Assignment 2 (Part 1 – Article Review)

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Article: Designing Sound for Animation by Robin Beauchamp

In the overview of the article a very major and important point is made that stood out straight away; “…many developing animators do not get the opportunity to study the sound track and fail to develop a comprehensive aesthetic for storytelling that includes sound.” I feel as though many animators within the industry must go through this consistently, especially when working within big teams. As we know in the animation industry especially the feature film world, animators work in large teams to complete sections and sequences of the film individually then it is put together and edited at the end. Therefore, the creator of the story may not always have a huge input into the aesthetics of the sound, which by and largely can affect the original vision of the film.  However, in comparison I get to do the opposite as I have always been responsible for my own sound, even in group tasks. I have been fortunate enough to be able to be the creator of my own films without being able to use additional help from others. Therefore, I have always been able to set aside time to really focus on my sound editing. One thing I have realised since studying animation is that sound can either tell the story you are animating, or it can tell a completely different story. Either way, it tells a story. Later in the overview it states: “They remain unaware of both the process and the tools used to develop a purposeful soundtrack.” This is something I agree with in terms of the fact that most animators who lack to opportunity to explore sound design will remain unaware of how important it may be. I made sure I used sounds that I knew would fit my films the most and allow the viewer to close their eyes and still have an idea of what might be going on, however if their imagination takes them elsewhere, I would be happy for that too, as long as it told some form of story.

Article: The Power of Sound Design in a Moving Picture: an Empirical Study with emoTouch for iPad by Maximilian Knock & Christoph Louven

“Viewers of animated films unconditionally might need music and sound effects to get more background information in order to understand the story line, whereas live-action movies might do their job merely on the visual level (like silent movies before the 1920’s).” This part of the article stood out the most as it relates to not only general animation but my silent film response movie. Within the animation world, viewers rely on sound and music subconsciously whereas in live-action films, sound may not play the biggest part. When muting sound in an animated film, I feel as though it is a lot harder to comprehend what is happening, purely based on sometimes emotions are not as easy to portray on an aminated character. In live action however, muting the sound can still allow the viewer to follow the story, based off the actors facial and body expression. I don’t think this is done intestinally by our brain, however I feel as though as a viewer we expect far more unrealistic qualities to come from an animated film as there are no limitations however in live-action there is only so much an actor can do. The film industry learnt a lot from silent live action films from the 1920’s, I feel as though it made animators realise how important sound could be in animation compared to live action, in the sense of they would need to try 10 times harder to express the characters emotions. As we can tell from this article, the author’s have done extensive research into the comparison of both animated films and live action film and the sounds related to them. They infer that more work has to be put into animation sound compared to live action because if not, the viewer will struggle to understand the story line. That is something I would need to take into account when producing my own films especially if I would like to mix both animation and live action as I will need to be extra careful of my sound design and I would not want the viewer to become lost. I feel as though that is one of the most important aspects of creating the film, to make sure the viewer does not get lost. Sound can allow them to keep up.

Article: Pixar and the Animated Soundtrack by Daniel Goldmark

“…puts the soundtrack at the lowest rungs of the production hierarchy – but it also shows that animated films can be made with as much care and precision as live-action films”.

In this article is speaks briefly about something called “smell-o-vision” in which Disney and Pixar may have explored while making the film Ratatouille. As this was a film that focused so much on the aspect of food it would have been silly for them to not try their best to allow the viewer to imagine the smells in the film. However, we see that Goldmark feels as though sound has been but to the lowest part of the production to show that the film can go toe to toe with a live action film and perform just as well. As we know sound is incredibly important in an animated film however as Ratatouille focus on smell, Pixar and Disney were able to show more of the characters emotions and feeling towards smell rather than sound. I feel as though this was a massive gamble done by Pixar and Disney, however it would not have worked any other way just due to it being a film revolving food and smells. I feel as though this was extremely clever as it is not the conventional way of production, therefore it set the standards for films that followed in its direction to not only put sound design to the side but to allow the film to be as precise as a live action film. If an animator can make the viewer feel as though they are able to smell what the characters are smelling, sound may not need to be as important as it would normally. This brings another sense into the world of animation. However personally I disagree in terms of the fact that sound was put to the lowest part of production, because if they focused on sound a slight bit more it would have really been able to give a live action film a run for its money. As it would have had strong character emotion, a sense of smell and an accurate soundtrack, all 3 would have enhanced the viewers experience. These qualities are something that I will consider when producing films, as it isn’t something that is done often; a sense of smell.

Film Proposal

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Film 5 – Minor Project

Film Proposal

What:

This film is being made to shed light on the mental toughness of a soldier within the military. As we know soldiers are trained to be some of the most robust humans to walk the earth: being able to within immense mental and physical pressure and still be able to perform exceptionally. I want to make this film to show how hard it can be to become that resilient and robust compared to how civilians are. I would also like to touch on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) again towards the end and how that solider mentality can make the person experience PTSD during or after their career in the military.

Why:

I am making this fame to educate society on how tough it can be to become and be a solider at war especially during the time of ‘The War on Terror’ era. As we know ‘The Warn on Terror’ war was a perfect example of modern warfare and how it can escalate from a September morning in New York in 2001. I want to touch on how soldiers had to adapt and manage through this war and the mental toughness they needed in order to complete missions successfully and survive while still maintaining some of their sanity. The point of view this film will be from will be in the eyes on 1 or more soldiers who were deployed. It will have them explaining and sharing their experiences and mindset during that time. As a society I don’t feel as though we know too much about a soldier’s mentality and how robust they must be to remain a solider. Compared to civilians, they are capable of unheard-of skills and emotional separation of which the everyday man cannot achieve.

How:

I will explore this subject by interviewing a military veteran(s) gaining knowledge first hard. I will use a real voice to narrate/be interviewed in the film. I will also use real archived pictures and footage to allow the film to portray and represent what is being said. The documentary will look like my previous documentary about PTSD.

I will be using 2D animation, which will be very textured. I plan to use real sounds from War and training depending on copyright agreements. In this film I want to not only focus on powerful aesthetics but animate movement a lot more than in my previous film. I may also use a mixture of live action in certain parts of my animation to give it a sense of realism. I plan to use Adobe Photoshop and also TV Paint to animate my film.

References:

  • Opening scene from the film ‘Lone Survivor’ – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUCcdQ9X5JQ – We see actual footage from a documentary called Navy SEALs: BUDS Class 234 (2000) encorperated into the opening of this film which in my opionino adds the real life element to what was to follow in the feature film.

Research Project Essay

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Research Project Essay

The film ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ is considered to be one of the best films ever made. Given the time in which is was made, the effects used were ahead of its time. This led to the film paving the way for many of our modern-day films and their effects.

After watching the film, my first impressions of it was that is came across as very abstract and ‘trippy’ but as the film continued, I felt as though social issues were being touched on throughout. We see a variety of social classes, such as the poor, the working class, the middle class and the upper class. All of which are taking part in their activities, such as the working class being at work, and the upper class being at the beach enjoying their leisure. It also touches on the different ages of people, from young babies to old people. The music is very important within this movie as each piece of music is extremely powerful, none being subtle. In some respects, the way pieces have been matched to the visuals can seem quite comic like. For example, when the visuals are sped up, the music seems to match its speed. One of the main characteristics of this film is that it is all done in black and white, which adds so much more depth and mystery to it.

In an article posted by Ben Nicholson, he states “…it is difficult to watch his most famous film, Man with a Movie Camera, without being bowled over – by its energy, its dynamism, and its visually playful nature.” Overall this film has as Ben Nicholson says, “playful nature”; which we see so much throughout the film. From the speed of the music to the repetitive nature of some scenes, the viewer is forced to acknowledge how experiential Dziga Vertov was.

Now in terms of how I have made my film I have responded to ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ in a similar but still quite different way. My first scene is an airplane flying through the sky, I intentionally kept the sound on as it is the only sound heard throughout the whole film.

In comparison to ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ I haven chosen to stick to a more modern theme, for example including an airplane, changing gears within a car, driving a car and buses and cars driving past. We see many different cars in ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ therefore I felt it was appropriate to respond with something similar, however in one scene in my film I reverse the clips of a bus and car driving past the camera, this effect has been used to throw the viewer off. I had also included the changing gears scene for not only the airplane travelling but for the walking scene too. This was done to implement an abstract theme, as it is incorrect. When flying an airplane, you do not change gears and when walking you do not change gears. Both are considered to be an automatic process however I wanted to show it from a manual type metaphor. In ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ we see a lot of scenes of machinery and gear changing; this was my inspiration behind the idea. Another aspect I had done different in comparison was the fact that any scene of me changing gear I kept in colour, as I felt it was the spine of the movie. Therefore, I wanted it to stand out but not overpower any other scene. Where as in ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ we only see scenes in black and white, therefore it shows consistency. In term of some of the editing effects used, I included a few black out cut scenes, this was done to add dramatic effect and to add suspense, where as in ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ I feel as though suspense it added through the pieces of music. The blackout cut scenes vary from short to slightly longer, both done for suspense. ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ does keep the viewer guessing, which makes the movie quite edgy, therefore using effects such as black & white tone and blacked out cut scenes can really enhance those elements.

Overall it was an enjoyable film to watch, and it has given my inspiration and techniques on how to make a film more playful and abstract using very little to no sound.

Bibliography:

Nicholson B. 2017 “Five wonderful effects in Man with a Movie Camera…and how they’re still inspiring filmmakers today”  BFI. https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/five-wonderful-effects-man-movie-camera

Critical Portfolio

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Critical Portfolio – Short Evaluation

What has been the most useful digital skill that you have learned this term?

If I am honest, I found the most difficult skill the most useful – Motion Tracking. The concept of it I have grasped however actually executing it efficiently in Adobe After Effects is a different story. However, within practice I am sure I will be able to get to grips with it. From creating the character, importing it alongside the chosen footage into After Effects, adding a null object and parent them together is something that made sense quite quickly. This skill is something that is widely used within live action and animated film intros which in my opinion is a basic skill that should be learnt to enable grabbing the audience’s attention from the start.

 

Aside from the workshops in class, where did you look for other support and inspiration and what did you find?

In terms of support I was able to gain that from my peers, in and out of class which was helpful as we were all in the same boat in terms of progress therefore we were able to help each other with different aspects of the project, for example I was able to help someone with the 3D into 2D rotoscoping task and they were able to help me with the motion tracking task. Other support came from my tutors who were actively communicating with us via email and phone calls which helped a lot. Online sources such as Youtube tutorials helped a massive amount also, especially for the motion tracking task.

In terms of inspiration; film titles were mine. More so to just grasp the concept and principles of the tasks I was set – such as movie title sequences for the motion tracking task. Also, I gained inspiration from an animated series called ‘Jimmy Neutron’ which had an episode where he went between a 2D and 3D world which was extremely interesting to watch, and it would have taken two different software’s and skills to be able to execute it. This helped with my 3D experiment and 2D rotoscope task.

 

How do you think you would like to develop your digital skills further? Think about how you like you animate, and what can support your practice the best.

I would like to develop my skills further by focusing on the relationship between 2D & 3D and how to incorporate the two styles within one film. We have seen this be done within animation but not often, I personally feel as though it can add a difference and spark to your film by experimenting with both styles. Despite only learning very basic skills in 3D I was able to incorporate it within my Film 4 Documentary Module where I show a 3D missile heading towards the camera just before you hear the explosions. This was great fun to add as it was something different and new.

In terms of support I feel as though if we were to have workshops that explore both style and using them both within film would be a great way to further our digital skills. I also feel that 1 on 1 tutorials that are catered to what we would like to learn or know would be a great help as it allows us to learn what we would like to use within our projects.