Blogs O' Fun

2005-09-09T08:15:00.000-07:00

During my earlier years of education, I understood narrative to be simple. A written form of a story depicted in a book or magazine. My knowledge has evolved and I have learned of narrative as a whole new "world," one in which someone other than the author has the ability to influence the plot in many respects. The idea that a reader is allowed by the author to interact with the story with out changing the overall outcome is fascinating and exciting to think about. I fully agree that the telling of a story and the presentation of that story are welded together in a method of creating one interactive narrative form.

On the subject of personal opinion and perspective, for a few years now I have been a firm believer in the truth or lack of truth presented in the media. The idea is to appeal to a specific audience and give that information in which they want those viewers to hear from a specific perspective and not others. And although I understand that perspective allows the existence of a narration, I do not feel that one perspective or a few that agree on the same idea should be all that is presented.

If the individual perspective is what allows perspective to exist at all, then no one person can ever understand or view another's perspective in the same way; this means, that no one can every truly agree one hundred percent with one another. But nowadays, since their no longer seems to be a single authority (Meadows Pg.16), we can all communicate and interact by simpler methods globally and can attempt to at least join together our perspectives in order to generate an interactive narrative.

Apple Pro Training: Lesson 18

2005-04-13T13:17:00.000-07:00

In lesson 18, using alternate angles, I learned about various ways of creating alternate video streams along with the main one. I will also need to read through this chapter a few times, but for my portfolio DVD I will not be needing any extra video streams such as alternative endings and the like. However, possessing knowledge of this kind can lead to a large capacity for creativity and will only benefit me as I progress.

Apple Pro Training: Lesson 17

2005-04-13T13:10:00.000-07:00

In this lesson I went over advanced MPEG encoding using compressor. The chapter was long and complicated, even sounding like a foreign language at times. As usual, I will need to spend a lot of time reading through and doing the tutorial over and over if I am to avoid major complications and roadblocks in my work.

Stargate

2005-04-06T09:54:00.000-07:00

Today's blog is on the action adventure, Stargate! This movie was from the year 1994, however, the DVD release and design was generated in 1999 (so the DVD design is more up to date than the original movie design).

The DVD menu begins with the producing companies logo, a pause, and then a quick motion graphic movie. The motion graphic begins with a black background and the title of the movie "stargate" in white text fading into the center of the menu screen with a technical motion of gray and white colors behind the text and only behind the text. Suddenly a white dot from the center of the menu grows to encompass the entire screen, sort of like a bomb going off or more specifically a flash of blinding light.

Once the light flashes, or "blinds" the screen, the background becomes black once again and soon after a bunch of little white lines come from the outside of the screen to the middle, they then turn after the reach the middle and appear as though they are heading for me; from the background to the foreground. Once this occurs I suddenly feel like I am flying through space on some type of supernova path with flashes of lights and little dots that seem to have lens flares around them as I continue to travel through this path for a few more seconds. Finally, I come to a stop at the main DVD menu.

When I come to a stop at the main menu, what I notice fist is the voice of a woman talking over the music/special effects sounds. She seems like a computer voice or someone who has been on the adventure. The music is composed of low dramatic instrumental sounds and louder explosion and movie effect sounds. The background of the menu is a motion graphic, it never stops moving but from what I can make out, it seems to be the shadow of ancient ruins or maybe the surface of some wall. Aside from the one consistent background graphic, there is one more motion graphic in a drop zone to the top left hand side of the menu screen. It displays short clips from scenes of the actual Stargate movie.

In the foreground, there is a box to the left, middle side of the menu screen. In this box are the menu buttons for the movie, "Play theatrical version, play special edition, scene index, special features, cast & crew, and production notes." It seems that rather then have a special features menu, they kept all of the special features on the main menu, leads to less navigation and maybe an easier time with the DVD.

When a button option is chose, a dull brownish-yellowish colored line appears under the button. When you click on the button the line turns a dull blue (which seems to match closely to the dark blue background of the button box).

Next to the button box, is a still image of three different sized rings intertwined with each-other, I know from watching this movie that the rings represent a portal in which the characters in the movie used to travel to a different world. The rings on the menu do nothing but stay where they are, perhaps used as a space filler.

Below the button box and the rings graphic, is the title of the movie "Stargate" in a dark blue bar (same color as button box background) and below that in a black bar are the words "special edition." Which represents the last of the Stargate DVD main menu. The color scheme to this menu is dark, shadowy orange/yellow with some dark blues and a little white for the type. I basically would get the sense that this is an action filled thriller movie of some kind if I didn't already know that that is exactly the type of movie Stargate represents.

28 Days

2005-03-30T14:38:00.000-08:00

OK, so the DVD of choice for this week is the movie 28 Days staring Sandra Bullock. The movies is about a woman who struggles with alcohol abuse and the challenges she faces while being forced to live and participate in a program for those who struggle with substance abuse issues.

The beginning of the movie opens up with a standard industry motion graphic for the Columbia Tristar DVD Company. Once this introduction of the company who produced 28 days is finished… a wipe transition occurs in the background. The wipe is composed of numerous squares and rectangles moving into the scene and then moving to the background.

The squares and rectangles continuously move through out the DVD menu beginning from the middle and appearing as though they are moving forward and then backward a few seconds after. They seem to slow like they are suspended in the air, however, the background music to the DVD sounds like a wind chime with subtle hints of win and a constant piano rhythm. So, it would seem that the squares and rectangles might resembles parts of a chime lightly blowing in the wind.

The various shaped boxes have colors, somewhat like city lights at dark in them, they are all blurry but basically blue in color. But, the blurriness makes it impossible for me to make out if they represent anything or are simple design patterns.

Continuing back on the transition into the menu, the second noticeable feature is the number 28, which wipes in from the top left side of the screen, settling on the top left section. Then the word “days” joins it wiping in from the top right side of the screen and meeting up with the right side of 28. Both 28 and “Days” are in a light blue color and they are both in large font, however, the number 28 is the largest font of them all.

As the word “days” is wiping in, a still picture of Sandra Bullock from the movie fades into the bottom left of the screen. Her picture is in normal colors from the movie, however, the main color pallet of this DVD menu is blue and various shades of it.

Moving on, the last to appear are the menu buttons, they fade and wipe in from the right middle section of the screen and settle next to Sandra’s picture. The buttons are simple horizontal boxes with a glow around them and white text in the middle. They are masked because inside of them you can actually see the background of the DVD menu (which I think looks nice). There are five buttons, play movie, audio set-up, subtitles, scene selections, and special features.

When you mouse over or choose a button, the entire button glows a pasty while color; this makes it hard to see the text and covers the background within the button but seems manageable. When you click on the button to activate it, it turns a pasty green color and quickly jumps to the next scene.

That is it to the DVD menu of 28 days; the last detail to blog about would be the reload of the menu. It last for 29 seconds and the music simply lowers and disappears for 2 seconds while the menu button that is selected jumps for 1 second. The music doesn’t seem to cycle, the reload is clearly visible and it doesn’t seem like great effort was placed on hiding the load.

Apple Pro Training: Lesson 16

2005-03-30T13:04:00.000-08:00

In this lesson I learned about creating transitions and found the information to be very useful. Many of the transition options provide me with a way to closely match my menu design with the transition design. I have already worked a bit with transitions, so some of this lesson reinforces what I already know, but, I can always use and will always need to research and study so that I can continue to improve myself and my design abilities.

Apple Pro Training: Lesson 15

2005-03-30T10:38:00.000-08:00

In this lesson we learned about creating menu elements such as drop zones and button shapes. It all seemed a bit complex but in time I will become more efficient with this chapter; just need a bit more time. Overall I am confident in my knowledge of the technical side to DVD interface design, I just need to work on the DESIGN part a lot more!

Apple Pro Training: Lesson 14

2005-03-23T11:55:00.000-08:00

This lesson wasn't too bad, contained a lot of content but we went over the lesson on video so I was able to understand the information provided. I think I will be all right with this lesson and the new information, might have to go over it a few more times but, trial and error could also do the trick.

Apple Pro Training: Lesson 13

2005-03-23T08:49:00.000-08:00

This lesson was extremely complicated and I felt that the book did not do a good job at explaining what all the options were and what they did in Scripting. I am going to have to read over this lesson many times over if I am to retain the information. I will need to contact sources other than the book to explain what the book doesn't.

Apple Pro Training: Lesson 12

2005-03-09T08:32:00.000-08:00

For lesson 12, I learned about working more with chapter markers and stories. I like the concept of stories and making them doesn't seem to be too difficult. The chapter markers seem easy as well, Final Cut and DVD Studio do a good job at making things less difficult than they may seem to be.

Josie and The Pussycats

2005-03-09T07:30:00.000-08:00

Josie and The Pussycats is a fun, comedy filled DVD meant for both children and adults. The movie itself is about a group of three girls who dream about going big and becoming a famous rock band and all the trials and tribulations they go through to accomplish their dream. Josie and The bond of friendship and the integrity of the music business will be tested.

As for the DVD interface, the movie begins with a typical copy-write page warning against illegal copying of the DVD. There are no transitions into the main menu area, no motion graphics or anything else. When the main menu is displayed, I notice first the music that is playing. The music is a song from the movie and sound track as well. It represents a song from Josie and The Pussycats; the band. The music cycles every 51 seconds, but it isn't easily noticeable because it seems like the same verse is playing over each time and works well.

The second thing about the main menu I notice is that the menu itself is just a brightly colored still image. The background is all purple with three patterns separated by light purple horizontal lines. The top section is a chetah pattern, the middle is a dotted patter with a picture of the three band members laid over it. In this section, the band members are in color, but all you see is from their upper chest to top of the head region.

Lastly, the third sections is of a white tiger pattern and this is where the title of the movie and buttons are "housed." The movie title is the second largest of all images, second only to the large image of the band members. Directly under the movie title are the buttons. They choices are scenes, bonus materials, languages, and then play. The user knows the selection they are about to choose by a yellow underline that appear when the button is moused over or the remote is currently on it. This yellow underline is a good idea, it is a contrasting color to the all purple (and shades of purple) background and can easily be recognized. This same yellow underline is the only noticeable indicator that the DVD is cycling through the music, it blinks for a brief second when the reload occurs.

The last component to the Josie and the Pussycats DVD are the seven "stars" randomly spread throughout the menu. They don't do anything, no blinking or motion, but they seem to be a good fit since the movie is about making it big in the music industry and what better to symbolize show-business then stars.

That is it for the Josie and The Pussycats DVD menu, there isn't much to it, the movie is was made in 2001 and doesn't appear to have a very low budget, but most likely isn't very complex since it is originally geared towards young teenagers.

Apple Pro Training: Lesson 11

2005-03-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

Before beginning this lesson for Overlays, I had already known about them through trial and error when building my first DVD interface project. By doing the lesson, it reinforced what I already knew about overlays and hopefully will improve my ability to work with DVD studio in the future.

Airplane

2005-02-24T09:10:00.000-08:00

Perviously, in regards to DVD interface, I analyzed Tomb Raider The Cradle of Life; a highly complex and large budgeted movie from 2003. So, in making my decision of what DVD to analyze for this week, I went with the movie Airplane, which came out in 1980 (four years before my birth). This movie is a comedy involving one of my favorite classic comedians Leslie Nielson.

OK, so with this movie there is a VERY clear difference between its interface and Tomb Raiders. For one, the technology was nothing close to what it is now. There have been countless advancements in how DVDs are made and produced. And, I am pretty sure that DVDs didn't even exist at this time. So this movie is originally copied from a VHS form and formatted for DVD usage.

The budgeting of movie years ago was also not nearly as high as they tend to be now (especially in the professional industry). So once again, from simply looking at the DVD menu I am able to tell this difference.

Now, to elaborate on the menu itself. The most prominent feature that I notice when I put the DVD is the player is that there is absolutely NO sound, not even when you cycle through the buttons. At first I thought maybe I didn't have my sound on, but after checking to make sure, it occurred to me that yes, my sound was on and there wasn't any music playing. The absence of sound is most likely due in part to the fact that this movie wasn't made for DVD and on a VHS you don't have interfaces therefore, don't need sound. There was not sound for an interface when the movie was created so there is no sound now for the movie as a DVD.

The second most noticeable feature, or lack there of, is there is no opening sequence and absolutely NO movement whatsoever. When the user pops the DVD in, the copy-write title comes up and then the Airplane Menu just appears; no transitions, no movement, no sounds, just appears within a split second. Once again, this could be due in part to the lack of technology, lower budgeting, and that DVDs didn't even exist. I must keep remembering that this movie was intended for VHS only because that is all that was available to movie makers at the time.

The background of this menu, consists of a static hand drawn/painted image of an airplane tied into a knot and the text "Airplane" drawn/painted into a three dimensional image, both of which are suspended in clouds; this is a comedic airplane theme movie!

The area of the menu that is used for displaying the buttons is seemingly shaped like a horribly drawn tail end of an airplane. The very bottom of the DVD menu is a red rectangle stretching across the bottom portion of the screen with a white, elongated triangle in the middle. As for the menu buttons, I can't seem to make out what kind of a type this is. The type doesn't follow any sort of rules, for instance, they aren't lined up, some letters are larger than the others or in caps.

The Buttons do seem to recognize mouse overs but the user would have to hold the mouse over the button for it to recognize that the mouse is even there. The indicator that a menu option is selected is an oddly shaped arrow that points to which ever option the user is about to select. When you select an option the arrow turns blue and then disappears. The arrow is the only element of movement and that is only if the user is manually making it move, other than that the entire Airplane menu is completely static.

The last of the Airplane interface to touch on, is the color pallet. It is very simple. a basic red and white theme with a blue sky background (the sky) and some black outlining/shadowing. Thus, the end to my Airplane blog, the interface is simple, but effective. I get what this movie is about by looking at how the airplane is drawn and I also understand that it is from a different time by the components in its menu.

Apple Pro Training: Lesson 10

2005-02-23T11:17:00.000-08:00

Lesson 10 is a big one and all about encoding, which is probably the area I am most uncomfortable with. I will need to refer to this section many times before I will be able to retain most of the information. However, I am confident that I am learning the proper methods so I know that eventually things will get better. However, I know that nothing is ever easy, even when you are an expert.

Apple Studio Pro: Lesson 9

2005-02-23T11:05:00.000-08:00

Well OK, this lesson is all about how to build and format your project onto a DVD. I was having a problem with THIS EXACT step. You see I finished my first DVD project before I was able to get to lesson 9 so I all the information I forced PB to help me with, well I was just about to cover in my lessons. Well, I suppose now I know how to build and format my DVD much better than I would if I had only read the lesson and didn't have my professor show me. But, by doing the lesson even after PB went over the process with me, I have reinforced that education and hopefully now I will comprehend it more.

Tomb Raider The Cradle of Life

2005-02-23T10:53:00.000-08:00

For this weeks DVD blog, I have decided to analyze the sequal to the firstTomb Raider, Lara Croft Tomb Raider, The Cradle of Life.

Wow, this time around a lot has changed about the Tomb Raider DVD interface. The opening sequence to the menu if entirely composed of motion graphics from the movie. Everything goes by so quickly, it was hard to grasp everything that was going on.

Getting right to the point, the menu begins with Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) punching towards the screen. Having previously watched the movie, I realize that this is an underwater scene from the movie when Lara is punching a large shark. The color of this scene is all shades of blue, hence the underwater scene. When her fist comes towards the foreground, as she is punching a flame appears as though it came from her punch (the first transition) and a completely new scene with a very orang/red color pallet come up. This time in the background is an African Landscape (a major part of the movie take place here) and in the foreground is a motion graphic (not relating to the African scene) of Lara Croft.

As soon as this African scene is displayed, a circle pattern shows up in the top left corner of the DVD movie screen appearing as though it is emerging from the sun in the background. This circular patter surrounds a brightly colored sphere in it's center as it begins to enlarge and motion from the background towards the foreground. What I find very fascinating in this menu scene is that it looks like Lara is staring at the sphere and circular pattern emerging from the sun.

A few seconds later there are three blue "marks" in the top right corner of the DVD movie screen. These marks actually look like the result of rain drops on a water surface, however this time they are "rain drops" on the African scene, which then bring us to our second transition.

When the "rain drops" fall they reveal a blue scene with Lara Croft under the the water, which lasts only a few seconds long before it is transitioned by a school of fish rapidly swimming by and another blue underwater scene displayed. Once again this is a scene from the movie with Lara swimming under the water, however, that circular pattern is back and where would assume the central sphere would be located is blocked by Lara's head; her head appears to be the center and the circular pattern follows her as she moves. This is a very quick scene because the same fish that transitioned to this one, when they are finished swimming by transition to the next.

Now we have yet another blue scene, however, this time it is not under water but instead has a landscape scene from the movie in the background and a motion graphic of Lara Croft in martial arts gear with a martial arts staff doing some martial arts moves (also from a separate scene in the movie). As she is doing her moves, Lara becomes illuminated by a white outer glow and ancient looking white text begins to scroll by in the middle of the scene, behind Lara's character, but remaining in front of the background. As this text is scrolling across, the circular patter shows up and is much bigger than the previous times I have seen it. I can not see the sphere, instead I only see the circular lines and more text scrolling by behind Lara.

The blue sphere behind Lara illuminates brighter and a new blue motion graphic scene displays. Here we have a close up of Lara Croft in the foreground with the sphere and circular pattern to the left of her appearing as though it is slowly floating. In the water. This time, Lara in the foreground doesn't look like she in the water, but the motion graphic behind her, from a users point of view, looks like we are under the water because we see what appears to the the bottom of boats moving along the surface of the water.

And, that ends the blue scenes for this menu. But for the scenes in general, Tomb Raider isn't done. The last blue scene transitions to a red/orange underwater scene where Lara is swimming towards the top of the menu screen; appearing as she is attempting to reach the surface of the water for air. The sphere and circular patter is to the left of Lara once again however this time it seems like it is moving upwards.

Then, suddenly the motion graphic changes to Lara on her motorcycle driving from the background to the foreground. It appears as though she is just driving by the "camera." The main difference in this scene is that the background is a simple static orange/red color with the Tomb Raider, The Cradle of Life Text logo appearing towards the bottom of the background.

When Lara rides by, the sphere and circular pattern comes out from behind the movie logo and grows larger as it approaches the foreground and this is where the main menu appears. The main menu is orange/red in color and it appears as though we are looking at Lara's back and shoulder as she is holding out the sphere in her hand. Surrounding the bright sphere, which is giving off rays of light, is surrounded by two circles and a smaller half circle. Every few seconds a very short scene from the movie will display in the sphere area and will then be wiped out by a motion graphic that looks like a turning globe.

The half circle located to the left of the sphere displays the menu options play, set up, special features, and scene selection to its left. The options are darkened by a darker red strip behind them (however still above the back of Lara). And, in this darker red strip large ancient text is slowly scrolling to the left while smaller ancient text scrolls to the right. The ancient text is so dull that it does not make is hard to read the text for the menu options (buttons). When you mouse over the menu buttons a yellow like box appears around the top, left, and bottom part of the text (the right part rests on the half circle).

The music is very basic, simple dramatic music that plays along with each scene and continues here in the main menu. The overall color pallet is limited, much like the first Tomb Raider movie, to blue and orange/red shades. This time around movie scenes were used instead of generated 3D graphics and the motion graphic opening scene is much more elaborate! Overall I enjoy this menu and although it was very difficult and time consuming trying to analyze all of the transitions and scenes, I am glad I did. Breaking down something that may appear to be simple, has really opened my eyes to how complex and rather difficult it must be!

Apple Pro Training: Lesson 8

2005-02-23T08:49:00.000-08:00

This one was very heavy on content and I am sure I will have to look this chapter over and over untill I am able to fully comprehend all the information that it contains... whew!

Apple Pro Training: Lesson 7

2005-02-16T12:13:00.000-08:00

Well I got through this one finally. Not too bad, subtitles are imprtant for those who may be hard of hearing, so it is good to know how to make them for my DVDs.

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Special Collector's edition

2005-02-16T05:35:00.000-08:00

This week I have decided to blog on the action adventure DVD Lara Croft Tomb Raider special collector’s edition.

When you first insert the Tomb Raider DVD, a screen comes up which displays a bright gold/metallic background which takes the shape of some kind of ancient ruins or symbols, one very prominent symbol being a triangle. Then the “camera” widens on the shot and what you end up seeing in the background are circular ruins peeking out from rocks and in the foreground some metal parts (they resemble the gears which one would find in a clock) floating around in the air.

Then there is a little flash of light and each floating piece comes together to form some type of key/ clock or metallic object. This object is circular and displays a prominent triangle with the center looking like some kind of eye. The object then goes to the background and joins up with the ruins. It settles right in the center of the ruins and starts to turn, almost as though it is a key opening some kind of passage.

The “camera” zooms in on the metal key/ object and the object opens up to display a brightly colored blue dial that is shifting until each little blue symbol/ dial settles with the menu selections being displayed one on top of the other surrounded by some kind of triangle which lets the user know, this is where they need to look.

While each of these transitions occur, there is the illusion of fire light or light that one might associate with being in a cave or ancient ruins and having torches in order to light the way. Also, everything is so brightly colored, there is a limited color pallet; down to basically bright blue, gold metallic, white, brown for the rocks, and some yellow.

The music is simple. It gives the illusion of adventure, actions, and even some danger. It sets the tone for the movie. And, in fact, the movie is about adventures through ancient ruins and the menu itself, in the movie, is a key that enables certain events to occur if it is placed within the keyhole in time.

Apple Pro Training: Lesson 6

2005-02-09T11:34:00.000-08:00

This one wasn't so bad. I was able to get through the mini lessons with relative ease, it's just a lot of information I will need to process and I am sure go over a few more times.

Apple Pro Training: Lesson 5

2005-02-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

Ok, I was able to get through lesson 5. It was a very stressful experience though, the mac comuter in the IDD lab for some reason decided to slow down on me and I was getting very frustrated with the fact it took much longer than needed to do the lesson. Normally I would be fine with "things" taking longer than usual, however, after having been in the lab for 4 hours; things like that start to get to me!

Apple Pro Training: Lesson 4

2005-02-09T09:42:00.000-08:00

Completed the fourth tutoral for DVD studio pro 3, it was a long one but I feel like I am begining to grasp the basics of this program. I think, right now, I am most worried about the varuious importing and liking of assets.

The L Word

2005-02-06T14:10:00.000-08:00

This weeks DVD interface blog is about the Showtime hit series, The L Word. The L word is about the everyday lives of women who live an alternative lifestyle and the problems they face as married couples, friends, and family.

When the DVD is inserted into the player, a 30 second scene comes up that displays the Showtime logo, it is advanced in the sense that many colors swirl across the screen and come together to create the logo. The background goes from back to is white and dramatic sounding music plays along as the logo does its thing.

Once Showtime is finished with the self-promotion, the next scene begins with a black background. Various words, such as “Love” and “Liberal” in the color pink, come flying from the forefront of the screen at varying locations and meet together to form the letter L. As the words are forming the L, simply music plays along. The music sounds slightly techno, but is soft and does not change.

The transition to the main menu begins with the word “the” being added before the large pink L and the word “word” being added after; both in the color white. They form “the L word” and the black background begins to disappear. First a pink looking cloud fills up the lower half of the screen. As the pink “cloud” is forming a line appears under the title the L word) and each of the main characters swipe into the background from left and right of the screen. They come to rest in the middle region of the menu and as they are swiping in, the top half of the screen turns into a distant city night shot (what you would see if you were standing at the top of a mountain overlooking a large city at night).

As the characters swipe, all you see is their outline with a pink fill and what appears to be an outer glow effect. Once they come to rest their pictures fill in where the pink color was. At the same time (because most of these transitions are happening all at the same time in conjunction with one another) the menu options (or buttons) appear in the lower pink “cloud” region. They are simple text (the same text as the title) and are black. They list the episodes and then one is an audio option. When you mouse over the menu buttons the female symbol in white appears to the left of the buttons.

The only way the user notices that the menu is running in a circle is the music reloads after a little while; still there is plenty of time to look around before the music reloads.

Once you choose an option, you may think the menus are over and it is time to get to the episodes, not true. A red silk sheet crosses the screen and behind it reveals the next menu. This time soft sexy music plays and the main background (behind everything) is a moving image of pink silk sheets. There are 6 images from the episode, 3 on the left of the screen and 3 on the right. In the middle is a box that cycles through scenes of the upcoming episode.

On this menu, there are 5 options, all in white. Play, main (takes on back to the main menu), scenes, summary, and commentary on/off. Below these options is a list of the important actors who appear in the episode. When the user mousses over the menu options the same female symbol in white appears to the left of the button.

The only way one notices the reload of the menu is the music and the movie in the middle restarts, everything else does not appear to jump or reload. Finally when one chooses to watch the episode it is on to the actual episode and no more menus. However, Showtime still puts in a quick scene of their logo.

Apple Pro Training: Lesson 3

2005-02-02T10:23:00.000-08:00

Ok, well I have completed lesson 3 and I am still doing ok. Ha ha, I previewed the next lesson (4) and whew, think I might have to take a break before I begin that hefty chapter.

Apple Pro Training: Lessons 1 and 2

2005-02-02T09:07:00.000-08:00

Ok, I was able to get through the fist two lessons of the DVD apple pro series, they weren't that bad. In fact, much better and easier to understand than after effetcs.

The Ring

2005-01-30T13:15:00.000-08:00

Today I am looking at the DVD menu for the hit thriller “The Ring.” A scary movie designed to frighten and stimulate the mind. The menu is the beginning of a wonderful movie put together, in my opinion, rather masterfully.

The entire movie plays on the idea of a haunted video due to the hate of a young girl who was murdered years before anyone ever laid his or her hands on it.

The menu quality reflects that of a very old film, from back in the black and white days. There is constant movement of both the background (of which various small scenes play) and the menu options. These menu options are in black and very small type; one can hardly see them when some of the scenes are playing. Looking in the background there is mostly just a scene with a chair in the middle, a black and white shadowy scene where the menu options can be seen clearly. Occasionally and very quickly something else will pop up and play in the background, for example, a burning tree, which also displays a small amount of color in the flames. Most of the scenes are only black and white, there are very few that display a small amount of color.

All of the scenes and the feel of the menu really gets the mood set for the movie. You get a sense of creepiness and mystery hidden in the movie you are soon to watch.

There is little music, basically the sounds are randomness of bees buzzing, or someone speaking very quietly (this is difficult to make out), it gets louder and busier as the menu plays on and then suddenly quiets before starting back up again. The music tone is very scary and low, and then it too gets louder and more frantic. This is very hard to explain, but I feel as though something bad is going to happen right then and there, I know this movie is serious and dark simply from listening to the music, I even begin to feel a little scared. I believe this to be the desired effect the creator was going for, the menu does an amazing job at reflecting the movie to come.

Back in the acton

2005-01-26T09:30:00.000-08:00

Well I am back at QU ready to begin a new semester of hard work and learning.

So, there I was sitting in my dorm room around 8:30am on a wednesday morning, I was all set to head over to my first IDD 300 class and then... I looked outside, what I saw, was snow! Everywhere!

What a way to begin a new class. But, inspite of it all, I remain very refreshed and excited for things to come.

HP Comdex

2004-11-17T09:20:00.000-08:00

Wow, to begin all I can say is wow. After effects is quite the awesome yet highly complex program. However, I find it very fascinating that I am now able to appreciate and see how those movie trailers, commercials, and such are created. Up until last week, when I first began learning after effects, I was simply lost at how any company could possibly create such compositions and I never, seriously never thought I would one day be learning how to do it myself. But, here I am blogging about previously generated after effects movies and soon creating my own.

The site I decided to blog on this week is Verbmedia, right away I was very impressed by their site design. It was very unique and extremely interactive. They did a very good job at doing something different in a world where it is very hard to generate almost anything distinctive these days.

The movie I chose was HP comdex, now, before I even viewed the movie... I was slightly confused to what it might be because I know HP as being associated with printers and at first I wasn't sure what comdex meant. The movie was very short so I had to view it a few times to grasp what is was showing me. I believe this is an add or a type of add for something having to do with sound.

The movie begins with people in a club dancing and the camera slowly moving around the room. the music is fast paced to start off with so the people dancing go along with the music quite well. The camera then fixes on a person, in the middle of the dance floor listening to headphones, he swings his arm like he is striking a guitar string right as the music plays the sound of a guitar string being hit and this sets the transition to the next scene and completely new, slower paced music.

The next scene, after the camera zooms in on the persons headphones, is a man in a tan room sitting down in a chair closing his eyes and listening to music through a stereo in the room. At this point some dialogue is heard very subtly over the music, it speaks of designing requiring brilliant engineering for not only the eyes but for the ears as well.

So I would then assume this movie is attempting to appeal to peoples desire for music and style, and that their products sound just as intense as if you were inside of a real club. There is very little type, the only being the HP logo, with two names (possibly designers of the product along with it) that pop out of the person's earphones.

The colors of the movie are very dark in the first scene, basically the colors are what they would most likely be if you were inside of a dance club and the people are wearing the kind of clothes you might wear for a night in the club or for club dancing. When the second scene hits, the color pallet is very limited, displaying a soft and calm look; as does the clothes the man is wearing.

So in conclusion, based on the colors, the look, feel and pace of this movie I would guess that HP is attempting to portray that their products can be both intense and soft to fit ones needs and at the same time are very stylish and appealing to our senses. The movie, I see as a type of advertisement, is very effective to me. Perhaps because I am of a younger crowd and do enjoy going out to dance while also enjoy relaxing, this movie would be more effective towards me. Well whatever the case is, if I didn't already have a large stylish stereo from the sharper image (a futuristic type of store) I would very much the one I see here in the movie.

Charlie's Angells 2: Full Throttle

2004-11-10T08:05:00.001-08:00

Transition time brotha…

As a class we have officially begun work with Adobe After effects and are now required to Blog about after effects related compositions.

I chose the film main title Charlie’s Angels 2: Full Throttle from the website Imaginary Forces. The film is a favorite of mine and I always loved the title excerpt, so now to have the chance to closely analyze it is exciting.

This excerpt is a combination of drawn in elements, film clips, and fire. It isn’t very long, but very effective. However, I know that in the movie the title movie is slightly longer with a few more movie scenes for each angel.

Anyways, the movie incorporates three images of each angel, basically an outline and shadow of each girl; it would appear as though the image was cut right out of the layer and that was left is its outline (this is basically towards the end of the excerpt). The movie goes like this: There is a small audio introduction to the three angels, while this is playing three drawn in elements of each girl is moving through the background. Then for each individual angel a certain type of music plays to fit their portrayed personalities, so with the music alone one gets a sense of who these characters are.

Many of the transitions between scenes either involves fire brushing through or some other image moving in; usually moving over and covering the previous image. The way the fire is used is not in a typical fashion, it doesn’t appear as though it is burning the images around it, rather it is moving with them and encompassing the entire frame. The fire is enclosing and revealing images around or from within it; it also seems to move other images or that these images are following it, like a vacuum. For example, the ending of the excerpt involves each letter of the movie (in a metallic form) moving into the scene scattered about. The letters are twisting and turning but as the fire movies from the foreground to the background the letters all seem to be following its direction and they settle in the middle on a drawn in stripe, which appeared slightly behind the fire in the beginning of this particular scene.

The color pallet is basic when it comes to the drawn in elements, the colors aren’t dark per say and they aren’t bright either; the colors seem to be more in the middle. For example, there is basically maroon, blue, tan, and black. So the color pallet is very limited, but with the addition of the fire element and way in which the colors are used, combines to create a very fascinating and exciting effect.

Every element and every frame, scene etc… works very well together; I especially enjoy the shots from drawn in or unreal images to real human video. There is no jumpy transitions everything is full and the video goes very well with the feel of the music from the beginning to the end.

With practice and dedication I know I can only improve myself and with time I will be able to do similar compositions and perhaps even better ones than what I saw here.

Nims Winter Story

2004-11-08T17:26:00.000-08:00

On my previous blog I spoke about the incredible website Goober Productions, well this time I chose to blog about one of the movies featured on the site by Sweedish animator Ola Bergner.

The movie is narrated in sweedish but had enlgish subtitles, the title of the story is Nims Winter Story and is about a Pixie named Nim who lives among the forrest. The setting of the movie takes place in the winter and for the most part seems to be at night.

To begin the storyline, an animator speaks about the forrest, a few passages on the loneliness and those who inhabit it. There is a camera pan in which the forrest and hills are shown, all the while the "camera" is zooming closer and closer to trees. Eventually a small creature pops out of its home while avoiding snowballs from other small creatures. It whipes off the sine to its house and this is where you learn the name Nim.

Nim packs up all of its stuff (I am not sure which sex this pixie is, it isn't easy to tell) and begins a walk through the woods with its sled, lantern and a small bag. On Nims was to whatever location, it passes by a sleeping creature, one that doesn't look like anything one would find in the "real" world. Anyways, Nim's destination seems to be a barn where a horse is in its stall. Nim feeds the horse and then reparis a part of the stall (*one thing I must mention is that Nim couldn't be more than a few inches tall). Nim then falls alseep, dreams of camels and is awoken when it hears a girl saying she wants to give her food to the pixies. The father of the girl says to give it to the dog because pixies do not exist. The girl then puts the food onto the ground where she believes the pixies will find it and goes inside to eat dinner.

The movie ends with Nim smelling the food. I would suppose this movie is about believing and that is simply was a fantasy of its creator. However, this is just my speculation of why the film was created.

Moving into the more technical side of this movie, Nims Winter Story seems to be close to a 3D environment. I know this movie was made in flash because its creator claims so. Shadows and gradients are put into every element of the movie, which gives the illusion of a three dimensional environment.

The color pallet is mostly dark pastel like tones, even the pixies outfit, although green, is in a darker tone. Much of the movie elements are also given a siny look, it seems as though the moon in the video is shining on the trees and into the forrest onto the floor and all of its creatures including Nim.

I love how this animator put this movie together, it takes a long time to load but it is worth it. There is constant movement, down to the little snow flakes that never stop falling even at the end of the movie when the option of watching it over again appears.

The characters that you see while watching are not human like and when there are humans, you only seem the girls feet and part of her lower legs. So this makes me thing, this animator doesn't know how to draw humans very well either.

So to end this blog, I strongly recomend one taking the time to watch this small flash movie. It is highly creative, very interesting, and the music which goes along with it it amazing.

Goober

2004-11-03T09:46:00.000-08:00

What I have decided to blog about today is not what you would call a video; this flash animation is an ENTIRE WEBSITE!
I was searching around Best Animation Site for some more interesting videos when I stumbled upon a link for a Sweedish Flash site called Goober Productions. The name was interesting enough, so I decided to click the link and take a look.

What I found initially was very exciting, the page that come up is not the main page, but it still very much fascinating. Right away I could tell that this site was not a typical HTML build website. Almost everything about it involves flash; from the simple “shine” of the enter button to the incredible pictures of stories on the left of the page.

When I clicked on the enter button a new window appeared and an intro video begins to play, I do have the option of skipping the introduction but this video is very interesting for it sets up the look of the main page. Basically the intro video is of a forest and a bright bug fly’s to the foreground from the background, then a peanut appears in the middle while simultaneously the bug lags on a branch. The peanut is with in a circle, but it drops (slowly) to the bottom of the page.

I do not want to try to go too much into detail, this site is very complex and I lack the efficient words to describe it; there basically is no describing it… the site is simply too good for words!

Anyways, I will say that the video turns into the webpage itself, which is all flash elements as well. The characters and the buttons (basically everything appears 3D and moves either when you mouse over it or (like the elf looking character) it moves on its own.

The site has a very earthy feel to it with usage of browns, forest colors such as green and various tones of that. There are bugs, which move around the screen such as dragonflies and butterflies. Also, there is a small lizard, which moves around a ring (the ring circles all of the elements contained with in the website, but like how a cell wall encloses the cytoplasm of a cell).

This is very hard to explain, I suggest to please take a look at this site and see for yourself. There is so much going on, I am personally in awe of its creator and will look further into this site and what is contained with in it.

Let me tell you, I sure do have a major appreciation for whom ever created this AMAZING site!

Ilustris: A Polish Flash Cartoon

2004-10-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

I couldn’t think of many animations that I know of to write about, so I went onto a world wide web search, after a little while of searching I found this site called Best Flash Animations Site.com

It was full of different animations and flash projects; there were so many I didn’t know where to start, Eventually, however, I came across a cartoon flash animation titled Ilustris This cartoon animation from the get go seemed very different from what I have seen so far in animations, which is very hard considering I have looked at a large variety of flash animations.

To begin, the index or start page of the Ilustris animation was simple yet very effective. It has the main characters in the animation appear as though they are sitting on the edge of a table, almost as though the line is a bench. Also, the page has an option of Polish or English. One would guess that the creator than is Polish? This I know is true from the description of the animation on Best Flash Animations Site.com Anyways, after you chose a language, you can then pick wither a large window or a small window for the flash to play in. I think this is a great option, sometimes there isn’t enough space or sometimes one can’t read or see well so having this option makes the creation even better and interactive; this you will find out is apparent through out the entire animation.

So when I clicked on both options, choosing English and then the large screen another window will pop up in front and a small mouse starts walking around the screen. The user, who is watching this animation, can move around a small drawn in mouse. Then the main animation begins once the small mouse runs back into its hold.

The main animation is a small girl and a small boy; from the way they are drawn in (I will touch upon this is a later paragraph) seem to be young. Moving on, the boy ends up chasing around a bird while the girl continues to stand minding her own business. However, all of a sudden the bird flies out of this box they characters are in and then the girl runs off and the boy falls out of it. The characters then begin creating almost what looks like a living painting of a grassy meadow with flowers and clouds. I do mean that they are literally creating it, because the characters are armed with paintbrushes, ladders, and seem to place everything together.

At different points during the process of creating the scenery, the girl goes into the “painting” and runs around while continuing to add elements into it… this seems so fascinating and very creative in my mind.

The bird even comes back to help the clouds move in the sky. And, towards the “end (there really isn’t one)” the little boy picks one of the flowers out of the “painting” and hands it to her. The little girl is very appreciative and it seems as though the two characters fall in love. They end up sitting on the boarder of the “painting” like it is a bench, which is much like how they are in the index/start page.

One thing you find out by watching this animation and keep going is that it never really ends. The animation is on some type of path where is cycles in the sense that day will turn into night. The characters from where they are will fall asleep and the bird will too. Night then eventually turns into day and the characters awake. All the while they stay in the same spot but do move arms and legs as though they were alive; the girl even smells the flower some. Also, a balloon will pop up, day or night, and bounce around through the screen. This is great because even though the main animation is over, the whole thing continues and will never end.

Last but not least, the way the characters and the environment are drawn looks almost simplistic. They seem like simple pencil drawings and the color pallet is very limited; a basic soft tone pallet with soft green (not typical grass green), a light blue sky and some yellow/white flowers. When it turns to night, everything becomes a few different simple shades of blue. The boy is light blue and the girl is a tone of yellow. The bird is the only character with more than one color tone; being red and yellow.

All is all this animation is very effective in creating a interesting and interactive design where if I so choose I could sent it as an e-card or tell the animation to do something slightly different. The way the characters are drawn seem simple but they are extremely fitting to their environment and the feel of the animation.

Presle Stephane 2003

2004-10-18T18:21:00.000-07:00

The animation I chose to blog about this time doesn't really have a title and if it does, well I can't seem to find it. So, I think I will give it its own name:"Unsuspected FBI agent." However, during the end of the movie, a small text pops up and it reads Presle Stephane 2003, but it seems as though it would be the creator and not the name of the creation. I am not sure, maybe this is a method of animation... no titles?

Right away I could tell the style of this animation, the story however, was very difficult to recognize.

Basically, it seems as though this animator doesn't know how to draw objects and humans very well, the characters were very sketch-like and (in my opinion) badly drawn. They didn't have human faces; instead the features were replaced with simple drawn lines. The bodies weren't detailed and very basic. The same went for all of the components of the flash, it seemed as though an 8-year-old kid drew this animation. (Side note, If, a kid did draw this than good for him/her) But, if an adult drew this, than I personally feel it is a little bit too childlike and basic.

Moving on, I found it very difficult to figure out what the story line might have been and even now I really don't have a good idea. Basically what happened is some character (I believe a male) robs a band or what seems like a bank and at some point picks up a "thing" from space. The two of them seem to be running from a cop and to escape they hijack a rocket. However in the end, the character that robbed the bank is caught by what you would never guess is an FBI agent, this bird like figure that seemed like it was run over earlier in the animation.

Towards the ending of this animation is the robber going to jail while the "thing" from space is returned to what looked like a cloud. Then, the last scene is the bird on a remote island shooting an astronaut that suddenly (and for no reason I can see) appears on the island from a rocket.

I do not understand how this animation became a runner up in Flash forward, but then again that is only my opinion and I can appreciate the amount of work that went into this video. Perhaps that is a reason for its apparent success?

The color pallet is very basic, light tones and at some points no color at all. There really only seemed to be 3 colors, brown (or tones of it), dark green, and at one point a pinkish color toward the end. This is disregarding the obvious black outlines and fill too much of the characters and objects.

This animation just wasn’t that appealing to me, but it did do a lot of things right, such as music that went along with the animation well. The music was strange and different, just like the animation, so it fit well.

I do like the fact that all the elements of the animation went together, each component worked with the other... for that I will say this animation was in the least good.

Magical Trevor

2004-10-12T17:33:00.000-07:00

I decided to do a blog on one of my second favorit videos from a great website Webbls-stuff.

This one is called Magical Trevor, it consists of a fun story line where a man (at least is seems to be a man) is performing a magical trick. This one he is dissapearing a cow and asking everyone a.k.a. the audience if they know where the cow is. However, his only audience is a group of none other than... quess? Yep, cows! A problem arised when Magical Trevor goes to bring the cow he dissapeared back, his wip or magical wip is made out of cow hide (100%) and this uspets his bovine viewrs.

The cows appear to be angry and after the one dissapeared comes back, Magical Trevor remembers to put the whip behind him to then get on his audiences good side.

After this cow is back, the video turns into a interview with the cow appearing as though it is talking about its dissapearing expeience.

What I love about this video is the fact that there is no dialogue, but there is song. And, the song is where the words come from in a very fun, enjoyable form. The person singing has a great voice but they are saying what is going on in a funny musical tone, which really adds to the overall feel of the Magical Trevor video.

The animation is with dark lines, there is a very fun style to the characters; this is much like the rest of the video elements. What I feel makes this particular video very sucessful is how every element goes together, the storyline is silly, the animation is silly, the song is every very silly and fun. It is just a feel good, have a laugh kind of video, It is very similar to the previous blog I did on the video Lions and Tigers, Only in Kenya; well it should, it was done by the same creators and can be found on the same site.

The movement is limited, but not needed to tell the story and make the video effective. In fact, the extremely limited movemnet of the cows, is what makes them so funny in the video, One can tell what is going on in their mind by the simple facial expressions... for example the eyebrows in a V shape (a standard universial facial feature).

If you like to laugh and want to see some great animations, check this site out! It is very much worth it!

"Lions and Tigers," only in Kenya!

2004-10-05T14:59:00.000-07:00

Pattie Belle was right!

I was very excited about the chance to select my very own video to analyze! For this assignment I chose Lions and Tigers from Weeble-Stuff.com.

To begin, I would like to add that this particular flash video is one of my current favorites. I have seen it on many occasions when searching simply for humor. Lions and Tigers, also known as Kenya on the website, is a comedic flash video which cycles through its animation. This is the first of its kind I have seen so far this semester.

The cycling method seems to be very effective; it draws the watcher into the video and makes it easy for one to keep watching.

There really isn't a whole lot to the story line purse, but there is a lot of activity in the video. First off, it starts off with a small lion in cartoon form. It is swaying from side to side going along with the music quite effectively. They say, "Where can I see lions? Only in Kenya" Then it shifts to a tiger, swaying just like the tiger and the music sings, "Where can I see Tigers? Only in Kenya"

The music is even different, it is created by the flash animator, it isn't something that was borrowed or sampled (chopped up). But the music is very funny as well and really gives the video its edge, they way it is sung and the instrumental sounds are almost bizarre, but then again so is the idea of lions and tigers existing in Kenya... there are no lions and tigers in Kenya.

This appeals to perhaps a small plot of the video, to joke, make you feel good, and to laugh. There are so many elements in this video, which are purely for comical reasons. Such as the humans in the end on the "Holy Crap! Lions Tours" buss, they look very characterized and very funny.

The colors are all pastel and bright, they combine to look like the colors of Africa and create a soft tone/feel to the entire video. There is no need for dark or incredibly bright colors, the animations as well as the music does all the work, and the color pallet simply supports all that is going on.

Papersky

2004-09-28T21:24:00.000-07:00

Animation of the week: Papersky

Papersky, I would like to start off as saying, is derived from a very unique and interesting way of creating an animation video. Even from the start, one can tell it is not created through conventional means... basically it looks as though old cardboard was recycled in the sense of being used for an animation. And indeed, it is old cardboard that is being used.

Touching briefly on the creation of the video and the characters, I (at first glance) wasn't able to see much variation and creativity. They seemed so simple, way too simple, however, when I played the video a few more times and focused more I was able to notice very subtle details. The characters are made up of cardboard; their movement is portrayed through different cardboard cuttings being placed in different areas or positions within the larger cardboard box. There was some usage of shadows, which contributed to the overall feeling of the video. So even though there is VERY limited movement and effects, the illusion of these movements is effective enough at telling a story.

What a great way of using such "simple" materials for delivering a story!

Moving on, I suppose I can say that I didn't know what to think about the story when I first laid eyes on this video... but it is for sure that Papersky did manage to hold my attention. I found myself deep in thought trying to understand what the storyline was, but it took many more playbacks of the video over and over for me to grasp a basic idea.

It seems as though the box (being the world) and the sky that appears is perhaps a metaphor for the phrase "seeing outside of the box." The figure is seen doing everyday mundane work, the same routine day after day, he is blind to what lies beyond the box. However, one day the routine changes, there could be a few different reasons as to how or why he saw the "real" sky. One, he could have been hallucinating somehow... perhaps a negative effect of overwork. Two, he could have simply been daydreaming, possibly an internal wish for change, it is hard to say and this list could go on and on.

One thing that is certain in this video is that somehow and in someway this individual cardboard character sees a "real" sky as opposed to his cardboard sky (papersky). Could then the sky be a symbol? If so then what? Well, I believe it is a symbol, as for what; there could be a variety of answers.

To start; the sky suddenly breaks out of the box, starting out as a small hole and growing larger until it is free. So from this one possibility is the sky stands for freedom. In the case of our paper character, the sky is a symbol for his want of personal freedom. His freedom may be for something new, a break from the similar, an opening to a new and exciting world.

Another possible symbol for the sky could be temptation. The sky presents something new, which seems to upset the characters partner. Could then the sky be something that is pulling the paper character in a direction, which could ultimately ruin his life? I believe this is very possible. Of course I am not the one who created, so I can only speculate. But, after serious consideration and though of Papersky, I fell temptation or a negative pull could be a valid alternative.

If I were to choose between Temptation and Freedom as the most likely represented by the sky, I would select Freedom. I think it is just a nice concept to think of the paper character as escaping what to me seems like a sad, boring, and hard life.

The music furthers supports my idea of this character wanting to break free. It is hard to accurately describe the music, but even though it seems to have an up beat; it somehow gave me a sense of need. The music really drew me into what was going on in the paper world, I felt compelled by what was going on. The animation alone (although very interesting) would not have been enough to relay the message of a need for freedom. The music helped with showing anticipation, grief, bland feeling, excitement, etc. In a way, I would go as far as to say that the music was a large part of portraying emotion.

There was no dialogue in the video, just music and the cardboard animations. Emotions can be presented in many different ways, but through Papersky emotions were shows through simple facial expressions and the use of music. However simple it may seem, the emotions of the character were very recognizable. The creator of this video did a very good job at providing an alternative to the standard (referring to drawn animations and dialogue seen consistently through out flash).

This alternative to the standard does work, even if it is only simple figure drawings on old cardboard. This is something I have never seen before, which leads me to believe the reason why this video is so successful is simply because no one has really ever experienced it. It is creative in the sense of being different... so then maybe the creator is thinking "outside of the box," and is experiencing their own form of freedom by creating a simple, yet never before seen video!

Rendezvous With CANDYCRACKER

2004-09-16T08:18:00.000-07:00

From the first moment I laid eyes on this video, it was apparent that it was not going to be like anyting else I had every seen. And, indeed it was not.

However, the story line was simple when broekn down. A character, the main character or protagonist, murdered a priest and stole its heart. Afterwards the murderer is running from the police or antagonist, in order to escape capture. While attempting to escape a second Antagonis, the candycracker, severs the tendons of the murderer's fingers. This causes the murderer to fall, seemingly causing death.

One thing in this video is that the death is mainly assumed because the animator shows the visual perspective of the murderer as he is falling, one never sees the impact and proof of death. I do not know if this is any type of method used by the animator or if it simply seemed like a creative way to end what I call a very bizzar video.

The characters themselves did not resemble humans, they were strangly created, some with huge hands on which they sat others (the police) which were basically cylender shape with guns. With the apparent "strange" style of the characters, I am lead to believe that the animater did not have the ablity to draw natural human figures. Which I was told is a method for getting around this difficulty.

There were only a few sound effects, ranging from the sound of the tendons snapping to the sound of the horse running. There was no dilague at all, but there was music which played consistently throughout the video. The music I noticed did not fade or break, or even stop at any point for the duration of the flash video. However, the choice of music did seem to follow along with the animation almost as though it were created just for it (this I do not know). I can speculate that the animator spent a great amount of time detailing everything from the music to the background just right.

What else is so different about this video, well there is a lot more. Some of which I am sure would take me hours and hours to tap into. For now, I add that with the characters there were two colors, white and red. The red was bright, and very bold. I feel this was used as a method to have the characters really stand out from the surrounding background. And, the backgrounds were very basic, almost see through. They looked like simple pencle sketches and this could also have been a method to really make the characters stand out.

All in all, I did not really like the video. I chose it because it was different but it did not appeal to me in any other way, if anything I found it to be annoying from the consistent chewing of Candycracker to the extremely strage style of the characters. It isn't me or my style...

The crock files

2004-09-14T11:56:00.000-07:00

This time around I decided to choose the animation by Todd Gallina called the crock files.

Right off the bat even before I open the webpage to watch the flash animation I can notice a very different animation style from "Teddy and Anna." The most noticible to me is the dark outlines one sees in all of Todd Gallina's animation videos, compared to Teddy and Anna, which have no dark outlines on the animation. Continuing on the style of the animation, the crock files characters are more abstact, the lines which create them aren't very smooth, often very rough in nature.

The movement is jumpy, it simply jumps back and fourth in the frames to give the illusion of movement. In Teddy and Anna, the characters acctually showed what I call natural movement, they seemed more human and the characters design was also much more human like and natural. Going deep into detail to further my point, I want to bring up the eyes from both animations. The characters from crock files primarily have simple circles as their eyes, yet in Teddy and Anna, the characters have (I use this word a lot) more natural or human like eyes consisting of eye sockets, puples, basically the whole eye sructure itself.

The dialogue in crock files is more of a modern style to voicing over, instead of the old style separate scene which has written dialogue that those who are watching must see and read instead of listen to. In the crock files, all one has to do is have their volume up enough to be able to listen to what the character is saying and to hear the various "things" going on.

One thing I did not bring up in Teddy and Anna is that one does not hear the movement or activity, music is playing over the entire animation, the dialogue isn't even heard, only read. But in the crock files, you can hear simple activity and also hear what the character is saying.

The crock files has a comedic plot to its animation, which allows for laughter. I see this as a reason for its more choppy and less natural animation as well as the much brighter colors throughout the episode. Teddy and Anna was more of a dark series, and had darker colors and darker music to show the seriousness of the animation.

All in all, the two very distict styles of Teddy and Anna and the crock files basically have to do with the story being portrayed and also with the preference and style of the animator.

As to which one I might prefer, I am the type of person who would enjoy brighter colors and more of a comedic animaton as opposed to dark colors such as browns and serious/dark animations which I really dislike.

Mark Fiore

2004-09-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

This is a great animator who I came accross a few years ago. His cartoons are most, if not all, based on some political and/or cultural aspect in todays day and age.

Mark Fiore

I think this is worth checking out...

Analysis of "Teddy and Anna"

2004-09-06T14:48:00.000-07:00

When I first viewed the web page that displayed Teddy and Anna, I wasn't sure what to expect from the small video series. It seemed, from the title, that it could be some cute and cuddly video for young children. However, when I began to watch the actual videos, it grew clear to me that the Teddy and Anna episodes were far from cute and cuddly in a childish sense. Somehow as I continued to watch the episodes, they seemed more and more dark by nature.

One definite recognition of Teddy and Anna is the use of color. They seem to be very monotone and pastel like. One color is no more dramatic than the other, meaning they are similar in brightness and in pallet. There isn't that sort of over done usage of color.

Unlike the other three animation series I had to choose from, Teddy and Anna does not have those dark outlines around the characters. They are hidden from the animation, this may just have to do with the animators preference or style.

Another notable characteristic with this animation series is the way in which the characters move. They seem to have more of what I call "natural" movement. As the viewer you see the characters move from one pose to another, they look as though they are moving like a real human being. The only exception I can note is their fingers, there is no movement, the hands or fingers simply changes from scene to scene to give the illusion of movement.

The speach, or lack there of is done in a sort of old fashioned way. The dialoge is shown in a separate box between scenes, perhaps playing on the old school style (music in the forfront with displayed text) that was used by film in its early history. I find this method to be very creative and effective in adding to the apparent dramatic style of Teddy and Anna.

Many of the shapes involved in creating this animation seem to be very basic and simple, the only exception being the human figures themselves. If you notice, the city is a series of squares and rectangles with some other basic shapes here and there, nothing seems to be too complex. I believe that what gives the city and all of the animations some form of complexity is the usage of color... there isn't a large array of color as expressed previously, but they still seem to be the entity which gives Teddy and Anna "life."

When I first viewed the series I thought it was simple, but as I cycled through each episode and scene, the dynamics became more clear, right down to the very details of each characters face.

One last detail I find important to note is HOW the old style of dialogue was used. When the father or adult is talking the text is bigger and bolder, yet when the child or adolescent is talking the text is thin and smaller... I find this an interesting characteristic of this series.

Teddy and Anna

Hi

2004-09-01T06:47:00.000-07:00

This is my first poast, go me!