#BA1b Research: Narrative

[ekniemisba1b-1]

‘Only available in animation.’

To what extent does this Paul Wells quote apply to your chosen film? Explain how the medium and materials enter, shape, and define the narrative. If your chosen film subverts or ignores conventional expectations of a ‘plotted’ narrative, identify the strategies employed in its place.

Paragraphing:

1.       Introduction

2.       Materials and medium, why? Stop Motion why?

3.       Why it’s an unconventional narrative & strategies

4.       Sex Doll theory, why not basic love story & dark themes

5.       Conclusion

Introduction:

Anomalisa is an Oscar winning R-Rated movie based on radio play written by Charlie Kaufman, film directed by Kaufman and Duke Johnson (animator)

Explain how the medium of stop motion and materials enter, shape, and define the unconventional but very human narrative and make the film only available in animation

the plot events that can only be achieved (or made acceptable) because of the medium of animation eg. Going insane, face falling off

Anomalisa can be considered unconventional due to its deviation from a ‘plotted’ narrative (events are rearranged, shaped, story = what’s happening, plot = why it’s happening)

“true to life” puppets, actions and themes, they the intimacy they depict and the way “we can project ourselves [onto puppets] in a way that you can’t do maybe when it’s a real person” – Jennifer Jason Leigh (Lisa) interview

Can take away two separate narratives in the story, that both work, although this explicit theory due to the inherent innocence of animation most people don’t see the alternative narrative? Therefore, assume Lisa was real

real dark themes/graphic or explicit imagery – (and here there's a bit of crossover with your original question): are they made more or less acceptable/palatable because the 'actors' are puppets rather than humans? Yes and no

Para 1:

Materials = which an artwork is created, the     medium affects how the message is perceived – Lynsey lecture week 2,     Discourse = how the narrative is told – Lynsey lecture week 5

Film ie “Capturing reality is the default     because it’s the easiest, more visceral and historical” animation is a     choice “first step to understanding a story” – Animation In Anomalisa

Realism part of style

Characterisation - you could also bring in any     info you have about the technical side – how the puppets were     designed, created (did Kaufman have any say in this)

“the mixture of artifice and realism they     represent, with their peach-fuzz skins of silicone, and their hair-like     hair, and not-quite fluid and yet entirely recognizable human gestures.” –     windows on the will

Puppets are very realistic but still puppets,     artistic choice to show the visual seams of the face “related to the     themes that were in the story.” – Kaufman and Johnson (Smith,2016), this     could mean better projection of emotions from audience onto characters     (only available in animation)

Stop motion medium means that directors can     convey actions (eg. Taking of face, same face and voice for others),     emotions (eg. Lust, loneliness?) and characters (eg. Slightly odd     proportions = stubby legs, big head, big hands) that can’t be replicated     in real life or to the same effect or as well as, focused a lot on the     eyes to express emotion, bring puppet to life “very reflective and looked     moist” “make them feel alive and really articulate, so the eyes were very     animatable” “avoid uncanny valley” – Johnson radio interview

“long, slowly unwinding love scene that’s this     sometimes savagely unromantic…so unexpectantly intimate” – heart breaking     puppet show compare sex scene to puppets sex scene in Team America: World     Police?, sex scene took 6 months, used special puppets and rigs – Johnson     interview for radio 

“Animation very subtle and nuanced” – Kaufman (interview on radio) but when Kaufman was asked if animation allowed him to do more with story he said “just another form to explore” and “an exciting learning process for me” Radio Interview – the story is the important thing for Kaufman and the “Interaction between between the person who’s viewing it and the piece” – radio interview (it's always good to address both sides of an argument in an essay)

“Hopefully it’s layered enough that people can come away with separate and individual reactions to it” – Kaufman radio interview

Andrew Stanton quote? “satisfying to work something out yourself and not be told?” supported by Kaufman who said he hates giving people a solid answer for the meaning or correct narrative, wants to leave it up to imagination, didn’t even discuss theme between the directors when making it

the plot events that can only be achieved (or made acceptable) because of the medium of animation

Stop motion wasn’t a must for Kaufman and his story but Stop motion makes film “stronger”, “makes an even more poignant and fascinating story overall” – Animation in Anomalisa, because it stands out more, with Stop motion = “tactile”, “evocative” “emotional pull” and “because they’re puppets we can project ourselves in a way that you can’t do maybe when it’s a real person” – Jennifer Jason Leigh (Lisa) interview, more of a blank slate

how a film full of puppets can say something so important about the human condition (does their generic look make it easier  to say something about being human – their blankness helps us relate to them more easily??)

Breaks fourth wall in a way only done in animation, goes particularly well with stop motion eg. Face falling off, direct acknowledgement to its own medium

Puppets can have same face and voice, live action can’t, didn’t realise this at first, have oh shit moment,

Other radical stop motion filmmakers eg. Jan Švankmajer (Czech), The Qay Brothers (American) and Robert Morgan (British), inherent jerky movement of stop motion adds to unease and taxidermy, old dolls and odd materials that can be only be done in animation otherwise wouldn’t be as creepy or impactful

also this new genre that seems to be developing: big stop motion films aimed primarily, or partially, at adults. It's a bit cultish, voguish (especially with new Wes Anderson film currently shooting): why do these live action directors suddenly want to make films in stop motion? 

Stop motion rarely used, especially for adults, usually for pre-school, why so popular now?

Para 2:

Anomalisa was originally a radio play, written by Kaufman and performed twice

Compare radio play to animation ie. The way they did it, what’s different and the same, eg. Same cast, actually act out what’s happening in the form of animation, play was just them talking and standing (find quotes from Kaufman in notebook) “what your hearing is not what you’re saying and the idea was that the audience would create the imagery” – Kaufman radio interview, in play in sex scene actors stand on either side of room and make sex noises?

“adult themes aren’t necessarily a new thing in the evolution of animated films” – Defying the animation narrative, link to research in narrative in notes, started off in 16th century as moving porn images for adults – Kinograph (flip book) – Lynsey lecture week 2

A lot of animated films are “comprised of adult themes and messages that are discreetly conveyed to children” for example Up with themes of “loss and death” but also with films like South Park that are definitely meant for adults, uncensored and very crude – Defying the animation narrative

“you have to liberate people from [film theory], not give them a corset in which they have to fit their story, their life, their emotions” – Guillermo Del Toro in Week 1 notes of Narrative

Not conventional story telling because character doesn’t change, there isn’t really a climax, however do think it’s trying to teach us something about loneliness and connecting with people, how not to live, feeling slight pity for Michael and fear of becoming him (fairly unconventional)

Michael is an “unreliable narrator” can’t trust what we see from his eyes, audience unable to trust him leads to the two narratives being able to simulatiously exist

Fregoli delusion – sees everyone as same person, can’t tell them apart, Michael doesn’t have this but “his condition is heavily inspired from it”- Kaufman Interview

Different ways of seeing Michael, disorder or narcissistic? Link to article explaining the latter

Doesn’t follow conventional narrative in terms of structure (no satisficing ending) and protagonist (very unlikable, no redemption) Lisa is more tragic more likable, both as lonely as each other, but at the end she feels better optimistic, goddess of ? (Japanese name) whereas he doesn’t change (unconventional)

Anomalisa’s “sense of ‘nothing happens’ is part of this unconventional narrative that actually makes the film brilliant”, it shows “true life” in terms of we see Michael do very simple human activities eg. Peeing, showering, “mirroring real life”, “grounded in reality”, “The animation puts us in a narrative dilemma where we become unsure of our visual environment, which inadvertently syncs us with the main character’s dilemma of being immersed in a world that he no longer comprehends” do I agree with this? – deifying animated narrative

Lots of radical scenes eg. Long sex scene & removing the puppets face (meltdown) accepted due to inherent innocence but still shocking (compare this to comedy – Team America: World Police puppet sex scene)

Societies have to adapt and change so it’s the same with stories, rejecting the old and accepting the new – Lynsey lecture week 4, with this story in this age “our inability to connect despite being more connected than ever” – Duke Johnson, Interview q on cbc

Strategies put in place to make up with it being unconventional; beautiful, true to life and attention to detail animation with comedy very human

Performed by voice actors before filming the animation and all together, usually animation comes first (unconventional) quote from interview on radio

and, on a similar note, is this basically 'just' a 'love story'? I've seen reviews that say the most unconventional thing about the film is the animation, mention grandparents? Some people don’t think about the film afterwards and don’t notice the small details that Kaufman cleverly includes, eg. All same face and voice, sex doll theory (lead onto this)

Para 3:

Two different narratives within the story; Lisa = sex doll, Lisa = Real and different, both are plausible

Sex doll theory seen as plausible by variety of hints, losing his mind when hearing voice, same features as doll eg. Scar and voice, we see all of sex scene with no precaution, no pulling out, sex doll has semen in it, at the end the song describes Lisa being a dream, “as a product the doll’s imperative is to please the consumer, just as Lisa supplicates Michael by trying to change herself and change her behaviours according to his liking” (scene in the morning) – Michaels quiet perversions

Kaufman usually pays very close attention to small details and Johnson “wanted it to be a natural progression” so why leave out precaution when they have sex? “aftermath, so unrealistic” – Japanese doll explanation reddit

Sex Doll theory, “If this is truly a film about the depths of loneliness, what is more lonely than the experience of masturbating alone in your hotel room with a sex doll?” (and imagining that it is a real human being who was special) & “what other experience has the immediate effect of being so special in the 5 minute period while it was happening and seeming like boring, disgusted nothingness immediately after the deed is done?” (doesn’t quite fit Anomalisa because Michael’s with Lisa for a whole evening and its only until the morning does he think of her as undesirable and like the rest) – Reddit Anomalisa theory

The staging (language of animation) in the animation suggests both narrative can be true

Mise en scene = Both the doll and Lisa are on the right hand side when they’re introduced, also when she’s in the bedroom she’s on the left hand side when she sings and in the final scene when the doll sings she too is on the left hand side

due to inherent innocence do most of audience assume she’s real? Or sex doll theory more readily accepted because it’s an animation? Both are “just as compelling and just as likely” – Anomalisa explained

dark themes/graphic or explicit imagery – (and here there's a bit of crossover with your original question): are they made more or less acceptable/palatable because the 'actors' are puppets rather than humans? “the very language of animation seems to carry with it an inherent innocence which has served to disguise and dilute the potency of some of its more daring imagery” (Wells, 1998, p.19)

This concept ignored by audiences because of it’s inherent innocence? I asked my Grandparents about it and they found it disappointing with an uninteresting story and didn’t understand why it needed to be stop motion

Conclusion:

Round everything up and relate to question!

A work of art is “an outward showing of inward nature” loneliness, narcissism of Michael – Lynsey Lecture week ? – conclusion?

 Bibliography

 Akaforty (2016). Anomalisa - The Japanese Doll explanation [Internet] 17 January 2016. Available at: https://www.reddit.com/r/YMS/comments/41czg8/anomalisa_the_japanese_doll_explanation/ [Accessed: 21st February 2017]

Anomalisa, (2015) Directed by Charlie Kaufman, John Dukeman. United States of America: Snoot Entertainment, Starburns Industries [DVD]

Being John Malkovich, (1999) Directed by Spike Jonze. California, United States of America: Astralwerks, Gramercy Pictures (I), Propaganda Films, Single Cell Pictures [DVD]

Blind Field (2016). Monotony and Efficiency in Kaufman’s ‘Anomalisa’ [Internet] 8 March 2016. Available at: https://blindfieldjournal.com/2016/03/08/monotony-and-efficiency-in-kaufmans-anomalisa/  [Accessed: 21st February 2017]

Dogtown33 (2016). Anomalisa theory about Michael and the geisha doll (spoilers) [Internet] 16 January 2016. Available at: https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueFilm/comments/41auzq/anomalisa_theory_about_michael_and_the_geisha/ [Accessed: 21st February 2017]

Film Formula, (2016) Anomalisa Analysis: Michael’s Quiet Perversions. [YouTube video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vbb_HvxOdE&index=73&list=PL-RhqqYuEIowa7joVkUc_8dyTIDEL2vnR [Accessed: 21st February 2017]

Film Herald, (2016) ‘Anomalisa’ (2015) Explained. [YouTube video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQAftcZJQLc&list=PL-RhqqYuEIowa7joVkUc_8dyTIDEL2vnR&index=68 [Accessed: 21st February 2017]

Movieclips Coming Soon, (2015) Anomalisa Featurette - Crafting Anomalisa (2015) - Charlie Kaufman Stop Motion Animated Movie HD. [YouTube video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkOH_6uzASs&index=67&list=PL-RhqqYuEIowa7joVkUc_8dyTIDEL2vnR [Accessed: 21st February 2017]

Play It Again, Dan (2016). Defying the Animation Narrative: The Brilliance of Anomalisa [Internet] 24 March 2016. Available at: https://playitagaindan.wordpress.com/2016/03/24/defying-the-animation-narrative-the-brilliance-of-anomalisa/  [Accessed: 21st February 2017]

q on cbc, (2016) Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson on Anomalisa. [YouTube video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNQHYyLaNFY&list=PL-RhqqYuEIowa7joVkUc_8dyTIDEL2vnR&index=74 [Accessed: 21st February 2017]

 ScreenSlam, (2015) Anomalisa: Behind-the-scenes B-roll Part 1 - Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson. [YouTube video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODssMUlQO44&index=71&list=PL-RhqqYuEIowa7joVkUc_8dyTIDEL2vnR [Accessed: 21st February 2017]

ScreenSlam, (2015) Anomalisa: Behind-the-scenes B-roll Part 2 - Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson. [YouTube video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTWqZ80ff2U&index=72&list=PL-RhqqYuEIowa7joVkUc_8dyTIDEL2vnR [Accessed: 21st February 2017]

ScreenSlam, (2015) Anomalisa: David Thewlis ‘Michael’ On-Set Interview. [YouTube video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KCKDYjj6Pc&index=69&list=PL-RhqqYuEIowa7joVkUc_8dyTIDEL2vnR&t=2s [Accessed: 21st February 2017]

ScreenSlam, (2015) Anomalisa: Jennifer Jason Leigh ‘Lisa’ On-Set Interview. [YouTube video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DATO9uoWklM [Accessed: 21st February 2017]

Shoard, C. and Barnes, H. (2016) Charlie Kaufman on Anomalisa: ‘The internet is a terrible danger’ – video interview. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/video/2016/mar/08/charlie-kaufman-on-anomalisa-the-internet-is-a-terrible-danger-video-interview [Accessed: 21st February 2017]

Smith, Z. (2016) Windows on the will. Available at: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2016/03/10/windows-on-the-will/ [Accessed: 21st February 2017]

Stevens, D. (2015) Anomalisa. A beautiful, tricky, heartbreaking puppet show from Charlie Kaufman. Available at: http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2015/12/charlie_kaufman_s_anomalisa_reviewed.html [Accessed: 21st February 2017]

Team America: World Police, (2004) Directed by Trey Parker. United States of America: Paramount Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions, MMDP Munich Movie Development & Production GmbH & Co. Project KG [DVD]

Variety, (2015) 'Anomalisa' ­- Sculpting Animated Characters with Carol Koch ­- Variety Artisans. [YouTube video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AILnP1Y-0o&index=66&list=PL-RhqqYuEIowa7joVkUc_8dyTIDEL2vnR [Accessed: 21st February 2017]

Wells, P. (1996) Understanding animation. London: Routledge. Pp. 19

Wells, P. (2006) Fundamentals of animation. [E-book + book] Lausanne: AVA Publishing.

What it all Meant, (2016) Animation in Anomalisa [YouTube video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ezp_KSvNnc&index=70&list=PL-RhqqYuEIowa7joVkUc_8dyTIDEL2vnR&t=3s

As you’ve probably noticed I have changed my essay question from Question 6 to do with animation’s licence to be more radical than live action cinema, to Question 4 ‘’Only available in Animation’  To what extent does this Paul Wells quote apply to your chosen film? Explain how the medium and materials enter, shape, and define the narrative. If your chosen film subverts or ignores conventional expectations of a ‘plotted’ narrative, identify the strategies employed in its place.’ This was because I was really struggling to link my points and arguments to inherent innocence. I have to admit I panicked a bit because I was behind with my work and already having troubles before even starting to write it. However, my tutor calmed my nerves and suggested I change to question 4 as that best suited what I wanted to talk about with Anomalisa. So the draft above are my edited bullet point notes of what I want to say in my new essay focusing on how the medium of stop motion, it’s materials enter, shape and define the unconventional narrative of Anomalisa.

[tommhallett]

Week 5 - Reflection on lecture - The Hero’s Journey

This week in narrative lecture we looked into the psychology of story-telling. This included John Yorke’s 6 ‘reasons’ we tell stories, Vogler’s version of ‘The Hero’s Journey’ and Booker’s The Seven Basic Plots.

The ‘psychic wound’ - This trope is increasingly common in contemporary protagonists. It involves the protagonist starting the story with ‘a flaw, a defect or “psychic wound” that needs to be corrected, healed or redeemed before the story can come to its natural close. John Yorke refers to this as ‘three dimensional story-telling’ in which the character goes on a journey to overcome their flaw, defect or psychic wound.

John Yorke suggested 6 reasons why stories are told:

The Rehearsal Reason:

The brain is like a muscle, and gets stronger by ‘practising’ for difficult scenarios and how to avoid them.

The Healing Reason: 

Watching a character heal his flaws helps is heal and recognise ours.

The Information Retrieval Reason:

Stories make information easier to remember, by showing us the cause and effect.

The Panacea Reason:

Stories with happy endings give us hope. even history can be rewritten to suggest a sense of order and justice.

The Procreation Reason:

A story ends in sexual union, or its ‘symbolic manifestation through marriage’ on a basic level these stories encourage the continuation of the species (in particular, fairy tales).

The Psychological Reason:

Stories separate the disparate parts of our own psyche into external characters. They play out a process of integration, helping us to achieve this and overcoming our shadows, giving up on our shallow ego-driven wants in order to fulfil our needs.

This is why change is so important. Aristotle said that stories are about change. Stories change us and we change the society we live in as individuals can only survive by changing and growing, rejecting the old and accepting the new.

One of Disney Pixar’s character tropes is to find what your character is good at, comfortable with. Then to throw the polar opposite at them to challenge them and see how they deal.

The Hero’s Journey is a ‘transformative’ story structure - in the course of the story, someone is changed.

Vogler’s version has 12 stages. He divides these stages into a classic 3-act structure. However, he splits act 2 into 2 parts divided by the ‘midpoint’.

The ‘Midpoint’

We now identify the climax (peak of the action) as occurring nearer the end of the story the midpoint is still the crucial point on which the action turns. The midpoint represents the movement when the protagonist turns from ‘reaction’ to ‘action’ and stops trying to avoid their problems and begins to actively fix or deal with them.

Wants Vs. Needs:

Characters don't always get what they want. Its not always good for characters to get what they want. Instead is more common for characters to get what they didn't know they needed.

‘2D story-telling’ - In two-dimensional stories protagonists don't change. This is important when considering a TV show as the protagonists needs to return so the changes of the characters personality are on much smaller scales. This relates to ‘catalyst hero’ as they are the ones that bring about the change and are not necessarily changed by it.

Booker’s The 7 Basic Plots:

Overcoming the monster:

The protagonist must defeat an antagonistic force which threatens the protagonist and/ or the protagonists homeland.

Rags to riches:

The poor protagonist acquires things such as power, wealth, and a mate, before losing it all and gaining it back upon growing as a person.

The Quest:

The protagonist and some companions set out to acquire an important object or to get to a location, facing many obstacles and temptations along the way.

Voyage and return:

The protagonist goes to a strange land (psychologically and/ or physically) and, after overcoming the threats it poses to him/her, returns with nothing but experience. At first they’re looking for adventure but the new world (usually) becomes a frightening or dangerous place, and they start to long for home again.

Comedy:

Light and humorous with a happy and cheerful ending. The central motif is he triumph over adverse circumstance, resulting in a successful or happy conclusion.

Rebirth:

The protagonist is a villain or otherwise unlikable character who redeems him/herself over the course of the story.

Tragedy:

The protagonist is a villain who falls from grace and whose death is a happy ending.

Non-conventional narratives:

Animation doesn't have to tell straightforward ‘stories’. Animation possesses the capacity to create new modes of story-telling, often rejecting the notion of a plot with a beginning, middle and an end, in favour of symbolic or metaphoric effects’ (Paul Wells).

Traditional animation - animated film that tells a story and contains what has been called ‘personality animation’ with which the narrative’s protagonists are imbued.

Experimental animation - more like graphic art in motion and can have more in common with modern art than that of traditional ‘story-telling’.

Paul Wells identified 7 ‘signposts’ of experimental animation.

Abstraction:

Might use ‘shapes and forms’ rather than traditional characters, focussing more on ‘rhythm and movement’.

Specific non-continuity:

Rejects ‘logical and linear continuity’. Prefers ‘illogical irrational and sometimes multiple continuities’.

Interpretive form:

Subjective rather than objective. (Things as they are experienced rather than as they are.)

Evolution of materiality:

‘concentrates on its very materiality’, i.e. what it is made of such as colour, shape and texture that emit moods and ideas.

Multiple styles:

Freely combines styles and techniques, to best express the artist’s ‘vision’ and ‘challenge and rework orthodox codes and conventions’.

Presence of the artist:

These films are ‘personal’ and ‘subjective’. Trying to reflect an ‘absolutely individual’ vision.

Dynamics of musicality:

Music becomes very important in experimental films which may ‘resist dialogue’. Trying to make ‘visual music’.

Riffing. Riffing is a term used by Gerald Mast in Film Theory and Criticism (1974) for the technique used by short films where the gags take precedence over the story.

Any moving picture has a primitive narrative. As we are witnessing a sequence of events which are being told to us. This is what we identify as a narrative events that are told.

[nathanramosba1b]

BA1b Research Narrative week 3

Fairy Tales, what is it?

Encyclopedia Britannica describes a fairy tale as:

‘a wonder tale involving marvelous elements and occurrences, though not necessarily about fairies.’

According to Vladimir Propp ‘A fairy tale may be termed any development proceeding from villainy or a lack through intermediary functions to marriage or to other functions employed as a denouement’ (1968, p. 92).

Fairy Tale doesn’t have to be your classic Disney film, but fairy tales do end ‘happily’.

‘Happily,’ means that justice is served.

In the Grimms’ Snow White, the stepmother is forced to dance to her death in red-hot iron slippers fresh from the fireÉ This is a ‘happy’ ending.

Fairy tales come to a definite conclusion, an ‘orderly resolution’ (Warner, 1994).

The Origins

Märchen

Popular folktales, oral in origin. These pre-date written records, so it’s difficult to be sure about their exact origins. Many are hundreds, possibly thousands, of years old.

Kunstmärchen

Literary or artistic fairy tales.

Mostly produced in the 19th century, such as The Happy Prince (1888) by Oscar Wilde and The Little Mermaid (1837) by Hans Christian Andersen.

The oldest Fairy tales weren’t intended for children, but evidence suggests that they had serious meanings and contained important ritualistic elements. The clear polarity between good and evil acted as a warning of what might happen if you strayed from the righteous path. We can draw links with myth (and perhaps also religion) although myths are arguably more impossible? Because we can never be that heroic or that perfect in our actual lives.

By contrast, fairy tales, in spite of their ‘wonderful’ – or magical – aspects, are about ‘everyman’ and ‘everywoman’. Characters are rarely named (they could be us). Initiative, endurance, bravery, and patience can help everyone overcome giants, beasts and witches.

Blood and gore!

First written down by Charles Perrault (1697) Bluebeard tells the cheerful tale of a woman who marries a serial killer! The indelibly bloody key to his forbidden chamber is the only magic element in the story.

Bluebeard presents his new wife with the key to a secret room which she mustn’t enter, no matter what. Inside the room are all his dead wives (as depicted in Georges Méliès’ 1901 film version)

(In the mediaeval versions of Cinderella her step-sisters slice off their toes to fit the slipper)

The step-sisters (who are physically beautiful but inwardly ugly) are punished by having their eyes pecked out by pigeons.

This dark inversion of the birds who ‘help’ Cinderella offers another warning – suggesting that the natural world can only ever be appeased, not tamed. And the glass slipper was originally made of squirrel fur.

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) is a great example of a modern Fairy tale done in the same aesthetic as the old medieval fairy tales.

Function 12, ‘The hero is tested, interrogated, attacked, etc., which prepares the way for his receiving either a magical agent or helper.’ (Propp, 1968, p. 39).  

Sex!

In ‘The Grandmother’s Tale’ there’s no red hood (or cap). The wolf is a ‘bzou’ (werewolf) and the unnamed girl must choose between 2 paths: the path of pins (virtue) or the path of needles – needles being a symbol of ‘penetration’.

(Unlike Lucy Sprague Mitchell and others) Disney approved of fantasy

He wanted it to come ‘fully alive for those who dream’ (Stone, 1981).

‘As we do it, as we tell the story, we should believe it ourselves. It’s a “once upon a time” story and we shouldn’t be afraid of a thing like that’ (Walt Disney in notes for Cinderella, 15th January 1948, from the Disney archive).

Happy ever after?

The fairy tale scholar Jack Zipes (2011) accuses the ‘Disney versions’ of being so overwhelming that our idea of happiness is now ‘filtered through a Disney lens’. According to Zipes, these films ‘reinforce stereotypes and help maintain the patriarchal order’.

But the Grimms, writing in 1812, weren’t exactly radical gender revolutionaries.

In fact, scholars have noted that the fairy tale format begins with the disintegration of a family unitÉ and ends with the creation of another (through marriage).

Peace, stability, patriarchal order is maintained. This is the very nature of the fairy tale.

Nostalgia: the Disney version

But ironically, as noted by Zipes (1995), Disney used ‘the most up-to-date technological means to maintain the ‘old world’ order.

Animation allowed the believable creation of a fantasy world – and the recreation of a specifically ‘19th century’ patriarchal order. As Dan North (2009) says, in a (good quality!) blog about Lotte Reiniger’s fairy tale films, ‘animation allows the construction of a completely fabricated fantasy space’.

Propp’s ‘functions’ 1 and 31

Function 1

One of the members of a family absents himself from home.

Function 31

The hero is married and ascends the throne.

Before Propp fairy tale were categorised differently e.g. in the Aarne-Thompson Classification System) according to ‘type’ or ‘motif’:

• Animal stories

• Fantastical stories

• Stories of everyday life

• Stories including the appearance of a dragon

•

But many tales belonged in more than one category. The system did nothing to illuminate the underlying structure of the fairy tale. Propp was the first to make a sequential structural analysis of the fairy tale: what happens, in what order.

The Law of Contrast – other people should be antithetical to the hero; therefore, if the hero is generous, other characters should be ‘stingy’ to contradict him.

The Law of Repetition – actions in folk tales are typically repeated 3 times

The Law of Twins: two people can appear together in the same role, and should be similar in nature

The Law of Contrast – other people should be antithetical to the hero; therefore, if the hero is generous, other characters should be ‘stingy’ to contradict him. The same way Cinderella is contrasting to her evil sisters in every way, physically and mentally.

Then along came Propp…

In his 1928 work Morphology of the Folktale the Russian formalist Vladimir Propp analysed 100 Russian fairy tales and found striking similarities between them. Propp was analysing chronological story rather than plot.  But please note that the traditional fairy tale – unlike many other forms of narrative, ‘which play with chronology’ (Puckett, 2016, p. 184) – is plotted in chronological order.

Propp stated 4 fundamental principles (1968, pp. 21–23)

1. Functions of characters serve as stable, constant elements in a tale, independent of how and by whom they are fulfilled. They constitute the fundamental components of a tale.

2. The number of functions known to the fairy tale is limited. As we have seen, Propp says there are only 31 (at least, in the Russian tales he analysed).

3. The sequence of functions is always identical.

4. All fairy tales are of one type in regard to their structure.

He found that all 100 of the tales he analysed were built on a pattern drawn from 31 functions, occurring in a set order. In other words, only 31 things can happen in a fairy tale. But, the word ‘morphology’ means the study of forms, and in doing this work Propp was analysing form as separate from content.

Function 14: the hero acquires the use of a magical agent.

‘It doesn’t matter (on the level of plot) whether someone is given a magic horse or buys some magic beans or steals a magic sword. The key thing is that they [i.e. the hero] have received a magical object’ (Thomas, 2012, p. 107).

Propp identified 7 key characters who each have their own ‘sphere of action’

• The Villain

• The Donor

• The Helper

• The Princess (or ‘sought-for person’) and her Father (who function as a single ‘agent’)

• The Dispatcher

• The Hero

• The False Hero

Characters are not fixed, and a single character may inhabit more than one ‘sphere of action’. If a villain inadvertently gives something important to the hero, then he or she is also at that moment acting as a donor.

The hero: there are two types in a fairy tale

Directly suffers from the action of the villain in the complication (victim-hero)

Agrees to liquidate the misfortune or lack of another person (seeker hero)

The villain

• The villain appears twice. ‘First, he makes a sudden appearance from outside (flies to the scene, sneaks up on someone)’.

• The ‘second appearance’ is as a person ‘who has been sought out’.

The princess

• She is ‘sought after’ often a ‘reward’ that the hero (eventually) receives.

• Often bound up with her ‘father’

• appears twice, the second time ‘she is introduced as a personage who has been sought out’.

The donor

• ‘The donor is encountered accidentally’.

• The donor provides the hero with a magical object or helper (may do so unwillingly).

• Not necessarily benevolent, e.g. Rumpelstiltskin gives a magical gift to a miller’s daughter (spins straw into gold) but demands her firstborn child in return.

The magical helper is introduced as a gift

Disney’s Fairy Godmother (1950) could be seen as a donor (who presents Cinderella with ‘magical helpers’, i.e. footmen for her carriage) or as the ‘helper’ herself.

In general, the donor tests the hero somehow.

The false hero

Assumes the role of hero but is unable to complete the hero’s task, e.g. Lord Farquaad in Shrek (2001)

The dispatcher

Sends the hero away for some reason – therefore, often plays a pivotal role in inciting the action (similar to Vogler’s ‘herald’ archetype).

Function 8

‘This function is exceptionally important, since by means of it the actual movement of the tale is created’ (Propp, 1968, p. 31).

The first 7 functions ‘prepare the way for this function, create its possibility of occurrence, or simply facilitate its happening.’ (The first 7 functions set up the action.)

[zak-animation]

BA1b Narrative Research: A Propp(er) Introduction

In this post, I’m continuing my narrative research looking at Vladmir Propp, and his theories towards character and narrative after having analysed Russian folklore stories. Understanding these theories and principles allows our own creative work to be more inspired and successful.

How to Turn a Fairy Tale into an Equation

Before we explore the work of Vladmir Propp, it’s important to note how fairy tales were categorised before his studies. This was called the Aame-Thompson Classification System, and it was according to type or motif: animal, fantastical or everyday life stories, or the which included the appearance of a dragon. Of course, these are just a handful, but Russian folklorist and scholar Vladmir Propp found that the system did nothing to illuminate the underlying structure of these fairy tales. He was the first to make a sequential and strictly linear analysis: looking only at what happens, and in what order. Propp could care less about how something happens, he was more interested in the function of these events and what these did to the story that’s being told - and broke these key events down into ‘functions’. Propp analysed the basic plot components of 100 Russian folk and fairy tales and found striking similarities between them: identifying the essential components and narrative elements, though the scholar is the first to admit this won’t (and shouldn’t) be applied religiously to stories across cultures, so westernised narratives may not strictly follow the theories he lines out here.  

We were also introduced to Acel Olrik, and his Epic Laws of Narrative (1908), which describe the district characteristics of a folk-tale narrative. The influence of these observations can’t be overlooked since today, we take most of them for granted.

The law of repetition - actions in folk tales are typically repeated three times

The law of contrast - other people should be antithetical to the hero: therefore if the hero is generous, other characters should be stingy around them

The law of twins - two people can appear together in the same role, and should be similar in nature.

The Ugly Sisters from Cinderella (1950), an example of the law of twins in action

The law of patterning - situations and events are told and re-told in as ‘a similar a manner as possible’. Olrik also said that folktales are ‘single-stranded’ and have a ‘unity of plot’. There’s a concentration on a leading character, and don’t branch off into sub-plots.

Twenty years later, Propp releases his masterwork Morphology of the Folktale, and broke new ground in the narratology world: analysing chronological story rather than plot. This was a revolutionary concept, and as a result, we are learning about his theory today. Propp outlined four Fundamental Principles of the Fairy Tale, which I will break down now.

1. Functions/ actions of characters serve as stable, constant elements in a tale, independant of how and by whom they are fulfilled. They constitute the fundamental components of a tale.

2. The number of functions known to the fairy tale is limited, 31 to be exact. Propp stripped away and showed what’s essential to narrative - and although this is argued to this day, it’s a beginning point and a helpful entrance into analysing narrative theory that paved the way for narratologists today. 

3. The sequence of functions is always identical. There is logic behind this, e.g. a princess cannot be rescued before she has been kidnapped. 

4.  All fairy tales are of one type in regard t their structure. For instance, they all proceed chronologically

Propp found that all one hundred of the tales he analysed was built on a pattern drawn from 1 functions occurring in a set order. In other words, only 31 things can happen in a fairy tale. The term ‘morphology’ means the study of forms, and in doing this work, Propp was analysing form as separate from the content. His character archetypes, which I’ll explore shortly, can be shared over characters: it’s more about who does what, rather than who does that. Whereas all hero stories use all 12 stages of the mono-myth, Propp’s morphology theories can be found (some,  not all) but they will be found in his written order: that is the nature of the fairy tale.

English author Scarlett Thomas summarised that a fairy tale is made of a certain amount of functions, set in a specific order. To Propp, functions are actions performed by characters under certain circumstances. The actual content of what happens is not important - it’s the central function - it’s what happens in term of plot structure. Some elements in a fairytale are variable: ‘a dragon may well be a whirlwind as long as it has the same effect on the plot’. All plot types have constants and variables. Any basic plot will have static elements and variable elements. If we decide, for example, that the quest is a basic plot then we can say that a static element is that it will always involve a journey. A variable, then, would be the destination.

Function 14: the hero acquires the use of a magical agent.

‘It doesn’t matter (on the level of plot) whether someone is given a magic horse or bus some magic beans or steals a magic sword. The key thing is that they (the hero) have received a magical object.’

Scarlett Thomas, 2012

The latter part of the session was exploring the work of Russian folklorist Vladmir Propp. He was also a sociologist, one who studied Russian folk tales - analysing the basic plots, characters and most simple narrative elements. Propp published “Morphology of the Folktale” in 1928, a work that represented a breakthrough in both morphology and folkloristics, Despite influencing fellow narratologists Claude Lévi-Strauss and Roland Barthes, it was generally unnoticed in the West - until it was translated in 1958. Propp’s original theories concluded that all characters could be classified into seven broad character functions, a statement found after analysing a hundred folk stories. These character archetypes can be applied to almost any story, from literature and theatre to animation and film - and as such, his character structures are used in narrative education to this day. These were seven archetypes that have their own ‘sphere of action’, also known as the Dramates Personae in narrative study. It’s important to remember that a single character may fulfil more than one role, and more than one character may inhabit the same sphere of action. However, each function is connected with the designated character. ‘So it’s always the hero who ascends the throne at the end…never the villain’. (Thomas, 2012)

The Hero

The Villain

The Donor 

The Helper

The Princess (or sought-after person and her Father) 

The Dispatcher

The False Hero

The Heroes In a fairy tale, Props suggested that there are two types of hero: one who directly suffers from the action of the villain (a victim-hero) and one who actively wants to solve the problem (a seeker hero). The hero is the protagonist, our main character in which the audience will follow and normally associate strongly with. Often a heroic, brave character - but this is not a rule. The hero thwarts the villain, resolving any problems or conflicts.

The Villain - the antagonist, usually moral evil and highlights the hero’s goodness through binary opposing. They are the opposing force to the hero, seeking to prevent them from achieving their goal. Villains often appear twice (once, without the hero’s notice, and twice after being sought out).

The Dispatcher - the character who sends the hero on the mission, who illustrates the need for the hero’s quest.

The Princess / The Prize - the hero’s prize after beating the villain - either the sought-after object, or a reward.

The Donor - a character who gives the hero something special, such as a magical weapon. This character may be combined with the helper. However, we were reminded that the donor is not always benevolent e.g. Rumpelstiltsken who gives a magical gift to a miller’s daughter but demands her firstborn in return.

The Helper - the hero is supported by this character, often a wise old man, who appears at critical moments to provide support. Supporting role.

The False Hero - a character, usually a variant on the villain, who appears to act heroically and may be even initially mistaken for the hero. They steal the hero’s credit, and the audience want to see this character beaten - keeps them engaged as we’re rooting for the hero.

Star Wars is a great example of mostly all Propp’s archetypes, with Lando Calrissian playing the part of false hero in the sequel, Empire Strikes Back. 

All fairy tales begin with an initial situation: according to Propp, the dispatcher, hero, false hero and princess are often introduced in the initial situation. This initial situation is followed by any of the 31 Functions, which are organised into six different chronological stages.

Preparation 1. One of the members of a family absents himself from home. 2. An interdiction is addressed to the hero. 3. The interdiction is violated. 4. The villain makes an attempt at reconnaissance. 5. The villain receives information about his victim. 6. The villain attempts to deceive his victim in order to take possession of him or his belongings. 7. The victim submits to deception and thereby unwittingly helps his enemy. Complication   8. The villain causes harm or injury to a member of the family. 9. One member of a family either lacks something or desires to have something. 10. Misfortune or lack is made known; the hero is approached with a request or a command; he is allowed to go or he is dispatched. 11. The seeker agrees to or decides upon counteraction. 12. The hero leaves home. 13. The hero is tested, interrogated, attacked, etc. which prepares the way for his receiving either a magical agent or helper. 14. The hero reacts to the actions of the future donor. 15. The hero acquires the use of a magical agent. 16. The hero is transferred, delivered or led to the whereabouts of an object of search. Struggle 17. The hero and the villain join in direct combat. 18. The hero is branded. 19. The villain is defeated. 20. The initial misfortune or lack is liquidated. [Narrative reaches its peak.] Return 21. The hero returns. 22. The hero is pursued. 23. Rescue of the hero from pursuit. Recognition or Difficult Task 24. The hero, unrecognised, arrives home or in another country. 25. A false hero presents unfounded claims. 26. A difficult task is proposed to the hero. 27. The task is resolved. 28. The hero is recognised. 29. The false hero or villain is exposed. 30. The hero is given a new appearance. 31. The villain is punished, the hero is married and ascends the throne.

‘But deviations do occur’ (Propp, 1968, p. 84). Propp’s system aimed to catalogue oral fairy tales of Russian origin. He admits that it may not fit all fairy tales and stories.

It doesn’t matter how these functions occur in the narrative: only that they do. This is what Propp was fascinated by - that there’s an underlying structure for story. As a class, we then applied these principles to a short analysis of the Little Red Riding Hood fairytale, which follows the order of events nicely as outlined by Propp. A Proppean analysis is good for defamiliarising ourselves with a beloved narrative, allowing us to look at a story with fresh eyes. Academics have likened Propp’s approach to narrative study to reducing the story to it’s moving parts, allowing us to simply look at the actions that compose a story, and recognise that these actions are repeated across narratives.

Which functions are present in Little Red Riding Hood?

An animated rendition of the classic story, taken from Little Red Riding Hood - Revolting Rhymes (2016)

1. Little Red Riding Hood sets off to visit her grandmother in the woods. [One of  the members of a family absents themselves from home.]

2. As she is leaving, her mother warns her not to stray from the path. [An interdiction is addressed to the hero.]

3. She strays from the path. [The interdiction is violated.]

6. The wolf makes friendly conversation with Little red Riding Hood, asking where she is going. [The villain attempts to deceive his victim in order to take possession of his or his belongings.]

7. Little Red Riding says she’s going to visit her Grandma. [The victim submits to deception and thereby unwittingly helps the enemy.]

8. The wolf eats Grandma! [The villain causes harm or injury to a member of the family.]

16. The wolf tries to eat Little Red Riding Hood and Little Red tries to avoid being eaten. [The hero and the villain join in direct combat.]

18. A passing huntsman saves Little Red as the wolf is about to eat her. [The villain is defeated.]

30. The wolf is cut open, Grandma is rescued!  [The villain is punished.]

In this lecture, I have been able to grasp a better understanding of folklorist Vladmir Propp and his theories exploring story and character. Although I’ve been able to apply this learning to a fairy tale today, I’m tempted to give a more contemporary narrative a Proppean analysis - looking at not only the narrative, but each character’s ‘sphere of action’ too. Props allows us to reduce a story down to it’s simplest parts, taking away any stylistic choices and idiosyncrasies in order for us to see that a story, like everything else, has a structure. Stripping a story down to it’s bare bones in such a way only works to give us a clearer understanding of each action, and therefore, the story as a whole. When gathering research about my chosen film, I will consider if it features any of the narrative functions outlined by Propp.

At the moment, I’m interested in the idea of a modern-day fairy tale in the form of superheroes, and as such, these two narrative lectures have been helpful and inspiring to my own ideas. Whilst I want to potentially develop my own essay question for this task, I have found the ideas and concepts outlined here to be important and I’d like to explore some of these ideas further. I plan to break my chosen film down into these functions, and look at the role of characters, investigating whether or not they fit Propp’s formula.

Lecture Summary

Vladmir Propp was a Russian folklorist and scholar who broke down fairy tale narratives into 31 functions, a breakthrough in the narratology scene

Propp’s approach reduces story to it’s moving parts, allowing us to look at a beloved story with fresh eyes

Props identified seven character archetypes, each with their own role in the narrative called a ‘sphere of action’

Interestingly, Propp’s narrative functions can (and are) applied to more than just Russian folk lore, westernised stories and some contemporary narratives still exhibit the same simple structure (Star Wars, for example)

What’s next? Over the Christmas period, I want to begin looking at potential film choices for this essay. Ideally, I’d like to start with two to three potential candidates and develop a question and final film choice from that selection, evidencing a few potential analytical directions before I begin writing. I’ve got a few ideas, mainly exploring the idea of the superhero story replacing fairy tales in today’s society, but also exploring Dreamworks’ Megamind and how the main character goes through the Hero’s Journey, as a villain; writing down my own thoughts on the subject before gathering research.

[superanimationthingsba1b-blog]

Narrative Essay Plan 2

6. Paul Wells has written of animation’s licence to be more radical than live action cinema, due to the ‘inherent innocence’ in the ‘language of animation’. How does this apply to your chosen narrative? > I agree with this statement- what I will look at to support the statement and to give slight evidence - Adult Jokes used with in films -(some of these couldn't be used within live action as they would be to explicit for a kids film). - The ages of the Disney Princesses- (I will look at the old and new princesses to see whether there has been a change in there ages and when they get married as these are elements that wouldn't be consider showing in like action so would have an older actress play to help hide the young age) - The deaths of Disney villains- ( some of the Disney villain deaths are very dark for a kid film as could cause worrying thoughts for kids as they may be scared by the villain or by the death) - The original stories- (I will look at the original stories and how dark they are as these are the films that all of the great and well known Disney films where based off of as they gave inspiration and had to be changed to suit young audiences) > The film I will study is Black Cauldron as I can look at the ages of the children going up against the villain who I could see which the reaction of children where received will or negatively and finally I can look to see what adult joke are hidden within the film. > Other films I will reference to is - Tarzan - Snow white (Her age as she is the first disney princess she is only 14) - Repunzel (Her again compared to older disney princesses) - Cars (Adult humour) - Little Mermaid (original story by Hans Christian Anderson) - Cinderella  (The original story) - Bambi (Death in disney) > I will also compare the box office amount. The dark movie can affect the amount a movie would make during a children's film > I will also look at the 2D animation and compare it to disney’s change to 3D animation and the affects this has on the films but also the affect it has on the industry not just in America but around the work. > I will also talk about how live action movies wouldn't be able to get away with the same age and visual elements (especially in deaths) as it would be deemed as inappropriate for children fills.

[miagvfx2]

King’s Treasure: Research

As one of our final tasks for BA1B, we were asked to create an asset for and light a ‘King’s Treasure’ scene. Before I start working on this in Maya, I have chosen to research a few ideas of what I might like to put in my scene. My main idea being a Queen’s crown to go along with the King’s crown that is already in the scene. I felt as though this would help to add a narrative element to the scene, as it would give the King a motivation for having the items we see on the table. For example, we see money and gold on the table, highlighting the King’s wealth, while we also see a sword, suggesting he might have fought for it. If I add a Queen’s crown to the scene I think it will help to tie the narrative together, suggesting that the reason the King fights for money and wealth, could be to impress his wife and present her with gifts to show his appreciation. 

I also considered making the Queen’s crown look quite rough and worn, this would present a different narrative, perhaps that the King is greedy enough to avoid supporting his wife, and instead hoard wealth for himself. 

In my mood board I looked at a few different types of crowns, some more delicate with more natural shapes, and others with harsher lines and angles. I also considered what colours I might want to use, here I have chosen some red and white gems. I think these would match well with the red of the King’s crown, helping to highlight their connection to each other, which again would help to show a narrative in my scene. 

My next step is to use this inspiration to begin modelling a crown in Maya. 

[1801016-2]

End of Project Evaluations

BA1b: Concepts and Contexts: Animated Principles, Animated Sketchbook, Narrative Research

[lnklr]

Weekly Summary (Ba1b): Week 6

We had our last narrative lecture this week. I am still not sure about which movie I want to choose for my focus. However, I can say that I am fairly sure that I would like my question to be the one revolving around how a narrative can present morals. This question catches my eye as I feel I could use it to write about the theming of a story, which is something I can find interesting. I hope to be able to decide on a film soon so I can get started.

 This week in stop motion we split in to groups to create ball bounce animations. I found this to be quite interesting as it gave me more context on how objects in mid air are animated in stop motion. Me and my partner managed to create 3 different ball bounces all with certain differences between them.

We had our first CGI session this week. This has been something I’ve been looking forward to before even enrolling on the course. It was very interesting to be introduced to Maya and learn the basics of modelling and animation. 3D Animation is much different to what I thought it was and it was pretty astonishing to learn about features such as the software automatically creating inbetweens for your keyframes. Modelling in Maya was also something I’ve been looking very forward to. This session I did not walk away feeling very confident with the modelling tools but I’m sure that’s because this was only the first session and that I will have a better grasp with the software in the future. It was a very interesting induction session.

At the end of the week there was a session revolving around using NUA’s online resources for research. I was one of the only 4 who turned up to the session. It was fairly useful information that I’m glad I now have.

[ella-ba1b]

Essay Research: 27/11/18

Today i was introduced to the Research and narrative section of the BA1b project, which will be focusing on narrative theory and conventional and unconventional methods of storytelling. 

Definitions that were covered in this lesson:

●        Narrative: A story that is told 

●        Discourse: how a narrative is told 

●        Structure: The way the narrative is put together 

●        Plot:

●        Turning point: a reversal of fortune 

[titmasjack]

Weekly Summary

I found that this week I ended up having a downfall in my productivity, beginning to feel the stress as I head towards hand in, I became a bit overwhelmed with the amount of work that I have to submit and have been spending the majority of the week attempting to not only sort out what I have left to do but manage my time best to achieve the work to the best standard possible. 

Whilst I don’t see myself in a horrendous state of affairs, riding on a productivity high through the course of the project so far has left me in a deep trough over the course of the previous couple of weeks.

Spending the time most effectively by attempting to manage my time for the upcoming hand in, spending the additional time on the essay was definitely the key reason for throwing me off track, but I don’t regret choosing to do this. I don’t believe I would have gotten the ‘Research Essay’ done this far in advance if I hadn't solely worked on the project to produce an outcome I'm proud of. And I would 100% prefer to lose track of a few weeks now than rather further down the line within the last few weeks of the project itself. 

With the intentions of starting off next week completely fresh, the introduction of a new project will allow me to get to a point of conclusion where I can begin to reflect and explore the original intentions of my ideas versus their final outcomes. With the bulk majority of my research done in regards to the projects I have to hand in, I want to start the week focusing on this primary new focus balancing the evaluation of my old projects and the new research and blog posts in response to my upcoming ‘Mystery Box’ briefing. 

Knowing full well that I’m not always expected to work at full working capacity all the time, I have to take into regard how I can get myself out of this trough, and begin to move forward to ensure I start the new project with a bang. Sparking new creativity that will push me along towards the deadline for my previous work. 

Research Narrative

With the build-up of my essay over the previous week, I had an opportunity to sit down with both Lynsey and peers to get some initial feedback to how I could begin to improve and rectify my work. Looking at ways to expand upon my essay further, Lynsey provided me with an array of points that could be developed into a second draft. 

Working alongside her notes, I was able to keep in contact with Lynsey having the chance to send her an updated copy for a potential look. Whilst I didn't have the chance to get a reply this week, the level of communication between Lynsey and I has given me confidence that spending the time to work on a first draft before having my reflection was the best choice. As it gave me a head start on how to approach my essay and tackle it before the deadline begun to creep up on me.

Knowing formal writing has never been a strong point, I was happy with the feedback I recived, knowing that to refine my work to a point of submission I would most likely be creating a second, third and fourth draft as I get closer to the deadline. Although I won’t need to be making drastic changes to my essay, having the chance to have peers read my work through a fresh set of eyes not only discusses larger issues with my writing but small and alternative tweaks that I can explore to fix my grammatical errors.

What I’ve found so exciting about this task is the confidence of being able to find someone to communicate my ideas with. Whether its Lynsey or a fellow peer, the clarity to discuss my work with indifference helps me establish how I can best develop it for submission. Helping my final draft in the long run.

Digital Morphs

N/a Whilst focusing on other tasks, I didn’t find the time to make any significant developments on this individual project. Although I haven’t been focusing on this project specifically, I’m at a stage of production where I aim to return to the fun stuff and get back to animating. 

With the hopes of producing and refining my final digital animation over the course of Reading Week, this gives me the time to specifically work on my introductory projects to use the additional time that was granted to go beyond the expectations of the brief and present a complete and finalised outcome. 

Animated Sketchbook

N/a Whilst focusing on other tasks, I didn’t find the time to make any significant developments on this individual project. The most concerning in terms of development, I believe that my best course of action would be to bring up my issues in my upcoming Mid Term review to have the opportunity to discuss and explore alternative avenues for me to develop this project in the hopes of producing an outcome that supports the standard of the resent of my work. 

Intro to Stop-Motion

The final week of our introduction to this physical medium, we amalgamated what we have learnt over the previous weeks to showcase a change of expression within a character. Revealed to be a build up to our upcoming project where we get to choose our specialism, these introductions have given up an open look at the style and software we’ll be using alongside the ‘Mystery Box’ brief.

Although I only produced a single outcome, I was happy with the number of iterations I was able to create. Reacting and responding to feedback from Helen and peers throughout the lesson. With a strong sense of staging and posing, I feel that I was able to well establish a narrative through posing alone through engaging a great use of posture and gesture to emphasise the actions of my character. 

Really emoting and challenging myself to push the posing and timing of my work, this is easily my most favourite character piece that I had the opportunity to animate over the course of this short project and is a definite contender to the specialism that I might pursue over the course of the new project that will be introduced next week. 

Intro to Digital 3D

Learning another function of Maya, this week we established the use of texture mapping and applying textures to our work. Considering how we could emphasise the illusion of life. This weeks lesson supported the modelling aspects of our work rather than the animation side of things. Adam made sure to address and whilst its good to have all these skills under your belt, necessarily in the industry you would pursue one of these techniques to explore and expand upon. 

This was a sign of relief as I definitely had the most difficulty with this portion of the three-week introduction to Maya. I would be excited to return to Maya for the progression of our next project but would want to solely rely on the animation aspects of the software. To develop a range of skills in 3D animation, its application in today's industry is one I want to get under my belt and develop as soon as possible in the hopes of producing work more confidently in a digital setting.

Choosing a specialism is something I’ll have to begin to consider for the upcoming weeks as we are introduced to the new project that will kickstart the second half of BA1b’s production. In the hopes of starting fresh, I want to start the week of high by focusing on the new project at hand and using my blog to my benefit to building a solid foundation of the new concepts and ideas that are introduced.

To summarise;

With the introduction of a new project next week, I need to establish the work I have left to do for the previous projects. 

Based on my feedback I need to begin to rectify the second draft of my essay in the hopes of more review and reflections.

Focus on managing my time to incorporate set time to work on and develop my outcomes for my digital morph and sketchbook.

Contemplate a possible specialism I could pursue in regards to the ‘Mystery Box’ brief.

[ekniemisba1b-1]

On Tuesday of this week, I had my Narrative essay tutorial with my tutor to discuss my chosen animation, my research and my direction for my essay. Although my tutor hadn’t seen Anomalisa, from how I described it she thought it was a good film to analyse and she was looking forward to reading what I end up writing. She suggesting having a look at Bobby Yeah by Robert Mogan, who is a stop motion animator and filmmaker with similar unconventional narratives but with more disturbing imagery. As soon as I watched this animation I was reminded of Jan Svankmajer and The Quay Brothers, who are also stop motion animators. As part of the essay, it’s a good thing to include work and artists similar to the one I’m analysing and compare/contrast them.

She also suggested comparing the sex scene from Anomalisa to the sex scene in Team America: World Police, that also has a very famous sex scene but for a completely comedic reason. Lynsey my tutor, also thought the quote from Andrew Stanton, a Disney writer, from a presentation she did to do with the piece being more satisfying if you work it out yourself. I agreed that this is very relevant in Kaufman’s writing so would be good for my essay.

[tommhallett]

Week 2 - Reflection on lecture - ‘Only trouble is interesting’?

Week 2 lecture introduced us to the questions we could chose from to base our essay around. We had 5 questions to chose from each with different and unique topics.

1. Structural analysis

Analyse your chosen narrative with close reference to the hero’s journey or another appropriate story template.

2. A classic tale retold?

Make a Proppian analysis of an animated fairy tale, and explain animation’s particular suitability for telling fantastical tales.

3. Social or moral purpose?

Stories have been described as an engine for social change. Analyse your chosen narrative with reference to its social or moral purpose, and the techniques used to convey this.

4. Experimental or unconventional narratives?

‘Only available in animation.’ To what extent does this Paul Wells quote apply to your chosen film? Explain how the medium and materials enter, shape, and define the narrative.

5. Stories without (or with few) words?

Animation is a uniquely visual medium. Analyse your chosen narrative as a successful example of visual storytelling.

For this unit we had to chose an animated film rather than one of live-action as it would be of more relevance to our course, questions and knowledge. In addition in regards to what question we chose we would have to include some discussion of our chosen films animation style and the roles it plays in the narrative. Lastly the narrative we discussed had to be one that was self-contained.

This weeks lecture discussed the shape of stories comparing conflict vs non-conflict plot types.

As the title of this post ‘only trouble is interesting’ (Burroway, 1987). Most stories thrive on the conflict. Stories that have the characters suffer or go through stress to meet an end acknowledge the basic anxieties we have as humans and can give us wider meanings, messages or lessons. As soon as we add opposition we begin to make story as this creates conflict.

The shape of stories: 

The shape of a story matters as the simple details of the plots organizations and its structure decide more or less everything that a viewer experiences in a story.

Mechanic form is a pre-existent shape a shape that has boundaries and definite form. whereas an organic form develops itself within and is shaped by its own development.

In 1947, novelist Kurt Vonnegut began noticing similarities between various stories. noticing this he realised that a story has its ups and downs which could be plotted on a graph to reveal the shape of the story.

What is an act?

An act is part of your story consisting of individual scenes. Scenes are also linked into sequences with a single unifying idea. Acts come from theatre when story's were told and breaks we signalled by the curtain closing.

Sequences come from early cinema in which as film reel lasted about 10 minutes.

Shakespeare used a 5 act structure for his plays which was based on the need to trim candles and re-light them however in screenwriting the 3 act structure is the conventional style, containing a set up (Act 1), confrontation (Act 2), resolution (Act 3).

However the 3 act and 5 act structure are in essence the same thing with the 5 act structure being a more refined version of a 3 act structure.

Act 1:

The first act usually lasts twenty to thirty minutes and is the act that has the task of setting up the story, introducing us the to characters and filling us in on their current situation and possible hints at their motives.

Act 2:

The second act usually last for half the movie, up to an hour, and its all about conflict is created and how the character has trouble getting what they want.

Act 3:

The third act takes the movies final half an hour to resolve the story. In most cases, the character has learned from the struggles in the second act and is thus a changed person and will have their final confrontation that will answer the story's questions and bring it to a close.

East Asian storytelling tradition:

Compared to contemporary European Americans who treasure their uniqueness as individuals and tend to tell long narratives about themselves that help illuminate, explain and celebrate what is special about them. Asians and Asian Americans typically do not.

Storytelling scholar Utako Matsuyama suggests that ‘the traditional Buddhist value of eliminating worldly desires’ could be at the root of the difference in storytelling. Therefore many East Asian stories take a different approach to western goal-driven narratives and they are often described as ‘the plot without conflict’. These stories feature a simple pattern of action and reaction which leads to a final emphasis of the story’s theme.

Matsuyama says plots can be ‘simple’ (a story of man vs. nature) or ‘complex’ (a story of man vs. man). 

These are European story types meaning that they are driven by the antagonists goals.

Kishotenketsu: 4-part ‘plot without conflict’

Kishotenketsu is a four part structure (originally derived from poetry) common in Japanese story-telling.

- Introduction (Ki)

-Elaboration (sho)

-Twist (ten)

Emphasis (ketsu)

Understanding the (ten) twist is the key to understanding this story telling structure.

Although ‘ten’ will usually be surprising as it is unexpected it may not be a classic ‘twist’ that western culture understands. In this sense ‘ten’ is simply the reveal of new information.

Kishotenketsu is not about conflict, there is no direct conflict in the story, no goal or motivation. The entire tension of the story comes from realising that what you thought happened is not what actually happened (Macklin, 2017).

[seanfindlay-animation-blog]

Tuesday: BA1b: Research narrative (week 1)

Looking at

- conventional and unconventional ways of telling stories

- Key aspects of narrative theory

- The unique language of animation

- Ways to begin telling your own stories

- Understand how they work, why they work and why do they go wrong

For this unit

A 1500 word essay that explores the role and development of narrative within animation. Which will be on an animated film.

- you will need to discuss a self contained narrative

- Single Tv show episodes are alright but discuss any ideas like this with the lecturer

- Films and short films are acceptable

- Is the story original? If not what narrative structure does it use?

[thepowerofmovement]

Week 1 Summary

Three... Two... One... and... ACTION! So we continue our journey onto our next project: Ba1b Concepts and Context. This week was informative and educational. We begun our unit briefing in the hands of Peter. In this session, we explored how we might morph one object into another. We first observed our hands, paying attention to how they are structured, internally and externally. We studied the direction the skin wrapped around the hand. We drew our hands in different styles with different objectives as to what we wanted to present. After gathering a comprehensive understanding of our hands, we adopted another object to study in a similar way. Drawing the object from a range of different angles and perspectives to appreciate its form. Having understood the constructs of our two variables, the task was to then establish the mid-point between the morphing of the two. I begun with a simpler concept, one where the glass would expand to fill the surface area of my hand. I also developed an idea where my fingers would peel back, like a banana; my fingers would form the stem and base of the glass and the palm of my shape the semi-sphere of the glass. I enjoyed this session, I feel it forced me to look at objects, even more so transition in a new light. Morphing objects will enhance my practice and enrich my creativity, especially when applying principles such as squash and stretch and impact and reaction. I am excited to see how creative I can become with the morphing project. 

This weeks life drawing session was focused around the study of hands. We produced a range of hand drawings using marker pens. I found this task to be slightly difficult as the model was fairly distant from view, so the amount of detail I could observe was limited. I tried to be loose but I didn’t like using the markers to draw the hands, I felt that because the models hands were far from view, and the markers gave a thick line, the representation of the hands diminished. Although I feel the quality lacked, I gave the task my concentration. I tried to reflect the slight foreshortening of the fingers when they sat behind the other, the curvature of the hand and fingers but also the foundations that form the hand and keep it’s integrity. I don’t feel I was very successful this week in what I attempted to achieve. I feel my drawings lacked quality, I know I could have done better. I think more preparation and taking an extra few seconds to allow my eyes to study and flow through the shape and construct would have rewarded me with the quality missing from these drawings. 

Also this week, we were introduced to a new software, After Effects. Based on my earliest experience of After Effects, I understand that the process of understanding how the programme works will take some time. Having researched independently via some YouTube tutorials on how to function After Effects, I feel my understanding has progressed, but only gradually. In respect of what I produced this week, my induction wasn’t a great hit. What I set out to achieve, wasn’t what transpired, this differentiates from our morphing task. I think that because I took a step back, and explored After Effects, this enhanced my understanding of the software, and I was able to create a short piece that I felt like I had control of. After Effects will take some time to learn, and learning is why I am here! 

In this weeks research lecture, we explored narrative theory and what makes a story, and how stories are structured. We first learnt some key definitions in defining connotations of a story. We also discussed what makes contributes to a narrative and the success of a film. By following conventional narrative, the result tends to lead to commercial success. An audience might be attracted to a conventional narrative as they are built on a narrative that promotes work ethic, one where a problem arises and then has to be solved. As the audience, we embedded ourselves into the protagonist and live the experience through the perspective of the character. We share and attempt to relate to the character emotionally, and we adopt the character as our own. I enjoyed this session, as it gave an in depth analysis of how story and narrative is formed. I can take what I have learnt today and apply it to my work when creating storyboards and scripts in the future to come.

In conclusion, I feel my understanding of how to study objects and figures has progressed. For my understanding of my subjects to progress, I must expand my perception of them. The same way an investigator looks into the lives of their suspects, I must investigate my subjects through recordings, recording through the medium of drawings. The more meticulous, curious and vigorous I become when investigating my subjects, the greater my comprehension of them will expand. I have learnt that the deeper my understanding of subjects, the greater my ability to depict my subject down to its core fundamental elements. I think this revelation is paramount for the success in this project, especially with regard to the After Effects project. 

[nathanramosba1b]

BA1b Research Narrative week 6

Animation is a uniquely visual medium

Animation is a medium (not a genre).

Brad Bird expressed his frustration on this issue in 2010:

‘People keep saying, “The animation genre.” It’s not a genre! A Western is a genre. Animation is an art form, and it can do any genre.’

What is a medium?

Let’s remind ourselves what a ‘medium’ is = the means or method through which the information is conveyed. So this means the ‘type’ of art (painting, film, sculpture) as well as the materials with which it is created.

The ‘unique vocabulary’ of animation

‘Implicit in the study of the animated form is how “meaning” is generated by the unique vocabulary available to the animator which is not the province of the live-action film-maker’ (Wells, 1998, p11).

In other words, you have your own language.

Substance vs. content

Animation encompasses an extraordinary range of styles and stories. Some of these stories could be told through live action… but some couldn’t. For some, the animated medium is intrinsic (essential) to the narrative. The difference between story and discourse.

Story = what is told

Discourse = how it is told

Understanding this, we can separate the substance of an artwork (what it’s physically made with) from its content (what it’s ‘about’).

Key vocabulary: metamorphosis

‘Metamorphosis is the ability for an image to literally change into another completely different image’ (Wells, 1998, p. 69).

Story: what is told? = the ‘familiar’ story of Snow White

Discourse: how is it told? = through the unique vocabulary of animation

Key vocabulary: Fabrication

Paul Wells (1998) uses the word ‘fabrication’ to describe the process of taking existing materials – whether man-made or naturally occurring – from the ‘everyday world’ and reinterpreting or re-purposing them within an animated film.

BOTTLE

A stop motion short written, directed, animated and edited by Kirsten Lepore (2010)

Substance vs. content

Substance = (re)animated insects

Content = a ‘love triangle melodrama’ (Crafton, 1984, p. 239).

Critics note that the film could ‘as easily’ have been made with humans.

However, the substance cannot help but enter the narrative – and in fact provides its charm; makes it ‘special’.

[zak-animation]

BA1b Summary: Week 5

Animated Sketchbook Whilst I’ve begun to put a focus on the Digital Metamorphosis project, I still managed to complete a few pages in my sketchbook - primarily working on the ideas of visual memory and imagination. Last week, I explored the use of black ink to create random marks, blots and smudges and then finding characters, scenes and creatures amongst the masses. This week, I wanted to develop on this process by adding colour: and exploring how this would affect my thought and imagination process when designing and ultimately ‘decoding’ these marks.

The week began by independently researching the idea of a ‘deliberate accident’ in art further, as a way to add some theory and context behind these pages. This led me to explore the work of Justinus Kerner, a doctor and poet who produced ink smudges on hand-written letters. Kerner would later transform these accidental blots into a ‘bestiary of grotesque creatures of chance’ in his published book Klecksographien. Kerner would illustrate demons and creatures from these random shapes; a collection of skeletons, winged monsters and terrifying creatures. Whilst my illustrations aren’t terrifying, they are beginning to explore the idea of creature design in particular: something that might be a result of the complex shapes in the ink blots. Traditionally, animated characters and heroes follow simple shape structure and thus that may be a reason behind my primarily creature-based designs.

For this task, I experimented with a range of coloured inks in order to evoke a range of emotions.  Looking back, the red and dark pink pages were the most exciting, with some very interesting creature designs and character ideas based around repetitive brush techniques and blurry marks, something I felt evoked a strong sense of movement when drawing over them with a fine liner.

Finally, I wanted to experiment with mixing the inks and produced an earthy shade, which resulted in more mystical, calm deity-like beings. Interesting how my mind saw the red marks as more villainous and aggressive whilst the purple creatures seemed more morally ambiguous, and the earthy creations connoted more of a peaceful calm effect. To put it simply, this is colour theory in effect: how our mind reads colours as different meanings, picked up through our own personal life and the environment we’ve grown up in.

Next week, I want to move away from these ink blot creations and base my designs off existing sources, sketching real-life animals and natural features as a way to develop my understanding of animal anatomy and inspire my own more imagined and fantastical creature designs.  

Narrative Theory This week’s Narrative Research session introduced a range of new narrative concepts and theories, as we looked at Christopher Booker’s 7 Plot Types, experimental animation and delved into the psychological reasons in which humans tell (and consume) stories.

Whilst I’ve spoken about the purpose of stories before, I’ve never once looked into the concept at an academic level, such as the reasons established this week. Learning about the different plot types was interesting, and it was quite surprising just how many plots that I could think of which followed a specific plot perfectly. Despite this, I think it’s important for us, as animators and storytellers to challenge (at least one of) these narrative conventions. As an audience, we want to be entertained: not bored. Personally, I’ve always thought that subverting one area of a narrative structure almost ensures an engaging storyline. I consider storytelling a form of ‘edutainment; a way of educating our audience but sending them on a fun ride in the process. It’s these main reasons - to educate, inspire or entertain - that drive almost all stories today.

Additionally to this, I was able to further explore the steps of the Hero’s Journey, as described by writer Christopher Vogler. Writing about the steps in more detail has not only cemented my own understanding of the structure, but it’s inspired me to apply this narrative structure to my chosen film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. This week, I’ve also been able to write up my initial ideas for this project: exploring my potential films to explore and the subject material they offer before reaching the conclusion of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Alongside being a film that everyone’s talking about, Into the Spider-Verse offers a variety of subjects to discuss: visual storytelling, cultural significance as ‘more than once wears the mask’, alongside ideas of adaption and interpretation. When collecting research for the film, I’m going to be exploring all facets of the storyline and film itself before honing in on a specific area, evidencing more than one analytical directions before I start writing the first draft.

Over these last five weeks, I’ve been able to explore a range of narrative theories and concepts from character archetypes, fairytale functions and heroes journeys. As a way to begin my research and analysis into my chosen film, I plan to revisit all of these narrative ideas and concepts introduced on this blog and apply them to Spider-Man. Next week, I specifically want to break down the film’s plot using Vogler’s interpretation of the Hero’s Journey, a subject we explored just recently.

Next week, I will begin collecting research sources for my essay exploring Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (through online videos, books and any other media of discussion) and decide on an essay question. It’s a little early to begin doing this, however I want to start work on this project ahead of time rather than leaving it till last minute. Whilst this wasn’t the case in the last unit, I did feel somewhat rushed, and want to begin writing a first draft for my self-proposed deadline of 29th January, in preparation for our tutorial.

Digital Principles This week in Digital Principles, I’ve put a focus on practical development and experimentation: designing the main elements of the sequence in Illustrator and After Effects in the simple flat design aesthetic I’ve established so far. As a reflection of the week as a whole, I feel like I’m making good progress in this project and will (hopefully) be able to produce a final sequence I’m proud of.

The week began in Illustrator, as I created a series of Heptapod language icons for my animation. By simply using shape layers, my new illustration follows my design language; smooth with visually pleasing arcs created using bezier curves and the pen tool within After Effects. It’s much more visually appealing and consistent with my own sequence.

I’ve managed to complete a full iteration of my first sequence, in which we pan upwards through the alien ship. For this animation, I decided to take it upon myself to learn After Effects in more detail past simply playing around with shape layers, and watched a series of online tutorials to fully grasp the idea of a virtual camera within the software. This is something I briefly explored last week, and through iterative development, I’ve been able to complete the first sequence.

It’s not a perfect sequence, however. Whilst the camera motion is smooth, and the final zoom into the Alien Window is appropriately cinematic, I can definitely improve this first scene. Firstly, I’m very tempted to add Louise and Ian to the Window Room, in the form of small silhouettes in the iconic orange hazmat suits. This is an idea I explored initially in the project, and it’s something I’d like to include in this sequence.

To summarise, I’m really enjoying working on this brief. It’s the project I’ve devoted the most time to, and I’ve found a new approach to animation in the medium of motion graphics. What I like about my approach to this project is my experimentation with new software; rather than working directly from a hand-drawn reference, I’ve challenged myself to learn After Effects in detail.

Next week, I plan to continue the animation process: completing the heptapod language sequence using offset trim paths, and begin work on the actual transformation between the final heptapod icon and the Shell, using keyframes paths. I’ve written a plan for my final piece, and so at this point it’s simply a matter of completing the sequence through iterative development. As a whole, I’m happy with the amount of progress I’ve been able to make this week on the project, and look forward to the next.