Animation and Its Relationship with Live-Action Cinema
Animation is often discussed in comparison to live-action cinema, which serves as a foundational reference point. While both mediums are distinct in their characteristics and aesthetics, animation offers unique possibilities for scene development that live-action cannot replicate.
Where Do Stories Begin?
The question of where stories begin ties into how we experience films and their narratives.
- The Title Sequence: It acts as the entry point into the cinematic world, building anticipation and setting the tone. The title sequence invites us into the narrative space, raising the question: Are we inside the film, or is the film inside us?
- Diegetic Space: Refers to elements of the story—like sound—that occur within the context of the film’s world and can be perceived by its characters. This space establishes a connection between the characters and their environment.
Intertwined Histories
The histories of live-action cinema and animation are deeply connected, evolving alongside and influencing each other.
- Rotoscoping: Invented by Max Fleischer in 1915, rotoscoping involves tracing live-action footage frame by frame. This technique blends the precision of live-action with the creative flexibility of animation, offering lifelike movement while still embracing artistic stylization.
Narrative Strategies and Innovations in Animation
Animation borrows some narrative strategies from live-action cinema while forging its own unique storytelling modes.
Shared and Unique Strategies
- Analytical Editing (Realist Influence): Begins with an establishing shot to orient the audience, navigating characters and objects within the scene.
- Example: The Maltese Falcon, Shaun of the Dead
- Example: The Maltese Falcon, Shaun of the Dead
- Constructive Editing (Formalist Influence): Omits establishing shots, leaving spatial relationships to the viewer’s imagination. This technique builds suspense and challenges conventional storytelling.
- Example: The End of St. Petersburg, Number, Please?
Rethinking Practice
- Provocative questions about narrative structure and medium-specific storytelling arise, informed by theorists like Marshall McLuhan, who viewed technology as an extension of the human body and media as an extension of thought.
What Is Cinema? Realism vs. Formalism
- Realism:
- Cinema as the art of reality, portraying the everyday life of ordinary people with precise, detailed settings.
- German Expressionism and films like Blue Velvet by David Lynch focus on harsh realities while maintaining an artistic lens.
- Cinema as the art of reality, portraying the everyday life of ordinary people with precise, detailed settings.
- Formalism:
- Cinema as an interpretation of human expression, offering a new way to view reality.
- Examples include Hitchcock’s Psycho and Burton’s Vincent, which use framing and visual stylization to transcend realism.
- Cinema as an interpretation of human expression, offering a new way to view reality.
Cinema as Metaphor
- Cinema as a Window:
- In realism, the window is static, offering a view into the world. (André Bazin)
- In realism, the window is static, offering a view into the world. (André Bazin)
- Cinema as a Frame:
- In formalism, the frame is dynamic, shaping action and character focus. (Sergei Eisenstein, Rudolf Arnheim)
- In formalism, the frame is dynamic, shaping action and character focus. (Sergei Eisenstein, Rudolf Arnheim)
Cinema as a Doorway:
- Cinema acts as a portal to another dimension, transitioning from flat to 3D space.
- Examples: Orpheus (Cocteau), The Darjeeling Limited (Anderson), and Blue Velvet (Lynch).
- Cinema as a Mirror:
- Reflects the boundary between real and virtual worlds.
- Examples include the works of Bela Balázs and Christian Metz, as well as stop-motion by Robert Morgan, which blurs the line between animation and reality.
Animation as Sequential Art
Norman McLaren emphasized that animation occurs between frames, aligning it with theories of sequential art. This concept highlights the transformative nature of animation, bridging gaps between the real and imagined, and exploring the interplay between the physical and virtual worlds.
By offering new modes of storytelling, animation transcends traditional narrative structures, making it a medium uniquely suited to reimagining the possibilities of cinema.