Major Blog Post 10-Puppet Animation

Posted on by Wendy Kong

I think using puppets in filming is highly related to animism, which usually happens to children, means everything is alive or has a soul, just like Toy Story. However, I cannot figure out would it be a causation, where puppets in animations brought animism to kids, or the other way around, the idea of animism innovated using puppets for filming.

I want to share a little secret here, I still think the stuffed animal I hug every night is alive, he always jumps off my bed when I am knocked out, maybe he doesn’t love my hugs… Anyways, I think using puppets as characters in film is a really good idea, because it can create more variety of characters other than human. Using puppets can also save the money for hiring actors, it is suitable for people want to be a director to start with! In fact, filming puppets has less chance to mess up compare to filming humans or animals. However, puppets don’t look real enough so they have almost been eliminated as the technology develops.

Nowadays, we have animation, computer graphics (CG) to produce a movie, that is why puppets no longer reach the audience’s expectations. As the technology becomes more advanced, I believe animation or CG could be terminated. No matter how advance technology can be, I will never forget or throw away my buddy!

Wendy Kong

Major Post 9: Storytelling in “The Cameraman’s Revenge”

Posted on by Sydney McPherson

Ladislaw Starewicz is noted as the creator of the first stop motion puppet animation in 1910. Two years later, he created “The Cameraman’s Revenge”. I’ll be focusing on some of the storytelling techniques used in the film.

I read a small bit about Starewicz and I found that he does in fact use real insects in this animation and others. That added a challenge to creating the stopmotion, as Starewicz had to create puppeting skeletons and rigs to control the insects. This was successful, as the characters can stand upright and walk while staying balanced.

I noticed that in each scene, the camera is always flat and static. There are no closeups or medium shots; rather the camera stays pushed back, using full body shots to capture the insects and different environments. This stationary camera creates a unique cinematic feel compared to other animations I’ve seen that use dynamic cameras. The camera use makes it easier to focus on what actions are taking place, as I’m not focused on the aesthetics and visuals as much.

As is common in older films, text is used to tell the main story points, such as introducing Mr. and Mrs. Beetle or explaining that the grasshopper is the camera man. Because the camera is static and Starewicz’s puppets don’t have facial expressions, the text becomes vital in explaining to us what is happening when the animation isn’t clear enough.

I realized that films that don’t use dialogue require more from the viewer. Because there is no dialogue, the viewer cannot look away from the screen without missing what’s taking place in the story. They must watch the characters intently to understand to storyline. Films like “The Cameraman’s Revenge” usually feature a continuous soundtrack in the background that’s used to catch the viewer’s attention. The soundtrack is only one component of this, as the rest relies on solid storytelling, which this film exemplifies. It uses the text screens as mentioned before, establishing shots when cutting to new locations, a static camera to ensure all actions are clearly seen, and of course, solid stop motion animation.

Sydney McPherson

Major Post 9: Isle of Dogs

Posted on by LeAnn Schmitt

Today in class we learned about puppet animations and the uncanny valley is has carved into the animation world. Many amazing companies such as Laika (the creators of Box Trolls and Paranorman) and Tim Burton’s Studios (creators of Nightmare Before Christmas and the Corpse Bride) have made leaps and bounds in this type of animation.

In class we saw many beautiful and heavy animations that were produced outside of the two companies mentioned before. One that stuck with me was Barry Purves, Screen Play. This piece reminded me a lot of Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs. Not only because of the Japanese setting and theme but its dark, creative storytelling, and unsettling style. Upon further research into the creation of Isle of Dogs, I found out that 1,000 individual puppets were made for the production with an even split between 500 dogs and 500 humans. The human puppets were made of resin to achieve a warmer translucent skin (this technique was later used in Laika’s Paranorman). The rougher animation style was accomplished by shooting the whole film on twos.

I got the pleasure to see a handful of these puppets and some of the sets when they were on display in the museum on the Savannah Campus and I can say that I was blown away. It was so surreal to see these lively characters sitting still. It was almost as if I was waiting for them to spring to life. Linked below is a video of how the puppets were made.

LeAnn Schmitt