Project 2 – WIP 2 – Pre-Production

Posted on by Julia Reymundo

LeAnn and I have revised our creature concept. We thought that the original concept would be easy to manipulate and pose, however, we underestimated the size of the paper binders (pegs) that we used. Because of the size of the pegs, this limited the maximum movement of the puppet. The pegs would collide and it would cause it to get stuck together. As well as lack of resources we couldn’t gather because of unforeseen occurrences. So that it would be easier to animate, we revised the design.

So for the final design of our character, we chose to have it to be worm-like. It would be easier to rig and would have enough space for each peg to move – thus it will have a more fluid movement. This creature haunts and roams the depths of the ocean. The creature’s purpose is unknown but we have yet to see what’s to come.

Aside from the creature, we also have foreground and background elements that will move throughout the animation. We’re currently still working on the animation. Here is a behind the scenes look at LeAnn creating more elements for the animation.

Julia Reymundo & LeAnn Schmitt

Major Blog Post 4: Cut Out Animation-The Idea (1932)

Posted on by Wendy Kong

We looked at a few cut out animations in for this class. Out of all the animations we watched, The Idea (1932) by Berthold Bartosch impressed me the most. The Idea (1932) is the first poetic and tragic work in animation which shared an anti-capitalist idea. Berthold Bartosch used several layers of rice paper to create a mysterious effect and a sense of depth for the whole film. At the same time, he also used lather spread on the glass plates and lit from behind to create a halo, smoke effect. I am impressed by how he used different experimental techniques to enhance the mood of the animation. I can’t imagine how he pulled this 25 minutes film all out by paper cutting.

I also love the story of The Idea a lot. The naked woman was hinting the idea of anti-capitalist. She terrified authorities as she heads out into the street without clothes on. A man was executed because he stood up for her. At last, she sparks a workers ‘ revolution caused by the violent suppression by big business. The meaningful story matched with the visual style and music of the animation which I think is very unique and successful for cutout animations at that time. I enjoyed watching it a lot.

Image result for the idea 1932
The Idea (1932) 

Wendy Kong

Major Post 4 – Paper cutouts

Posted on by Julia Reymundo

We were able to learn about animating with cutouts for this class. Quirino Christiani was believed to have made the first feature-length animated feature. However, this was a lost film called El Apostol (1917) and Peludopolis (1983), which made use of cutouts. This was another fascinating way to animate and create films back then. It made use of different kinds of camera effects and it really helped create the atmosphere for the story.

One of the more interesting films we watched in class was, The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) by Lotte Reiniger. The art style of the cutouts really intrigued me. Despite using the same color for each character, you can still tell them apart because of each character’s unique silhouette. While watching the film, I did get reminded of the style from a Japanese animated TV show. Here are some of the stills from the anime, Yuri!!! On Ice (2016), which tells the story of the main character’s interpretation of a song. This is animated in a similar fashion since there are limited movements. Not only does it makes use of color and detail, it also shows a clear difference in the silhouette that helps tell the two characters apart.

Julia Reymundo