Category: Design for Animation, Narrative Structures & Film Language

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
    
• 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

1. 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.
     
2. 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 Metaphor

1. Cinema as a Window:
   • 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)
    

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.

Mise-en-Scène

Mise-en-scène, meaning “putting in the scene,” refers to the arrangement of everything within a frame or scene. This concept, rooted in theatre and French terminology, is central to both live-action and animated storytelling. In animation, it aligns with the principle of staging and serves to guide audience attention, establish mood, and convey narrative meaning.

Elements of Mise-en-Scène

1. Setting and Props

• Settings and props are critical in creating the world of the story.
• Filmmakers and animators can either use pre-existing assets or build custom environments for more control over aesthetics and audience response.
• These elements manipulate the viewer’s emotions and establish context.

2. Character Stylisation and Placement

• Costume, hair, and makeup signify the character’s social role, personality, and attributes. For example, a cruel character might use a cigarette as a prop to pause, build tension, and emphasize their demeanour.
• Character placement refers to the areas of the screen occupied by characters, influencing the viewer’s perception of their relationships and importance.

3. Body Language and Facial Expression

• These aspects work together to convey emotions and character intentions.
• Micro-expressions may be explored independently for deeper emotional nuance.

4. Shot Framing

• Tight framing: Characters and objects are enclosed within a confined space, often creating tension or intimacy.
• Loose framing: Allows for more open space, emphasizing freedom or isolation.

5. Blocking and Screen Density

• Blocking refers to how characters and objects move and are positioned within the frame.
• Screen density, or the amount of visual information in the frame, can evoke a sense of chaos, calmness, or focus.

6. Composition

• The arrangement of elements within the frame includes the use of horizontal, vertical, and directional lines, guiding the viewer’s eye and creating balance or tension.

7. Lighting and Colour

• Lighting and colour establish the mood, atmosphere, and focus within a scene.
  • High-key lighting: Bright and evenly lit, often used for upbeat or comedic scenes.
  • Low-key lighting: Characterized by deep shadows, creating a dramatic or mysterious atmosphere.
  • High-contrast lighting: Emphasizes stark differences between light and dark, adding tension or intensity.
• These techniques work together to set the scene’s mood and ambience.

Breaking the Fourth Wall

Breaking the fourth wall involves characters directly addressing the audience, creating a unique connection. This can happen through close-ups where characters actively talk to the viewers, as seen in traditional cinema and shows like The Office. This technique disrupts the narrative boundary, making the audience part of the story.

Camera Shots and Angles

1. Types of Shots

• Close-up: Highlights facial expressions, conveying emotions in detail.
• Long Shot: Establishes the setting, focusing more on body movement than facial expressions.
• One-Shot: Features a single character in the frame.
• Two-Shot: Includes two characters, often highlighting relationships.
• Group Shot: Displays more than two characters.

2. Camera Angles

• High-Angle Shot: Makes subjects appear smaller, emphasizing vulnerability or weakness.
• Low-Angle Shot: Makes subjects look larger, emphasizing dominance or power.

Camera Movements

1. Pan Shot

• The camera remains fixed but moves left or right on its axis.

2. Tilt Shot

• The camera remains stationary but tilts up or down.

3. Travelling Shot (Dolly Shot)

• The camera moves forward or backwards while fixed on its axis.

4. Crane Shot

• The camera moves in multiple directions—up, down, in, or out—while mounted on a mechanical crane.

Animation and Narrative

Clear Storytelling

• The narrative must be clear to avoid ambiguity unless the animation is experimental in nature.

Key Narrative Techniques

• Staging: Ensures that the story is communicated effectively within the scene.
• Character Placement: Establishes relationships, power dynamics, and focus.
• Blocking and Movement: Guides the viewer’s eye and conveys story elements.
• Composition: Balances visual elements to create impactful frames.
• Scene Entry: Thoughtful choreography of how characters enter the scene enhances storytelling.

What Does It Mean to Be a Creator?

The concept of authorship in animation explores the role of the artist as a creator, innovator, and storyteller. Early examples of animation techniques showcase the evolution of this idea:

• The Stop Trick (Disappearing Lady, 1890): The artist becomes the creator of transformation by stopping the camera to implement changes. This technique pre-dates stop motion animation.
  
• The Lightning Cartoonist: Proto-animation techniques recorded the work of lightning cartoonists in real-time, blending the logic of the stop trick to create illusions of transformation.

• Humorous Phases of Funny Faces (1906): Highlights the dichotomy between the labor of the artist and the onscreen life of animated characters, exploring the tension between creator and creation.
  
  
  (Example of the movie where artist’s hands are visible)

1.1 Single Animator vs. Team Production

• Single Animator: According to Schneider (1994), a single animator “can control every element of his/her film” (p. 30), ensuring every depiction is deliberate and personal.
• Team Production: While large-scale productions aim to reflect a unified vision under a single director or creator, they often require the collaborative work of dozens or hundreds of artists.

1.2 Animation and Authorship

Industrialized animation production complicates authorship, as seen in examples like the cartoon “Mutt and Jeff.” The original content creator’s role becomes entangled with the larger production process, leading to questions about creative ownership.

Example: The falling-out between Stanley Kubrick and Stephen King over creative control further illustrates the tension between creators and their adaptations.

1.3 The Auteur Theory

• Origins of Auteur Theory: Introduced by Cahiers du Cinéma in 1951 during the French New Wave, auteur theory emphasized the director as the primary creative force in filmmaking.
  
• François Truffaut’s “A Certain Tendency of the French Cinema” (1954): Distinguished between the auteur and the “scene-setter.” The auteur uses film as an audio-visual medium for personal expression, while the scene-setter merely translates a script into visuals.
  
• The Birth of a New Avant-Garde – Le Caméra-Stylo (1948): Championed cinema as a tool for artistic expression, equal to painting or literature.

1.4 Andrew Sarris and Auteur Theory in 1962

Andrew Sarris built upon auteur theory, establishing criteria for identifying directors whose creative vision elevated their films into art. This approach continues to influence discussions of authorship in animation.

1.5 Animation Studies and Auteurship

Animation studies have adapted theories from cinematography to explore authorship in animated works.

Director-Led Animation

Directors such as Friz Freleng, Chuck Jones, and Robert Clampett left significant marks on animation, demonstrating auteur-driven creativity:

• Robert Clampett’s The Great Piggy Bank Robbery (1946): Introduced the “smear principle,” creating dynamic, distorted characters and rapid, joke-driven narratives.
  
• Chuck Jones’ Rabbit Seasoning (1952): Focused on slower-paced character dynamics and carefully staged static shots to enhance narrative impact.

1.6 Anti-Intentionalism and The Death of the Author

The Anti-Intentionalism movement challenges auteur theory, shifting the power of interpretation from the creator to the audience.

• Roland Barthes’ “The Death of the Author” (1968): Argues that the audience, not the author, determines the meaning of a work. Each viewer’s experience is subjective, constantly changing with each encounter.
• Chuck Jones’ Duck Amuck (1953): A meta-commentary on authorship, portraying Bugs Bunny as the author, blending humor with an exploration of creative control as an inside joke.

1.7 The Triangular Relationship in Animation

Donald Crafton’s In the Shadow of a Mouse (2013) introduces a triangular relationship in animation between:

1. The Animated Characters: The personalities brought to life on screen.
2. The Animators: The creators who shape the characters’ movements and stories.
3. The Viewers: The audience, whose interpretations and connections complete the experience.

David McGowan’s Work: Explores the idea of “animated personalities” and the interplay between animators and their creations.

Abstraction and Animation

1.1 The Avant-Garde Movement and Abstraction

The Avant-Garde movement of the early 1900s rejected traditional representational art, aiming to push the boundaries of artistic expression both visually and intellectually. This led to the development of two distinct forms of abstraction:

• Formal abstraction: Focused on the visual fundamentals of art, such as shape, colour, composition, and motion.
• Conceptual abstraction: Emphasized the underlying ideas, emotions, and cultural or intellectual context of the work.

1.2 Formal Abstraction: Visual Fundamentals

Formal abstraction centers on manipulating visual fundamentals, such as colour, shape, line, motion, rhythm, space, and composition, to create a distinct visual and sensory experience. This approach prioritizes movement, aesthetics, and sound design over narrative or messaging.

Example: Kaleidoscope by Len Lye (1935)

• Len Lye’s work exemplifies formal abstraction by abandoning narrative in favor of exploring visual patterns, repetition, and transitions between forms.

1.3 Merging Formal and Conceptual Abstraction

The fusion of formal and conceptual abstraction can be seen in works like Max Hattler’s (2005), where geometric shapes, visual patterns, and cultural symbolism converge. For example:

• Hattler incorporates Islamic patterns, American quilts, and flag motifs to create abstract fields of reflection.
• Formal abstraction: Generates a visual experience through geometric shapes and cultural references.
• Conceptual abstraction: Embeds symbolic meaning tied to cultural connotations, such as American and Islamic themes, which imply a deeper narrative.

1.4 Conceptual Abstraction: Symbolism and Meaning

Conceptual abstraction focuses on ideas, thoughts, and narratives, often incorporating geometric shapes bound to real-world objects, thus adding symbolic depth.

Examples:

• Metropolis (1927):
  
  
  

• Filmstudie (1926) by Hans Richter:

Both films reflect conceptual abstraction through symbolic visuals and narratives that convey cultural and intellectual themes.

1.5 Visual Processing, Machine Learning, and AI Tools

The evolution of abstraction continues with the integration of modern technologies like machine learning and AI. Tools for visual processing expand the possibilities of abstract art in animation.

Example: LATENTSPACE by Charles Sainty (2024)

• Sainty’s work demonstrates how AI can process and generate abstract visuals, combining traditional abstraction techniques with cutting-edge digital technology

Avant-Garde Theories and Animation

The theory of the Avant-Garde, as proposed by Renato Poggioli in 1984, aligns with the exploration of abstract representations in animation. This era sought to convey the interaction of the senses and media’s impact on our perception of reality, often engaging with unconscious desires and surrealism.

• Len Lye, Norman McLaren, and Oskar Fischinger:
  
  These filmmakers were heavily influenced by the avant-garde movement, exploring the unconscious and experimenting with sound and movement in animation. Much like surrealism, they focused on visual abstraction, drawing inspiration from the unconscious mind.
  
• Plato and Kandinsky:
  
  • Plato said, “Geometry draws the soul towards truth,” which reflects the structural precision and deliberate composition of abstract art.
  • Kandinsky’s statement, “Colour is the keyboard, the eye is the hammer, and the soul is the piano,” emphasizes the emotional and sensory power of art to resonate with the viewer’s soul.
    
• Oskar Fischinger:
  
  Fischinger believed that the artist’s vibrations should be expressed through material forms, and this is clearly evident in his work, where visual rhythm and movement sync with the sound to create a unique sensory experience.

The Relationship Between Sound and Image in Avant-Garde Film

Avant-garde filmmakers often used cutting techniques driven by sound, creating a more immersive experience for the audience. The combination of sound and image in animation allows for a heightened emotional response, providing a unique experience that is challenging yet engaging.

Synaesthesia and Its Role in Film

Synaesthesia, a neurological condition where stimulation of one sense causes an involuntary reaction in another (such as tasting shapes or seeing colors), parallels the experience of avant-garde films. The blending of sound and visual elements in animation and experimental film can evoke a synesthetic experience, connecting senses in a way that challenges conventional perception.

The Structure for Writing an Avant-Garde Film Review

When writing about avant-garde films, it’s important to consider:

1. Production Circumstances:
   
   Many avant-garde films were created by individual artists or small, independent groups with limited funds or art grants. These films often use alternative animation techniques and are exhibited in non-traditional spaces.
   
2. Conceptual Basis:
   Avant-garde films are conceptually driven, often intellectually challenging the audience to rethink the boundaries of storytelling and perception.