Inspiration
Taking inspiration from cartoons from the 1930s title cards, I wanted to adapt both a opening and a credit sequence to my animation that adds a nostalgic and old worldly theme. I feel this will be a succinctly relevant aesthetic tool for aiding in the contextual associations for my project.
Test 1
There are heavy nostalgic associations with the early Warner Brothers cartoons and the famous circular title card, and my rendition almost makes a direct reference to the ‘Merrie melodies’ cartoon openings. These historically are very similar to the Silly Symphonies in the way they explored music and sound in regards to animation. The use of the ‘tunnel’ within 3D space will also assist in pronouncing its status as a 3D animation without being inherently obvious due to the angle it is rendered.
Test 2
An interesting point stated by Goldmark is the 1930’s musical cartoon genre being so heavily associated with Disney that “synchronisation of music and action” was referred too as “mickey-mousing” (2005, pp.6) . Taking this into consideration I looked at the heavy branding involved with mickey mouse and noticed at the start of a few of the early 1930’s Disney cartons the title card feature stills of mickey mouse’s face. To mimic and replicate this in a way that encourages nostalgic association I attempted to use my own characters face in a way that both celebrates and mocks the characterised branding of this era. I wanted to add the further inclusion of movement to mimic how his head moves in rotations similar to that of the globe, but also in a way that accentuates the 3D nature of the film early on.
Editing
In order to fully utilised the contextual setting, I have taken these clips, with a slow cross fading transition, and colour graded them black and white. This editing style mimics that of the clips above such as Wild Waves (1929) and places it within the genre while also making use of the smooth and clean nature that computer generated animation can provide, as well as post editing effects such as motion blur, to add a more visually pleasing look to genre with outdated technology.
Sound
A major consideration when regarding music with this is the context regarding the year. As stated in ‘Tunes for ‘Toons’, “Carl Stallings extraordinary influence on cartoon music as a whole suggests a host of possible avenues to explore” (Goldmark, 2005,pp.7). Looking into Stallings work, he used predominantly traditional orchestral instruments’ such as flutes, violins and brass bands. Comparing this to my main source of inspiration, Disney’s Skeleton dance, there are several things in the sheet music I considered going forward.
A Key aspect here is the Allegretto tempo, which implies it should be played quickly and briskly. The 4/4 time signature also allows for the pacing of the animation to be timed more simply due to the even number of frames it allocates space for musically. There is also a heavy use of percussion involved within this project, and the creative use of an Xylophone to replicate the sound of bones.
One of my initial opening composition ideas was to make direction audience associations with black and white cinema which is the famous tune if ‘The entertainer” which I have adapted in my own rendition below and applied to the same key as the music of my film. However, I still did not think this fit as efficiently to my opening as it was very slow, and seemed to contrast with the overall soundtrack I had initially planned making the film seem more relaxed in nature.
When composing the opening, I wanted to stress more on the key instrumental and Allegretto tempo, to make a music ‘clash’ (Symbolic of the skeletons ‘battle’) that arrives at a harmonious conclusion. I felt this was more audibly symbolic of my piece and also felt more original as a piece of work.
References
.Goldmark, D. (2005). Tunes For ‘Toons. Los Angels, California: University of California press.