St. Louise

Watching the Scratch Film Junkies again after having done the elements project was interesting. You know, it was like seeing them in a new light because I had walked in their shoes. I had manipulated and scratched film like they had. I knew the process behind the image. At least some processes. Anyway, St.Louise was different in that it incorporated many symbols unlike the last film I saw. At the beginning there are images of body parts from a hospital diagram that cross the frame. Words, music notes, and scientific symbols also cross the screen. Rotating arrows follow. One can call it animated symbolism perhaps. Then suddenly appears a werewolf that is stuck in the sand at the beach. Wtf? Anyway, the incorporation of found footage was nice especially as different colors passed over making it look as if the film was tinted. Their work is full of color and many layers of paint that it makes me wish I had used more paint in certain sections of my elements project. This time I also noticed that they had scratched words into the film. Again, I enjoy their work and this film was just as if not more eye-tantalizing than the last film I saw. I wonder why they called it St. Louise?

Sound

“Projections of Sound on Image” by Chion was a very interesting article. One doesn’t realize the complex relationship that sound and image have to create the phenomenon of audiovisual illusion. We of course know intuitively that sound tends to enrich the image on screen in some way or another, yet it how (or lack of how) sound enriches the image is what I think Chion is getting at. He uses Bergman’s Persona several times to sight examples of the important usage of sound and image and it makes me what to rent the movie and watch it to see what the fuss is all about. A lot of what he discusses is incredible like how the ear analyses, process, and synthesizes faster than the eye…I guess faster than the speed of sound has a nice ring to it now. Anyways, this whole article reminds of the Dark Side of Oz, which is basically the name given to "The Wizard of Oz" when you listen to the CD "Darkside Of The Moon" by Pink Floyd at the same time. Apparently, if you start the CD at the MGM Lion logo screen you will notice that the music on the CD matches perfectly with the things that are going on in the movie. Beats and guitars match almost every movement of the characters in some parts. I guess this would be called temporalization according to Chion. Anyways, I can’t wait to experience this phenomenon tonight at Lumina. Gtg. Chao.

Creepy. Creative. Coraline.

So, this past weekend I went to go see Coraline at Mayfaire. It was visually amazing. Creepy, but amazing. The animation was brilliant and extremely detailed. Every strand of hair on coraline’s head was visible and they glimmered in the light. The other mother’s skin resembled cracked porcelian after she had her break down, and the first garden scene was elaborate with colors, lights, and shadows; it was a dreamland within a dream…
We originally were going to go see Slum Dog Millionaire that night, but we arrived kind of late for the show, so we decided on Taken, but it was soldout within seconds of getting in line. Our next choice: Coraline. I enjoy animated films, so this was my next choice. The creepiness started when it was revealed that Corline’s father who is named Charlie appears typing away at a computer and is later horrified after Coraline accidentally turns off an electrical switch. I thought to myself that that was me earlier typing away at an assignment that had been due that evening….and which caused us to be late for Slumdog… Also, one of the neighbors downstairs was called Miriam, my mom’s name…kinda of creepy too. If only my sister was called Coraline… Anyway, the story was nice and simple. Girl creates fantasy world to escape boring life and supposedly unloving parents only to discover that in reality reality is the best and less dangerous. It reminded me of Pan’s Labyrinth which also has a girl who escapes reality through an imagined world, but Pan’s Labyrinth is of course so much more intense and tragic.
The pace of the film was a little slow, but the visuals helped to offset that. The characters were enjoyable, inventive, and sometimes a little insane (April stuffs all her deceased pet dogs and has them all aligned on several shelves dressed as angels…they must die off pretty quickly). The most sly and creepy character is of course the other mother who is the perfect mom who has the perfect answer to everything…besides her button eyes, that in itself is creepy. Later on, her ultimate skeletal and dark transformation, reminiscent of Cruella De Vil, bolsters her creepy appearance and wicked nature, and in the end it is a battle to the death between her and Coraline.
As I was watching Coraline, I kept thinking about the stop-motion project we did last Thursday. It took forever, but it was so much fun to do. And as a result, I had a greater appreciation for stop-motion animation while watching Coraline. The animators obviously put in so much time and dedication into this film, and I have to say that it was worth it. I hope they feel so too.

Types of Animation

I enjoyed reading "Notes Toward a Theory of Animation." It gave me insight into certain things that I had not given much thought before. First of all, I grew up on Disney films and saturday morning cartoons, so animation played a big part of my life when I was a kid. In fact, I would even go as far to say that the 90s was the golden age of the Saturday morning cartoon. The storylines were better, the animation was hand-drawn and well done, not like the poor 3D animation shows you see today. I guess I am a little biased. Anyway, those movies and shows followed orthodox animation which includes configuration, specific continuity, a narrative form, and a unity of style. This is far from experimental animation which itself is very captivating, and which I have come to appreciate because in many ways it is the most difficult animation. It is an animation that is "more concerned with rhythm and movement in its own right as opposed to rhythm and movement of a particular character." Experimental animation rejects continuity. Its bias is more "aesthetic and non-narrative" (in the traditional sense). It can evoke emotions or ideas of the artist. The audience in most cases is forced to interpretate the animation on their own if not predetermined by the artist. One can incorporate music easily as well as many different styles depending on the personal vision of the artist. Indeed, it is animation that is more personal.
What struck me as one of the main advantages that experimental animation has over orthodox animation is the "presence of the artist." There is a relationship between the artist and the work and the "abstract nature of the films insists upon the recognition of their individuality." A relationship bewteen the artist and the audience is also mediated through the artist's work. In contrast, the industrial process of disney and anime animation deemphasizes the individual and focuses on the standard large number of animators. Nevertheless, I enjoy both orthodox and experimental animation. One is like prose and the other is like poetry as the author simple put it.

"It's ALIVE!"

When one thinks of filmmaking, the word cameraless does not come to mind. People don’t realize that as long as you have film than a movie can still be made. A few years ago I probabaly wouldn’t have believed it. But I know better now. Without a camera I can experiment more, use my creativity to my full potential and I love it. I feel like a little kid working with arts and crafts sometimes. The other day it even felt as if I were working on an incredible chemistry project when we dipped the film into the developer and the other liquid. And just being in the dark room and manipulating the film with those tiny objects feels like being in a laborartory. After all, we are learning experimental techniques and experimental is a word that evokes science, but it may be closer to words like new and trial. Out of a group of scientists, we are the mad scientists vying to create the next great Frankenstein. We already have the body parts (the film), the carving knives and stitches (paint, liquid, objects), and the high voltage device (the projector) in order to bring our Frankenstein to life….muhahaha!
In other words we are creators. I can be as creative as I want to in this class. And without a camera we are forced to be the most creative we can be. With a camera you know what the image is going to look like more or less depending on the editing. Yet, as cameraless filmmakers we can only imagine in our heads what our work will look like and that is makes it even more thrilling.