#the street caroline leaf

[k00291991]

Disrupt animation research

As part of our animation workshop we were shown loads of different types of animation by different artists. I’m documenting the ones I found most interested and related to my work here.

Caroline Leaf

The first would be an animation by Caroline Leaf called The Street, the style of this animation really interested me and the smooth almost watery movement of the characters and the paint feels perfect for the idea i had in mind for this workshop, I’ll attach a short screen recording so you get the gist of it.

Tomas Mankovsky

Another animation I looked at was “Sorry I’m Late” created at Rocketboom studios which involves really interesting object animation as well a pixilation. The video was a stop motion of a man running on a ground of clothes and encountering different obstacles. I found this animation really interesting as the person in the animation was still and it was the ground of clothes that was moving to create a running effect. I also think this could be an interesting route to try as it would connect with my previous use of clothing disrupting the body. Linking the video below for anyone interested.

[peachart6log]

Week 1, Animation practice

Squash & stretch is one of the key principles in animation, that was developed by Disney animators in 1930. There are 12 of these principles in total and in each week we’ll study and apply one-two of them in our animations.

S&S principle allows to create realism in movements, adding expressiveness and dynamism to the characters and objects. It is based on the idea of how objects behave depending on the force or speed of movement, e.g. ball squashes when hits the ground and stretches when bounces. We also used the bouncing ball exercise to understand S&S.

(Bouncing ball could be used as the base for the animation, like frog, rabbit jumping)

Thus S&S gives the idea of the object’s material to the viewer, whether the object is made from solid matter or not.

In addition, this principle helps to emphasize emotions of the character, focusing viewers’ attention to that. Without this principle the animations will look blankly and boring.

Caroline Leaf is a Canadian-American filmmaker, animator, director, tutor and artist, who was born in 1946 in Seattle, now lives in London. She created sand and paint on glass animation techniques, masterfully manipulating objects to show the story, also produced amazing works, always trying something new.

“My animated films are known for their story telling, emotional content, and graphic style, which evolved from the innovative handcrafted animation techniques I invented.” - Caroline.

"The Street" animated short-film.

She uses abstract themes in her animations, also including representation of Canadian culture, e.g. it can be clearly seen in films “The Street”, “The Owl who Married the Goose”, and “Kate and Anna McGarrigle”.

She put a huge impact into the animation industry, now teaching others and being a tutor at the National Film and Television School in London.

[elliedoesart19]

Squash and stretch

. Animation principle of applying a contrasting change of shape to give flexibility and life, Squash is to show force of impact or anticipation, and Stretch is to show acceleration or velocity. The benefits to this is to add a sense of weight and impact.

. An important rule is that the volume or the object should remain constant at rest, squashed or stretched. If the rule is not obeyed then the object appears to shrink when squashed and to grow when stretched.

. Examples - Rubber Ball, Flour bag, Frog, Rabbit, Squirrel.

The principle is outlined by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas in the 1981 book, The Illusion of life: Disney Animation.

Ollie Johnston

31st October 1912 - 14th April 2008 (95)

. American motion picture animator and one of Disneys 9 old men, last surviving at the time of death.

. Worked on Bambi, and was very proud of his work on it, as it showed that animation could bring out strong emotional responses from the audience, just as well as a live-action drama.

Worked very closely with another disney animator, Frank Thomas. They met as art students at Stanford university in the 1930's.

. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2005

Frank Thomas

. 5th September 1912 - 8th September 2004 (92)

. American animator and pianist, also was one of the 9 old men.

. The characters are scenes Thomas animated where the Dwarfs crying over snow whites "dead" body, Pinocchio singing at the marionette theatre, Bambi and Thumper on ice, Lady and the tramp eating spaghetti to name only a few.

Caroline Leaf

. Canadian American, born 12th August 1946 (78), Studied at Harvard university, Architectural sciences and visual arts, in her last year she enrolled in an animation class which was taught by Derek Lamb.

. Worked for National film board of Canada

. Her animation style is interesting, it's very fluid but not entirely smooth but gives it the personality it needs to be recognisable. Her animation style is hand crafted, using media like, sand, paint on glass and hand etchings on film stock. Her stories are mostly adaptations from literature and reflect dark narrative content.

. She is also an oil painter and does abstract mark making.

Derek Lamb

20th June 1936 - 5th November 2005 (69)

. British animation filmmaker and producer

. Executive producer of the National Film Board of Canada's English Animation Studio from 1976 - 1982

. Contributed to sesame street and "I know an old lady who swallowed a fly"

[differentflowergladiator]

Appeal

Appeal in animation refers to the appeal of a character design, or perhaps an aspect that makes them stand out. Using a variety of shapes in a character can make them look individual. This also goes for their proportions, whether they have a large head or nose or long legs. Simplifying the character can make them more distinct and easier to notice, to much detail can take away from this, it is also harder to animate.

Caroline leaf

Caroline leaf is a Canadian American filmmaker, director and animator. She is well known for her short, animated films.

She started off working at the NFB from 172 to 1991, where she created the paint on glass animation and the sand animation technique. The paint on glass animation technique included oil paints and glass, one manipulates slowly drying oil paints on a sheet of glass, whilst a camera is positioned over the top of the glass and takes a picture every frame. this creates a unique painterly movement where brushstrokes are emphasised.

Whilst sand is simply moved and shifted round a light box, she used sand animation to create one of her first animations Sand, in which she was awarded a scholarship to Harvard university for.

She then created her second animation in Italy called Orfeo, a paint on glass animation.

Later down the line she created one of her more well-known works the Street. This paint on glass animation gives of a old rustic feel with the use of the deep monochromatic brown black colours giving of a dark atmosphere to the film. Paint animation can come out quite smudgy giving a very raw and messy movement.

[menzith]

Caroline Leaf

The artwork of Caroline Leaf takes us on an interesting ride through experimental storytelling and animation. Leaf is known for her creative techniques, which include paint-on-glass animation and sand animation. She creates pieces that are both fascinating to look at and meaningful to watch. Her art breaks standard by reaching into the depths of human emotions and personal narratives. One of her well-known works, "The Street," is an interesting story with detailed hand-drawn animation that addresses urban life. With its unique style, Leaf lets viewers to interact with a combination of connection and visual components. Caroline Leaf has left a lasting impression on animation with her unique storyline and style, encouraging future generations to think creatively.

[yuchianimation]

Caroline leaf

Caroline Leaf is a well-known Canadian-American filmmaker and animator known for her unique and inventive work in the world of animation.

Leaf, who was born in 1946, is well known for her innovative approach in animation. Her first film, "Sand, or Peter and the Wolf", was made solely with sand poured on a lightbox, and moved by her finger to create images.

Her writing frequently goes into deep, contemplative issues that she expresses through her distinct, fluid animation style. "The Street" (1976), an adaptation of a Mordecai Richler story that was nominated for an Academy Award, was one of her most well-known and praised works. Leaf's contributions to animation are marked by her creative artistic approach that combines visual artistry with profound narrative aspects, cementing her place in the field of animated film.

"Sand, or Peter and the Wolf" Ref: http://www.carolineleaf.com/work_bio.php

[animationskillsalexilieva]

Caroline Leaf

Animation at Harvard in 1968

it was taught as a form of artistic self-expression, perhaps like writing poetry, and the class was open to everyone 

Drawing abilities and film knowledge were not prerequisites so animated keychains and quarters, breathing life into inanimate objects  was the focus 

 The things they worked with were stop motion and pixilation and worked with cutouts 

Caroline discovered that she could draw with beach sand and could make the drawings mov.

The main goal was to make it move, and they  believed Norman McLaren’s observation that what happens between the frames is more important than what happens on each frame.

They had to figure things out on their own which gave them the chance to create their own solution and a unique way to do things.

 Her animated films are known for their storytelling, emotional content, and graphic style, which evolved from the innovative handcrafted animation techniques she  invented. She used beach sand manipulated on a lightbox, watercolour and gouache finger painting on glass, and images made by scratching in the soft emulsion of exposed colour 35mm and 70mm film stock.

Her first animation was ‘Sand or Peter and the Wolf’

Her description for the processes of the animation is ‘ It was made with a jar of local beach sand poured out onto a light box. Lit from below and manipulated with my fingers, the film’s black and white silhouetted sand figures move in a fluid and shadowy world. The camera was fixed to the wall above the lightbox. From these beginnings, I developed a style of animating that was an ongoing process of drawing, shooting and redrawing the images to create a sense of movement. My subsequent films are refinements and extensions of this handmade straight ahead under-the- camera technique.’

Other things she has worked on are 

- The Owl Who Married a Goose(1974) an adaptation of an Inuit legend,

- The Street (1976) adapted from a short story by Mordecai Richler, which received an Academy Award nomination and was voted 2nd best animation film of all time by the Olympiad of Animation Los Angeles 1984,

- The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa (1977) adapted from Franz Kafka's story 'The Metamorphosis' and begun with a grant from the American Film Institute,

- Interview (1979) an autobiographical collaboration with director Veronika Soul,

- Two Sisters/Entre Deux Soeurs (1990) an original story etched in the layers of 70mm film emulsion.

Step by step sand animation:

Pour beach sand onto a white glass surface lit evenly from below.

Pour beach sand onto a white glass surface lit evenly from below.

In a dark room.

Using your fingers, or whatever tools are at hand, draw in the sand.

The opaque sand blocks light from below. . .

. . . and creates dark shapes.

[ocean104]

Caroline Leaf is an animator whose work since the 1960’s has made her a memorable name in the industry for her solo work and animation techniques that she herself had invented. 

She started off in Harvard and learned to animate there, over time developing several methods of animating such as using beach sand on a lightbox, which is how she made her first animated film, Sand or Peter and the Wolf. With this piece, Caroline used the silhouettes she created in the sand to tell a classic fairy tale in a fluid and constant motion. She also used this style in The Owl Who Married a Goose and heavily utilized the black-and-beige color scheme to show contrast between the animals and the environment. 

In her next piece though, The Street, she takes the fluid motions of her style and takes it to another level as she incorporates color into her work as well this time. The film almost feels like a camera shot of many events, and the fluidity is used not only for artistic transitions, but also to make it feel more present and real. 

Caroline’s work managed to win her many awards over the years for her unique methods and original style with a lightbox and sand. It’s truly a testament to animation and how it can be expressed in any number of ways. 

[aruartistandanimationresearch]

Squash/Stretch and Caroline Leaf

Squash and Stretch is one of the twelve principles of animation used in dynamic animation. The movement technique that brings life to anything ranging from a bouncing ball to a fully animated run cycle and is predominantly used in older Disney films such as Robin Hood, as well as the classic Looney Tunes shows involving the fluid designs of Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny and Taz the Tasmanian Devil. 

This technique changes the shape of a character or object to add flexibility and fluidity to the movement path. To put it into perspective, the bouncing ball practice teaches us how to stretch the ball during the ascent and descent of the object, then squash it once making contact with a still, immovable surface. Without the exaggeration of movement, the animation wouldn’t catch the attention of the viewer as much.

Caroline Leaf was a Canadian-American animator and director who used Squash and Stretch in her works. Her studies started at Harvard in the 1960s when animation and filmmaking were pioneered and accessible with the lowered prices of equipment required to create. She studied under Derek Lamb who had come from London and taught students about filmmaking as an art form rather than a professional career, practicing self-expressionism through art and evoking feeling using picture motion. 

Leaf’s work was primarily moving sand or painting on glass, using fluid, liquid-like movements to invoke strong feelings. Her style of animating is typically dark, familiar to Weimar style cinema post-WW1 and WW2 in the sense of moving, painterly shadows and bold dark lines. Her work “The Street” is an example of her WW2 storytelling, unfurling a story of a boy coming of age in the era of armed forces and depression.

[finnleyalexanne]

Artist Research - Caroline Leaf

Caroline Leaf is a multi award winning Artist and Animator, who has created a variety of animated experimental films in her career, creating "The Street", "The Owl Who Married a Goose" and "Kate and Anna McGarrigle". Although she has authored few films, her ability to create compelling narratives, her innovative and creative process utilizing any material she can to create her animations, and her open minded nature has led to her becoming a recognized and respected artist.

Attending a 1 year animation course at Harvard University in 1968, she learnt to use Animation not as an industry professional, but as an artistic form of self expression. This is where she learnt how to draw using essentially anything that could be manipulated into forming images. Leaf was not taught about film language or editing, rather the class was often left alone to discover their owl solutions.

Leaf's first film, "Sand or Peter and the Wolf" was made from a jar of beach sand poured onto a light box. This created a distinct and shadowy feel to her work, which would inspire her future creative endeavors. Her following films are continued refinements of these techniques. Leaf's techniques did not align with traditional team productions, because of this she mostly worked solo, being sole director and animator on her projects.

Leaf's films are known for their emotional story telling and distinctive vocative style. the imagery is rough and unnatural in some of her work, simplistic and childlike in others. In 1984 the Oscars placed leaf's "The Street" in second place when judging all animated films ever made, winning over Disney and other corporate productions.

[weatherboyuni]

Animator Research: Caroline Leaf

Caroline Leaf is an animator from Seattle, born in 1946. She is known for, among other things, her animated film work for the National Film Board of Canada or NFB. She used many unorthodox animation methods such as scratching or painting directly onto film stock, or moving sand around on a light box and camera. Some notable works she has created include: The Street (1976) Two Sisters (1990) We had the pleasure of being shown Two Sisters by Caroline Leaf herself, and she explained and showed us how she would scratch into and draw on film stock to show the light underneath. Here is a link to her official website: Caroline Leaf

[audrelileikaite]

Research Element 1: Squash and Stretch and Caroline Leaf (Week 1)

Our research task for week 1 was to research one of the core principles of animation, the squash and stretch, as well as research Caroline leaf, an innovator in the field of animation, known for the techniques she invented and her graphical style.

Squash and stretch:

I spoke on this briefly in my blog on week 1 of Animation Skills, but squash and stretch is a principle in animation that aims to hyperbolize movement. When squash and stretch is applied to an object/figure in animation, this means the shape of the figure changes to imply heavy movement. When an object is in motion quickly, it stretches in the direction it moves. When an object comes to a stop, it squashes against the obstacle to convey an interaction. Objects in real life have different solidity, many things will be flexible to some extent, so it is important to know how the application of squash and stretch varies depending on the material of a subject in animation. A solid piece of iron like a cannonball for example, keeps its shape well no matter how it is moved, so squash and stretch barely applies when animating one. On the other hand, a rubber ball is extremely flexible and therefore would manipulate in shape from movement heavily, making squash and stretch important.

This principle can be adhered to a little bit or lots, depending on if an animator wants to stay realistic or exaggerate their movement. Regardless, squash and stretch applies to both styles heavily, making it vital for smoother animation.

Caroline Leaf:

Caroline Leaf first started studying animation at Harvard in 1968, though recounts that the medium was more so taught as a 'form of artistic self-expression' more than as a means of a professional career. In this class she experimented with different ways to convey movement, including pixilation, stop motion and even creating animation with sand. Some other notable techniques she used in her animations include gouache and watercolour finger-painting on glass, as well as scratching on film.

Her movie 'The Two Sisters' is actually completely made using the film scratching technique, giving the animation very sharp contrasts.

It is worth noting that Leaf is also known for her excellence in transitions. Instead of simple cutaways, many of her films show a direct transition between scenes, such as showing the gradual erasing of a scene, as seen in her movie 'The Street' or simple movements to a different part of a scene, seen several times in 'The Two Sisters'.

Her films, impressively, are all individually made. Leaf quotes that ' I was director and animator for all my films, as well as designer, story adaptor and/or scriptwriter, and I worked closely on the sound tracks and editing my films. ' She claims there is no room for a team on her projects, meaning almost every part of the creative process was her own.

in 1972, The National Film Board of Canada invited Caroline Leaf to Montreal to have considerable creative freedom and create animated films, including the two previously mentioned as well as others such as 'The Owl Who Married a Goose' and 'Interview'. She worked as a director/animator until 1991, at which point she became a naturalized Canadian citizen. Her films were distributed around Canada as education for upcoming animators, but has spread globally since, serving Leaf as an inspiration for those interested in animation worldwide.

[ezrasanimationblog]

Creators-

Caroline Leaf.

Canadian-American filmmaker Caroline Leaf was born in 1946 on the 12th of August. Renowned as a great woman animator, her handcrafted animation techniques are known for leaving an impact due to her emphasis on storytelling and emotional content.

Leaf is credited with such works as; Sand or Peter and the Wolf, The Owl who Married a Goose, The Street, and The Metamorphosis of Mr Samsa. As well as 'Odysseus and the Olive Tree' in 2001. Looking at a list of her works leads to a consistent pattern of story adapation that varies from references to Greek myths to Inuit myths and German novellas.

 What makes Caroline distinct? Her memorable and distinctive style. Whether it be her early works carving stories out of sand with a camera or her later ones working with watercolour paint and finding ways to keep it from drying. There is a noticable and remarkable fluidity that is kept consistent across her works with each motion clearly coreographed. An interesting use of the animation principles are seen in her works with things like the anticipation of movement and the weight of objects being so clear that even in spite of the more unrealistic style of art, the viewer can't help but find a believability within her works. I take a particular enjoyment in her work on The Street, the stirring of the mixing bowl as well as the combing of hair is extremely fascinating to watch for me.

[rrrauschen]

“There’s been a death in the family. Your heart is broken. And yet it’s a splendid summer day. A day made for love and laughter. And that must seem very cruel to you.”

Caroline Leaf, {1976} The Street

[gltsmoking]

“The Street” (1976) by Caroline Leaf:

(click picture or linked text to view film)

This award-winning animation is a poignant interpretation of a short story by Montreal author Mordecai Richler. It makes a strong statement about the way in which many families respond to their old and infirm members. In washes of watercolour and ink, filmmaker Caroline Leaf illustrates reactions to a dying grandmother, capturing family feelings and distilling them into harsh reality.

[buridans-ass]

The Street (1976) | Caroline Leaf