration:

Figure 1 - Waltz With Bashir (2009) [film poster] - Ari Foleman, Bridgit Folman Film Gang, Les Film D'Ici, Razor Film Produktion, GMBH

Figure 2 - Waltz With Bashir (2009) [film still] - Ari Foleman, Bridgit Folman Film Gang, Les Film D'Ici, Razor Film Produktion, GMBH

Figure 3 - Waltz With Bashir (2009) [film still] - Ari Foleman, Bridgit Folman Film Gang, Les Film D'Ici, Razor Film Produktion, GMBH

Film Reviews - Ponyo (2008)

Figure 1 - Ponyo (2008) - Poster

Ponyo is an eastern take on a western fairy tale of the little mermaid, it is arguable that everything has been pulled out and what is left is the very essence of what made the little mermaid a captivating story. "Ponyo" is a film about friendship, independence, the power of imagination" (Propes, 2008) Propes suggests that the fantastical world of Ponyo is reflective of itself in a way which lends to the environment having a personality of its own, in this sense, it is understandable that the film is about friendship and independence, considering the constant battle of Ponyo leaving the relative safety of her father and the extension of her world, the sea. Ponyo experiences a dawning of clarity, a transition from the safety of her home, to a world much larger and more challenging, but infinitely more rewarding and interesting. 

Figure 2 - Ponyo (2008) - Ponyo rides a boat

Whilst experiencing Ponyo for the first time as an individual geared towards western cinema, it came across arguably distant, after researching this it was suggested that "In the west, the animator is the actor. In the east, the animator is the director of the scene." (Wager, 2018), which is something that begins to ring true when analysing the film, a western audience is used to character-centric cinematography in live-action film and animated film, we are accustomed to understanding the thoughts and feelings every second of the character, these are guided by a single personality which lends to the idea of consistency in a character and makes them feel less disjointed from the world they inhabit. It was suggested that Eastern animation works slightly differently on the whole by passing off a scene to a single animator which means the character doesn't have the entire personality of one sole person, the risk of this is reasonable that it could create characterisation which could come across disjointed and inconsistent to a western audience such as myself. Eastern cinema focuses on the cinematography of the animation, which in Ponyo really evokes scenery and environment which provokes real emotion which is reflective of its characters.  

Figure 3 - Ponyo (2008) - Opening Cinematic Scene

It is easy to understand a defined link between the characters and their environment, emotion is carried through the characters and into the world around them, much like a rhymth instead of a conveyance of empathy through characterisation. During the scene where Ponyo is looking for Sosuke after escaping her home underwater in a fit of rebellion "She races along the surface of huge peaking waves she has summoned up by the force of her power, Ponyo is expressing not only her bliss, but also ours." (Dargis, 2009) which says a lot for this aspect of eastern cinema, Ponyo responds visually to an emotional reaction in its audience arguably creating a fun-loving and whimsical place for an audience of any type to lose itself in momentarily. 

Bibliography:

Dargis, M. (2009). ‘Ponyo,’ From Hayao Miyazaki. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/14/movies/14ponyo.html [Accessed 1 Feb. 2019].

Propes, R. (2008). The Independent Critic - "Ponyo" Review. [online] Theindependentcritic.com. Available at: https://theindependentcritic.com/ponyo [Accessed 1 Feb. 2019].

Wager, C. (2018). Animation East vs West. [online] CritPoints. Available at: https://critpoints.net/2018/03/09/animation-east-vs-west/ [Accessed 31 Jan. 2019].

Illustrations:

Figure 1: Ponyo (2008) [film poster]: Hayao Miyazaki: Studio Ghibli, The Walt Disney Company 

Figure 2: Ponyo (2008) [film still]: Hayao Miyazaki: Studio Ghibli, The Walt Disney Company

Figure 3: Ponyo (2008) [film still]: Hayao Miyazaki: Studio Ghibli, The Walt Disney Company

Life Drawing 04.02.19