2D Animation

2D animation?! Miss hasn't talked about 2D animation! Yeah she has, but she called cel animation and you shold stick to that. I only bring it up because with just a few weeks to go until the exam, I read that Disney are releasing a brand new cel animated film; The Princess and the Frog. Now, I'd forgot about this and so was surprised to learn that the trailer was released today (see it here: http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/princessandthefrog/).

So will anyone go and see it? The trailer makes a lot out of the fact that Disney have been doing this stuff for 75 years, but is that a good thing? If the same people are releasing films like Bolt in 3-D cgi who will want to watch 2D cel animation? We'll have to wait and see how it does at the box office.

As for the trailer, well its OK. I imagine that the target audience (Under 10's?) will like the fairy tale aspect of the story and the frog looks like he may have the best lines for anyone older to enjoy.

Add a comment to the blog and let me know what you think.

What is Animated Film?

Animated films can be made in loads of different ways;

• cel


• CGI


• stop motion

All of these work on the basic idea that each frame of film is made up of a still image and, slowly, these still images when put together (each one is slightly different to the one that came before it) create the sensation of movement and is therefore animated.

As technology moves forward filmmakers have always sought new ways to make films (sound, colour, 3D, special effects, CGI). The latest method to be tried is Motion Capture. Motion Capture (or Mo-Cap as we'll call it from now on) uses the technique of dressing an actor in a lycra suit, sticking censors all over them (including their faces) and using computers to track their movements (thus capturing their motion - clever, no?).

So far, the most famous example of this is Andy Serkis' performance as Gollum in Lord of the Rings, but this isn't an animated film. Maybe a better example would be Beowulf or The Polar Express. See below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9qpqyO_dmU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVfB6GhlwIM

Both of these were directed by Robert Zemeckis, famous for the Back to the Future trilogy and Forrest Gump. One criticism of these movies is that the faces (and especially the eyes) seem slightly creepy or 'soulless', whereas the rest of the film is incredibly realistic (see backgrounds and clothes).

Another criticism is that there seems little point in animating characters to look super-realistically human. Why not just film the actors themselves? The picture below shows Jamie Bell and Andy Serkis (yes, him again) on the 'set' of the new Tintin movie, with Peter Jackson (LOTR) and director Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Saving Private Ryan, Indiana Jones).

This picture shows just how much extra 'stuff' the artists and animators will have to add to this film. The filming of the actors is only one small step on the way to making this film. So, is this animation? What do you think? Is this the future of animated film? Or would you prefer to see real actors on screen? What will be the main factor on whether Hollywood goes along this road much further? The fact the Hollywood big shots like Jackson and Spielberg are having a go, suggest they think it will be popular.

Empire's Top 10 Cartoon Songs

Those lovely people at Empire have blogged on their favourite songs from cartoons. You can read it here:

http://www.empireonline.com/features/top10/cartoon-songs/10.asp

So it got me thinking why do so many cartoons have songs in them? Actually, scrap that. Why did they? I can't think of many modern animated films that have songs in them (they do, but tend to use pop songs already familiar to the audience. Often this is to add atmosphere to a scene; more romantic, more exciting etc).

The last one I can think of is Toy Story 2 and this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=natWIzL4gLg

Having checked this link you are now no doubt in floods of tears (admit it!) and so need cheering up. What better than The Jungle Book, probably the best of all Disney's movies in terms of songs (King of the Swingers!!).

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

So why WERE songs so common in these films? It probably has something to do with the fact that when animated feature films began (with Snow White in 1937) one of the most popular genres of films was the musical. And so, naturally, cartoons followed suit. Ironically the cartoon and its songs outlasted the musical, so much so that by the 1990s and films like The Lion King, cartoons were almost the only films that had songs woven into them.

The other reason may be that an associated album of original songs might be one of the few ways that the audience could own a part of the film (this is before DVD remember, even before VHS!).

Whatever the reason you should be aware that for a large part of their history songs have been important LANGUAGE FEATURE of animated films.

Dreamworks

My last post was all about Pixar, so this week I thought I'd follow that up with Dreamworks. Dreamworks are a more modern studio set up (in the 1990's) by director Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg (who used to run Disney) and music boss David Geffen.

Dreamworks' films are very popular, especially the three Shrek movies. Other Dreamworks movies include:

Madagascar (and number 2 - they like sequels)
Kung Fu Panda
Over the Hedge
Bee Movie
Shark Tale

They also distributed Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were Rabbit. This means that they paid to put it in cinemas and to advertise it. This costs a lot of money, about 60% again of the budget. So if a film cost $100 million to make (which is usual) then a studio may spend $60 million on advertising or MARKETING.

Dreamworks use a lot of famous actors in their films. This makes them more appealing to an older audience whilst still being attractive to children. Stars who have appeared in their films include; Will Smith, Angelina Jolie, Robert De Niro, Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Renee Zellweger. Indeed they sometimes make the characters look like the actors (Will Smith in Shark Tale). This is something to look out for if you get a Dreamworks clip in the exam.

This month (March) they are releasing Monsters Vs Aliens starring Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen and Hugh Laurie. As well as releasing on normal screens, Dreamworks are distributing a 3D version (Disney did the same with Bolt earlier this year, Pixar are re-releasing Toy Story in 3D next year). This seems to be the new way that studios are getting people into cinemas (you can't download 3D or have a pirate 3D DVD - yet), and so you should expect more 3D films very soon. You could add this sort of info to a question about institution in the exam.

Go here for more information:

http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/

Pixar

Who doesn't like Pixar? I mean really? If someone says they do then there can only be one of two answers:

1. They're lying
2. They've never seen one of their films*

Pixar are a good example of a studio to analyse because not only do they make very popular and successful films they also have a definite style. I would argue that you can tell a Pixar movie even if you don't know that you are watching one. I'll explain:

Pixar films tend to have certain themes - childhood, innocence, growing up, friendships (think about which ones fit where, Toy Story 2 has them all and so is maybe THE typical Pixar movie)

They tend to have similar characters, especially the idea of the 'buddies'. This is an idea they seemed to have moved away from a bit but films like Toy Story, Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo are built around two characters who go an adventure together. One of these characters is usually more aware of what is going on than the other (Woody as opposed to Buzz, Marlin rather than Dory) and a lot of the humour comes from this friendship. This is representation and could easily be picked up on in a five minute clip (like in the exam).

They often sound similar, most of the music has been written by either Randy or Thomas Newman. This is a language feature of the films.

The design of their characters is also important. They are rarely realistic, especially the humans (if you've seen Wall-E, you'll know what I mean). This was seen at first as a weakness but is actually more to do with the style of animation they use. The characters often have large eyes (or eye in the case of Mike from Monsters Inc.), this helps them to appeal to children (they relate better to them) and gives them a more innocent look that appeals to older audiences.

The other thing to remember about Pixar characters is that they tend not to look like the actors providing the voices. Compare this to something like Shark Tale and Will Smith's character in that film. I would argue that this means that Pixar's films have a more timeless quality and that their characters are more memorable than most of Dreamworks' (apart from Shrek maybe - but that was based on a book donchaknow).

So, Pixar, and their 9 feature films are very successful. They've made more than $4 billion at the box office and show no sign of stopping (their next film Up is out this year). So what do you need to think about for the exam?

Pixar films deal with similar themes.
Pixar films have a certain style.
They appeal to both younger and older audiences (but in a different way to Dreamworks)

Go to www.pixar.com for more information (this page is really useful: http://www.pixar.com/howwedoit/index.html#)
Watch this and tell me you wouldn't like to work for 'em: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHPZMIAhpqs

Not sure about the shirts though!
And vote for your favourite Pixar film before you leave the blog.

* (or they may have no heart)

Animated Film Part 1

You might have started work on the first of this year's exam topics - animated film. Or cartoons as normal people call them. But we're not normal we are media students! To help you with this, I've put some slides on today's blog that contain some information on things like studios and so on. You might have seen some of the information in your lessons already but if not, I hope this helps. We'll start with some info on the main types of animation . Just click on the image for a bigger view.

Below is a bit of background information on some of the main studios who make animated films and also a list of the most successful films at the US box office.

Improving Your Coursework

Here's some tips for improving your coursework.

Firstly, check what it is you are being marked on (see below) are you covering the points you should be. If you've followed the essay plans given to your teacher then you should.

If the task is an analysis one, check that you are explaining and not just describing. The easy way to check this is to make sure you are using 'because'. To get the top grades you have to explain.

For production tasks get someone at home, who might not know what the task was, to look at what you've done. If your project makes sense to this audience then you must be doing something right.

Check your friends' work and get them to check yours. This is a good way of spotting if something is missing, and also a way of getting new ideas!

Ask your teacher. Get verbal feedback from them if there is something you don't understand.

Re-draft it. Don't be satisfied with the grade you got first time, re-work your essay until you are happy.

Use technical vocabulary. You have to show that you are comfortable using technical words (think camera angles and other key terms). It is not enough just to use them, you have to show that you know what they mean.

Hope this helps. Remember it is easy to get bogged down with coursework. It is VERY important but only worth half of your GCSE. To make sure you can concentrate fully on the exam work ahead, get the coursework done and dusted as soon as you can.