Infographics | Submission

Reason for the late post is due to the massive render time. The equations in the first scene was apparently causing the render time to skyrocket so it took around 10 hours to export this tiny project. I only made the first couple parts of my storyboard into the credit sequence because else it would have taken more exporting time.

"Waltz With Bashir" (2008)

Fig. 1 "Waltz With Bashir" Poster

Winning in total 28 awards including the “Golden Globe Award“ for Best Foreign Language Film and being nominated for an additional 26 in other categories, “Waltz With Bashir (2008)“, written and directed by Israeli film director and screen writer Ari Folman, is now also known as the first Israeli winner of the “Golden Globe Award“ and not to mention the first documentary film to win the award. “Waltz With Bashir (2008)“ the Israeli animated war documentary film tells the story of its writer Ari Folman in his pursuit of revealing what had happened in the 1982 Lebanon War in which he participated. However, due to his memory loss he visits his former war comrades, interviewing them in hope of regaining his own. “Before the film, I had the main story line of my army service, but there were black holes . . . There were gaps in memory.“ (Robin Shulman, 2009) Recollections of his fellow soldiers including scenes of firefights in orchards, grenade shooting boys aiming at them, the terrifying assault on Beirut as well as surviving bloody ambushes, flashbacks visits Folman: fragmented, but rather detailed recollections of one big horrifying event he witnessed during the war.

Fig. 2 Fragmented memory

Ari Folman born on December 17 1962 in Haifa, Israel is a well-known Israeli film director and screen writer thanks to his brilliant animated war documentary “Waltz With Bashir“ based on his experiences during the Lebanon War when he was 19 years old. After his service he decided to make a trip through Asia which inspired him to study Film Studies on his return to Israel. As his graduation project he created “Comfortably Numb (1991)“ which won the “Ophir Award“, an Israeli film award. Throughout his career Folman dedicated himself to documentaries discussing the topics of war. Folman got his inspiration for the film “Waltz With Bashir (2008)“ from his fellow comrade Boaz Rein-Buskila who told him his ever recurring dream in which he is chased by 26 terrifying dogs. Together they came to the conclusion that it is closely linked to the Lebanon War. Folman who completely suppressed his memories of this time of his life decides to visit and interview his fellow soldiers about the past.

Fig. 3 Dogs on the chase

Even though Folman chose to make it a classic 2D animation with cut-out drawings, the animation itself seems to have its own unique style.  Folman wanted to achieve a realistic style to capture the emotional focus of the movie. Just as one of the top critics on OrlandoSentinel Roger Moore states Folman managed to achieve what he desired: “The look of Waltz with Bashir is what is most arresting. It's a deep, multi-plane style of animation that incorporates photo-real settings, realistic renderings of the people and under-animated movement, especially of faces.“ (Roger Moore, 2009) However, his realistic approach encountered difficulties animating the lower body part in slower motion. Many people think the animation is rotoscoped, but Folman emphasizes that this is not the case at all: “I respect rotoscoping and I even like “Waking Life“, unlike my animators. But, for me, rotoscoping has a big problem in conveying emotions. You see the technique, you see the drawings, and that takes your focus.“ (Debra Kaufman, 2008) Folman‘s choice to animate instead of providing real footage makes the audience wonder if it is a real documentary which proves to be in some aspects problematic.

According to the awards this film has won “Waltz With Bashir“‘s popubarity among its audience is guaranteed. After watching this brilliant documentary discussing the topics of war, memory, ethics, nationality and psychology one would definitely agree with Jonathan Freedland when he says: “Waltz With Bashir is a documentary, yet it is animated. It tells a series of true stories, yet unspools like a hallucination. It is gripping, painful, and lingers in the mind long after the credits roll.“ (Jonathan Freedland, 2008)

Bibliography:
Shulman, R. (2009). Interview With ‘Waltz With Bashir‘ Director Ari Folman. (online) Available at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/23/AR2009012300838.html  (Accessed on 21/02/2018)
Moore, R. (2009). Movie review: Waltz with Bashir - - 4 out of 5 stars. (online) Available at: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/movies/orl-movie-review-walz-with-bashir-story.html (Accessed on 21/02/2018)
Kaufman, D. (2008). How They Did It: Waltz With Bashir. (online) Available at: http://www.studiodaily.com/2008/12/how-they-did-it-waltz-with-bashir/ (Accessed on 21/02/2018)
Freedland, J. (2008). Lest we forget. (online) Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/oct/25/waltz-with-bashir-ari-folman (Accessed on 21/02/2018)

Illustration List:
Fig 1. Waltz With Bashir Poster. At: http://smithsonianapa.org/bookdragon/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2009/11/Waltz-with-Bashir.jpg (Accessed on 22/02/2018)
Fig 2. Fragmented memory. At: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bL_2tc7uXco/maxresdefault.jpg (Accessed on 22/02/2018)
Fig 3. Dogs on the chase. At: https://thirdcinema.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/bashir-dogs.jpg (Accessed on 22/02/2018)

"Paprika" (2006)

Fig. 1 "Paprika" Poster

The Japanese anime film “Paprika“ co-written and directed by Satoshi Kon, based on the novel „Paprika (1993)“ by Yasutaka Tsutsui is about a group of psychologists who recently invented a device with which they can enter other people‘s dreams: the “DC Mini“. Their intention is to help plagued patients to overcome their problems and fears, however, it will be stolen at a later point of the story. Due to the easy access of the DCMini without restrictions it becomes a highly dangerous weapon if it lands in the hands of the wrong person and so the team goes on a hunt for the culprit. The core themes of the film are: illusion, dream, anxiety and identity whereas ‘dream‘ being the most challenging theme to visualize due to the many resemblances of dream and reality, however, Satoshi Kon manages with his expertise and hard work to beautifully visualize the dreamy atmosphere in “Paprika“. In an interview he states: “Trying to visualize all that text couldn't compete with the novel as it is, so I had to find a way in one visual step to represent the mindset of the novel“ (Jason Grey, 2006). With the choice of medium being anime, a Japanese version of the typical Western animation, which was initially targeting younger audiences, however, it developed into targeting adults as well with the realization of using emotional content as story telling. That being said, the medium of choice supports the hyperreal themes unlike any other by having no restrictions of one‘s imagination.

Fig. 2 Parade

The film also contains some 3D elements such as the scene when the character Paprika touched the unstable glass shattering into pieces or the corridor scene in the detective‘s dream. Kon states in an interview as an answer to the question why he resorted to 3D in “Paprika“: “Paprika was one way of experimenting with this. To come to an agreement on the expression or to make these two different universes coalesce was very difficult.“ (Jon Pais, 2006) While Satoshi Kon and Seishi Minakami wrote the script, the well-known Japanese animation studio “Madhouse“, Kon‘s animation studio of choice where his previous works were animated as well, animated and produced the film with the support of “Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan“.

Fig. 3 Konakawa Toshimi in his dream

Having a high rating of 7.7/10 on IMDb, 83% on RottenTomatoes and a solid 81% on Metacritic “Paprika“ was quite well received by the public reflecting in its won awards: The “Public‘s Choice Award“ at Montréal Festival of New Cinema, the “Critics Choice Award“ at Fantasporto and the “Feature Film Award for Best Animation“ at Newport Beach Film Festival. 

Despite the fact that “Paprika“ is an anime film, something the vast majority would assume to be chaotic, childish, funny and simply crazy, “Paprika“ manages to amaze the audience with its mature approach of tackling the interesting and fascinating concept of dreaming. One of TheGuardian‘s writers notes on his blog: “Kon's films demand to be watched sitting up straight. But preconceptions, common even among anime fans, that Japanese animation is crazy, psychedelic, meaningless fun mean that even those lucky audiences who catch Paprika are in danger of missing out on its brilliance.“ (Alex Naylor, 2008)

Bibliography:
Pais, J. (2006). PAPRIKA: Interview with Satoshi Kon. (online) Available at: http://screenanarchy.com/2006/10/paprika-interview-with-satoshi-kon.html (Accessed on 17/02/2018)
Gray, J. (2008). Satoshi Kon. (online) Available at: http://www.midnighteye.com/interviews/satoshi-kon-2/ (Accessed on 17/02/2018)
Naylor, A. (2006). Paprika: the stuff of dreams for filmgoers. (online) Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2008/jun/17/paprikathestuffofdreamsfo (Accessed on 17/02/2018)

Illustration List:
Fig 1. "Paprika" Poster. At: https://78.media.tumblr.com/160a3ba56fdb6c64619194f92d61fbd8/tumblr_mm7sjoDBVY1r7llf5o2_1280.jpg (Accessed on 18/02/2018)
Fig 2. Parade. At: https://nefariousreviews.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/paprika-everyone-loves-a-parade-2.png?w=672&h=372&crop=1 (Accessed on 18/02/2018)
Fig 3. Konakawa Toshimi in his dream. At: https://33hpwq10j9luq8gl43e62q4e-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/1ydHC36w1wpsdRCY-BdeJbA.gif (Accessed on 18/02/2018)

Premise | Interim Critique

Premise | Sketches

Exploration of my early character development.

Maya #22 - Lighting & Rendering | Photometric Lights

Maya #21 - Lighting & Rendering | Ambient Occlusion

Maya #20 - Lighting & Rendering | Mesh Lights

Maya #19 - Lighting & Rendering | Physical Sky Light

Infographics Class #3 | Credit Storyboard

My initial storyboard idea for the credits of my chosen movie "Transcendence". This will be now taken to After Effects/Maya for further development into a final animated credits. However, some parts of the storyboard may change throughout the process of making the sequences.

Perspectives | Thesis Proposal OGR

Perspectives | Cone of Cogency

Life drawings #12

30min Pose

2-5min Poses

15min Pose

"Mary and Max" (2009)

Fig. 1 "Marry and Max" Poster

Mary and Max’ written and directed by independent Australian stop-motion animation writer Adam Elliot and produced by the independent film and television production company ‘Melodrama Pictures’ is a clay animation, a form of stop motion animation, telling the story of two lonely individuals, the eight-year old Mary Daisy Dinkle from Australian and the 44-year old Max Jerry Horowitz from New York, finding each other in the bitter and depressing world they are living in, forming a long lasting bond of true friendship. Their encounter starts when Mary curiously wanted to know where babies come from in America while she believed they come from beer mugs in Australia. Soon she randomly picked a number from the New York section in the phone book which happened to be Max’. Their exchange of letters swiftly emerges as the emotional lifeline for their unfulfilling existence. While Mary was struggling with bullying at school, her mother’s alcoholism followed by child neglect and loneliness, Max was suffering from obesity, Asperger syndrome a form of autism, anxiety and loneliness which caused him to create his imaginary friend Mr. Ravioli who keeps him accompany along with his ill fish which frequently gets replaced throughout the movie.

Fig. 2 Max with new shirt

 However, the switch between treating a serious issue at one scene and in the other seeing Mary enthusing about her favourite TV show, shows the writer’s expertise and skillfulness in bringing a perfect balance within the animation. “Mary and Max is sad but uplifting, beautiful but haunting, and capable of shifting from whimsy to tragedy in a heartbeat.” (Buckmaster, 2014) The choice for clay animation over digital animation is in Elliot’s eyes pure preference, however, claymation is most commonly used for more childish story making it not suited for Elliot’s serious, adult and rather depressing, but sometimes humorous story.

Fig. 3 Marry sticking postmark

Adam Elliot is an independent Australian clay animation writer, producer and director born in 1972 in Berwick, Victoria, Australia whose works include: ‘Uncle (1996)’, ‘Cousin (1998)’, ‘Brother (1999)’, ‘Harvie Krumpet (2003)’, ‘Ernie Biscuit (2015)’ and ‘Mary and Max (2009)’. “I never really wanted to be a claymator, filmmmaker or even a writer; it was all an accident. I wanted to be a veterinarian but my marks at high school weren’t good enough.” (Indiewire, 2009) Even though he did not want to become an animator he enjoys success and recognition among many fellow animators. His work all have one thing in common: they are all based on true stories, biographies. In an interview Adam Elliot says himself: “I’m just fascinated by the human psyche, I love telling stories and biographies about my family and friends, which is why I came up with the word ‘clayography’“. (Mitchell, 2011) He explains that clayography is in his language a way of telling someone’s life story through clay animation.

‘Mary and Max’ was received quite positively by the public with a rating of 95% on ‘RottenTomato’, even for many top critiques on ‘TheGuardian’ they rate the movie an average of 3 out of 5 stars. Appropriating the overly positive overall rating by the public ‘Mary and Max’ enjoys a quite successful screening history as well winning four awards in total including: ‘Berlin International Film Festival’, ‘Ottawa International Animation Festival’, ‘Australian Directors Guild’ and ‘Asia Pacific Screen Award’, and being nominated for an additional in seven other categories. The movie was later on also theatrically released in Australia by ‘Icon Entertainment International’ in the same year only a couple months after its first film release at the ‘Sundance Film Festival’ the largest independent film festival in the United States.

Bibliography:
Buckmaster, L. (2014). Mary and Max: rewatching classic Australian films. (online) Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/australia-culture-blog/2014/may/30/mary-and-max-rewatching-classic-australian-films (Accessed on 09/02/2018)
Mitchell, B. (2011). A Conversation With Adam Elliot. (online) Available at: http://www.skwigly.co.uk/adam-elliot-interview/ (Accessed on 09/02/2018)
Indiewire (2009). Adam Elliot, “Mary and Max”: Flaws, Limitations, and Possibilities. (online) Available at: http://www.indiewire.com/2009/01/adam-elliot-mary-and-max-flaws-limitations-and-possibilities-71006/ (Accessed on 09/02/2018)

Illustration List:
Fig 1. "Marry and Max" Poster. At: https://media-cache.cinematerial.com/p/500x/s1huhowq/mary-and-max-japanese-movie-poster.jpg (Accessed on 09/02/2018)
Fig. 2 Max with new shirt. At: https://blog.animationstudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Figure-3.png (Accessed on 09/02/2018)
Fig. 3 Marry sticking postmark.  At: http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/1175282-3x2-940x627.jpg (Accessed on 09/02/2018)

Perspectives | Proof Of Concept Presentations