Wednesday, 21 September 2016

The Wall


Year: 1982
Director: Alan Parker
Animation Director: Gerald Scarfe
Screenplay: Roger Waters

"The Wall" is an interesting film that uses rather horrifying imagery to convey meaning. The story follows 'Pink' a boy who loses his father in war, grows up, becomes a rock star then has a mental break down and drug overdose. The imagery is powerful and works well with the music, however the first half of the film feels more like a music video than a movie with a lengthy narrative.

The main themes of the movie involve madness, growing up without a father, control over others and prosecution.

The 2D animation style work is awesome and complements the themes of madness and insanity well. The figures are horrible morphing creatures with disfigured features.

I would say the film is mix of a musical and drama film.

Friday, 9 September 2016

Lillian Schwartz

- 20th century American women from Ohio
- An artist and pioneer in computer animation
-Pixelation, UFOs, Kinesis, Collage

1971's "A Christmas Carol"

-Made by Richard Williams
- Original made for Tv, but was later released in theaters.
- Won the 1972 Oscar for best animated short film.

Serge Danot

- Made a pilot for the Tv series "The Magic roundabout"
- 500 episodes of stop-motion series were made between 1963 - 1970
- In 1970 a feature film was released called "Dougal and the Blue Cat"

 Rene Laloux

- Made "The Fantastic Planet" of 1973
- Based on the novel Oms en Serie by Stefan Wul
- About a society where humans have been taken to another planet to be pets
- Film alludes to social concerns of fascist repression and war as well as alternative culture and Eastern mysticism

Piotr Kamler

- Made "The Step" 1974
- Experimental abstract stop motion film

Renzo Sayoko Kinoshita

- Film called " Made in Japan" created in 1972: an animation about the Japanese culture putting the economy before anything else.
- Made what is considered to be one of the most disturbing and harrowing animations of all time in 1978, called "Pica-don". An animated depiction of the nuking of Hiroshima.

Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata

- Created a Tv series "Heidi' in 1974, an adaption of a children's book by the same name.
- Miyazaki and Takahata went on to found Studio Ghibli, making famous animated feature films such as "Spirited Away" and "Howl's Moving Castle".

Ivo Caprino

- Perfected a techniques of manipulating characters in real time (an early version of animatronics)
- Later switched to stop motion and created "The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix" 1975.
- The film took 3 and a half years to make.
- The film was huge in Norway, creating box office records that still stand and was shown daily for 28 years.

William Feigenbaum and Jozsef Gemes

- Made a children's film called "Hugo the hippo" 1975 that became a cult favorite with adults.
- The first international release of a length animated film from Hungary.

Bob Godfery

- Made "Karma Sutra Rides Again" in 1971 during the 1970's adult animation craze.
- About a middle aged couples behind closed doors hobby - Sex in it's many form.

Sad moments

Childhood

- Iron Giant - The Giant's death
- Private Ryan - Captain Miller's final moments

Adulthood

- John Coffee's execution - The green mile
- Brooke's death - shawshank redemption

A decade under the influence - Part 3 - Yesterday, today and tomorrow


Late 60's and early 70's - Distrust of the government and authority, Protests.
Watergate, Vietnam,

Film makers are allowed to show moral ambiguity
 - Hal Ashby - Shampoo
 - Milos Forman- One Flew over the cuckoo's nest
 - Martian Scorsese - Taxi Driver
 - Coming Home - Hal Ashby
 - Sidney Lumet - Network
 - Rocky - John G. Avildsen
 - Jaws - Steven Spielberg
 - Star Wars - George Lucas
 - Heaven's Gate - Michael Cimino

Bread and Circus

Uplifting film and animation moments

- V for Vendetta - V's speech
V asks the population of England to stand with him against the corruption of the government on the 5th of Novmeber
- Nightmare before christmas ending
-  Starcraft 2: Legacy of the Void Cinematic
-World of warcraft: warlords of draenor
- Overwatch; Dragons short