Blog Post 12 April 21, 2010

Well, here it is. I am caving and finally writing a blog about Avatar. I didnt want to write about this topic due to the opinions that some people may have on the film, and the ability for those who love it or hate it to defend their reasoning for wayyy too long…but here I am. After watching this film twice and becoming fascinated by the entire production of the film, the amount of time and effort it took to create this masterpeice (yes, I said it) is amazing. Here is a preview

Director and Writer of the film James Cameron has stated that he first had the idea for this movie around 1994. He began working on a script shortly after Titanic was finished, and had originally intended for the movie to be shot with all computer generated characters. He put off production for a while however, to allow technology to grow and develop before he created another one of his masterpeices.

Nothing was held back when this movie was finally in the process of being made a reality. An impressive fact…he hired a man from a University in California to create a language for the Na’vi of Pandora! When it came to the visual effects, Cameron came up with a way to show the actor, in real time, what their character would look like. According to Wikipedia “he method allows the filmmakers to transfer 100% of the actors’ physical performances to their digital counterparts”. This new motion capture animation technology was what made the digital creation look so real. This method not only captured the facial expression accurately, but the amount of light that may be hitting a characters face for a particular scene. The only issue with this to the post production workers and animators of the present is that no scenery can be produced digitally until after the actors have played their part. Cameron goes on to say that this alleviates the process of script and lighting changes, and allows the possibility of digital scenery to be  in the producers hands. I believe this innovative technology will be used in future movies. It is one less step that the animators have to take in post production, and one less step that could possibly go wrong.

This new form of “animation” is amazing. The mixing of live actors and animation is a step towards the future of film, and with Cameron’s idea used in Avatar, the doors to other films have opened up.

COMIC-CON April 13, 2010

Ok so this may not pertain to animation directly, but it is a subject that can relate to it if nothing else. If you have not heard of Comic-con…you have pretty much been living under a rock. I have to admit that up until 2 years ago I knew nothing of this convention that celebrates all things “pop culture”, but upon hearing about the subject and looking into it further, I have to admit that this is pretty high on my list of things to do before I die. This four day celebration of Comics, Animation, television, movies and more allows viewers to take a more in-depth look at any and all characters they may love.

Comic-con was started in 1970 as a way of “showcasing comic books, science fiction/fantasy and film/television” according to wikipedia. Today the convention covers much more including animation, webcomics, and video games. It has grown to be the second largest convention in the world. It was filled to capacity last year with 125,000 people and more are expected to come this year.

In the walls of comic-con there are several events that take place. there are rooms devoted to anime, comic books and special toys and collectibles that are only distributed at that years event. On top of these special rooms, the floor is filled with exhibits showcasing all things Pop culture. There is even an exhibit called “Worst cartoons Ever”! I think what amuses me the most is the Masquerade section of the convention. Basically this portion of the event is a costume contest. A chance for animation enthusiast to dress up as their favorite character. It is like Halloween ALL OVER AGAIN….and it can get pretty serious. here are some pics

Basically this is a convention that I believe everyone has to see before they die.It allows the ordinary person to see the extraordinary measures that it takes to create these works of art that we just see as cartoons at times!  AND it’s just a short trip to san-diego and you will be in animation heaven!

The Simpsons (FINAL BLOG SPECIMEN ONE…UPDATED) April 6, 2010

Cartoons are not just for children anymore! I have been watching the Simpsons since I was about thirteen. While it may not be the first of its kind, it has sparked a new genre of cartoons for adults for prime time television.

The series created by Matt Groening portrays a dysfunctional family living in the suburbs. I guess dysfunctional isn’t really the right word since the characters are portrayed in a way that any family could relate to…so Ill use the word atypical. The show started as a short on the Tracy Ullman show in the 80s before moving over to a full television show. It is now the longest running  American sitcom ever. It has received numerous awards and recognition because of the talent that creates this show every week. The  show has gone through a series of changes over the years and the way that the animation has improved is amazing. Here are examples of the changes!

(I love the clip above!! )

The success of the Simpsons sparked a new genre of prime time entertainment for adults. With the sometimes crude humor, these shows are aimed towards teenagers and adults who laugh at fart jokes. Family guy and Futurama are two that come to mind. The amount of views that these shows produce weekly are high enough for FOX to bring back some that they drop off the air for no good reason at time (no im not bitter…at all). So these are not your typical disney, nickelodean cartoons that come to mind when someone says “oh its an animated series”. These are shows that adults can enjoy and take the time to laugh at. It is nice that people can still feel almost comforted by cartoons when they are older. The shows even poke fun at eachother and mirror the way that stories are told in episodes. Sometimes this has been criticized because Family guy for example was created after the simpsons, but I see these as compliments to eachother. Matt Groening created a phenomenon that will continue for years to come.

I figured for the specimen I would talk a little about the competition (if you could even call it that) that Matt Groening deals with from Family Guy, and maybe some fun interesting facts about this series. (Lucky for my, there has been a controversy with Family Guy recently).

Family guy was created by Seth MacFarlane FOR Fox in 1999. Like The Simpsons, it was designed to be aimed towards teenagers and older viewers. At first the show, which mimicked what I call the “joke-cut away to scene” structure that the Simpsons does, was a huge success. Unfortunately it was canceled after the first season. But, it came back after Fox saw its popularity on Adult Swim (the nighttime programing on cartoon network). It has remained popular since, and is contracted to air episodes until 2012.

The similarities of these two shows are amazing. The family structure itself is even the same. Mom who tries to be proper and nice, Dad who enjoys nights at the bar with his friends and is somewhat dumb, daughter who is nerdy, and very intelligent baby (except Stewie from Family guy talks). The difference in the families lie with the son and dog. In the Simpson’s, Bart is always getting into trouble and is sometimes the center point of the episode, whereas in Family guy Chris is not so smart, and is not usually the center point of episodes.These similarities have even been pointed out in videos by fans. Its quite apparent that these two share a lot of similar story lines.

If you check out this video, you can see the “stealing” that has happened.

http://fragg.me/video/family-guy-simpsons

Seth maintains that him and Matt have a good relationship and the feud is only fueled by fans and the  Fox network.

these cartoons occasionally get in trouble for their crude humor. Family guy has recently been under fire about their most recent episode. Both the FCC and PTC are accusing the show of violating legal rights. The article is below, and I must say that when I watched the episode, I really didnt see anything wrong with it.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2010/05/05/2010-05-05_family_guy_creator_seth_macfarlane_slammed_by_parents_television_council_for_fec.html

But it is these shows that have always been seen as inappropriate to some. whether they are similar or not, these “adult humor” shows have opened up a world of animation to the older generations. The crude jokes and funny scenarios are sometimes taken too far, but people find things wrong with everything these days (including disney movies…which i find laughable…seriously why look so far into the way a castle looks?!). If someone  can spend an hour laughing at mindless jokes and being exposed to animation, then so be it!

Pivot Animation. April 6, 2010

A bad, bad friend!

72 slides made with Pivot

Kinda difficult to make a stick figure climb up a ladder in 36.