Sunday 22 February 2009

10 of the greatest websites in HISTORY

Here is a selection of 10 cool website links that you should definitely check out!

1. http://www.youtube.com/
Well this website needs no introduction really, the most popular choice for videos online.

2. http://www.aniboom.com/
This is an interesting website I came across recently which is pretty much like youtube, but purely animation based.

3. http://www.newgrounds.com/
Newgrounds has been an old favourite of mine for a while now. This website specializes in
flash animation/games. Some Brilliant pieces on show here.

4. http://uk.gamespot.com/
Being a hardcore gamer I love to keep up to date with the latest computer games. It also has information about up-coming games, videos, forums, and much more.

5. http://failblog.org/
One of the most funniest websites I've visited. The basic idea around this website is displaying the worlds mistake's, i.e a fail. These are usually shown with videos and images. A must see!!

6. http://www.weirdasianews.com/
I discovered this website from a friend, its pretty cool but requires loads of reading. It reports news of weird things happening in Asia.

7. http://www.japanesebugfights.com/ (Not for the Squeamish)
If you loved Pokemon, you'll love this. This Japanese website puts insects/animals against one another in battle to see who is the stronger.

8. http://www.nintendopapercraft.com/
As mentioned before I'm a huge computer game fan and Nintendo are my idols. This website shows you how to make paper models of your favourite Nintendo characters. Origami Heaven.

9. http://www.engrish.com/
Similar to failblog but this website focuses more on typo mistakes or general bad English.

10. http://www.oekakicentral.com/
An Oekaki is basically a website that allows users to draw using an online Photoshop interface and displaying their work as soon as it's saved. At first the website may seem complicated, but once you understand how it works it can be fun.

Literature Review - BBC comedy

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newtalent/comedy/advice_mackie.shtm

This page in particular of the comedy section was for both helping me to understand on a more personal note how it is to be an animator in Britain and also to read Nick Mackie's views on animation. His works have been so far, of the comedy genre.

The interview mainly focuses on Mackie's career as an animator rather than focusing on the actual comedy aspect of his work. He was asked; "Is creating comedy harder to do with animation?". Here he merely states that animation is the hardest form of film making in general and that the comedy gag may lose it's original spark, due to the long production process of animation.

Being quite short I didn't really get the best information I could from the link with regards to the essay. However, i did find some of his comments useful.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/newtalent/comedy/advice_peak.shtml

This link follows an interview with Daniel Peak a comedy writer for sitcoms. This page was useful similarly to the previous, reading the point of view of a professional.

The ideas put across by Peak include spontaneous thoughts written down on paper. He proposes a theory similar to Sigmund Freud's "Automatic Writing" exercise, where by writing all jokes, gags, thoughts onto paper as soon as they pop up in your head.

This proved to be slightly more useful than the Nick Mackie article, but is just as short. A few interesting quotes may be used however from both articles, to help with the essay.

Literature Review - Scriptwriting


Wells, P (2007) Scriptwriting, Switzerland: Ava Publishing SA

The third book I have chosen to review is yet another by Paul Wells. I thought about approaching the essay from different angles and decided on looking at different aspects of animation. Scriptwriting is a major part and is where the 'gags' in animation originate. The book holds a large collection of different animation styles from different animators, which is interesting to see how through writing came these brilliant pieces of work.

Interestingly the book covers writing for different genres, including comedy. "The key preoccupation of the comedy writer is not the structure of the joke or gag, but the mechanism that prompts the laugh." The cartoon, "Johnny Bravo" is used as an example in writing a comedy script. The basis of the comedy is derived from the actual character design. Johnny is very muscular and strong, however has the brain the size of a pea. "His primary agenda is getting "chicks". Repetition is used in almost every comical animation. Johnny Bravo is no different as he is put into similar situations usually beginning with him talking to a girl with his pick up lines, and resulting with him being beaten up. According to Wells, there are seven key gag types and three theories of comedy; Superiority, Relief and Incongruity.

Personally this book has helped me understand how animators adapt scripts into their actual animations in their unique way and how they interpret different ideas. I will definitely use this knowledge and incorporate this into my own work.

Saturday 21 February 2009

Literature Review - Animation : Genre and Authorship


Wells, P (2002) Animation : Genre and Authorship, London:Wallflower Press

I decided to use this book to help with my research as it explores genre which could help me to understand not only comedy within animation, but of all genres. I also chose the book because the author Paul Wells proved to be a reliable source for my research in the previous book reviewed.

The book's chapter 4 entitled, genre in animation talks about genre in depth. It tries to argue whether if genre itself is necessary for categorizing film, or if it simply over complicates. Mise en Scene is a big part of distinguishing genre. A western for example would consist of a desert, saloon, horses, cowboy's, guns, etc. The book explores this and explains of how animation uses these cliches and iconographic themes. In particular a 'Bugs Bunny' cartoon was referenced which therefore led Wells to talk about comedy aspects of the episode. "Tom and Jerry" are also referenced in an episode called, "Dr Jekyl and Mr. Mouse". There is definitely a play of the horror story "Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde", but being the cartoon that it is, Tom and Jerry incorporate humour. The 'Suspense' and 'surprise' factors of horror are used now "to amuse rather than frighten"

I found this book to be useful as it gave me an over all view on genre as well as how genre is distinguished within animation. The examples used in the book include case studies that I have been using for my essay which is a bonus.

Friday 20 February 2009

Literature Review - Understanding Animation - Paul Wells

Wells, P (1998) Understanding Animation, London:Routledge


I think that this book is one of the best sources for animators to understand the key elements that make up animation. As the title suggests, the book is all about 'understanding animation'. It covers a very broad range of ideas within animation including; the theory, the narrative, and comedy in animation.

According to the book, "comedy is assumed to be at the core of most animated films". This is explained thoroughly through the book's chapter 4 entitled, "25 Ways To Start Laughing". Comedy styles vary as not everybody holds the same sense of humour, however with animation the comedy is usually of a more general approach. One of these includes slapstick comedy which can be seen in so many animations but most noticeably in 'Tom and Jerry'. The chapter discusses many different techniques used to create comedy in animation such as the element of surprise, how characters performed 'comic behavior' and how 'the personality of the victim of a gag determines just how funny the whole incident will be'. Animator Tex Avery's approach to involve comedy to suit a more mature and adult audience is also explored in this chapter. I find it interesting how the book looks at animation as a whole and is not biased by only looking at animation for children as most people would associate the medium with.

With the broad range of ideas mentioned in the chapter, I am able to look into these different aspects in my essay. This book has helped me greatly with my research and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in animation.

Sunday 8 February 2009

Television Review - Tom and Jerry: The Cat Concerto


Tom and Jerry are the most well known cat and mouse duo in animation. As there are over 100 different episodes of Tom and Jerry there are always different scenarios and situations. However, the majority of the time the main idea is the never-ending rivalry between the two.

The comedy from the cartoon is usually derived from the comedic violence dished out on one another. None of the characters are seriously injured which allows the violence to be humorous.

In this particular episode, Tom is performing a concert playing "Hungarian Rhapsody No.2" on the piano, Jerry just happens to be sleeping inside of the piano and the conflict begins. The music is played continously throughout the cartoon even when Toms hands have been damaged by Jerry's Shinanigans. At one point Tom looks inside the piano with his upper body whilst he continues playing with his toes. Jerry also has his fair share of punishment in the episode and is knocked around by the inside of the piano. In the end, Jerry breaks off two sticks from within the piano and plays the tune extemely fast. Tom not wanting to lose face attempts to follow along but becmoes exhausted at the end with Jerry taking credit for his work.

It could be argued that Tom and Jerry have influenced everything within the slapstick comedy genre. Their most recent and noticeable influence is the cartoon cat and mouse duo from "The Simpsons", "Itchy and Scratchy". The mini cartoon is a parody of Tom and Jerry but with a much more violent and gory nature. Even the intro image of the show mimics that of Tom and Jerry.

Television Review - Family guy: Don't Make Me Over

Family guy is an animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane. The story follows the semi-dysfunctional family who are drawn into ridiculous situations. The series is well known for their random "cutaway gags" which is where I'm sure the popularity lies.

In this episode of Family Guy, the daughter of the family "Meg Griffin" is distraught about being unattractive. Making fun of Meg's character is an occurring joke in the series. After witnessing two people committing suicide from looking at Meg, mother "Lois" decides to give her daughter a makeover. Now treated differently because of her new looks her personality changes with her new found fame. The episode is resolved once Meg is taken advantage of, thus angering father "Peter Griffin" leading him to beat the person responsible.

Parodies from this episodes famous "cutaway gags" include: Neil Armstrong walking on the moon was fake, The Wizard of Oz where the tinman is a homosexual and former president George W. Bush Jr, acting extremely child-like. I think that the cultural references to things that the public are familiar and poking fun at them is one of the keys to family guys success.

Family guy has been described as a rip-off of 20th Century Fox's other television series, "The Simpsons". The family members are exactly the same in numbers with the addition of "Brian" a talking dog. An episode of The simpsons actaully displays an image of main character Peter in a book with "Plagerism" written beside it.

Film Review - Shaun of the Dead


Shaun of the Dead is a romantic, comedy with zombies or a (rom/com/zom), starring Simon Pegg. The story is tells of our protagonist "Shaun" being told by his girlfriend that she isn't satisfied with their current situation in their relationship and yearns for them to broaden their horizons as a couple. This results with Shaun having to try change things in order to relight the fire that was once there. However, strange outbreaks of flesh eating zombies suddenly appear endangering everyone. Now Shaun must fight for survival as well as protect his loved ones with very humorous results.

The narrative is told in a unique style; e.g there is a scene where he is making breakfast but the scene is edited with very fast cuts that just about show us enough for us to understand. This suggests that although it is important for the narration of the story to include these scenes, it isn't as important. It also suggests that these are day to day tasks that the character does everyday. This speeds up the story telling of the film allowed for more screen time for the more important scenes.

At the beginning of the film we are shown Shaun and girlfriend "Liz" having a conversation in their local pub. As they converse over their problems, other characters names are mentioned whom we are then made aware that they are sitting right beside our main characters. By merely zooming out of the shot we are introduced to all the main characters instantly and also in a comedic fashion.

I think that the film overall is very cleverly edited alongside the cast's brilliant performances. Director Edgar Wright pays homage to zombie film veterans, George A. Romero (Dawn of the Dead, Diary of the Dead) and Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead). A common theme in zombie films is for characters at one point to be trapped inside a building with hundreds of zombies attempting to enter, which Wright uses as the final setting of the film. Shaun of the Dead was initially inspired by the episode "Art" of the television programme "Spaced", which Wright had also directed. The Style of the direction from the television series can also be seen within the film.

I would definitely recommend this film to all, as it incorporates great film making techniques with great viewing entertainment.

Film Review - Leon the Professional


Leon the professional is a dramatic crime film starring Jean Reno. The basic plot of the film follows the life of title character "Leon" a professional assassin. He lives in a small apartment in New York's Little Italy, spending his free time watching Gene Kelly films, Exercising and looking after his houseplant. This life of solitude eventually comes to a halt when he meets "Matilda" a young girl living in an apartment on the same floor. After her family is murdered by a group of dodgy policemen she seeks refuge with Leon, who hesitant at first grows fond of Matilda and takes her under his wing.

The story is told in a very cool and slick way. The opening sequence is a great example for this. After the view of City the camera enters a restaurant where we are shown extreme close ups of two people discussing a target for assassination/intimidation. Introducing the main character in this manner creates a sense of mystery about him. We are shown extreme close ups of the eyes in particular in this scene to suggest the seriousness of the conversation. Immediately after accepting the job, the shot cuts to showing the target and what he gets up to. This is perhaps to give a better understanding to the audience as to why he is wanted. As the target escapes makes an attempt to escape for his life, the camera changes to freehand, following him as he is running around. Compared to the scenes prior to this which are all shot at interesting angles and very defined, the freehand camera creates tension and panic. To end this eventful introduction to the film we are finally shown a clear camera shot of our main character of the film.

The director was Frenchman Luc Besson. It could be argued that Leon the professional is an extended idea from another one of his films, Nikita (1990) also about an assassin. His visual style is part of the "Cinema du look" movement which had begun in the 1980's. This usually involved stories focusing of young, alienated characters that were intended to represent the marginalized youth of Francios Mitterrand's France. Jean Reno is flawless as both the cold hearted killer and the caring adult. Natalie Portman who plays Matilda also portrays the dysfunctional teen perfectly. This film has probably influenced a number of films such as: The matrix trilogy (The cool and slick execution, long jackets with sunglasses etc.) and Saving Private Ryan (The sniper rifle scope scene).

This film is as classic.

Friday 6 February 2009

Modern Art Review

London is renowned for its art culture and collection of work dating centuries back. There are many galleries operating all around the city, each with their own unique array of different types of paintings, sculptures, film and architectural design. Of those art galleries the most recent addition was the Tate Modern, home to international modern and contemporary art.

Last week I visited the Tate and was not surprised by the level of brilliance in the pieces of artwork on display. Two pieces of artwork in particular had caught my attention; Loa (2007) Albert Oehlen and Peg-Top (circa 1937-52) Hans Bellmer.


Loa (2007) Albert Oehlen
This collage painting was created using Acrylic and oil paint as well as silk-screening. At first glance it may seem that it is merely random paint smeared over magazine articles but everything in the image serves to add purpose as a whole. Silk-screened onto the painting is a page from a German black metal magazine. Also included in the painting are lyrics from the techno band, "Scooter". Oehlen stated this addition was to "evoke atmosphere rather than to offer a specific message". A bar code located at the bottom of the painting is included which might imply advertising imagery. The title comes from the word "loath" meaning "unwilling", which can be found at the top corners of the painting. I think Oehlen could be suggesting that these aspects of society is what he loathes and is a representation of how he feels about them. Or perhaps he may be suggesting that society in general is what he is "unwilling" to accept or be a part of. This could be shown as the blobs of paint painted on the surface. Oehlen's art as is related to the nuede wilde/junge wilde (wild youth) movement, whose work was used with reference to politics. The uses of colour used in the painting is subtle yet at the same time not. I think the contrast between the red of the title and the blue orbs located at the bottom of the painting works very well. Incorporating so many different elements to a painting whilst not complicating the image by having too much to see makes this a very successful and amazing piece of work.

Looking at the piece of work in terms of influentual references there are a few that stand out. There are elements of Dada or dadaism in its the use of magazine page and its typographic imagery. This also gives the painting a sort of early 1900, world war I-II poster feel to it. The piece can also be categorised as graphic art in this resepect. Neasden Control Centre is a graphic artist whos work shares similiar traits to Oehlen's and may very well be as a result of influence.



Peg-Top (circa 1937-52) Hans Bellmer
This piece of artwork was created using oil paints on canvas. At face value the painting is very abstract and surreal. The image appears to consists of several different parts of the human skeleton joined together to form this construction while balancing above a spinning top. The peg-top supposedly was intended to symbolise a womans ablitity to turn the heads and hearts of men. Bellmer is probably most well known for his life size female doll works of art. He was interested in fetish, and sexuality. This can be seen in the painting at the top of the structure is a reverse image of the inside of a females vagina. Also in the centre of the painting where the two large sections of the structure meet could symbolise breasts as just below them are small nipple-like shapes. The same shape can also be interpreted as female legs viewed from below. Bellmer's intentions definantly lie within the painting. The piece is painted in the style of surrealism. Surrealism was developed from the Dada movement which is where Bellmer probably used some of his influence from. Where the spinning top meets with the surface at the base of the structure the shadow cast, if in reality would not cast in that direction. We know this because of the shadows made on the structure. The perspective of the base is distored and incorrect realistically, althought it creates depth within the painting giving it that little bit extra. Artists who were influenced by Bellmer's work include Paul Wunderlich and Horst Jansen. Wunderlich's style is very similar to Bellmer's and his work also contains sybolisms of a sexual nature.

Paul Wunderlich

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