Exploring the topic of representation of trauma in the animated documentary, I have looked into several examples of films that stand out in this genre such as Waltz With Bashir (Folman, 2008) and The Sinking of the Lusitania (McCay, 1981). The issues surrounding their aesthetics and factual accounts, as well as the benefits of their animated medium, and taking into account progressive forms that will benefit documentary in the future.
Methodically reflecting on my research approaches, while taking into account several authors outlooks in my critical report, the subject-specific research felt too broad and perhaps needed to be narrowed down to even further due to the expansive nature. In future, authors such as Bill Nichols who discuss the theories surrounding documentary form itself could be made reference to, to understand what creates the makeup of a successful documentary film; taking this into the application of progressions and areas of improvement in the animated documentary.
Due to Trauma being a psychologically studied aspect going forward into thesis level research, authors such as Ruth Leys (Trauma: A genealogy ) and Cathy Caruth (Trauma: Explorations in Memory) should be looked into for further depth of understanding its application to animation, as well as further into the works of Sigmund Freud. When applying trauma into media settings, Trauma Cinema (Walker, 2005) will be an important book to study as it covers topic of aesthetic representation in realistic and unrealistic settings. Included in this should be Paul Wards Documentary: The Margins of Reality (2006).Aspects such as the Uncanny’s link to animated documentary Ryan (Landreth, 2004) will also pose an interesting point as it uses this aesthetic to benefit its narrative visually. Looking further into ideas of animated documentary and interview and how this style of documentary is benefitted by the animated form due to its anonymous aspects that can suit specific subjects, more so than live-action. The relationship between rotoscope, motion capture and stylizing in supporting factual narrative. Animated films such as Learned by Heart (Takala and Rimminen, 2007) and Sandrinka (Finck and Stoyanov, 2007) look further into the relationship of self and history in terms of collective memory in a similar way to Silence, which as a topic of individualism in historical documentary can be looked into further for a potential thesis topic.
Video games associated with documentaries such as Darfur is Dying (University of Southern California, 2006) and the documentary Molotov Alva and his Search for the Creator (Gayeton, 2007) create a link between viewer and documentary filmmaker in a way that can close the distance traditional forms of animation can produce by immersing viewers into the story and events that it is trying to convey, this could open up new avenues for future pursuits in animated documentary and a future potential research topic. Molotov Alva indicates an ability to create animation and documentary in the world of games, rather than being a game directly in self, that empathises a future in media progression.
In the animated documentary, a majority of the content created is or includes interviews. This, in practice, seems an effective method in adding visualisation to a personal experience and can add a level of anonymity more creatively.
Aardman, in 1978 created several interview-style films in their ‘Animated Conversations’ films commissioned by the BBC (Honess Roe, 2013). This includes Down and Out (Lord and Sproxton, 1997) and Confessions of a Foyer Girl ( Sproxton and Lord, 1978), which combine eavesdropped inspired conversational audio mixed with plasticine stop motion animation. This led to the successful Creature Comforts (Park), part of their lip-sync series in 1989 (Honess Roe, 2013). Paul Ward, looking at the animation Going Equipped (Lord, 1990), considers how due to the anonymity of the clay animation, a criminal is able to discuss with a “sense of self” a “Clear reflection of what he has done in the past” (2007, p. 120). This adds a confessional aspect to the piece and arises some contemplation on the effectiveness of animation, adding a therapeutic element to real-life experiences. Due to this animated nature, the scenes being described could be acted out in a way that was representational yet expressive and abstract simultaneously, furthering the anonymity it provided. Ward makes a point about how the link between animation and the naturalistic audio, adds as a metaphorical empathises which provides leeway to creative license to portray the story in a more emotionally stimulating way(2007); an example of this is how the shadows of the rainfall on the characters face appearing like tears.
Fig. 1: Aronowitsch and Heilborn. Slaves. 2008
The Animated Documentary Slaves (Aronowitsch and Heilborn, 2008) provides an interesting example of trauma portrayal through animated documentary, as two children (Abuk and Machiek) discuss their experience of child enslavement in southern Sudan (Ehrlich, 2013). Ehrlich makes a strong point that the unedited audio, with the inclusion of minuscule sounds such as sneezing and coughing, add an authentication that helps ground it into the real world (Ehrlich, 2013). This can also be supported by the photographic images of the African children that add “Sociopolitical context” (Ehrlich, 2013, p.253). Ehrlich claims that these elements help destroy the animated forms’ intentional contraction and add a reality that enhances the story over visual form (Ehrlich, 2013). The animated nature of the documentary indicates a strong visual style that can add anonymity to the people involved while still representing indexical human attributes.
Figure.2: Southern Ladies Animation Group. It’s Like That. 2003.
It can be argued, then, that due to animation’s broad and interchangeable nature, the interviewed form can be represented as anything, including the inanimate, which can stress the importance of the spoken content over the visual (Ehrlich, 2013). A vital example of this is It’s like that (Southern Ladies Animation, 2003), interviewing children held in an Australian refugee detention centre. It highlights different caricatures of the voices and uses different styles (between stop motion and 2D) that separate the interview from the visual exploration of the story. The Childlike ‘sock puppet’ texture of the animated bird, with baby-like enlarged eyes, aesthetically matches the voices in a way that creates empathy in a viewer. The bright, colour presentation of the stop motion puppets versus the dark, grey and enclosing background helps further Illustrate the foreign visual of an innocent child being held captive. Honess Roe expands on this by stating how the audio, of poor quality and the broken English of the interviewees exemplifies how vulnerable these children are in the Australian detention centre (Honess Roe, 2013, p.92).
Snack and Drink (Sabiston, 1999) illustrates another interesting way the animated form can be represented in an interview. Paul Ward discusses how due to the variations of linework created via a Wacom tablet in ‘Rotoshop’, the documentary “results is an eerie, fluid, mutable aesthetic, perfect for the representation of dreams, alternate realities and hallucinations” (Ward, 2007, p.116). This embodies and physical representation of Ryan Powers’s assumed ‘distance’ from reality due to having Autism and seems to represent how reality can be portrayed in ways that, while not typical, make sense to the individual interactions with every day (Ward, 2007). Another thing Ward makes a point of is Ryan Power’s obsession with his routine, which in research for A is for Autism ( Webb, 1992) people with Autism have this tendency (2007). The way the style of art changes often brings the mundane to life in provocative and abstract forms. Visually, this can demonstrate to a viewer how something as mundane as getting a drink from a supermarket can be expressively interesting and different every time in the experience of others and highlights a delineation of everyday life for specific individuals rather than a collective objective.
Fig. 3: Sabiston. Snack and Drink. 1999
Figures-
Figure 1- Aronowitsch, D and Heilborn, H. 2008 [Film Still]. Slaves. Sweden: The Swedish Film Institute
Figure 2- Raymond, S and Mckinnon, N. 2003. [ Film Still]. It’s Like That. Australia: Southern Ladies Animation Group.
Figure 3- Sabiston, B. 1999. [Film Still]. Snack and Drink. United States: Flat Back Films
Bibliography
.Ehrlich, N. (2013) ‘Animated Documentaries, Aesthetics, Politics and Viewer’, in Buchan, S. (ed.) Pervasive Animation. New York: Routledge, pp.248-267.
.Kitson, C (2008). British Animation: The Channel 4 Factor. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
.WARD, P. (2007). ‘Animated Interactions: Animation Aesthetics and the World of the ‘Interactive’ Documentary’. In: Buchan, S.(ed.) Animated’ Worlds’. New Barnet: John Libbey & Company, Limited.
For the Final Challenge of the term, I had to plan and create lip-sync and performance animation using the ‘Eleven’ rig. During this process, I found relevant, performative audio from the 11 Second Club, and recorded relevant reference footage of myself adding exemplification of personality.
Planning and Prep
Figure 1: Tonality and accent changes notes
Kenny Roy’s ‘How to cheat in Maya’ was a key reference for me during this process, and suggested that the first step to the lip-sync and performance process is to listen to the audio over and over, finding the accents and nuances and creating a performance in your mind before recording (2014: 248). To prepare for this I noted the key pauses and tonality changes in the piece of dialogue I had chosen. After recording the reference footage, I imported it into sync sketch and made a visual note of all of the keyframes of eyebrows and influenced cheek movement to help better understand the nuances of the face.
When starting this step I added accentuation on each nuance of phrase by using one finger to pronounce the word first, pausing motion on the word moment to visually underscore he is savouring the moment, and adding a softer motion at the end to compliment the ‘flowy-ness’ of the word ‘experience’.
Figure 2: Example of the early facial animation process
Blocking the Animation (Facial)
The initial building blocks I used to start the animation were getting the key jaw bounce and viseme poses to create a believable looking lip sync. The tongue was the next step of Roy’s process I followed, ensuring that the tongue was in believable enough positions at key moments of dialogue to sell the speech as much as I could (2014). The next step required the addition of eyebrow motions and eye darts. Referring back to Roy, I created the eye dart movements across two frames at a time to create the most naturalistic look to them. Baring in mind the rigging and skin weighting of the rig, I also tried to exaggerate the eyebrows as much as I could without causing the polygons of the eyelids to crash to an unfixable state.
Performance Animation Blocking
Following on from the completion of the facial animation, I took keyframes from my video performance and tried to replicate the general feel and timing to express the ideas I conveyed in my own performance. When doing the performance of this step I wanted to try and push my level of understanding of body movement and make reference to my video footage, using the body movements to help accentuate each of the words. While my initial blocking poses lacked in conveyance, I feel during the cleaning process I added more exaggerated stress on each action.
Video of Process
Figure 3: Video Process of Animation
Post Editing
Going into after effects and adding additional motion blur, once again adds a sense of realism that Maya cannot time effectively replicate. During this process, I think the piece started to come together, however reflectively in order to improve the piece I would focus more on the detail and follow-through of the fingers. Also, the strength and weight of the key poses when blocking out initially, as I had to change a lot in the general cleaning process to convey the emotion I wanted to. I also think that getting the nuances of facial expression could have been pushed a bit more than I have done.
Figure 4: Adding Motion Blur in After Effects
Final Product
Problem Solving Methods
During the process of this animation, I had issues where the head seemed to disconnect itself from the rest of the rig. In this case, I had already produced a lot of the animation and did not have enough time to look into the issues surrounding the rig. Thinking of solutions, I looked into methods of exporting keyframes from one rig and placing them onto a fresh version of the rig.
Fig.6: Rig Related Issues
By selecting all of the Facial controllers, and exporting the selected as an ANIM file, I was able to recover all the work I had done of the broken rig and apply it to the new one in order to add the body performance animation.
Fig. 7: Fixed Issues
Final Result
Bibliography
Roy, K., 2014. How to cheat in Maya 2014. Abingdon: Focal Press.
Primary research from the 2013 Book ‘Animated Documentary’ by Annabelle Honess Roe.
Present in several animated documentaries is the method of rotoscoping, which in its essence copies the real-life movements of a person and projects them onto an animated character. For the documentary Chicago 10 (Morgen, 2007), animated was used in place for the missing live-action footage that took place in the courtroom during the trial of Chicago 7 and was adapted from the original court transcript (Honess Roe, 2013). This benefitted the documentary aesthetically, as the striking contrast between live-action and animated helped separate the reenactment from the real and prevented inconsistencies between the actual participants (Abbie Hoffman, David Dellinger, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines and Lee Weiner) and their potential live-action counterparts (Honess Roe, 2013).
Motion Capture, derived from the rotoscope, was the technique used for the animated sequences in the feature and adds a stylised emphasis that makes it stand out as a piece. While using motion capture, which generally aids the mimicking of realism, the movements are more spasmodic, unsteady and have asynchronous lip movements (Honess Roe, 2013). This adds a stylisation that could further distance it from its live-action counterpart. However, this brings to attention one of the issues surrounding the animated documentary, as the asynchronous movement of the lip can break the illusion of realistic speech. In this instance, the voices are documentation of real events and real people, and this inconsistency could be detrimental to the portrayal of the trial. Honess Roe brings to attention that in Chicago 10 (Morgan. 2007), the voice actors are notable celebrities such as Mark Ruffalo and Jeffery Wright are audibly recognisable to viewers and disembodies the voice from the digital reconstruction (2013:60). While not documentary, In the case of Beowulf (Zemeckis, 2007), digitally replicated actors such as Angelina Jolie suffer from similar issues, as the realism in her voice did not match the animated performance and brings to attention something fundamentally wrong (Tinwell, 2014)
Figure 1: Morgen. 2007. Chicago 10
These elements can be related to the uncanny valley theory as arrhythmic bodies and disconnected voices arouse questions of the solidarity of ‘life’ in an animated character. Sporadic and ‘jerky’ movements present in motion-captured data can be reminiscent of a viewer watching a seizure, which evokes a ‘fight or flight response as a person in this state of instability feels potentially life-threatening to a spectator (Tinwell, 2014).
The grotesque design, seen in animated documentaries such as Ryan (Landreth, 2004), contains aesthetic issues surrounding the Uncanny Valley. While its design is so deformed and distant from reality, it almost surpasses the valley; the elements of hyperreal skin textures and minute details in the hair add a level of realism that pushes the boundaries of spectator comfort. Tinwell discusses how most facial expression is conveyed through the uppermost region of the face (eyebrows, forehead), and a lack of this can appear static and robotic in facial emotion (2014). Ryan, once again, almost surpasses this, with clear, expressive forehead lines and fairly realistic eyebrow movements; however, he often has dead eyes and limited motion in the cheeks, which do not match the realism of his facial design. ‘Dead’ and minimal movement facial expressions are robotic and appear lifeless, which can remind a viewer of the inevitability of their own death (Freud,2003). While displeasing to the eye, the grotesque uncanny essence of the character design in Ryan (Landrth, 2007) seems to visually support the mental deterioration of the characters, and this reminder of death helps illustrate the death of the central character, Ryan. Naturally, this can be detrimental to the animated documentary, as even as artistic expression, it can cause a grotesque and unlikable diversion to viewers when designed in unappealing ways.
Figure 2: Landreth. 2007. Ryan
Rotoscope as a method is not always detrimental to the animated documentary. A prime example is the work of Bob Sabiston, creator of the software ‘Rotoshop’. Sabiston’s Animated Documentaries Snack and Drink (1999) and The Even More Fun Trip (2007) display the extensive use of Photoshop software, which allows lines to be drawn around live-action footage. The loose and psychedelic aesthetic of snack and drink seems to be benefitted by the motions of the rotoscope. It reflects the natural world in a kinesthetic sense but visually enhances the mental viewpoint of its interview, Ryan Power, who has Autism. The messy elements of these films add an “indexical link to reality” that help validate them, both visually and audibly, as documentaries (Honess Roe, 2013: 64). The out of proportional and minimally drawn characters paired with hyperrealistic movements work in a way that the “Chicago 10” documentary failed, especially in areas regarding lip synchronisation (Honess Roe, 2013). The handheld, shaky visuals and unquestionable real-world audio give the films a gritty amateurish ambience familiar with home movies that seem to add a level of nostalgia to the piece. It may be interesting to note the ‘Rotoshop’ software seems reminiscent of older 2D draw animation yet uses new, inquisitive software to tackle its creation. According to Victoria Grace Walden, nostalgia can be linked to the rapid progression of faster technologies and wishing for it to be slowed down (Walden in Dobson et al., 2019). Sabiston’s approach, interestingly, through time, has created a feeling of ‘real-worldness’ and nostalgia that seems to give the pieces a certain realistic appeal to them while rapidly progressing the realism and style of his own work technologically.
Figure 3: Sabiston. 1999. Snack and Drink
Rotoscope, therefore, is an important element to the animated documentary that can both be a detriment and a visual aid to the medium. However, while as a method it produces its own effect, the design aspect of the characters seem to be the key driver in its effectiveness of character portrayal.
List of Figures
.Figure 1: MORGEN, B. 2007. [Film Still]. Chicago 10. United States: Consolidated Documentaries, Participant, Public Road Productions.
.Figure 2: LANDRETH, C. 2004. [Film Still]. Ryan. Canada: Copperheart Entertainment, National Film Board of Canada.
.Figure 3: SABISTON, B. 1999. [Film Still]. Snack and Drink. United States: Flat back Films.
Bibliography
Dobson, N., Honess Roe, A., Ratelle, A. and Ruddell, c., 2019. The animation studies reader. 1st ed. New York: Bloomsbury Academic.
An essential part of the animation and visual effects process is previsualization. Planning and blocking out shots can prove both time and cost-effectiveness. It can help provide the production with a clear to develop a sequence that “link a variety of departments, technologies and points of view” that will create the finished product ( Okun et al, p.53).
Pan Shot
Below is an example of a panning shot, using a virtual camera set up to replicate real-life cameras. In order to add another level of realism, the camera needs to be delayed slightly, to give a more human feel to the movement, as no live-action camera movement is perfectly timed. when viewing CG animation this can cause an unnatural look when everything is perfectly smooth, as the human eye is not exposed to that type of movement.
Roll Shot
Traditionally associated with film noir, the roll shot can help add further meaning to a story visually. Interestingly, the previs shot has a dual meaning depending on the direction in which the camera moves. In the first video, there is an implication that the character is overwhelmed by the number of steps he has to potentially climb. The second reversed video implies more that the character has made a stark realisation, or is confined as the camera closes in on his face.
Figure 1: Roll ShotFigure 2: Reverse Roll Shot
Pitch Shot
The pitch shot follows the character, in this case, superman, fluidly through a pan down without accidentally clipping the character out of frame.
Dolly Shot
The dolly shot is a camera setup that follows a track in order to keep the camera still and fluid in motion. In this example the camera replicates a classic western scenario, introducing a fight between two characters.
Crane shot
Once again, following traditional mechanisms of a crane in real film footage, this shot highlights the use of a crane show coving two stories of a building.
Contra Zoom
The Contrazoom is created by zooming in or out while simultaneously moving the camera backwards or forward. This creates a jarring somewhat unnerving effect that is often used in action or horror movies to create a feeling of tension.
References-
Okun, J., Zwerman, S., McKittrick, C. and Sepp-Wilson, L., 2010. The VES handbook of visual effects. Amsterdam: Focal.
Taking a step further from the body mechanics task and involving a different level of intricacy involving Ik and FK switching allows the rig to perform actions more fluidly. Due to my lack of physical abilities, I used reference footage of an athlete jumping over a box as provided in class and wanted to try and match the smoothness and skill behind the motions performed.
Starting with the initial blocking, I used the reference to match the positions and speed side by side. As stated by Kenny Roy, “blocking is the most efficient stage ” to time and retime your animation, as you have clear and understandable keyframes before elements such as offset and follow-through crowd the timeline (2014, p.182). In my approach to blocking, I tried to use the IK/ FK witch in the process to experiment and see how this would affect the splined version. This replicates bodily movements in real life.
First Spline Pass
After converting the stepped tangents into splined animation, While the timing and general posing were, for the most part, incorrect placement, there were multiple issues, with popping in the IK/ FK switch process and Collision with ground plane and feet. However, the arms, hands and feet were generally the right place but did not precisely match where they should have been to avoid the ‘popping’. Using Syncsketch, I highlighted the issues on the exact frames they occur to later export as a Maya grease pencil file to import directly into my scene file.
SyncSketch NotesExportImport into Maya
Solutions to IK/ Fk Switches
FK (Forward Kinematics) and IK (Inverse Kinematics) Serve different purposes when animating a fully rigged CG character. FK means the positions of the limbs work hierarchically, meaning the hands will be affected by arms, and the arm by the shoulder, for instance. IK works differently as the hand is the leader of the rigging hierarchy, and the arm adjusts itself to the position of the hand, which is very useful in creating the animation below. Kenny Roy underlines how in Maya, the IK and FK function works as two different arms, so when animating, it is crucial to consider that the IK and FK will be switching skeletons. This implies that the FK will be in the same position as last keyed, so making a seamless transition requires different methods to get the two to match in 3D space (2014).
As learned in class, the geometry of the arms can be copied to freeze the position of the arms in place for spatial reference when swapping to the other skeleton. As seen below, the bony rig has a straightforward application of this method, and once unparented and assigned an alternate material, it works similar to ‘onion skinning. Using this method, I improved the popping and created a smoother transition in and out of the jumping motion.
While this works, I thought it helpful to look into the IK/ Fk switch processes to gain a better understanding of its process. For example, Kenny Roy draws light onto is using an ‘IK’ weight which enables the transition between the two by positioning the IK skeleton the intended frame keying the FK in progressive order to interpolate (2014). Using the Euler Filter to fix any gimbal lock issues that cause the rig to move sporadically and out of control. I found this possible using ‘set driven keys’ to create a blend between the two different skeletons in the rigging process.
To keep the hands effectively pinned to the box, locators can be used which prevent unrealistic slippage.
Working on these issues, I managed to clean the respective IK and FK switch glitches as clean as I could possibly make them. Focusing on follow-through elements in the finger and head movements. While this version is not perfect, and due to my inexperience in IK/FK switching, there are still several points, especially in the elbows and knees, where the constraints do not always accurately follow the rig.
Final Version (Rendering)
References
Roy, K., 2014. How to cheat in Maya 2014. Abingdon: Focal Press, pp.104-105.
Ari Folman’s documentary Waltz with Bashir offers an interesting portrayal of traumatic events through the lens of stylized animation. The documentary itself shows the director, Folman, unravelling his part in the Israeli and Lebanon conflict in the 1980s. In reference to Honess Roe’s Animated Documentary (2013), the films medium of animation overall helps to create a non-bias towards reality and dreams/ memories in the portrayal of the soldier’s experience. Its aesthetic style emanates the real people involved while keeping a distinct stylization that helps accentuate the ‘ fantastical’ and dreamlike elements explored through the film (Honess Roe, 2013).
The use of colour throughout the film creates a visual impact, particularly in separating scenes reality and non-reality. There is a pivotal moment in the feature in which Folman is represented floating in a body of water with bright orange flashes illuminating the sky, as soon as this dream enters the reality of his memories the setting cascades in a cool blue tone. Hoeness Roe brings to attention a scene in which a soldier has a dream of a giant woman emerging from the water and carrying him to safety, while the boat he was previously on is blown to pieces (Hoeness Roe, 2013:162). During this dramatic explosion, the cool blue tones are then contrasted with a similar orange tone to that of Folman’s personal repeating hallucination. This could, once again, be a visual representation of the manifestation of trauma-induced hallucinations caused by the Israeli forces projecting flares to signify refugee campsites, which ultimately lead to the massacres featuring the plot of the documentary. As mentioned by Hoeness Roe, the psychoanalyst who appears in the documentary makes a point about how apparitions of bodies of water can reflect guilt in a personal subconscious (2013: 163). These strong visual representations of soldiers dream-like hallucinations both give indications early on in the film that they have played the same role and are processing trauma in the same context, which furthers the documentaries ‘therapeutic’ benefits.
A Major part of the live-action sequences in Waltz with Bashir (Folman, 2008) is the live-action footage that is featured at the end of the film. This can be argued to be its the strongest point of documenting the reality of the Sabra and Shatila Massacre and pulling viewers back into the reality of what really happened. This could be described as “an afterthought designed to wrench the viewer back into an empathetic engagement with mimetic reality” (Saunders quoted in Roe, 2013, p.168). Adding empathy into a distressing scenario is vital for viewer engagement with the issue being presented. Nicholas Hedrick, however, has an opposing opinion stating clearly that-
“However, while this war and this massacre are the occasions for the film, Waltz with Bashir is not a historically nuanced film. It provides almost no context for the war, does not explain Palestinian or Israeli presence in Lebanon in this period, and does not situate the history of conflict in that area of the world“ (Hetrick, 2010, p.78).
This is an important point to consider when looking at the validity of Waltz with Bashir’s (Folman, 2008) ability to factually document. This may provide “epistemological superiority of live-action material over animation“ (Honess Roe, 2013,p.168) and indicates that the more profound viewer impact mostly derives from this footage and disregards animation. Alternatively, Honess Roe also argues the point that, contextually, without the rest of the animated film the live-action sequence would not have as devastating an impact (2013). Adding Folman gaps in his memory add a dash of realism and highlight the severity of the impact of the war, in more ways than just the victims of the massacre themselves (Honess Roe, 2013). In doing so, this adds an emotional depth that news report imagery cannot achieve by itself, and could be argued that just as Folman animated experience is solidified by live-action, the live-action is also solidified by the animated experiences.
Figure 1: Waltz with Bashir. Folman. 2008
Silence (Bringas and Yadin, 1998) in aesthetic considerations has two Strikingly different styles, that differentiate yet blend two different aspects of Tana Ross’s life. In a similar light to Death and The Mother (1988), Ruth Lingford creates a dark and atmospheric approach to Tana Ross’s associative memory of the Theresienstadt concentration camp.
“The woodcut-style animation renders everything but the demarcated objects and characters as a black void, a looking threat of emptiness” (Honess Roe, 2013, p.158)
This contrast with Tim Webbs, bright and colourful style associated with his previous film ‘A is for Autism’ (1992) that accentuates how “only after liberation could life be lived in colour” (Honess Roe, 2013, p. 158). The ways in which the two visual styles communicate with one another throughout the film visually express things about Tana’s Trauma without explicitly stating it. For example, When the Swedish train worker metamorphosis into the German Train officer, it highlights her fear and associations that still linger in her everyday life (Honess Roe, 2013). Honess Roe mentions how this metamorphic action helps communicate Ross’s struggle to verbally communicate her trauma due to years of silently repressing it.
Fig. 2: Silence. Bringas and Yadin. 1998
Figures –
figure 1- Folman, A (2008). [Screenshot]. Waltz with Bashir. Isreal, France, Germany, United States, Finland, Switzerland, Belgium, Australia: Bridgit Folman Films, Les Films d’lci, Razor Film Producktion GmbH.
Figure 2- Bringas, S and Yadin, O. (1998). [Screenshot]. Silence. United Kingdom: Halo Productions Ltd.
Bibliography-
.Hetrick, N. (2010). ‘Ari Folman’s Waltz with Bashir and the Limits of Abstract Tragedy’. Image and Narrative: Online Magazine of the Visual Narrative, [Online] 2(11), pp.78-91. Available at: <http://www.imageandnarrative.be/index.php/imagenarrative/article/view/77> [Accessed 21 December 2021].
Honess Roe, A. (2013). Animated Documentary.Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan. Pp. 155-169.
Filmography
A is for Autism (1992). Directed by T. Webb. [Film]. United Kingdom: Fine Take Productions, Channel Four Television Corporation.
Death and the Mother (1997). Directed by R .Lingford.[Film]. United Kingdom: Channel Four Films
Silence (1998) Directed by S.Bringas and O. Yadin. [Film]. United Kingdom: Halo Productions LTD.
Waltz with Bashir (2008). Directed by A. FOLMAN. Israel, France, Germany, United States.
Following on from the last match move session, using the same method of tracking the different points of the scene, selecting areas of high contrast and exporting
When tracking, It is important that all elements of the screen are accounted for, and there are clearly well-placed markers in every ‘quarter’ to minimize distortion and help form the fake lens that will be exported from 3D equalizer. This plays an important role in changing the lens to match that of a real cameras lens dimensions. This, in the process of tracking, allows everything in the scene to have a marked depth of field required to place the 3D object realistically in the scene.
An important aspect of the point tracking system for the application of 3D models is the use of ‘camera points’ and ‘object points’ which separates the two different point areas into two different layers; Background and foreground.
Having completed the background point tracks, the foreground point tracks were the next step in tracking the movement of the mans head to apply the 3D modelled helmet too.
During the process of adding tracking points to the man’s face, there were issues in the movement of the eyebrows, as the head rotates. This required certain tracking points to be manually moved frame by frame, rather than allowing the calculation to account for the movement and relying on high contrast pixels.
Once the facial track was complete, the 3D ‘Iron Man’ helmet was imported and manipulated in the 3DE 3D orientation controls viewport. This was then lined up with the mans face in the footage to fit the size of his head adequately.
This, similarly to the previous matchmove class, was exported into Maya, alongside the footage, where it can be appropriated tracked and animated. During this process, the helmet could be textured and rendered to a more photorealistic standard. Referring back to research from an earlier post of mine, this would be a key opportunity for the application of a Chrome or HDRI ball in industry practice. In theory, while preparing to film, images would be taken of the lighting and reflective Surfaces in the real live-action setting. This could then be used to apply the same lighting, and even reflections into the iron man helmet model, where it can be more effectively and appropriately composited.
3D Modelled Mask Tracked to Footage
Above is my initial track applied in Maya, where there is a clear match to the movement of the man’s face, there was also a glitch towards the end where I had not deleted a faulty point track. I Was successfully able to fix this in Maya by finding the faulty frame which caused this jolt and deleting it from the timeline to prevent having to re-calculate and find the faulty point.
Tracked Mask with Added Animations
I then expanded on from this by adding some animations to the front of the mask, to emanate the motions of the ‘Iron Mans’ mask. Concluding that I was able to successfully integrate CGI and live-action footage in the early stages of the VFX pipeline.
On the topic of Character and story development, an interesting piece that brings to attention the ever-morphing and developing character is the stop motion animated short “Love me, Fear me” (Solomon, 2018). The character starts outperforming and basking in the attention; however, the spotlight moves as soon as the audience grows bored of them. They refuse to be shoved aside and run after the spotlight, changing into somebody else entirely to please the crowd. This character solely drives the narrative; the only other ‘character’ is the lighting reflective of a non-existing audience. Metamorphosis compliments the characterisation effectively, as the clay’s colour and shape show us changes in character and drive the narrative throughout the story.
The story seemingly progresses through the life of someone struggling with personality and being accepted, starting with a childish demeanour and design, the spotlight changes and the character has to adapt to the new audience (new phase of life); they morph into a more human-like and sexualised form in order to please those around it. The character dances and adapts in ways the audience cheers for until the attention is again drawn away elsewhere. This time after dancing for a short while, the character understands that at this stage, the way they present themselves will not gain the approval from the current audience, as such, they adapt much faster morph into a shaper and almost angrier form (potentially showing young rebellion). As the spotlight fades yet again and the attention is redirected, the character attempts to keep their sharp and rebellious personality and is greeted with silence. This causes them to form into a white ghost, representing the regret of the characters changing, as we can see when there is a ‘shadow’ of themselves. Suddenly, the environment changes from a spotlight on one person to the character realising the spotlight is not on them and that everyone in the world has the same light on them at all times. The character begins to break down, somewhat reminiscent of a midlife crisis. They morph into a chimaera of conflicting personalities fighting and wrestling before forming a ball and burning out. This is when the character realises they are not unique and becomes a blank form, rejecting any parts of their previous personalities.
Much like the former,’ Manipulation’ (Greaves, 1991) abuses the method of metamorphism and uses the permanent unrest of animation to portray effective character development and emotions. Although initially rejected by the artist, the character enters the screen with a splash of colour to show they are complete. Upon moving, the colour immediately leaves the character, leaving them empty. After re-absorbing the colour to make them feel whole again, the colour still does not stick to them. This time, the colour reappears, they proceed to form the paint into a ball to interact and play around with, attempting to grasp and understand this alien world around them. Eventually, the artist rejects the characters colour ideals and ties him up to perform in the way the artist envisions all thee while stretching a deforming and even damaging the character in parts. The character cuts the strings the artist attached and attempts to escape; however, the artist catches him and manipulates him until the character fights back. The artist continues to punish his creation through stretching and controlling the world in which he exists until the character gets so angry that he starts to tear at his world. We see the personification of his anger as he morphs into fireworks. As he fights with the world in which he lives, the character manages to morph himself into a 3D form fighting against the artist and escaping his prison. He is pushed and falls to the ground, losing his 3D shape; the character returns to his original design, and the artist scraps him as we can see he has done with previous works before. The drawn character and the hand seem to have a direct interpersonal relationship, and the whole piece could be a metaphor for the struggling artist fighting themselves in the face of rejection and exemplifying the characters development from the tormentation that can be associated with childhood and the beginning of life, to individualism that arises from pressures that mature a person in later life.
Both ‘Love me, Fear me’ and ‘Manipulation’ show interesting character-driven narratives that use the animated form as a tool in the story and character development. The clay itself becomes a character, more so than the character it intends to present, and psychosocially links the viewer to the artist in a way that makes them understand that what they are viewing was made by hand. The ever-changing shaping of the clay shows impressions of human interaction in the very aesthetics and the ever-present ‘god-like’ hand shows an interaction between animation and the real world. Both are fighting for their place in the real world almost, and this desire is the key element that drives them to survive and adapt to their environment in very visually expressive ways.
Filmography
GREAVES, D. 1991. [Film]. Manipulation. United Kingdom: Tandem Films
SOLOMON, V. 2018. [Film]. Love Me, Fear Me. Germany
Further Research Potentials-
Looking into animated documentary form as a specialisation, and the validity of its factual representation is often something considered and argued. For further research, I could potentially look into the arguments surrounding this and analyse more into the potentials of the animated documentary in the future. Looking further into this, I could look at the specific genres- such as documentaries like Waltz with Bashir (2008) and silence (1998), which represent war victims trauma visually in expressive ways.
The ‘Classic Narrative Arc’ consist’s of the start or ‘exposition’, the rising action, the climax, the falling action to the final resolution (figure 1). This basic structure can be used as a guideline for every story. Joseph Campbell’s ‘Monomyth’ takes this concept into a more specific context, breaking down the ‘Adventure of the Hero’ into notifiable story points applicable, in theory, to every story (Campbell 1993). This progression of the story is explained by Campbell as ‘openings of energy from the cosmos’ into ‘human cultural manifestation’, which poses interesting reflective thoughts on the importance storytelling has on society, and its relations to our dreams and myths (Campbell, 1993:3). Developing forward from the theories of Campbell, Writer/ Director Dan Harmon takes this into simplification by incorporating the heroes journey into an 8-step storey circle (Figure 3). An interesting point to take from Harmon’s circle is the threshold line representative of the conscious/ subconscious developments of the plot, replicant of the importance of dreams in support of the narrative Joseph Campbell illustrates.
Fig. 2: Joesph Campbell Hero’s Journey
Fig. 3: Dan Harmons Story Circle
Figure 4: Timeline of Coraline (Dan Harmons Story Cycle Structure) Figure 5: Selick. 2009. Coraline
In reference to Cambell’s “Hero with A Thousand Faces” (1993), the initial establishing shot in Coraline (Selick, 2009) outlines clearly the ‘departure’ stage of the hero’s journey and the ‘You’ stage of Dan Harmon’s story circle. The family arrive at the pink palace, the new yet ordinary world, cascaded in grey, dulled tones reflective of the characters emotional states. Coraline, the main protagonist, fits the ‘Everyman Hero’ (Masterclass, 2021), equipped with nothing but a strong moral compass and courage. In this first sequence, viewers are introduced to the main issues surrounding Coraline’s life, such as familial neglect, loneliness and her self-centred and judgemental character flaws. She is rude to her new neighbours and gives an air of superiority she does not actually attain and has not yet earned. Every action she partakes in is clearly just for self-advantage, without considering the people around her. This is especially apparent in how she speaks to her mother about her lack of fault in a car accident rather than express sympathy.
Her absence of self-awareness and sympathy ties strongly to the concept of the everyman hero, as displaying her faults and blunders draws out her childish temperament and simultaneously makes her more relatable to the viewer. This section of the movie subtly underscores the “relationship with forces that are not rightly understood” by building tension that foreshadows the film’s later events (Campbell 1993: 51). This includes Coraline’s first interaction with ‘Wybie’ when he rushes towards her in a ‘Legend of Sleepy Hollow-esc’ way, the black cat that stalks and frightens her, and the appearance of a doll that looks just like her. Wybie, the ally/sidekick archetype, embodies the virtues Coraline lacks at the beginning of the story, showing friendliness and a modest temperament. In Dan Harmon’s story circle, the ‘Need’ exemplified in this section is shown in the loneliness and desperation of Coraline’s actions. It is clearly illustrated that she wants the attention and appreciation of her parents, the friendship that she left behind, and the need to escape her new dull, grey world.
Figure 6:Selick. 2009. Coraline
The call to adventure stage of the heroes departure occurs when Coraline receives a doll, replicating her appearance, that eventually draws her attention to a small door hidden in the new house (Figure 5). The entrance leads into the mystical, unknown world, which sets Coraline into the primary action of her heroes journey. At this point, the ‘supernatural’ mentor, the cat, has previously been introduced and subtly led Coraline to the setting of the final ‘battle’, the well, foreshadowing dark events to come. The cat is a fascinating figure who seems to embody multiple archetypal roles, including the ‘shapeshifter’, as he retains an ambiguity of bias to audiences initially and can easily trapeses between universes, metaphorically highlighting a moral middle ground in the apparent ‘good’ and ‘bad’ worlds. Coraline is now lured into the new world from her sleep which is more vibrant in tonality, interesting in visuals and striking in contrast to the former (Figure 6). This creates a clear sense of other-worldliness and visually accentuates Coraline’s journey’s unknown semicircle. This section represents the ‘Go’ section of the story circle, as she enters the world’s new and unexplored realms and her own mind.
The polarity of these worlds, the dream-like aesthetic essence of the universe through the door, can be linked to mentions of Campbell’s work about dreamscapes and the subconscious desire. Campbell states the danger of dreams “threaten the fabric of security into which we have built ourselves and our family” and that the destruction of our conscious world and the “wonderful reconstruction, of the bolder, cleaner, more spacious” subconscious world through dreams, inevitably brings a promise of trepidation from ‘disturbing night visitants from mythological realms’ (1993: 8). ‘Coraline’ (2009) indulges this idea in quite a literal sense, with the deconstruction of the family and Coraline’s real-world desires manifesting in the other world (or the subconscious realm in this context), which inevitably leads to night visits from otherworldly monsters.
Upon entering the new world, Coraline is confronted with the main antagonist or shadow of the story, the ‘Beldam’ or ‘Other Mother’. She seems to precisely fit into the ‘mastermind’ villain role, concocting well thought out schemes to achieve her goal of soul consumption (Masterclass, 2021). This part of the story development presents Coraline with the life she desires. Her parents no longer neglect her; all her flawed desires are brought to fruition- Wybie’s ‘annoying’ mouth is stitched up, she is served the perfect dinner her parents couldn’t provide, she becomes the centre of this universe that indulges the depths of her ego. However, the striking black button eyes (which can subconsciously associate ideas of uncanny animate dolls to the viewer) on the otherworldy characters visually differentiate them and bring attention to the danger they possess.
Figure 7: Selick. 2009. Coraline
Due to this, Coraline’s intuition tells her something is amiss and causes her to reject the call to adventure, and she wakes up back into her reality (Figure 7). Campbell states how the refusal is, in essence, “a refusal to give up what one takes to be one’s own interest”, in this case, Coraline seeks the security of the known (1993: 60). From this point, the issues of her real-world from before are further exemplified. The introduction of ‘Bobinsky’ indicates the ‘trickster’ archetype, as he is considered a ridiculous character who also points out the absurdity of Coraline’s actions through the ‘word’ of his mice. Ms Spinks and Forcible seem to embody the role of the herald, warning Coraline of future dangers ahead, quite literally, by reading her tea leaves. In this instance, Mr Bobinsky could also be considered a herald, as he warns Coraline not to attempt to go through the door again.
Figure 8: Selick. 2009. Coraline (Coraline awakens in the barren, cold appearing room)
The third time Coraline visits the other world is intentional and brings the subconscious world into the conscious. Coraline enters the world in the middle of the day; under no implication, it is a dream setting, which psychically and metaphorically represents the approach of her crossing a mental threshold. Due to Coraline’s acceptance of the call, the supernatural aid/ mentor presence starts to take hold of the plot. The cat, both “protective and dangerous”, providing direction and protection “unites itself in all the ambiguity of the unconscious” (Campbell, 1993; 73). This supernatural mentor supports Coraline’s “conscious personality” because he brings reality to the situation, making the ever-present threats more apparent to the heroine (Campbell, 1993: 73). Despite this, the cat maintains his ambiguous inscrutability; disappearing and reappearing to the disorientation and subconscious manifestation that represents Coraline’s fears; further blurring the lines between reality and unreality in the realm.
Figure 8: Selick. 2009. Coraline
At the crossing on the threshold, Coraline is forcibly trapped into a mirror after rejecting the ‘button eyes’, more concisely, the ability to stay in the dream world forever. This section is when the reality of this true nature of the alternate world starts to come to fruition. While trapped, Coraline converses with the spirits of the last victimised children.
The road of trials is represented literally by the ‘game’ she proposes with the ‘other mother’. In this particular section, Coraline navigates through the once wonders of the world to find they have been twisted and distorted in horrifying ways. She is tested through trial and error and builds critical character development. Campbell notions that a hero will move in a “dream landscape of curiously fluid, ambiguous forms” in this survival of the trials ahead (1993: 97). Coraline naturally follows this statement, as everything is previously known and ‘safe’ generates an air of ambiguity as the characters reveal themselves to be rats, pumpkins and other darker and more twisted versions of their former selves. Coraline, aided by the ‘supernatural mentor’ (cat) at the ‘entrance of this region’ as, despite our previous knowledge of the world, this is where the true and symbolic ‘entrance’ of this world is revealed (a stripped-back vacant world) (Campbell, 1993: 97). Characteristics such as the villain archetype ‘the henchman’ show themselves in the other father at this point in the film. This is made clear in the way he begins to attack her, but seemingly out of this control, stating how ‘mother is making him do it. The parallelism between the character of the father in the real world and the unknown replicate elements of Coraline’s conscious perception of her parent’s relationship, providing further indications of projections of subconscious fears in the ‘dreamscape’. This scene could also be representative of Campbell’s ‘atonement with the Father’ aspect of the hero’s journey as despite the other father’s evil indentures, he assists her in escaping the life-threatening situation he puts Coraline in (Campbell, 1993: 126).
The Death and Rebirth stage occurs when Coraline fails to collect the eyes in time; she requires assistance from her supernatural mentor to remain unscathed from the consequences of such loss. In Dan Harmon’s story circle, this is the heavy price the hero pays for getting or attempting to get what they most desire. This follows onto the character progressive state that eventually leads to Coraline’s Revelation, in which she outsmarts the Beldam and manages to free her parents and the ghosts of the former children. This starts the narrative incline back from the subconscious to the conscious or the chaos back into its order as Coraline re-enters the real world.
The atonement section shows a lot of character development in Coraline as she begins to understand her flaws, appreciates her ‘older’ world with a newfound appreciation, and respects her parents and neighbours without the prejudices of her past self. However, despite getting everything she wanted out of this arrangement, she still must suffer for the selfishness of her former actions. The Beldam’s hand survives the incident, and she attempts to steal the key back from Coraline to free herself from the dream-like realm. She is chased by the hand and the other mother until, with the help of Wybie, she is able to smash the hand and drop the key into the well. This could be symbolic of her dumping the old part of herself into an unreachable place, never to be reaccessed.
After these events, Coraline returns changed and has a much more overtly positive attitude towards her new life. She and all the neighbours gather together, in which she interacts with each and every one of them. After going through the stages of the heroes journey and progressing through the conscious and subconscious territory, she begins to understand the world around her once again.
Bibliography
Campbell, J., 1993. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Hammersmith, London: Fontana Press.
MasterClass. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-different-types-of-villains> [Accessed 10 November 2021].
MasterClass. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.masterclass.com/articles/common-hero-archetypes-in-literature#:~:text=Here%20are%20the%20six%20most%20common%20types%20of,while%20possessing%20a%20rich%20inner%20life%20under%20> [Accessed 10 November 2021].
