(btw for experimental purposes -someone watch vid#2 first and see if that changes anything as far as perspective goes)
Seeing as we are currently on the subject, I felt
it right to start things off with some cameraless animation – and after some
digging on YouTube I’ve come up with two videos that may or may not be someone’s
class projects (no, the first one definitely is…). I feel the very nature of
the cameraless medium is experimental – through its primitiveness and physicality
in comparison to contemporary methods, it’s like tearing away all the layers
and techniques that we’ve built up and getting down to the raw dirt of what
animation is (like a man contemplating a skull…or a chicken contemplating an
egg…hmm). So too does the animator contemplate that first jump between still
image and moving picture. In the above videos we can explore how two similar films
done in the same medium are quite different in their presentation – all thanks
to the soundtrack (and lack of it). Not to detract from the latter film – on the
contrary, both are really impressive I think – especially in terms of the flow
and subject matter. The first video (let’s call this #1 – damn those completely
useless titles) is only 30 sec. long, but it’s 30 sec. well spent – all due in
my opinion to the brilliant coordination with the soundtrack; I don’t know but
I think it would be hard to match music with something you’re drawing directly
on film – but maybe not? (Is this really etched on film? – maybe it’s all
computers and I am being duped lol…) No I’ll trust this person and say it’s
legit and a lot of work went into it. The second video (#2) is amazing – 11 min
of enjoyable film entertainment (filled with great colors). The noticeable difference
being the issue of sound…I invite you all to note your experiences in that area
(was it any different for someone who watched #2 before #1? Which video do you
favor? etc.). Let us explore the relationship between sound and animation – here’s
an idea: mute #1 and see what happens, anything different in your viewing? Is
animation just for the eyes – like a lot of other art is (i.e does sound
enhance or distract from what matters – and what does matter…hmm)?
Film itself typically reaches out to two of our senses
(sight and sound) – I myself find it hard to divorce the two, they work wonders
together -- if sound is a part of the piece, then it is of the art and should
not be separated – film being a medium very different from other visual mediums…
(421 words and late at that...@.@ forgive my impudence)
I particularly like sound in videos, especially the more abstract that they are. However, there are advantage to there being no sound. The first being is that with there no soundtrack specifically attached to it, it can transcend into different environments easily. The appropriate sound could be ascribed to the video based on certain circumstances. I don't think sound is distracting if it's done right. Surely if you had some hardcore thrashing music with a peaceful animation it would throw it off completely. I do believe that sound (if done right) can definitely enhance the viewing experience but can also do without.
ReplyDeleteOh, I forgot to add that I really enjoy #2. It's so bright and fun :)
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question, I really enjoyed video 2 more, except it was a close tie because of the sound in vid 1. I think video 2 sparked my interest more because it had such a range of color and movement. There were more things going on. However, I think this video would have been more successful if it had some audio quality to it. Do you think you would add sound to video 2?
ReplyDeleteYes I agree - the second video would benefit from some audio; as great as the animation is, 11 minutes of it felt pretty tedious without sound.
DeleteI viewed most of video #2 first (got bored after about 4 minutes) and jumped over to #2. the coordination between animation and sound for #1 took the show for me as synching sound is one of the hardest parts of animating and that’s considering how much easier it is to reorder and change frame rates with computer programs so I can only imagine the difficulties of doing it entirely on film.
ReplyDeleteThose videos were very abstract. I wouldn't mind them in the background but they didn't have much substance other then form. I did like how the 1st one matched the music though.
ReplyDelete