Mimesis and Diegesis

Mimesis - The imitation of the perfection on nature. A form of Showing.

Diegesis - A form of telling or narrating.

Mimesis is a very complex theory creating something exactly like nature intended is more difficult to do than said nothing can ever be recreated the same. The real cannot be reflected in any straight forward way. For example if I had a drawing I really liked and I wanted to recreate it again using a photocopier the quality wouldn't be as good and the quality will get worse and worse the more I photocopy them.


‘At first glance, mimesis seems to be a stylizing of reality in which the ordinary features of our world are brought into focus by a certain exaggeration, the relationship of the imitation to the object it imitates being something like the relationship of dancing to walking. Imitation always involves selecting something from the continuum of experience, thus giving boundaries to what really has no beginning or end. Mimêsis involves a framing of reality that announces that what is contained within the frame is not simply real. Thus the more "real" the imitation the more fraudulent it becomes’ (Davis 1999)


To understand this quote I think Davis is talking about is the more real you try to make things look the more unrealistic it is. Which i could agree with from my research into realism and comparing Coraline and Mars needs Moms.


Reality effects in CGI is trying to create reality so they try to develop different reality effects to do this. In early CGI they were using space to create the real however later discovered textures gave a more sophisticated rendering.


Reviewing looking at these theories I am finding it hard to understand however I would like to look into it more and be bale to understand it as I will be very interesting for my final assessment essay.

Animation and Childhood

Why has animation become so closely associated with childhood?

Looking at the history of animation you can see that older animations were very adult themed such as Max Fleischer who created Betty Boop. She was created as a sex symbol.  Betty Boop in Minnie the Moocher is very racey and talks a lot about drugs. just finding this video on YouTube it said it used to be band. This is most certainly not intended for kids.

Animation is very closley assossiated with fantasy but that does not always mean happy friendly fantasy some fantasys can be quite dark and disturbing, In the 1930's of the Artistic Movement Surrealism.

"Surrealism was an avant-garde art movement that attempted to use the power of fantasy and the unconscious to challenge our ideas about the nature of experience"


The surrealist film Un Chien Adalou (1929) disrupts the rules of narrative, there is lots of montage which to me builds up intensity. Disturbing imagery, and breaks expectations of what you should see in film.

Bimbo's Initation (1931) is a very bizzare film the one thing I noticed about the film is at the beginning when he falls down the hole it is Micky Mouse who pad locks it. To me that says a lot. Is it subliminally saying that Walt Disney is locking all the adult stuff away whilst he takes over and going for the childish approach taking over the rules of animation. To back up this idea would be the Hay Code which came in in 1930 where animations couldnt show immoral conduct e.g. 

"1. No picture shall be produced that will lower the moral standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil or sin.

2. Correct standards of life, subject only to the requirements of drama and entertainment, shall be presented.

3. Law, natural or human, shall not be ridiculed, nor shall sympathy be created for its violation."

This had a bad effect on Fleischer studio's. Betty had to change her appearance. This brought in walt disney studios who took over the animation scene with fairy tale stories made for children e.g. Snow white, Peter Pan and Alice in wonderland. these are all stories that origionally were scary.

Fairy tales previously known as "folk Tales" were stories descended down from generations around Europe originally not intended for children hence why some slightly scary content can still be seen in Walt Disney films. Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm were the first to publish Folk Tales still not neccasarily for children.

Finding my Question for Final Essay

Research is something I find hard to make myself do I find I always find information when I don't mean to and think "oh that would work in my ..." however I am trying to research on purpose. At the momment I find reading books difficult I find them think they look really interesting but never actually get round to reading them and have to take them back to the library.Research which I should look into are :  Festivals, Art, Literature, Subculture, Politics and Theory.

Discussed in Contextual Studies I need to start with an area that interests me and I must read so I need to actually start reading the books I take out. I should always keep track of my thoughts I always have thoughts at the worst of times about my work and need to start taking notes to remember for later at a more convenient time. I need to stop using Wikipedia as an easy solution and actually use the internet more respectfully. Doing this will mean I can reference better.

All my contextual work need to feature History, Context and theory which I need to check in my work. We are starting to plan our presentation and essay for our studies and I need to think of a question that interests me to do with animation. In general I find the history of animation fascinating mainly how it has developed but also the realism and fantasy of animation.

I am interested in finding out about the past and present of animation looking at how animation has developed and changed over the years and also how animation has become more realistic which I think both subjects tie in together nicely. 

When googling the question “ Is animation becoming too realistic” a flood of hits are about the latest Disney film and main words such as “ sqwirm” “repulsed” and “uncomfortable” are decorating the google pages.  

When looking at reviews of the film I notice the reviewer is complaining about technology and it made me think that is “mars needs moms” creepy and a flop because of the ever growing technology and trying to hard to make it realistic?

Is that now the aim to create a new wow factor to make everything as realistic as possible?

Looking at “the adventures of Tin Tin” which will be released in cinemas soon could this end up being the same outcome as “mars needs moms”? Im interested when it is released how reviews will flow and possibly giving it a review myself.

Tin Tin and Mars needs Moms was created by a motion capture process which is when actors still act out the film and then they are animated. This is to either give a more realistic approach to human form it reminds me of an advanced rotascope. However it is also used for fantasy such as Gollum for Lord of the Rings and King kong.

Is it the wrong to do this?

Well its all dependant on the Uncanny Valley Theory which can be applied to Animation.

Are audiences to conditioned to love animation in a non-realistic world to not accept animation as a realist?

Or is that the way animation should be? After all isn’t realistic for live action?

My personaly view is that animation shouldn’t be realistic I think that is the whole concept of animation, a recent film I watched “ despicable me “ all the characters are completely out of proportion and unrealistic in looks. However that’s what makes the film if it was realistic I think it would make the main character a completely different perceived person. If technology was to take over films like “despicable me” it could ruin the whole enjoyablity of the fantasy in animation.

This then leads me to a whole other topic of the definition of animation.

Books looking at :

Stop motion passion, process and performance / by Barry Purves.

Wells, Paul/Re-imagining animation The changing face of the moving image

Haven’t properly engaged into it yet.

Films:  The Pixar Story 2007

A very interesting film which talks a lot about the highs and lows of technology and also talks about how there films have been so successful through story and how to make it visually engaging.

Stop Motion: I love stop motion it is a timeless way of animating and lots of my favourite films are created by Stop motion e.g. coraline, which was full of fantasy and is a strong example of why animation is so good for fantasy. Athough the film can get quite creepy and scary in some parts it does not put off the audience because of the fantasy of it and the way they presieve it e.g no one looks realistic from Corlaine’s natural blue hair and very skinny stick like body, the setting it very over realistic to make it unrealistic for example the house is old but exaggerated aswell as the tree’s. compared to Mars needs Moms which is a completely different side of creepy which isn’t enjoyable for the audience because of how realistic visually the characters are and their lifestyles are. It’s a shame because the story is full of fantansy however in my view the story wasn’t the kind of fantasy I think is extremely appealing to a wide audience.

Staff Notes:
Interested in past and present of animation – how animation has beome more realistic. May need to narrow down the question – has already chosen some films and developed possible questions. Film ‘Mars needs Moms’ At the moment focusing on realism in CGI but also looking at stop-motion film.

Might be interesting to look at the difference between photo-realism and poetic realism. Have a Look at the reading on animation and the real which is on moodle.


Target 1: Find and collect critical responses to Tin-tin and other films mentioned. There was one by writer Tom Mcarthy in the Guardian last Saturday. (Deadline: 17-11-2011 )
Target 2: Read around some of the problems in defining what is ‘real’. (Deadline: 17-11-2011 )

                                                                                

Analysing Animation

Montage Theory
" to build or organise" French

through montage meaning is created by a sequence of shots. Eisenstieins theory is to put two shot together to arrive at a third meaning. A way to create meaning through brakes or jumps.. Metric montage is cutting between shots at a certain pace to create a dramatic approach. I should think about doing this in my own editing.

Semiotics

The study of text and image in order to understand how they produce meaning. It is not an exact science but an approach that helps us to think closely about the way communications of meaning occurs. thinkers such as Ferdinand Saussure and Roland Barthers. Semeiotics sees meaning as a product of language even when it is portrayed in an image.

Connotation and Denotation are more complex images which require more complex way of decoding how meaning is created. Denotation is a term used to think about how the contents of an image in the simplist way. e.g. MAD MEN

Action code....What will happen next?
Enigma codes ... Audience question why?

How can these concepts be used?

I found this lecture at first hard to get my head around as I'm re looking at my notes I can see more clearly what we were discussing but it is something I will need to look into more detail.

Animation and Social Experiences

Animation can play an important part in Mass Communication (Mass Media). Suggested Reading - The Media students book. Animation and Mass Communication combines elements of Film and Graphical Communication so the message is easily communicated such as still images e.g. posters.


Hyperdermical needle of Mass Media implants opinions and meaning in audiences minds for example looking at propaganda such as World War 2.

This is an excellent poster for showing how mass media works and the Hyperdermical needle. This poster is easily visually translated even though its in a different language. the composition of colour changes meaning. Hitler is frail and weak. Although its in another language we still visually understand it.

Animation became apart of Mass Media easily because it seems a "fun" "childish" harmless way of putting a view across more people will be open to the opinion. E.g. Winsor McCay's, Lusitania 1918 was a way to show support in america joining WW1.

Also Warner Brothers were commissioned to create Private SNAFU  very simple childlike approach to putting telling illiterate soldiers how to act. Its almost patronising, didactic but unobvious. Animation can use unrealistic ways to put a point across e.g. Hitler is literally a Devil. The whole film is a song and is teaching by doing it wrong.

Advertisement and Animation was also a big thing e.g. Otto Mesmer advertised Pepsodent in 1950 using animation which made it more innocent and watchable to a younger audience especially with the music.

On the other hand Animation has had its ways through satire to put their own point across e.g. Jiri Trnka Ruka (The Hand) 1965 it has a secret meaning of the Hand being the law. I thought this was very interesting, How it is obvious what the animation is about however it can never be proved by people who don't agree with the animation.

Its also not all bad because it can be used to put a point across in a good way such as A is for Autism by Tim Webb who created this animation for people to be more aware of autism and to give the audience more information about it making something more well known.

This animation was very well done and I really like the approach. It created an experiences for the audience helping understand the issues possibly putting the audience in their shoes. It kind of make me think in the mind of an autistic person which I really liked.

Mise En Scene

Mise En Scene

"Mise-en-scène (French pronunciation: [mizɑ̃sɛn] "placing on stage") is an expression used to describe the design aspects of a theatre or film production, which essentially means "visual theme" or "telling a story"—both in visually artful waysthrough storyboarding, cinematography and stage design, and in poetically artful ways through direction. Mise-en-scène has been called film criticism's "grand undefined term."^[1]

When applied to the cinema, mise-en-scène refers to everything that appears before the camera and its arrangement—composition, sets, props, actors, costumes, and lighting.^[2] Mise-en-scène also includes the positioning and movement of actors on the set, which is called blocking. These are all the areas overseen by the director, and thus, in French film credits, the director's title is metteur en scène, "placer on scene."" (Wikipedia) 

Free Writing

Luis (2010) Niles Atallah, Cristóbal León and Joaquin Cocinaín

I really liked this animation it made me feel like the room was telling a story. The way the room starts all messed up and by the end is back to normal it makes me think that the film is starting from the end to explain the beginning. The lighting is a big factor towards the animation as it controls the element of how creepy and eerie the animation is especially when the tree's grow on the wall the lighting controls the shape and form of the trees and how they are growing. I would agree the lights create a claustrophobic space in a way you cant escape from throughout the film until the very end when everything is ordered again. the light changes at the end when the room is back to normal it gave the effect of how the room always looks but it has a secret and the light makes the finally tidy room look natural as if it has always been like that. I don't think it matters that the film was created in an interior space because I think as long as its giving the effect it wants to it doesn't matter. Overall the animation personally creeps me out but I like how it has that effect on me because it can be quite hard to really create that eerie feel to a film especially in animation when there is no real life.

What is animation and who needs to know?

Phillip kelly Denslow
A reader in animation studies

After reading this piece It really did make me think about the meaning of animation, I personally see animation as a very big section in the film industry and really overlaps in other sections. I think Game design is apart of animation along with special effects in films.

I found the idea that people sometimes do not like being called animators because of the connection to furry cute creatures e.g. disney. I have never thought of it in that prospective before espeically if say a person works in gory dark games and the stigma of saying your an animator and people responding "cartoons" I can see why they choose not be called animators and segregate the meaning of animation to one simple definition. However I did not like the idea of not using the term as a label to stop the cause of higher wages.

I understand it is difficult to come up with an overall defintion and they are right that technology is changing so quickly how can we define it? I personally dont think there will ever be an overall meaning and im kind of happy there wont be because I love the ever evolving idea of animation and technology.