Post #13: The PJs

Last week I did my post on stop motion pertaining to pictures of drawings. This week I am going to look at stop motion in regards to claymation. The cartoon that I will look at is The PJ’s. This was a short-lived primetime animation that aired on Fox during its Sunday night line up. This was an Eddie Murphy show and featured a black community living in the projects. The show itself often dealt with problems associated with less fortunate minority communities and bordered on racist week to week.

After watching this show I feel that when stop motion is done correctly it can add depth and shadowing that otherwise could not be achieved. When done differently it can afford cheap laughs due to the characters ability to fall apart and interact with the real world, much like Mr. Bill.

After watching The PJ’s it is apparent that this claymation is done well. It is not overly done to the point where you lose the quirkyness of claymation, yet it has fluidity. Having this sort of claymation lends the medium to create its own shadows giving it more personality and realism. It also allows fine wrinkles within faces to be displayed giving faces more personality which is key to letting one relate to the character.

The other use of claymation is Mr. Bill. Although this animation is not anywhere close to the same quality as most other claymation, it still serves a purpose. It is strictly comedic and used for shock value. This allows for a cheap laugh on a cheap budget. Allowing Mr. Bill to interact with the world around him allows him to get injured in zany ways, many of which would be horrifying if it were a real person.

It does not take great technique to make an animation successful. Rather it takes knowing your audience and correct application to bring in the viewers.

I commented on Megan’s Blog and Scott’s Blog

Post #12. Street Stop Motion MUTO

The Italian graffiti artist Blu uses the public streets as his canvas. He is known for his large works of art that stretch across public walls and buildings often depicting strange images and creatures. Although he is a 2D graffiti artist he has made several creations he calls Muto meaning “dumb” in Italian. In these creations he uses stop motion in order to have his creations crawl across the walls and streets, often displaying somewhat disturbing abstract images. By using stop motion and general surroundings, Blu is able to take a 2D image and turn it into a living breathing entity that has character and personality.

The fluidity of the animation in this video is amazing. To think that it is all done in chalk and every movement is the result of several pictures taken is astonishing and undoubtedly time consuming. This being compared to the old chalk drawings of J. Stuart Blackton show how far animation has come and the abstract ideas of current artists (Blackton animation shown below). Many people also view graffiti as needless vandalism. Although that may be true in some cases, this displays the technical aspect of it and how artistic one must be to truly bring the medium to life.

The stop motion does not only bring the images to life but it also allows them to interact with the environment. This is shown at time 1:56 as the humanoid image crawls under the barred window. This is again shown too much greater extent at time 2:18 when the three-legged robot kicks the log off the wall. This sort of interaction gives the drawing a lot of personality resulting in a more realistic feel.  

Finally, with the fluid movements, interaction with the surroundings, and flow from one image to the next, one thing brings it all together. This one thing is the sound effects used. Each being has its own sounds that correspond to their specific actions. This gives each character depth and gives the feeling that they are actually moving around in the environment as their feet rustle on the ground. If this animation was silent it would still be impressive but it would not feel as though the images were alive, walking the city streets.

I commented on Megan’s Blog and Brittany’s Blog.

Post #11: “Sad Road”

This week I will be taking a look at a Michelin Tire commercial featuring a sad stretch of road. This commercial shows a bunch of animals that have been run over and sadly sit on the road not able to move. This commercial is kind of creepy, but underneath its creepy exterior it is a good animation. The actions, activities and even the screams of the animals are set to music. Because of this, I feel that this animation is a very modern throw back to the old days of animation that were set completely around music. Also, the animal movements and use of squash and stretch add to this feel as well without taking away from the technical aspects of the animation.

The animation starts by showing the animals that have been hit by cars and are now stuck to the road. This is a very creepy scene. In this scene there is an animal that is playing a harmonica that sinks up with the song playing in the background. Also, as the rabbit walks he is bouncing up and down to the music much like Steamboat Willie. This allows the beat throughout the commercial to have more emphasis. Finally, the scream of the rabbit, rather than being just a scream, adds a haunting note to the music. This allows the main character to become part of the music, much like older cartoons.

Not only did the use of music give this animation an older feel, but the animal movements did as well. As the rabbit makes his way to the road coming down the embankment, there is extreme squash and stretch, reminiscent of older animations such as falling off a cliff. Also, as the car screeches to a stop the road ungulates and causes a wave off into the distance. This is an example of extreme exaggeration.

Although containing aspects of older animations, this animation has a unique modernness. It does this through its use of slow motion and rain effects. The rain and background has a very realistic look to it while all of the characters look very cartoonish. This adds to the creepiness and depressive nature of the sad stretch of road. Also, the slow motion effect is done very well. During the slow motion you can see the rabbits uvula moving in his mouth without a close-up. I thought this was a good touch in increasing the intensity of the situation.

ETA I commented on Megan’s Blog and Chuck’s Blog.

Post #10: “Angst”

This animation, even though it is done simply, it is beautiful. It is about a kid and his dog. Life has got the kid down and has made him fearful to leave his house. Through all of the terrible mishaps the dog has been there to try to help. At the end it is finally the kids turn to help his dog as he is blown away in the heavy wind. Although I love the story this animation tells, I feel that it is the backgrounds and simple grainy animation that makes this cartoon stand out.

Many animators would want their creation to look crisp and run smoothly. This animation however, seems to take on the characteristics of an old home video. This is done by limiting the amount of animation put into each character and repeating their movements. This causes the animation to clip along. This home video look gives the depressing moments the true feeling of painful past memories. The animation is coupled with the use of a gusty wind sound effect and a haunting black and white color scheme, reminiscent of the video from The Ring.

Using the color scheme and haunting sound effects give this animation not only the feel as if you are watching a home video, but it also feels like a bad dream. This is amplified by the oblong building shapes and drastic contrast between the black objects in the foreground and the light of the background. The contrast used reminds me of the Scary Story books (picture below).

In the end the ominous wind and sound associated was harnessed in order to send all the dogs back home. This turns the bad dream into a good one. It then shows the kid willing to walk his dog showing that the fear of the world had been lifted. Although the fear and anxiety had been lifted from the boy, the contrasts, wind and flickering animation persists. This shows that even though the boy is out in the world again, the uncertainties and dangers of the world are still present.

I commented on Megan’s Blog and Brittany’s Blog.