The final term has begun. The end of my first year of VisCom is almost in sight; a onemonth of constant work, and hopefully I will be able to look back on this April-May capsule with some pride in my face. The three-week break at home was full of experiences, but unfortunately did not produce the great mound of work that I had hopelessly hoped to achieve. HOWEVER! I have been consuming a good deal of visual treats, and researching as is the norm. Here is where I recall and recount all that resonated (for these are the only things I will remember/think it relevant to mention).
My decision to make a short animation for this self-directed project may be something of a challenge, especially as my animation skills are fairly rudimentary at this point, but I need to learn. My plans to play with AfterEffects while I was home in Belfast for the Easter break fell through due to free tutorials being less-than-infinite, but watching some online tutorials instead has helped to get a very general grasp of the layout. The motion capturing had me especially thrilled – rotoscoping is something I want to pick up on fairly quickly, as it would be a great skill to have at my disposal. And what joy to find when sourcing out of one of my favourite childhood cartoon shorts, Little Dutch Mill (1934), that the director and man behind the Fleischer Studios, Max Fleischer, also patented the rotoscoping technique in 1915! The melody of this cartoon has stayed embedded in my subconscious for years:
Fleischer would be best known for producing cartoons such as Popeye, Betty Boop and the 1940s series of Superman – his rotoscoping technique allowed for the recreation of natural motion in animation, which is incredibly evident in the advanced animation of the Superman series. Not only is the animation technically sound, it is clear that this was a creation of love: the depth of detail attended to just makes me melt.
1941! Made over seventy years ago and how bloody crisp it still looks today! His were also the first to sync image and music, predating Disney’s Steamboat Willie by several years – Fleischer is actually noted as having invented the quintessential “follow the bouncing ball” feature in singalong pictures. Also notable in his animation is the integration of 2D and 3D. Instead of using the regularly employed technique of painting a static background for an animation; Fleischer would have 3D dioramas built for his settings, and use live footage of these as the background for the cel components to interact on/with. Fleischer’s innovative techniques had a profound effect on the world of animation, though his name hasn’t achieved the godlike status as that of Walt Disney, he deserves to be rightfully acknowledged.
And on the topic of the animations that kept my brain squishing over the break: I finally got to see Miyazaki’s Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. I want to see it again, and soon. Also the Ninja Scroll feature, by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, which follows the Japanese folk hero, Yagyu Jubei Mitsuyoshi. As cool and violent and graphic as you like – it really is much more entertaining than the few episodes of the series I have seen. The feudal Japanese setting and dynamic style of the animation correlate wonderfully with that of his Animatrix short, Program.
As well as this, we managed to squeeze in about half of Akira the night before my departure. It was good to be reminded of just how astounding (epic story aside) the animation quality is. My boyfriend owns the super-deluxe-special-edition-dvd-package, and until two days ago I hadn’t realised just how much I wanted to consume all of the special features; then when it was too late. The Katsuhiro Otomo interviews are on YouTube though, so no whining! Especially as it led me on to these:
Ah, I couldn’t be more jealous of the 21 children from Grade 6, Class 2.
Cornucopiaison 