OUAN05 - Development Feedback - The Classical Elements

Right now, I'm quite happy with where I am in terms of development for 'The Classical Elements' brief. Having nailed down all of my initial ideas and concepts and having produced artwork to help envision what I intend for this project, I can begin to tidy up my designs and start a more final draft for the storyboard. For this project I wanted to try something different, previously I have based my animations on story and developed the animation style accordingly. Because of this, the quality of the animation has suffered. In order to try something new and change the way I've been approaching animation so far, I intended from the start to produce a piece of work that was dependent on the animation quality and not the style. The idea behind the animation and relating it back to the the brief involves the meeting of two warriors on a road or in a village, I have yet to decide what kind of warrior they are but I'm fairly certain it will be either a viking or a samurai to give the animation a raw feel and a context. The warriors, whatever they turn out to be, will either be made of ice or possess weaponry made from ice, thus as they battle it will break and melt due to the brittleness of ice and the nature of it. I wanted to take water and experiment with its range of forms, I may also include steam, fog and water itself if I get the chance to incorporate them in also. 

Today, I showed some of my peers the work I had produced so far for the project. We discussed the obstacles I would have to overcome in order to make this work, two of the main points raised included the character design and the choreography of the duel between the two characters and handling the interaction between them. In order to be able to produce the full animation that I want to with the emphasis on fluidity of animation I need to look heavily at motion firstly, and it would also be very helpful to perform something that I can use as reference when drawing the frames so I can capture the movement accurately. Something that was mentioned that could be used as research is some of the scenes from martial arts films, where the fluidity of movement is very smooth and fast paced, this is something I could incorporate into my animation. 

The next thing I need to look at is the overall design of characters. I have produced art work to determine the style of the characters but I will need to simplify them much further so that they aren't too complicated to draw and animate when it comes to it. Something I was considering doing for this is creating something like a 'chibi' version for the characters, so that the shapes and proportions are much smoother and less detailed, this would also allow for smooth limbs for example, which would be great. Character design is something that I need to think a lot about for this because I can use the simplicity of characters clothing and shape to my advantage when animating. 

I spoke about my references for the animation, and the types of locations I have been looking at for the setting of the animation. My favourite idea for a location is  road or village in ancient Japan, with old style buildings and temples in the snow, this would collaborate well with the fact I'm experimenting with ice and water, because of the cold climate. 

In terms of audio, I looked at the animated series; 'Samurai Jack', because I recall it was very simplistic. The audio style is very atmospheric and tense because it doesn't feature any music, only sounds of footsteps or the clashing or metal for example and environmental noises such as wind. This is something I'd like to be able to replicate to some extent if I were to add audio and sounds to my animation. 

Viking Concept 

Samurai Concept

Work in Progress

Samurai Concept.b

Samurai Concept.c

Japanese Village, Background

Feedback Sheet

Evaluation

OUAN403 Evaluation

One thing I've noticed about this module, is that every task and brief that we did I learnt something new that I could in some way apply to the next. The amount of transferable skills I've learnt that I can and have been applying to multiple briefs with confidence and reliability. Some of the things we have covered during the module such as the '12 Principles of Animation' have been really interesting to learn about and at the same time very helpful for me personally in creating fluid and accurate animation. Since the module began I've felt as if I constantly had tasks to complete and undertake, which I'm actually quite happy about because it meant that I was learning all the time and developing as an animator, the heavy workload has also increased my motivation and I enjoy the tasks we are being asked to do. The work load has also encouraged me to be organised and meet deadlines, something that is an important trait to hold in not only the design and animation industries but in life in general. Finally, I've noticed a distinct improvement in my drawing skills since starting. I've never drawn so much in such a short amount of time before and it's allowed me to better myself in terms of traditional drawing and apply what I've learnt to the production of animation in briefs.

My favorite brief that we have undertaken since the beginning of the module would have to be the final one, where were given a choice of words or 'themes' and asked to create an animation based on the word we chose. I really like the pre-production process of idea generating using different methods and thinking up stories to be able to transition into a moving image telling that particular story. I like the task of story boarding and planning the animation before the production process is started, and using what I've learnt about aspects such as direction and camera angles to make sure the story is told in a fluid and interesting manner. One thing I would have liked to under take during this module is more group work and collaborating with others, like we did on the Pixilation task. It was enjoyable and interesting at the same time to combine ideas with other people and produce work with multiple people's efforts and contributions. Another thing I like about working in groups is having constant feedback and idea generation. The novelty of having someone there to improve or criticise an idea helps you understand generally what of your ideas work and which don't, and can lead to some interesting results or experimentation at the same time.

Before I started the module, idea generation was something I struggled with. But after being encouraged to sketch ideas and concepts I soon felt I was more able to generate ideas using this method and consequently became better at it as a whole, to the point where I've found new methods of generating ideas for myself. Something I need to improve on, in less practical and hands on terms in patience. I find myself sometimes becoming quite sloppy or losing motivation when working on frames or a task for long periods of time. I think to make sure this doesn't happen I can take regular breaks rather than working for few long periods. Over time, however, I feel like this will become less of a problem as things like my ability to frames by hand drawing them improves and I get more work done, at a faster pace.

During this module I have really enjoyed learning about the animation industry as a whole, different animation techniques and methods and then the technical side of animation such as the use of camera angles, different frame rates and direction as a whole. All of this information has made me appreciate animation for different reasons than just the visual onscreen motion pictures, but also the effort, creativity and imagination that are funneled into each and every animation, whether it's short or feature length. 

Photography Task

I quite enjoyed this photography task because of the simplicity and freedom it gave me. The task was simply to experiment using a DSLR and take six photographs of an object. The objects I chose in combination was a pencil wrap containing pens and pencils, with a notepad I've been using this year to take notes about briefs and any information needed to be recorded at a moments notice. I thought these objects in particular would be appropriate because they've been essential so far in the beginning section of the course to allow me to create animation and complete tasks. So I thought I'd use them as the objects for the purpose of this task. 

Due to the nature of the objects and their small scale, the shots all take advantage of the ability to get in close and take some interesting photographs this way. I've tried to capture the texture of the paper, which is quite grainy in the notebook and also get close up to the pencil wrap and its contents. 

I laid out the pencil wrap and opened it so the inside and overall contents was exposed as I thought this would perhaps prove to make a more interesting composition. As a light source I used a desk lamp and altered the way the light affected the objects in the photographs by planing around with the aperture, shutter speed and the light settings. Some of the photographs used the 'shade' function, others used 'daylight' and 'tungsten'. So, overall it was fun to experiment with photography in this way. 

Here are the results of the photography task. 

Animation Project: Longing - Planning

In order to plan the 'Longing' animation, I did a lot of initial drawing and sketches for certain scenes so I could visualise them better and so that I had something to work with when it came to drawing the actual frame for the animation. As well as this, I drew around a twenty panel story board depicting certain camera angles I wanted to feature; and the different scenes I wanted to use in order to tell the story and convey the feeling of 'longing' in a concise and easy to follow manner. 

Here are some examples of the kind of notes I made in preparation for the animation. The contents of the pages involves my thoughts on the themes and how I wanted to express them in the animation, also what potential story lines I was going to use. Like previously mentioned I took influence from a lot of quotes and thoughts that I found online, in order to get a broader understanding of how I could utilise and experiment with the words we chose as a theme. As well as general idea generation, I used the notebook to make sure I wrote down any important information regarding deadlines and stuff like that. 

 

Drawings were an important part of visualising the art style and design of the animation, from how characters and scenes were going to look to which scene was going to follow on from the last, and the use of perspective and camera angles. I made sure to experiment with this in the story boarding section of my plan, in order to get an idea of what would work and what wouldn't work before I started drawing out the frames for the final draft. 

Animation Project: Longing

We were given a brief to produce a 5-10 second animation based on one of seven proposed themes. The themes included; surprise, lateness, love, hate, longing, happiness and fear. Out of those themes given to us I narrowed it down to the three themes that I thought I would have the most and best ideas for as a whole. The themes I narrowed it down to were, 'longing', 'fear' and hate. When I read through the themes these are the ones that intrigued me the most and I thought I could produce the best response to the brief using these as a foundation.

The first approach I used to start the brief was look at the definitions for each of these words. Even though I knew what the words meant I thought having a fuller understanding of what each of them meant, would inspire me or at least give me a better grasp of the kind of themes and stories I could relate back to them;

longing              

lɒŋɪŋ/

noun

1. 1.

   a yearning desire.
2. 
   

For the first theme, longing I had probably the most ideas, I think the idea of wanting something can be interpreted a range of different ways, and I immediately had a bunch of different ideas that I could associate with this word. One of the main methods I used to generate ideas for the animation relating to this word was to look up quotes made about 'longing' and from there interpret them and brainstorm, coming up with ideas as I went a long. 

The first idea I had was very simple, and the first thing I came up with as a simple suggestion to myself, so that I could essentially get the ball rolling and start generating ideas. It was simply the idea of two character writing letters to each other, suggesting that they were apart and at a fair distance from one another. The connection here was the 'desire' or longing to be with one another, but were making the best they could given their situation. This is a very simple and every day situation for someone to find themselves in, which is why I think it could be potentially a successful animation and allow the audience to connect with it on an emotional level, which is what I was hoping to achieve with the animation I produce for this brief. 

The second idea I had was the concept of someone longing to do something or be somewhere. This could be shown, through a character staring at the sky or sea, dreaming of doing something like sailing the ocean, or being an astronaut. That was the general idea behind this anyway, longing to experience something. Another animation feature I thought could be potentially included in something like this would be to show the character growing up in a time-lapse fashion, stood in the same spot. So where as the character will be changing and developing into an adult from a boy with a boyhood dream stood observing the sea or sky, the environment will stay the same. I liked this idea, but at the same time thought it was quite cliche, however it would have been relatively easy to animate. 

Next, I had the idea to show another side to the idea of longing, a more materialistic and an overall less emotional response. In this situation I thought of a character longing to have money and material possessions. Not necessarily out of greed but out of bettering his situation and not having to bear the pressures and stress of every day life as a burden. The way I thought to portray this was to depict several situations as a comparison between his life and someone else, so maybe he would be stood at a bus stop on a rainy day feeling miserable and someone drives past in an expensive car and the water that has accumulated at the roadside splashes him. This is also quite a generic idea but I thought could potentially work at answering the brief. 

The fourth idea I had also communicating the idea of longing was a scene featuring an elderly man wishing or 'longing' to be young again. Perhaps this could be shown with him reliving a memory from when he was younger, such as his wedding day before it flashing back to him as an older man again. With a more or less empty expression of longing or sadness expressed in his face. This was one of my favourite ideas that I came up with for the longing theme because of its simplicity but also because I think it's quite an understandable emotion that not many people have experienced exactly but could imagine it to some extent, the feeling of wishing to be young again and relive the happiest moments of your life. 

The idea of homesick is one that I really like in connection with this brief. The idea I had that is my favourite idea is having an astronaut in space looking through the window of a space shuttle towards Earth, longing to be back home with his family, and essentially being homesick. The way I was going to end this animation was showing a scene of his family on Earth looking back up to the sky, where the astronaut is in the shuttle.

fear

fɪə/

noun

1. 1.

   an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm.

Fear was another theme I had a lot of themes for, I think it's due to it being of of the themes with a broad range of possible connotations and ideas that can stem from the idea of fear. Again, similarly to with the theme of 'longing' I used a bunch of quotes in order to gather ideas about what other peoples interpretations of the word fear were, as well as gathering potential ideas for the animation story line by interpreting the words and phrases used in the quotes. 

The first quote I looked at reads; 'Men feat death as children fear going into the dark'. I found this to be quite a powerful quote to look at, because it describes the way priorities and attitudes to change as you grow up and develop as a person. Children don't really understand death let a lone fear it, whereas adults think about it subconsciously on a daily basis, and the human body is too delicate to ever feel completely safe. This quote also gave me the idea to consider a story line about a child being scared of the dark, to most adults this seems like a trivial matter or a trivial fear, but told through the eyes of a child the fear of the dark can be very real and this can be communicated to the audience despite your age or feelings towards the dark.

Following on from this, I had an idea for a potentially moving story line for an animation based around the idea of fear. It would depict a solider hidden in a trench from the fire from the enemy coming overhead, obviously virtually anyone in this situation would be terrified at the prospect of death and the fear would be communicated to the audience through the actions of the solider. The solider knows he needs to vault over the trench soon, and he's building the courage to do so as he does I imagine this is where the animation cuts off, and the rest of the story, the fate of the solider lies in the minds of the people viewing it rather than reveal what happens. This I believe would be quite an interesting way to express fear to the audience, through something as universally recognisable as war.

Solitude is something that a lot of people would consider quiet a scary feeling, the feeling of being completely alone. I've seen a lot of short films that use an 'alone' type aspect to put the character in a compromising position, and you do feel the tension as the audience. Influenced by the short animation, 'Feral', I had the idea to show a young boy lost in a woods before finding his way out at the end, and his way home.

Again the fear of death is something very real to a lot of people, and showing a character on his death bed with the prospect of death right around the corner could prove to be a moving story, especially if it was communicated well within the 5 - 10 seconds available. A character being ill or injured in some way and realising they aren't going to make it could prove to be quite an emotional and moving animation, although my worry is it could be too dark for the purposes of this task, or that I wouldn't be able to do the story or be able to portray the kind of emotional and fear that I want to in the 5 to 10 seconds available. 

Aside from these emotional and kind of abstract fears, a short animation based on horror, including traditional creatures such as vampires or other paranormal entities would be a fun and traditional way to express fear and horror through the medium of animation. Something like a jump scare or a typical creepy dark animation would have suited this theme well, in a very obvious sense of the word fear. 

hate

heɪt/

noun

1. 1.

   intense dislike.

'Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that'.Is quite a powerful quote that I found when looking up ideas and connotations of the word hate. This, like the previous themes is very open to ideas and interpretation. I initially had a few ideas for this that I came up with quite quickly. I must admit, however I did branch out a little from hate, and some of my ideas perhaps represent things like selfishness or frustration.

The first idea that I came up was perhaps not the best I could have thought up with the broad scope available to me with the word hate as an influence. It involved, someone ending a relationship by  being cheated on and the feeling the person who betrayed would feel in that situation, a mixture of confusion, betrayal and frustration towards the person, perhaps this could be referred to as hate. I think the animation for this story would have to be quite dark due to the seriousness of the story, so perhaps a serious art style even if it's not necessarily accurate a serious style rather than a silly one would suit it more.

The next story line I came up was quite dark also. It involved a person sitting in a court room, during the trial of a person that was accused of killing someone that was close to them. I think this could be quite an emotive and worthy way to represent 'hate' in an animation given the short time. If told correctly and produced in the right way it would be quite hard for the audience to not empathise with the character and feel a mixture of sadness and anger for them. 

Film // Watership Down

Directed by   Martin Rosen

Running time 101 minutes 

Watership Down is a British animated adventure drama that was released in 1978 and based on the book of the same name by Richard Adams. Upon its release, the film was an immediate success, and became the sixth most popular film in the 1979 British box office. 

The animation style of Watership Down could be considered a very serious form of cartoon animation with detail and a very natural expression of movement with little exaggeration often seen in cartoons. However, the animals depicted in the film are sometimes animated anthropomorphically when they are given facial expressions and human voices etc. The locations are based around diagrams from the Richard Adam's book, so a lot of research and careful consideration would have gone into the production of the film, even with things like the animation style. Something that this animated feature did was emulate the dark and violent themes and nature of the book, instead of altering the plot to suit a wider audience which I consider a bold and important move. 

The themes of nature and leadership play a very important role in the film, and the development of characters in the story is vital to convey these themes. I think also, because of the seriousness of the themes and they story as a a whole the art style complimenting that was quite important. The art style for backgrounds is very 'realistic', it looks almost like an oil painting of a natural scene in places which reinforces the seriousness of the plot rather than allowing it to stray from this. The colours used are also washed out rather than bright. The greens are very saturated and the browns are murky, the film rarely strays from this type of colour palette at any point. 

The camera angles at points in Watership Down are you used effectively to make the scenes more intense or frightening. When a camera zooms in fast or pans across the screen at a fast pace it can be very alarming to the audience, because it's unexpected and depicts a piece of

action in a quick movement. Examples of this kind of quick, intense camera movement are used in the scenes where the animals, mainly rabbits attack each other or brawl. Another point to be made is that animal violence is very rarely shown or seen, and thus the intensity of the scenes where animals are violent may be exacerbated by this whereas violence amongst humans in all forms is shown across a range of media, including film and animation. In contrast to the number of violent acts in the film there are also moments that are intended to be quite moving to the audience such as the death of characters, and the emotional response other characters have to this, again including animals. 

Short Film // Feral

Directed by   Daniel Sousa

Running time 13 minutes 

Feral is a 2012 short film, which uses the concept of a 'feral child' as a concept for the story line. The film is about a wild boy found in the woods by a solitary hunter who is then bought back to civilisation and uses the same techniques he learnt in the wild to survive in society. 

The animation style of Feral is very stylised, but works really well to communicate isolation, and loneliness, this is also contributed by the fact there is no spoken dialogue for the duration, only action and hand gestures etc. The animation itself is incredibly fluid, which works out well in scenes where animals, wolves for example are running and chasing other animals. Or when children are playing in a playground in another scene. The use of camera angles and shots is

also another one of the films strong points, I noticed several uses of a panning shot throughout the film to convey the passing of time in a montage like way which I thought worked nicely, and left a lot of the experiences the boy encountered during the montage to your imagination. Shadows are used effectively, and came hand in hand which the art style used for the animation, and the colour palette which consisted of mainly browns, beige and black, with some grey tones. This colour scheme effectively made a lot of the characters and environments into silhouettes. In a way, this added to the feelings of loneliness that perhaps the feral child felt, he didn't know or accept any of the other children in the playground in the scene where they cornered him, and they were just silhouettes in that scene, laughing at him. As the audience, this means we also feel no emotional connection to the characters. In fact, the feral child, the main character, is one of the only characters if not the only character not to be shadowed out but instead possesses a light beige colouring, perhaps to make him stand out and signify his independence and loneliness.  

The music is highly appropriate and used optimally in certain places to create a dramatic atmosphere in key scenes. Primarily it's used in the scenes that show the passing of time, whether that be a panning shot, or the image of the sun rising and setting in a time lapse-esque manner. Due to the nature of the plot and the animation as whole, animal imagery is used throughout to reinforce the idea of the feral child and put humans and animals on the same level for the purpose of making you feel connected to animals more than humans, since the humans are made out to be the bad characters, mistreating the boy in some respects. The animals shown include, wolves, deer, chickens and birds. 

Short Film // Tuurngait

Directed by   Paul-Emile Bouche

Running time 7 minutes 

'Tuurngait' is an CG animated short, released in 2012. When I first watched 'Tuurngait' I thought it was a very unique and visually different animation, not like anything I'd seen yet. It follows the story of an Inuit boy, and depicts the landscape he lives in beautifully. The animation is very nice, the style is actually a little rigid compared to some of the stuff I've seen, but it works well in this scenario because of the nature of the environment. For example, walking through a thick layer of snow would be a rigid and clumsy action, complemented by the animation style featured here. Some of the shots that were used are really nice - one that stands out in particular, is when one of the characters, in the form of a bird, glides over the edge of a mountain to reveal a vast open landscape below. The way the camera follows the bird as it flies is really something that took me by surprise when I saw it for the first time. 

Some of the really impressive, 'stand out'  features of this animation is the way characters interact with the environment. A scene around half way through the film shows ice breaking below a characters feet, the dramatic sequence of the cracks appearing before a sudden burst of energy as the ice gave way was very reminiscent of how ice would act in reality and the physics involved were quite fun to watch in action, a long with the sound to accompany it. 

The main element with this short film I think is as previously mentioned the vast landscapes and

general scale of the surroundings. Throughout the duration of the film you feel you've traveled quite a distance and the scene in the ice cave is quite intimidating, especially since you're seeing it through the eyes of a small boy, which increases the feeling of being surrounded by epic environments further. Another thing I want to talk about is the use of colour, it feels in some parts like it's used quite sparingly, simply because the environment is mostly snow and ice. However, when the scene switches to say, the scene in the house where the boys father is crafting a bear out of wood, the colours change to warm, earthy tones. The combination of warm browns and oranges conveyed through the interior of the house combined with the subtle details such as the father characters clothes make it so you do feel warm and homely in contrast to the sharp coldness of the outside, where the boy was playing in the previous scene. 

'Tuurngait' is a visually appealing piece of animation, with a nice and varied use of camera angles combined with a good and appropriate character design, including clothing given the setting of the film. The makes did a good job of making it feel like it was told through the eyes of a child, and you allow yourself to be submerged into his world of playfulness as he goes about his adventures in the snow.

Film // The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

Directed by   Tatsuya Ishihara, Yasuhiro Takemoto

Running time 164 minutes

The film, 'The Disappearance of Haurhi Suzumiya' by directors Tatsuya Ishihara and Yasuhiro Takemoto is a follow on from the anime series 'The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya'. The story takes place from December 16th and follows the main character, Kyon. Without getting to into the complex story line for the purposes of this, I'll focus more on the subtleties and aesthetics of this particular animated film. 

The first thing I want to mention is the way the directors captured Winter, not only as a seasonal change that alters the aesthetic of the surroundings but how the characters react to it, and how the season changes the actions of characters. The reason I want to address something like this to start is to discuss a different aspect of an animation, other than cover the same topics for every piece I look at. The opening to the film shows Kyon waking up in a dimly lit room, wrapped in a duvet. As his sister enters the room and tugs the sheet off him he follows it intentionally and rolls himself back up in it. On its own it's quite a humorous scene, but I also think that this reaction and follow up allows you mentally to put yourself in Kyon's shoes and feel the cold in the room. Everyone can relate to waking up in winter and feeling the cold as soon as you remove the duvet, I thought this interaction was a nice introduction to the scene and a good way to bring the audience straight into the environment the story will be taking place in. The scene ends with Kyon looking up towards the partially exposed window, and seeing the frosted glass outside, again, drawing the audiences attention to the setting and padding out the world with detail. Overall, I enjoyed the opening sequence because of this exchange  and the way it was shot from above the room, giving you a full view of his sister pulling the duvet off of him and then him rolling onto the floor. 

Visually, the animation has a very fluid style, this is also complemented by the plentiful slow-motion shots. The story and characters are also quite solid, and there is a good range of characters who speak, act and exist with very different tones, giving them unique personalities. This allows for scenes and tone of scenes to be very apparent to the audience, dark themes run throughout such as characters breaking down and having emotional struggles, which could be quite tough for the viewer to watch due to the intensity. Scenes such as this are intensified when shown from a first person perspective and sequences like the one mentioned are more personal. At the same time as this, however, there are a number of equally positive scenes, allowing a good range of emotions to be conveyed to and from the audience. Humor is also quite abundant throughout The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya which serve as personality traits to characters, allowing the audience to identify with them and realise the nature of certain characters despite never seeing the series before and being thrown into the heart of an ongoing story. 

The story itself is told from the perspective of Kyon to the point where he spends a lot of the film narrating it, as a voice over. This gives the animation and a unique perspective, it also makes sure that the audience is following the story correctly and that they feel more involved due to the main character sharing his thoughts throughout. 

Also in the film, is a range of different settings. You never feel like you've been stuck in one location for too long. To add to that, the environments are very appealing to the eye and contain large amounts of detail if you took the time to observe them during the film. To make sure the environments are shown off effectively, a large number of wide angle shots are used during the film, especially when characters are conversing in one place, a wide angle shot is used to allow the audience to take in the environment whilst the conversation between characters is taking place.

The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

Film // Children Who Chase Lost Voices

Directed by   Makoto Shinkai

Running time 116 minutes

Children who Chase Lost Voices is a film released in 2011 directed by Makoto Shinkai, following on from '5 Centimeters Per Second'. The film follows the main character, 'Asuna' who has been forced to grow up quickly following the death of her father. The opening scenes depict her coming home from school and doing house work until it's time to eat and she goes to bed.The film really takes a turn when she is attacked by a mysterious monster and saved by a boy called 'Shun'. She treats his wound, and he tells her he is from another place called 'Agartha', and that he came here to find something. From this point on the story unlike much on Shinkai's previous work becomes very fantastical, and considering he hasn't produced much work like this before, it is a very enjoyable piece of animation. The ideas and designs for characters and environments alike are very interesting and innovative, and the art style that is very unique to him, helps him to achieve this. 

Something I've noticed about all of Makoto Shinkai's work is the use of ambient lighting throughout his films, he is a master of creating atmosphere using lighting. His films are for the most part very dark and he uses light to illuminate certain areas of his settings. Often, he uses almost a glowing effect, to give the illusion of a hazy almost sunset like lighting. Another factor about Shinkai's films that I find quite unique to him is the lack of major characters. Often, the screen time is taken up by one or two main characters and occasionally other minor characters become involves or interact with the main ones. This puts huge emphasis on their story, and is the reason we as the audience become so attached to them as the story progresses. We feel involves and care about what happens to them, and when something extreme happens whether it be a good or a bad thing, we feel that emotion reflected in ourselves because of our involvement. This, and the dramatic lighting effects using consistently throughout the animation gives off a dramatic impression, and conjurers emotion at all stages until the film is over. Personally, I find this with all of Makoto Shinkai's films, and 'Children who Chase Lost Voices' is no different, some stages are very emotionally draining. The character designs are very elegant and likable aesthetically, and we feel attached to them also because of that. 

Like many other of his films, this films covers intense subject matters such as losing ones you hold dear and having to deal with the their loss. Makoto Shinkai is a master of inducing an emotional response from the audience. Through the combination of lighting, colour, character and story he creates relatable and moving tales involving the willingness of people to overcome problems they encounter.

Film // 5 Centimeters Per Second

Directed by   Makoto Shinkai

Running time 63 minutes

5 Centimeters Per Second is the 2007 film directed by Makoto Shinkai. Before I mentioned the plot and premise of the film, I want to mention that '5 Centimeters Per Second' along with other of Makoto Shinkai's works are some of the most visually compelling animated feature I have ever seen, with immense amounts of detail and effort paid to creating atmosphere, scale and environments.

The story starts in the early 90's and ends in modern day. It follows the story of a boy called 'Takaki Tono'. The first act of the film takes place in an era when mobile phones are uncommon in society and the use of email has not yet reached the general population. This story is one of

 

a friendship and the developments and realities of relationships as you progress through life, at least that is my interpretation of it. The first act shows the meeting of two people, Takaki, and a girl called Akari Shinohara when she transfers to his elementary school. The two people grow close because of their mutual interests such as wanting to stay inside during breaks in school due to allergies. Upon graduation, Akari moves away due to her parents jobs and the two have to write each other due to the distance, growing apart. Takaki goes to visit Akari after receiving the knowledge that he too is moving and soon they will be too far apart to visit. He prepares a letter declaring his love for her but loses it on the journey. After the two are reunited, they share a kiss and Takaki realises that once he leaves, they will never see each other again. He leaves the next morning and the two promise to continue to write to one another.

In a sense, this kind of style where, characters stories are followed throughout the film before they encounter problems and we feel an emotional connection to them because of rigorously they have been developed in front of us is similar to that of Ghibli and the work of Hayao Miyazaki. In the same sense that these kind of stories are not fantasy, they're very real and occur on a daily basis, it feels like you're getting insight into every day peoples lives, and sometimes they are the best stories.

Something about this film in particular is that the transition of shots and overall editing of the film in places is perfectly crafted to the pace of the film. Whether is be a sequence of close up shots

covering minor details and emphasising them, or huge wide angle landscape shots,depicting the characters and the setting with a vast and epic scale. The film is constantly interchanging between different angles, each chosen to fit each scene and scenario. The lighting used in the film, makes you feel like it's always sunset or sunrise and kind of sends you into a feeling of relaxation and calmness, this leaves you watching and taking in every aspect of the film. The colours used in some of the scenes on the sky and the
trees and environments as a whole

are unconventional but work really well to give the illusion of evening and morning, pink and purple often coat the sky, and the same for the trees as if they are reflecting the evening sun. When characters are inside, often the curtain or blinds are closed or semi-closed leaving the room dimly lit and casting large shadows, the use of lighting and colour as a whole makes the story and onscreen animation feel very dramatic and epic at the same time.

Makoto Shinka did an outstanding job with this film, combining a story of solitude and hope with the perfect combination of artwork and colour palette. The characters are likable and as the audience you feel emotionally attached to them from the start. Finally, the broad range of camera angles and positioning of the camera makes you feel involved in the story but simultaneously adds an aspect of excitement and action in a film with a slow pace.

Film // The Wind Rises

Directed by   Hayao Miyazaki

Running time 126 minutes

'The Wind Rises' is a film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli. This was also the last film that Miyazaki directed before his retirement in September 2013. The story used in the film, is a fictionalised interpretation of the life of Jiro Horikoshi, designers of the Mitsubishi A5M and it's successors, used by the Empire of Japan during World War II. As

usual, the film feels very 'Ghibli-esque'. I saw this film at the cinema when it was released in the UK and if I'd gone in not knowing anything about it, I would have instantly recognised it as the work of Studio Ghibli. From the nature of the story, the interaction between characters to the animation style and hard hitting developments unraveled in the plot, and the troubles the very likable characters have to face and overcome.

The film is set in 1916, and we are introduced to the main character, Jiro Horikoshi. Jiro dreams of becoming a pilot but his poor eyesight doesn't allow him to achieve this. During the initial period in the film, the main character, Jiro, dreams of meeting the Italian aircraft designer; Giovanni Battista Caproni. Caproni tells him that building planes is better than flying them. This opening to the film is a the typical uplifting and inspiring nature of Ghibli films, you feel the characters excitement and drive through the use of direction and animation style. The very attractive Ghibli style of animation intensifies the likability of characters and forces you as the audience to root for them as they pursue their goals and try and achieve their dreams, as is the case of Jiro in 'The Wind Rises'.

During the film, like many other Studio Ghibli motion pictures, the setting and location of scenes feel very unexpected. It's this spontaneity and inventive way of thinking that keeps you thinking

about the plot not being able to take your eyes away from the screen. The animation is very subtle in places, the backgrounds are detailed and fixed in most scenes, and there will only be one object moving in the scene, but you're so focused on  that one detail that it feels seamless. Another thing I've noticed about the films that Studio Ghibli produce is that there is a huge emphasis on nature. Multiple scenes are filmed near forests or streams, characters go there in moments of need for peace and reflection, and it's in these moments that as the audience you also feel comfort. In these scenes you get to appreciate the stunning artwork of the film, because you're not distracted by any particular action or detail, but a still image of a natural environment. As well as the animation in these scenes, and in the film as a whole, the sounds used are very real and manage to transport you to that place. There is a scene in 'The Wind Rises' set in a forest, and a shot pans over a stream with a small waterfall, at this point in the scene, the only sound is the sound of the stream with the thoughts of the character, spoken over the top. It's efforts like this where you feel involved with the characters and the films as a whole.

The emotional involvement is heightened by the use of suffering and trouble that characters experience during the film. Jiro has an ongoing relationship with a female character in the film called Naoko, who he falls in love with. Throughout the film Naoko becomes increasingly ill, suffering from tuberculosis and at one stage in the film experiences a lung hemorrhage. She

promises him that they will marry once she recovers, but as her condition worsens she decides she wants to be with him and they marry each other, whilst enjoying their time together as her health deteriorates. It's scenarios like his, that make you feel a real and emotional connection to the characters in the story. You know the inevitable will happen, but you still hold out for the characters to recover and a happy ending. Ghibli films don't always have 'happy endings' per say, and can be very real in some of the content of their films, it's this portrayal of truth  in their films that I think is one of the reason I'm drawn to them so much, because they're unpredictable and intense, but also, fulfilling and brilliant.

Another aspect to the style of the character design in this film and many of their others, is that they blend in with every other background character in the story. They're not special, they don't look different or stand out, they are regular people in a regular world. We're just seeing the story from their perspective. However, their design reflects their personalities so well, from their expressions and movement to their clothes. The personality as we see the characters develop is reflected in their aesthetic, another subtle detail that heightens the experience of watching a Ghibli production. 

Storyboard Artist // J Todd Anderson - No Country for Old Men

J. Todd Anderson is a storyboard artist who has worked primarily on the work of the Coen brothers, but has worked on other films as a storyboard artists and collaborated with other directors also. When collaborating with the Coen brothers as the role of a storyboard artist, they go through the film shot by shot and it's his responsibility to 'establish scale, trap the angle, ID characters and get the action'. After the shots have been established, he does a more detailed draft of the storyboards, he then reviews them with the directors and makes necessary final adjustments by adding expressions, props and includes arrows to indicate camera and the on screen character movement. Anderson's storyboards are then photocopied and given out to everyone in set, so everyone is aware of what is going on. Thus, his storyboards are imperative to make sure the vision of the film is understood and communicated well to everyone involved in the making process. 

This gives you a good indication about the role of a storyboard artist, especially when working on a film. They have to envision the film and the appearance onscreen based on screenplays and scripts. It is also vital to have good communication and work well with other members of the crew, including and especially the directors and directors of photography as demonstrated in the case of Anderson's relationship with the Coen brothers. 

Storyboard, No Country for Old Men

When looking at the storyboards produced by Anderson, you notice the commitment to producing interesting camera angles, and that he is good at telling a story to the audience through the use of camera positioning. The above panel shows the camera positioned at the level of the characters legs in the right third of the shot, and the direction that they will be travelling through the the left two thirds. There is also an arrow that communicated the path that the character is going to be taking the the scene. The level of detail also communicates the setting of the scene being a car park, although the line work is simple it is of a level that is easy to interpret. 
The panel below shows a close up shot of a characters torso and face, the shot after he is shown about to walk through the parked cars. You feel the sense of movement and advancement of the character by glancing over the panel, but for added information arrows are added in, which also tell the director and director of photography the movement of the camera during the scene. Information about the scene including movement and action is also written below each panel, so as to make the aim of the scene clear to the members on set, and to make sure that everybody understands. The type of shot is also listed, for example, on the first panel the word 'wide' is used to describe the angle and type of shot, so a wide shot of the character and setting is used.

The method in which Anderson's storyboards are produced is traditional, using pencil and ink. I enjoy the idea of artists working this way and producing the storyboards by hand, only to be drawn over or altered as necessary. It gives the impression of a very raw and sketchy initial interpretation of the films production and vision. Furthermore, it is a way of working that's been used for so long, and doesn't really need the perks to design that digital techniques bring because it's such a simple process. 

Storyboard Artist // Gabriel Hardman - Inception

Gabriel Hardman is a write and artist based in Los Angeles California and has done storyboard work for Interstellar, The Dark Knight Rises, Superman Returns and Inception. From what I've seen of his work as a storyboard artist the main reason I love his storyboards are that they are incredibly informative and although the illustrations are at a sort of mid-point for the level of detail, they are very appealing. I realise that storyboards aren't necessarily there to be pleasing to the eye, but to be able to create such concise and informative storyboards at the same time is something to be admired. What would be considered simple shapes, in the context of his storyboard illustrations become pieces of furniture and objects. The fact that this can happen just emphasises the idea that his storyboards become pieces of visual information when you look into them. I also love his use of camera angles, as shown in the image below, it feels very natural and gives a good perspective to the action occurring on screen and allows it to be viewed at an optimal angle for keeping the audience engaged and involved.

The medium that appears to have been used for the storyboard below, is simply pencil with a thin black fine liner used to highlight important areas and give more weight to those lines, so as to draw attention to them and put emphasis towards them as they are where a) the action is taking place and b) points of interest. I like that Hardman uses a traditional method at least some of the time if not all of the time, because it's a very raw and minimal approach. Storyboards are never particularly complicated and don't necessarily need a digital approach even in the modern era of animation and design to make the storyboard informative. So, overall, I appreciate the approach taken here so as to not over complicate his work flow.  

Storyboard, Inception 

The same traditional approach has been used for the scene below, so I assume that the storyboards for the entire film was done by hand using pencil and ink. The scene below is different to the previous one as it shows a close up shot of a conversation between two characters in the film. The use of angles here clearly depicts a conversation, and it is easy to differentiate between who is talking and who is listening. Another good example of an 'easy to interpret' storyboard. From the background of the panels you can also tell that the characters are sat in a vehicle, more so, the back of a car. You can also tell subtle things just by glancing over the panel that you don't have to look into in order to identify, such as the fact that it's raining out side of the vehicle because of the marks created on the window. Again, it's very simple but it does the job of communicating the scene very well. The notes made to the side of the panels allow the person looking over the story boards to gather more information about what is going on from them, the artist has written a brief sentence to describe the scene and what's going on, thus to make sure everything is understood. Something that doesn't come lightly but I noticed from the artwork of Hardman in particular, is his ability to show expressions and set the mood of the scene through a storyboard with those expressions. The conversation here feels very tense and arranged as oppose to casual and friendly. The use of tone in the panels gives them depth and makes them come to life in a sense, making it so you can visualise the shots better both for filming and the final out come. Finally, the panels appear very organised and clear as a sequence, the shots transition very naturally, and are clearly labelled to the side.