tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post2258692760234556085..comments2024-03-24T16:25:05.751-04:00Comments on Mayerson on Animation: SchismMark Mayersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00065971589878678848noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-58245954092458190812010-05-04T08:50:20.029-04:002010-05-04T08:50:20.029-04:00Hmm… There is no doubt about “Avatar”. Best of the...Hmm… There is no doubt about “Avatar”. Best of the point about this movie is the concept. Very New Concept.animation clipshttp://www.adasport.com/videos/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-52140919991862158332010-05-04T06:58:04.978-04:002010-05-04T06:58:04.978-04:00I liked Avatar very much. Avatar was the first mot...I liked Avatar very much. Avatar was the first motion-capture feature that I've actually seen, exactly because they used designs that emphasized realism without diving into uncanny valley.network marketinghttp://kimwillis.net/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-20851031876867386282010-02-01T03:28:44.693-05:002010-02-01T03:28:44.693-05:00well, I really like this movie.well, I really like this movie.animation coursehttp://www.raffles-design-institute.edu.sg/courses/course_fashion.aspnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-4911523228383905482010-01-09T15:59:20.140-05:002010-01-09T15:59:20.140-05:00Mr. Semaj, I don't think it's fair to lump...Mr. Semaj, I don't think it's fair to lump Monster House in with the other Zemeckis films; the character designs in that film were pretty far from realistic, and I thought they avoided the "uncanny valley" well.Galen Fotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11320908010368532193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-15764401734028703022010-01-08T21:53:35.379-05:002010-01-08T21:53:35.379-05:00Caricature is the base on which cartooning and ani...Caricature is the base on which cartooning and animation is built. It has tremendous power, and only in the last decade or so has it become marginalized. <a href="http://potulentpalaver.blogspot.com/2007/01/thomas-nast.html" rel="nofollow">Thomas Nast</a> is the poster child for the power of cartooning. Along with other cartoonists like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herblock" rel="nofollow">Herblock</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Norwood_Darling" rel="nofollow">Ding Darling</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Conrad" rel="nofollow">Paul Conrad</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rube_Goldberg" rel="nofollow">Rube Goldberg</a> and <a href="http://www.animationarchive.org/2005/12/media-arthur-szyk-new-order.html" rel="nofollow">Arthur Szyk</a>, Nast changed the way people thought, and in so doing, changed the face of politics and perhaps the world.<br /><br />Caricature is not undervalued in cartooning- only in animation. And that's a big reason why animation is treading the same ground over and over while other artforms grow and flourish. Cartoonists (and when I say that I mean animators too) need to know the power they hold in their pencil. To trade that power away for a half-hearted rehash of talking dogs and princesses is a crime.Stephen Worthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01047366337202801862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-92134132945034571982010-01-08T17:12:23.855-05:002010-01-08T17:12:23.855-05:00I'm glad that Eric Noble brought up the exampl...I'm glad that Eric Noble brought up the example of Ralph Bakshi. Bakshi's films are rarely intended as comedic, though his best work dares to be unabashedly cartoon in its execution. There is humour, yes, but Bakshi strives more for serious social comment through sly satire. Therefore I believe that there is certainly a place today for caricatured (or cartooned) design in films other than animated family comedies. I wish that contemporary audiences were smart enough to understand that as well, but I feel that caricatured design will gradually be squeezed out altogether, and that is a tragedy.Pete Emsliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01451607722482352366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-37165717045825985882010-01-08T15:39:02.068-05:002010-01-08T15:39:02.068-05:00Mocap is rarely, if ever, plug and play. I've...Mocap is rarely, if ever, plug and play. I've yet to read the Cinefex issue on Avatar, but I'm sure that animators touched the motion capture in various ways.<br /><br />I'm no expert on Asian art, but it is far more graphic and stylized than Western art. It doesn't rely on chiaroscuro or perspective, two things that lend roundness and depth to images. It's possible that Asian societies are more in tune with a caricatured approach than Western societies.<br /><br />It's interesting that the current graphic novel boom is not moving in the direction of realistic drawing, which gives me hope. Successful books like Fun Home, Persepolis, Blankets, etc. are hardly photographic.Mark Mayersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00065971589878678848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-15865397635658413752010-01-08T15:13:14.659-05:002010-01-08T15:13:14.659-05:00I think you're right on about the division bet...I think you're right on about the division between realism and caricature. I wonder how does this fit into the discussion you did earlier between Miyazaki and Pixar. Miyazaki's films aren't exactly caricature but not exactly realism either, but he has earned enormous amount of respect in his own country. Since realism is a historically Western value, does this value not hold in other societies? <br />Also, I wanted to ask how absolute is mocap? I always thought you still need some animators to tweak the motion capture? Or is it really just plug n play?Keenannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-55631797465041078862010-01-08T12:46:23.861-05:002010-01-08T12:46:23.861-05:00First off, thanks for not including spoilers! Seem...First off, thanks for not including spoilers! Seems like an obvious thing, but I read another article on Avatar that decided to reveal an important plot point, inexplicably placing a spoiler tag AFTER they did. The review was critical, so perhaps they didn't believe the movie was worth guarding. Anyway...<br /><br />I watched a short documentary on the making of Avatar online, in which Cameron specifically stated that Avatar was not an "animated film". I can only assume he meant it was not intended to be watched in the same way something from Pixar or Disney was.<br /><br />Thanks for the brilliant article. I'm hoping to go see Avatar soon, provided I can find a theater in my parts showing it in 3D. Any film that inspires this much thought and writing intrigues me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-39599637406895618812010-01-08T03:38:10.206-05:002010-01-08T03:38:10.206-05:00Interesting.
Avatar was the first motion-capture ...Interesting.<br /><br />Avatar was the first motion-capture feature that I've actually seen, exactly because they used designs that emphasized realism without diving into uncanny valley. That was what kept me away from A Christmas Carol, besides it being the billionth incarnation, as well as Monster House and Polar Express.Yeldarb86https://www.blogger.com/profile/10131603833394294520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-71075157668728850252010-01-08T03:07:50.296-05:002010-01-08T03:07:50.296-05:00"Edgar Rice Burroughs (author of the Tarzan, ..."Edgar Rice Burroughs (author of the Tarzan, John Carter and Carson of Venus stories) specialized in stories like this. In Burrough's (sic) case, there was an underlying racism; white men were always destined to rule the natives."<br />???<br />Please consider reading the ERB books.<br />Bill Hillman<br />http://www.ERBzine.com<br />http://www.edgarriceburroughs.ca<br />http://www.johncarterofmars.caBill Hillmanhttp://www.erbzine.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-10160976282230759242010-01-08T00:44:47.398-05:002010-01-08T00:44:47.398-05:00I have to say that I really loved the article as a...I have to say that I really loved the article as a whole, probably one of the best I´ve read if not the best.<br /><br />As Latinamerican it annoys and sincerely makes me very sad to see that this movie shows a very alienated vision of the rest of the world, which is very common in the u.s. and gets unoticed by the majority of the audience both domestic and worldwide.<br /><br />I think also that the idea of simplicity being considered somehow negative or inferior is a very dangerous vice in our society, even beyond art.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03613978755471792829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501132.post-33219001222038606682010-01-07T23:40:27.696-05:002010-01-07T23:40:27.696-05:00That's a very good point. I think this is very...That's a very good point. I think this is very true in America because we want to see ourselves as artistically knowledgeable and as worldly as our European counterparts. <br /><br />I agree with you that caricature can be serious and a powerful tool. Consider the early work of Ralph Bakshi, the art of Egon Schiele, or even the work of political cartoonists such as Herblock or Philip Zec. These men made serious statements using caricature as their tool.Eric Noblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05872046921674512158noreply@blogger.com