Monday 22 March 2010

Looking at some of Jan Svankmajor's work

Today I was watching some of Jan Savnkmajor's animations, to understand his style a bit more. He animations has this nightmarish yet comedic atmosphere to it, showing that dark ideas can still be enjoyable. The Animations I have watched are Darkness/Light/Darkness and two scenes from Alice.
Darkness/Light/Darkness is about body parts coming together, at points it was scary but also funny. It was mostly how the timing of the animation was done.
The Alice scenes are quite different from each other. The Bonecreatures scene is very disturbing, seeing the different types of creatures out of bones and animal bodies, some don't even look like animals. However disturbing, the Bonecreatures are also at the same time interesting to gaze upon, because of the imagination the went into their design. While the beginning scene carries a mysterious atmosphere. Especially when Alice sees the rabbit making his way to wonderland. What also make both scenes unique to watch is when we see the lips of Alice when she says the name of the characters and hear her voice when she speaks for the characters. Jan Svankmajor's animations carries the theme of dark comedy but it works and are very enjoyable.

Darkness/Light/Darkness



Alice - Bonecreatures scene


Alice beginning scene

2 comments:

  1. Online Interim Review 23/03/10

    Evening Shabs,

    I was hoping you would have organised your development into a single post for me to take a look at... I'm not sure where your thinking is, as you did discuss an alternative idea set at the cinema with your glove being frightened... to be honest, I don't much like this idea, but animation doesn't have to make sense, so it would come down to the strength of your story-telling and the way in which you approached the subject. In structural terms, the football idea is stronger - with the glove in goal; that said, your storyboards worry me a bit, because the focus seems to be more 'off' the glove than 'on' and you want to ensure that your character is at the centre of things. By the end of this week, I want to see your final story idea resolved - Med is expecting students to be clear about their characters and stories when she sees them on Friday.

    I'm not sure what you're proposing for your essay subject? The following post has some general guidance re. the relationship between your introduction and the main part of your discussion; please read carefully - as a clear introduction and a clear argument is vital to structuring successful assignments. Be sure to show Sam your interim comments when you meet with him on Monday, so he can assist you.

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  2. Use your introduction* to state clearly the investigative intention of your written assignment and the means by which you are going to support your discussion; for instance:

    ‘This essay will investigate the animated films of The Brothers Quay in relation to Freud’s theory of the Uncanny - with particular focus on Street of Crocodiles (1986) and The Comb (1990)…

    Or

    ‘The stop-motion animator, Ray Harryhausen is arguably the father of modern day cinematic fantasy. What follows is an investigation of his life and work in relation to the development of special effects…’

    Stylistically, it is often clarifying to begin with a key-note quote or bench mark statement that sets the scene for the discussion… for instance:

    ‘… the Brothers Quay's works are independent of any definable genre; indeed, the imitation of their unique style which can be observed in films of other animators are a complimentary gesture to the auteur style they have developed. Throughout their opus, a continuity can be observed - Quays' devotion to the marginal, the nobody and the unnoticed, elevated into the sublime…’ (Buchan: 1996)

    In her essay, Shifting Realities – The Brothers Quay – Between Live Action and Animation, Suzanne Buchan observes that other animators have imitated the unique style of the Brothers Quay. This investigation seeks to trace that influence by comparing their short 1986 film, Street of Crocodiles with Henry Selick’s Coraline (2009)…

    * If you can’t provide a succinct introduction for your discussion, chances are you’re not quite ready to write the essay. You need to make your argument clear – without one, you are submitting a ‘blancmange’.

    When referring to a film for the first time, always give proper title (with capital letters!), release date and director; after that, you can use title only. Please check spelling of film title – if it’s a made-up word, the spell check won’t know the difference!

    When referring to a person for the first time, use full name – after that, use surname only.

    You must use Harvard Method for quotations!

    Use footnotes for ‘additional’ information that is important or contextualizing but ‘outside’ of the main body of the essay.

    Please double-space your written assignments!

    You must provide a paper-copy at time of crit!

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