HAYLEY MORRIS
With the advent of new technologies, one might think that
stop motion animation would become obsolete, but the new technologies have only
served to increase the flexibility and the possibilities of stop motion for
animator and animation director Hayley Morris. Morris works out of her studio
in Brooklyn, New York to create animations for music videos and companies that
wish to advertise their projects (Hayley Morris). Her animated works include a
mixture of mediums, such as drawing, painting, sculpting, textiles, lighting,
and sound. Conceptually, her works tend to be surrealist dreamscapes due to the
very saturated color schemes that she chooses, and the transformations in her
animations that take place.
In
connection with my work, I admire Morris’ ability to balance advertisement and
art, but also to combine multiple modes of animation and film. I aspire to
create an advertisement for the Campus Farm that includes 3D and 2D stop motion
animations by layering the stills. Morris has combined different lighting
techniques, rotoscope watercolor animations, and live action into her stop
motion. To focus, I will limit my critique and analysis to her work on the
music video for Iron & Wine’s “Joy”.
For the music video, Morris shot all of the stills of the
music video, using paper, paint, and other materials to create a foundation for
the music video, setting the video in a somewhat bland or dead forest. The
image of a woman was projected onto the set pieces and then she rotoscoped
those images frame by frame using a computer program like Dragonframe that has
many animating features, such as the ability to rotoscope, lip-syncing with
animated facial features, and vector-based drawing tools (Dragonframe,
Motionographer). The rotoscope added a dreamscape element to the video with a
brightly colored woman who would appear throughout the gray scenery, adding
“joy” to the landscape, and replacing the dead with the living. The animation
went well with the nature of the song and captured the meaning and tone very
well: the chill and somewhat haunted tone of the music with the loving and
romantic lyrics about a very emotional testament toward a person who is the
only one that can bring joy to the singer.
This
piece is very strong in creating a sense of tone and atmosphere in the piece.
Combining the method of rotoscoping in combination with the 3D stop motion
creates a depth and atmosphere that could not have been attained alone. The
continuous shift in the coloration of the woman enhances the dreamy atmosphere
of the sound and imagery, and while the majority of the set remains still, the
rotoscoped overlay creates an ethereal sense of motion.
In terms
of her dreamy worlds, she says that creating animations that too closely
imitate reality are pointless and does not fully capture the possibilities
offered by animation (Bowlegs). I hope to emulate her sense of imagination in
creating a strong setting and tone in my work by successfully combining 2D and
3D animation styles in order to enhance the spiritual, magical nature of the
work.
MATT SMITHSON
Matt Smithson is an animator who has also exhibited works
in painting, printmaking, and motion graphics. Smithson has created several
animations for different companies and movements for humanitarian purposes. His
animations are uplifting, inspiring, and informational. His art background and
interests extend beyond this commercial art, delving into more surreal and odd
concepts that are inspired by his dreams (Cataloguing), but I am most
interested in his advertisement goals in relation to animation.
In his
advertisement for First Book, a nonprofit organization that helps to provide
new books for children of lower income families, he uses a simplistic and
abstracted cartoon style of animation combined with bright, saturated colors to
create a fun and warm-hearted setting for the animation. Having the characters
abstracted with little identification helps viewers to identify with the
characters, along with their issues and successes throughout the course of the
advertisement. Smithson also abstracts the setting down to very simplistic and
symbolic images- the unshaded lines capture the essence of each object- a book
is simply a rectangle with a line or smaller rectangle indicating a title. The
use of geometric shapes to fill the setting is also another characteristic of
his work. While for this particular animation, it may help to enhance the focus
on the child, in his other works, it serves to keep within the theme of
abstraction and to aid in the transitions. Smithson’s transitioning method is
very smooth- the transformations of the objects and the scenery flow seamlessly
and are not distracting or jarring. The only problem I have with the
transitions are that they seem very typical of these types of animated
commercials, and also somewhat relate to the sense of space and transition in
Prezi presentations.
While this style may not necessarily be entirely
original, I think they speak testament toward the effective flow of advertising,
storytelling, and how to get the message across to a viewer. The storyline of
the advertisement is captivating, and emotionally appealing, which serves to
successfully draw the viewer into the message in order for the branding to
appear at the end of the advertisement. The characters are simple and
relatable, the rest of the art and symbols are also simplistic and do not
distract from the main character or the conflict, but enliven the commercial
with constant motion. This is typical of any commercial, and I hope to emulate
this successful storyline with such a captivating manner.
0 comments:
Post a Comment