[project] Last Dance

This is the animatic I submit for my midpoint review. The story is about a janitor dancing alone while mopping on the stage. The dance reflects his demonic love toward his victim.

Above is the character design for the janitor. He is an ordinary guy but bears a dark secret.

For this project, I still need to develop the dance. Since the dance is the most important part of the whole animation, a choreographer is needed.

Sometimes when I look others doing so many amazing work, I gaze upon myself and sigh at the things I achieve now. But hey, all the masters spend time to perfect their skill and perspective. The thing I should do is to practice and practice. Give myself other small assignment other then school work. Talk to friends and teachers. My dream will come true one day.

Bouncing Ball

This is my first attempt to do the bouncing ball without the tail.

In this one, it is the first time I really dive into graph editor and get a basic understanding about how different tangents work and what kind of mess it will create if you don't key your frame properly. The lighter ball in this one is trying to simulate the real ball bouncing in reality. Somehow, when it strikes the ground, it seems a little bit "sticky."

From this practice, I learn that to create a real mass in the animated word it all depends on "timing." How fast the ball going to change the shape and how fast it falls all create a sense of mass and gravity. When the momentum decrease, how would it affect the relative project (when the ball hit the box, the could just sway a little bit or be knocked off, it all counts on how much momentum the ball brings to.)


This is my second attempt to animate the ball, but this time with tail and more characteristic.

The alive ball it's easier to do, in my opinion. It doesn't have to follow a certain decrease by the law of gravity. We can define its every movement. The only thing is we have to give it enough "energy" to fight against the gravity. Before the ball take a big jump, it has to crouch longer to gather enough energy.

The tail is to show the overlapping actions. When body move, tail follows. It this film I only realize the "overlapping" aspect. Actually, in my opinion, tail has to aspects, one is "overlapping" and the other one is "balancing."   Tail follows the major movement, that is correct, but there is a time when the body stays in the same place or when landing tries to buffer the impact force.

There are so many things to learn in animation, and a pair of fresh eyes are needed. Don't be shy to ask others to comment your works.


Jellyfruit

12 principles for animation

1. squash and stretch
-show the gravity when impacts and traveling

2. anticipation
-telling the audience to pay attention to sth going to happen

3. staging
-how everything relates within frame

4. straight ahead, pose to pose

5. follow through/ overlapping

6. ease in/ out
-to create a sense of weight, mass

7. arcs
-it's just our organic design, the way we supposed to move

8. secondary action
-smaller actions that support whole large action

9. timing
-shows speed between pose to pose, creates emotions

10. exaggeration
-makes animation easier to understanding

11. solid drawing
-posing, silhouette, line of action

12. appeal
-visually interesting, charisma of the art piece
http://www.soundonsight.org/20-greatest-classic-disney-villians/
see how the design of these villains grab audience's eyes


A good animator should always have this list on the place where you can see it. It reminds every aspects you need to check and pay attention, and polishes your animation better!

[Story] Madame Butterfly

On 17th, I went to San Francisco Opera to enjoy "Madama Butterfly." This is the opera authored by Puccini. I believe many of you have heard of it and so do I. Not until few minutes before the opera began I finished reading the brief story on the pamphlet. The story is about a Japanese geisha, Madama Butterfly, who is madly in love with an American Lieutenant. In contrast, the Lieutenant replies Butterfly's loyal and innocent love with a playboy attitude. He is gone for three years without a single letter until the day he comes back and address Butterfly to forget about him.

What I am interest in is Butterfly's innocent and faithful love and the remorse of the Lieutenant Pinkerton. Unfortunately, I didn't see much depiction on why Madama Butterfly is irrationally in love with Pinkerton. Her innocent loyalty makes me confused and it doesn't make any sense. In Act 2 we see, Madama Butterfly changes her outfit to western style dress, and the house is remodeled into what she calls "American house."  Also, when she prays for Pinkerton's return, she scolded Japanese God and praises "American God" ironically. So far, I understand all these sequence relate to previous plot, that she was declined by her family and she declined her traditional belief. To my understanding, she creates an imaginary world to resolve her love longing.

Butterfly carries "American style" along whole act2 until she sees the battleship entering the port. She then urges Suzaki (her maid) to bathe and dress her in the outfit she and Pinkerton met (Japanese robe). Butterfly no longer needs those imaginary creation to fulfill her loneliness. Sadly her fantasy of love is intruded by Pinkerton's unfaithful and she suicides in her white Japanese robe.

To me, Butterfly hasn't really learned anything, she kills herself because she can't bear the loss of love. I would say, she is still madly in love with Pinkerton, nothing has changed. Since nothing has changed in Butterfly's heart, those changing into American living style and return back to Japanese style doesn't seem meaningful. For Pinkerton, we know he is then suffer from the remorse but he hasn't done anything can be define "a change" Taking the boy away from Butterfly is a decision already made. Nothing really happens in Pinkerton's deeds.

As a story, Madama Butterfly doesn't have a climax and turning curve, and both main characters haven't learned anything.



Besides the story, I quite like the turntable design of the stage. It's a interesting way to focus all the sequence in one location and rest of the story are revealed within dialogue or silhouette in rear scene.

Animation History: Waner Bros

1930-33 -Bosko - Harmon/ Ising

1935 - I haven't Got a Hat - Friz Freleng

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

1935 - Gold Diggers of '49 - Fred(Tex) Avery

1936 - Pland Dippy - Fred(Tex) Avery

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uM5TY56moU

1938 - Porky's Party - Bob Clampett

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1Fn6unQ8H4

1938 - Porky in Wackyland - Bob Clampett

1940 - You Ought to Be in Pictures - Friz Freleng

http://www.jogyjogy.com/watch.php?id=19729

1940 - A Wild Hare - Fred(Tex) Avery

1946 - Great Piggy Bank Robbery - Bob Clampett

1946 - Book Revue - Bob Clampett

1946 - Little Red Riding Rabbit - Friz Freleng

1942 - Dover Boys - Chuck Jones

1950 - The Scarlet Pumpernickel

1952 - Feed the Kitty - Chuck Jones

1952 - Rabbit Seasoning - Chuck Jones

1953 - Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century - Chuck Jones

1955 - One Froggy Evening - Chuck Jones

1953 - Duck Amuck

Animation History: Fleischer, Lantz and other studios

Max Fleischer

*focus more on invention technique than character

*cannot compete with Disney: audience like focus on character more

*Inkwell studio (New York-> Miami): urban surrealism

Fleischer's inbention

*rotoscope: a device used to trace live action into animation

*bouncing ball: a ball indicate to sing along with lyrics

*3-D scenery

Fleischer's Characters

*Ko-Ko the Clown

*Bimbo

*Betty Boop

->was introduced as Bimbo's girlfriend in "Dizzy Dishes(1930)"

->first appeared as a long-eared dog, later ears became rings

->voice modeled on Helen Kane

->censorship, Hays Production Code (1934)

*Popye

->voice by William Costello, later by Jack Mercer

->adapted from newspaper comic strip

1927 - Koko Earth Control (edited)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ysCS1NB0zE

1926 - My Old Kentucky Home (excerpt)

1930 - Dizzy Dishes

* 1st Betty character appeared

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTHmF_EEp9I

1932 - Minnie the Moocher

* live action segment of Cab Calloway

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaZOXF83zBg

1933 - Snow White

*Betty Boop

*Cab Calloway rotoscope action

*1st animated film base on the Grimm Brother's fairy tale (disney 1937)

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

1933 - Popeye the Sailor (edited)

* 1st Popeye appeared in Betty's cartoon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR0FJyutA-c

1936 - Popeye Meets Sinbad (edited)

*1st colored Popye

*multi-plane 3D background

*1st Popeye Technicolor catoon

*1st Fleischer cartoon to be nominated for an Academy Award

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7gsWqW8EDk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oce4hciSHHY

1941 - Superman (The Mad Scientist)

*100 thousand dollars, the highest at the time

*17 superman in total series

*after superman, Fleischer was in dept to Paramount, Inkwell Studio was taken over and changed into Famous studio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_frD6bGp63U

Walter Lantz

*took over Oswald the Lucky Rabbit(1928) and redesigned it

*created Woody Woodpecker

1929 - King of Jazz (the opening animated sequence

*1st ever Technicolor cartoon (2 strips)

*3 years before Flowers and Trees

*sound + color

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

1944 - Barber of Seville - Woody Woodpecker

*on 50 the Greatest list (12)

*same years as Bugs Bunny came out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV-XqV2gtM4

Amadee Van Beuen

1932 - Piano Tooners - Tom and Jerry (not the cat and the mouse= = )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xK9Y1GrfF4

1935 - The Sunshine Market

Paul Terry

1948 - The Power of Thought - Heckle and Jeckle

*on 50 the Greatest list

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

Animation History: Silent Pioneers

1892 - theatre Optique - Emile Reynaud
*1st animated film viewable by the public
*Reynaud created the "Praxinoscope" in 1877 and theatre opatique in 1889

zoescope --------------> praxinoscope------------------->theatre opatique
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAUA6pg_EXk

1906 - Humorous Phases of Funny Faces - James Stuart Blackton
*chalk line effect
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGh6maN4l2I

1907 - Lightning sketches -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe7HSnZotbU

1908 - Fantasmagorie - Emile Cohl
*considered the 1st fully made animated film
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEAObel8yIE

1909 - Princess Nicotine - James Stuart Blackton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzvmZAzCF0M

1911 - Little Nemo - Winsor McCay
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seOGEwx0NfQ

1914 - Gertie the Dinosaur - Winsor McCay
*1st cartoon character with personality
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY40DHs9vc4

1918 - Sinking of the Lucitania - Winsor McCay
*1st documentary animation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN-KdPBhyjc

1919 - Feline Frolics - Otto Mesmer
*1st Felix the cat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbX-BeSY_18

1920 - Perpetual Motion - Max & Dave Fleischer
*invented rotoscope to catch live action

*character's name is Koko the clown
*1919 Tantalizing Fly http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-K67eHDKpc

1927 - The Lunch Hound - Walter Lantz & Clyde Geronimi