Essay Thoughts Continued

I’ve been thinking about the essay and have been doing some research into theorists and their definitions on the concept of narration; the basic principles which any story abides itself by.

It appears to boil down to the basic principle ‘Narrative = Story + Plot’ In other words, the Plot is all of the elements involved, and exactly what happens or occurs, and the Story is the way that these elements are presented to is; the way the story is told.

There are several theorists with their own definitions of what animation is, and when writing the essay I’ll need to reference and analyse these definitions.

On perhaps the most basic level of understanding Paul Well’s defines a ‘story’ as: ‘A sequence of events taking place over a particular period of time.’ This works as a standard dictionary definition of what animation is. However, I believe that if I’m to explain how narrative is to be understood and appreciated in animation, I’ll have to refer to more specific explanations and theories of the different story telling methods and devices. ‘Understanding Animation’ written by Paul Wells provided some excellent explanations of various narrative strategies and devices, and I feel that I should elaborate on these in the essay, with regards to how they enhance and enrich the narrative flow of the animation. The following definitions and devices were researched from the previously mentioned ‘Understanding Animation.’ There are a number of specific devices and definitions, but I have so far only explored those with the greatest relevance to the topic.

METAMORPHOSIS: This is the process by which one image literally transforms or shifts into another. It’s unique to animation in the sense that it is not possible in a realistic film or scenario. It provides a unique, powerful approach to instantly linking two or more unrelated images. The ‘best economy of narrative continuity’ It allows transition between two forms and can instantly allow the story to progress. Such as a witch turning into a mouse: There is a massive jump between two such characters, if this were shown in a cut, it would be impossible to tell how the two forms are related, however, a visible morphing of the two forms explains everything in a few seconds, and even narrates itself in terms od creating a link between to characters or situations. It’s an effective method of getting a lot of information across in a short space of time, which leads on to the next device.

CONDENSATION: Literally condensing a large amount of story or narrative information into a small time frame. This is most noticeable in instances such as the ‘Elliptical cut’. This is usually depicted as a fade between two scenes, or the sliding of one frame over another, etc. It’s establishing a sense of time passing in a short space of time with an appropriate transition. This is often used in cartoons as an 11 minute slot means the story has to be told as quickly and effectively as possible. I can see this being a very useful strategy in my own work, as no doubt the short animations I hope to create will require similar 'narrative economy'.

SYNECDOCHE: Basically defined as “The process by which a metaphorical representation, or part of a character can represent the whole.” This can be applied in a number of different ways and is related to condensation, however my first thoughts went back to the animated claymation ‘Darkness/Lightness/Darkness’ posted in a previous blog entry. As each of the limbs enters, they represent the different functions of the body: Sight, touch, taste, etc. This is a representation of a much larger ultimate theme, the human body. However, each of the limbs takes on its own character as they are embodied with characteristics by the way in which they function: The hands are inquisitive and curious (and destructive and creative), the feet try to break the doors down in a rather boisterous manner, and the eyes are always searching the area and seem to take a moment to process what is happening as a real human eye would.. This can be an excellent narrative device in terms of representing a grander scheme of things, and perhaps goes hand in hand with semiotics.

I am greatly interested in the narrative structure of animation and the flexible plasmatic manner by which a tale can be told. What I’ve seen and learned has buffered my thoughts that it is indeed a ‘fake’ medium not bound by the conventional laws. I hope to further my own understanding of the limitless number of ways in which a story can be narrated, in order to appreciate the work of others on a higher level, and in turn be able to construct my own work with deeper thought towards narration devices, and consequently better results.

Realism

The general public opinion of the animation, game and film industry is usually ‘The more realistic looking, the better’. However I think this is an approach that will actually achieve the opposite. I see this as being related to as Andre Bazin put it: ‘The Mummy Complex.’ As we have no control over time passing, it’s become somewhat of an obsession for human kind to record and freeze time and capture moments. Photography was the first medium that enabled a ‘mechanical and Scientific’ approach with accurate results. There is still room for artistic license with photography however, such as exposure times or adjusted colours, but as far as being capable of recording factual pictorial evididence, photography provided this to a staggering extent.

It then makes sense that such an ambition to record and petrify moments in time is also carried over to the easel. Although I had my own similar thoughts on this, the lectures reinforced my opinion that to be realistic, something doesn’t have to just be picture perfect.

This is a scene from Disney Pixar’s ‘UP’. To illustrate the point, the characters and scenario are completely believable. The audience have a genuine emotional connection with two characters whom are for from a realistic depiction of a human being. It’s the believability of the events and the way the characters move that established the realism in the scene. This enables the audience to make the connection, and in turn makes them able to relate and have feelings for the characters. For instance, when Ellie (The elderly woman) hands Karl (The elderly man) the adventure book when in the hospital bed, it’s heart wrenching to see the grief steal over his face, the character doesn’t look at all realistic, but the movements and expressions are conveyed in such a true to life, recognizable manner, that we might even shed a tear for these characters who have now been made, in our mind’s eye, real.

As well as emotional and visual realism, there is also an element of social realism to animations, games, and films alike. The characters or even the way they move may not be even trying to be accurate, but the scenarios in which the characters find themselves are so relatable that we would class them as real.

Take the Simpsons for example: an extremely arbitrary representation of an American family. The animation isn’t particularly realistic, as neither are the visuals, however the characters operate in a believable family unit in a seemingly typical town with people and places we may identify within our own lives. It’s opened my eyes there are more ways than one to establish realism within an animation. It seems more important that an animation relies on a specific element that the audience can relate to, or may come to believe in. Once the audience believe in a character or the world they live in, or the emotions that the character feels, then they have become real in the audience’s mind.

I definitely benefited from getting to grips with realism; it’s reminded me that there are more ways than one to create a ‘real’ character or scenario. It’s less about creating a picture perfect example of a photo-realistic human, and more about allowing the audience to connect with the piece, and to have faith in the world the author has created. I think that without the audience’s belief in the animation work, the audience also won’t be able to enjoy the experience as they will be always reminding themselves ‘This isn’t real’, and this surely can’t mean that the work was a success.

Narration and Essay Thoughts

Despite the numerous kinds of genre, theme, and story telling methods found in all media texts, it seems that there are several basic foundations of story telling that can be supposedly applied to any form of narration or story. When trying to explain something in it’s entirety that can be applied to every form of media story-telling mechanism, I find the more general summaries to be the ones that apply to more texts; the 8 character archetypes defined by prop as those which can be applied to every story are not always true. It’s simple enough applying the generic ‘Princess and her father, the hero, the villain, etc’ to a film like superman, where the characters are few, and clearly defined, but with a film in which the characters have more depth, and can change roles throughout the course of the story, it’s difficult to clearly define the characters. Eg, if a character remains a hero throughout the entire film, but turns evil or unto another role, how could the character be categorized as one or the other? Throughout the course of a film, characters that were firmly set in the audiences head become altered and may take place under a different archetype, or one that isn’t even on the list of 8. I believe that this is a too specific approach to dissecting narrative methods

Levi-Strauss describes narrative as rivalry between ‘two binary oppositions’. This is very true for movies such as westerns in which the cowboys fight the Indians and I was surprised at just how much this can actually be applied to. It could come down to a simple ‘good vs evil’ or even ‘evil vs evil’. I actually struggle to think of any film in which a character doesn’t have to overcome an opposite challenge or make their way through another character.

When speaking of interactivity mixed with story telling, the first thing that came to mind was the game ‘Heavy Rain’. I think this is an excellent example, as not only is user input needed to advance the story, but it even goes as far as to let the audience alter the story, kill off characters, and change the entire outcome, whether it was intentional or not. There is a lot to focus on with regards to the game itself, but what intrigues me is how the player makes the story unfold through direct decisions, and how it delivers a sense of epiphany even after multiple play-throughs.

This short video demonstrates how more than one route can be taken in many aspcts of the game to overcome a certain scenario.

The game itself is almost like a film, with a lot of interchanging between playing as different characters at different times. As put by Espen Aarseth, It’s a highly ergodic experience. Direct thought and input is required to make the story progress. With regards to agency, there is definitely a sense of power in controlling the outcome, but it sometimes is woven in so tightly that the player doesn’t notice. For instance there may be two or more different ways to reach a certain area or location, and you will experience new outcomes and parts of the story that would have ordinarily been missed by taking another route. However, whilst this may appear to be a negative example of Tmesis, it actually heightens the experience; by increasing the weight of the decisions a play makes, it just gives the player a feeling of even more control. It’s more satisfying to look out for and find opportunities that were previously missed. This is where all the goodness of a roll along film comes in, there is no aporia. There are no instances in which the player can get stuck, almost the entire game is a timed event and if a character dies, they are removed from the game and the story continues. If all of the characters die, the game is wrapped up with an ending and the player is free to start again with a whole new experience. I really enjoyed the fact that the game keeps pushing the story along. Having played this myself it was a near 10 hour long thriller movie that worked around every decision I made, and every future decision I made resulted in a different outcome. The epiphany came into play when I played it a second time, and discovered a lot of areas and parts of the story that were missed the first time. Like watching a movie for a second time, all of the little easter eggs that were missed the first time around, I caught on the second go. I would very much like to include similar replay tactics with my own animation work.

Being a 2-d animator, there isn’t a high chance that I will be making a game of this sort, but I can still include artefacts and parts of the story scattered throughout the film that would involved watching the movie a second time to fully appreciate it, such as in this game. It’s a good feeling when your ‘efforts’ pay off; when revisiting a film you can appreciate and understand the little golden nuggets than were previously missed and forgotten.

Such is the feeling when re-viewing ‘Shutter Island’, a film in which a detective visits a mental clinic after being called out to investigate an escaped patient. Again without wishing to spoil the ending Throughout the entire film, there are constant little clues and indications being dropped as to the outcome of the film, and so carefully, that it takes a second viewing to catch a lot of them.

For some reason, it gave me a sense of pride at having picked out these goodies, and I would like to give the audience of any of my future work the same feeling of epiphany as I had with Shutter Island and Heavy Rain.

Also, with regards to the essay that needs to be written on one of a chosen list of subjects, I really feel that the one entitled: 'What is narrative and how might an understanding of it help in the appreciation of animated films, computer games, and/or the use of visual effects?', would be the most suitable to take on. I find that even telling a story veen with just one image is a massive part of what I do and what I hope to elaborate on in the future.Personally, it's the most important part of animation to me. It's what keeps the audience glued to their seat for a number of hours or just a matter of minutes. Without a decent story, you just have a slideshow of images that nobody will be interested in. I'll begin looking into other animations, games, and theorists in preperation for this assessment.

Intertextuality

Intentional or otherwise, an author’s work can demonstrate their influences and offer a reference with which the audience can make a connection to another media text. As well as direct references, intertextuality can also be shown by two or more relating colour schemes, character traits, story lines, etc.  I found that there are a variety of references and inspired designs in Transformers that relate nicely to this.

When optimus prime is seen for the first time, he transforms to show his more ‘human’ form. The first thing I noticed was that the paint-work is entirely red and blue, just like the costume of Superman. I believe that the audience will make this connection whether it’s realised or not, and establish him as a hero. He is also the tallest and sounds very rough whenever he speaks. This puts him in place as powerful,  a leader and perhaps the wisest because of the age of his voice. The designs of the characters have changed since the original cartoon, but they are still instantly recognizable to anyone who has seen one and the other. It’s an imposed sense of familiarity, as if to say: ‘yes we’ve made a few changes, but they’re still the characters you grew up with.’

There is a strong hero, and villain theme to the entire show, and the movie series, and they have constructed the characters to be identifiable just from appearance. The Autobots (Good guys) tend to be smaller than the Decepticons (Bad guys ) and have less threatening voices. The difference in size is used to illustrate a point of beating the odds, the audience will have sympathy for an under-dog character trying to overcome obstacles greater than himself, and this is used to good effect here. However, the Decepticons are usually huge, and transform into more violent vehicles such as tanks and jet fighters. I noticed that their faces are also very angular, with sharp teeth and threatening features.

The naked teeth make the head look like a vicious skull, and the glowing red eyes play to the idea of an evil demon, or more typically, the grim reaper. It’s a design that’s been used by countless books, films, games, and animations, and we all relate these to each other when assessing any aspect of the film, be it the characters, storyline, art direction etc. Whatever the case, it really hammers the point home and is a very fitting concept for a race of beings that want all life on earth to be wiped out.

As a result we can set up an easy-to-read character, or even mislead the audience by assigning attributes to things that they should not typically have, like an evil character having a soft smile, or a dangerous room being dressed as a children’s play area. Seeing as intertextuality will be a part of my work whether I like it or not, I really would like to play to it as a strength; really emphasising characters and scenarios, and attempt to make the audience think a certain way about elements within my work. I really enjoy meing able to connect with films, movies and games, and I hope to offer the same oppurtunity to the audience

Signs and Signifiers

Having learned the basic Sign= Signifier + Signified concept, I found it quite clever how ideas and thoughts can be planted into the audiences head with the use of signs in different contexts. The idea can’t be directly controlled; the audience are free to interpret signs and events as they will, but you can offer strong signifiers that will most likely be interpreted in the desired manner.

Reci Reci Reci Michaela Pavlatova 1991

We were shown this animation that makes use of arbitrary signifiers such as physical speech bubbles, and using puzzle pieces slotting together to illustrate a conversation going smoothly. The appeals here, is as the characters only communicate via imagery and simple sounds, that even though there is a setting, the media text can still be understood and appreciated by anyone of any nationality. I personally find this kind of story telling a lot more powerful than those driven by a heavy story line; I think I’m driven more by the emotive side of things. I can hopefully make the audience think in a similar manner for future animation work I produce. The art style of the above clip links very well with the way in which the story is told. The signifiers are extremely abstract, so it makes sense that a very abstract, illustrative style be used to accompany it, and it works.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the art direction until I realised how appropriate it was with regards to abstract story telling method. I like the imagery used a lot more as a story telling device rather than just a pretty picture.

Redundancy and Entropy

After discussing Shannon and Weaver's take on the Process of communication, we were shown some clips that made good use of a balance between redundant information and entropic occurances. Once of which was 'Hasher's Delerium', depicting a drugged man's hallucenations. An early example of abstract animation, that I couldn't personally connect with, but was still able to identify the events with regards to entropy and redundancy.

Although Shannon and Weaver's diagram takes into account the transmitter, reciever, sgnals and channels, and the interference of noice, it is lacking in any response from the listener, the reciever. This was elaborated on by Norbet Viener, who established the theory of cybernetics, a feedback loop in which responses are made to events.

Jan Svanmajer - Darkness/Light/Darkness - 1989

Theis short claymation 'Darkness/Light/Darkness' was created by Czech film-maker Jan Svanmajer in a surreal response to his concerns of communism.I found the experience very entropic and slightly disturbing. There's and element of redundancy once each new body part is introduced and we come to know them as a character, but it keeps introducing new unexpected elements and events, such as organs crawling through the room, that unsetlle a viewer who was beginning to adjust to the strange occurances. At times it is very creepy, almost scary, such as when there are knocks at the door, or bangings n the window, trying to enter the room. This relates to the period in which the artist is most likely expressing. I'd like to incorporate similar surpise tactics into future animaton work to keep the audience guessing and engaged.

This also is evidence towards Paul Well's statement: 'Animation is a fake medium'. Not in the sense it is counterfeit, but with the understanding that there are no restrictions and isn't governed by the laws of phsyics; animation is an illusion of life, a positive deception.