Prompt 2: I am a big fan of comics, and most of the comics I read are black and white. The reason why comics are so suitable as subject matter for movies is that comics have complete storyboards and lines. If a film director wants to remake a comic book, it is equivalent to getting an instruction manual with pictures and text. If his remake of a movie was based on a novel, it would need more biographies.
Journal Entry – Week 3
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Watch Winsor McCay’s “Gertie the Dinosaur” and Emile Cohl’s “Fantasmagorie”. Compare these two early styles of animation. What is similar, and what is different in their approaches? How are lines used? How are backgrounds used? What about the storytelling?
“Winsor McCay’s Gertie the Dinosaur” and Émile Cohl’s “Fantasmagorie” are two pioneering works in the history of animation, both created during the early 20th century. While they share some similarities as early examples of animation, they also exhibit notable differences in their approaches, the use of lines, backgrounds, and storytelling:
Similarities:
Pioneering Techniques: Both Gertie the Dinosaur and Fantasmagorie were groundbreaking for their time. They were among the first animated films, demonstrating the possibilities of the medium and pushing the boundaries of animation technology. Hand-Drawn Animation: Both films were created using traditional hand-drawn animation techniques. Each frame was drawn by hand, resulting in a fluid but somewhat jerky motion characteristic of early animation. Character-Centric: Both animations focus on a central character: Gertie the Dinosaur in McCay’s work and a stick figure-like character in Cohl’s Fantasmagorie. This character-centric approach was common in early animation, helping to establish the idea of characters as central to animated storytelling.
Differences:
Artistic Style: One of the most significant differences between the two animations is their artistic style. McCay’s Gertie the Dinosaur is more realistic and detailed, with careful attention to character design and background. Cohl’s Fantasmagorie, on the other hand, has a more abstract and surreal style, with whimsical and constantly changing shapes and forms. Use of Lines: In Gertie the Dinosaur, lines are used to create detailed and lifelike character and background designs. McCay’s animation relies on fine lines to depict Gertie’s movements and expressions, giving her a sense of realism. In Fantasmagorie, lines are more abstract and playful, often morphing and transforming to create a surreal and dreamlike atmosphere. Backgrounds: Winsor McCay’s animation incorporates detailed and realistic backgrounds that help establish a sense of place and context. Fantasmagorie, on the other hand, uses minimalist and constantly shifting backgrounds that contribute to the dreamy and abstract quality of the film. Storytelling: Gertie the Dinosaur is more narrative-driven, with a clear storyline involving McCay interacting with the animated dinosaur. The storytelling is more structured, with a beginning, middle, and end. In contrast, Fantasmagorie is more experimental and abstract, with a loose and surreal sequence of events that don’t necessarily follow a traditional narrative structure. It’s more focused on visual experimentation and humor.
In summary, both Gertie the Dinosaur and Fantasmagorie are important early examples of animation, but they differ significantly in their artistic style, use of lines, backgrounds, and storytelling approach. Gertie the Dinosaur is more realistic and narrative-driven, while Fantasmagorie is abstract and experimental, reflecting the diverse possibilities and creative directions that animation could take in its early years.
We have seen that many early animated films, particularly in the US, were based on print comics. Why do you think that is? What was there about comics that would make them an appropriate subject for film?
Many early animations were based on comic strips because they already had a fan base, they had enough popularity that if animated would gain even more attention and popularity. I believe it would also have a positive impact on publishers. Comics were a great subject for the film because they had the humor and it would be interesting, it was something new for spectators, and as mentioned before it had a funny and sometimes satiric plot.
Prompt 2
We have seen that many early animated films, particularly in the US, were based on print comics. Why do you think that is? What was there about comics that would make them an appropriate subject for film?
I believe that the main reason as to why so many of the early animated films were based on print comics was from how widespread comics were to read thanks to newspapers, magazines, and books. The second reason as to why those animated films were based on these comics would be the creators of those strips themselves making the animation with their own artistic style that borrows from their own comic strips.
Comics were considered an appropriate subject for film because of their unique and distinct art style, each artist had their own way of interpreting the way a character can move and express themselves on the screen. It may also have to do with the simplicity of how some comic print characters looked when they were drawn, the simple designs of those characters translated well with animation. The animators won’t have to painstakingly draw an overly detailed character frame by frame in their animation, as it would be much more difficult for complicated designs to be drawn frame by frame at the time when the industry started.
Prompt 1
Watch Winsor McCay’s “Gertie the Dinosaur” and Emile Cohl’s “Fantasmagorie”. Compare these two early styles of animation. What is similar, and what is different in their approaches? How are lines used? How are backgrounds used? What about the storytelling?
My answer:
Between “Gertie the Dinosaur” and “Fantasmagorie”, some similarities I see include the use of frame-by-frame animation in general, hints of the use of humor/comedy, and… not much else. “Fantasmagorie” seems to be more of a “transformative” animation — this is actually a common exercise I have done in animation class, where you are supposed to creatively animate one thing turning into another… and another, and so on — while “Gertie the Dinosaur” is more of a humorous animation with a generally, loose yet consistent plotline. In other words, “Fantasmagorie” seems more like a show of animation and skill, whereas “Gertie the Dinosaur” feels more like a cartoon. Additionally, the animation of “Gertie the Dinosaur” also seems to look more accurate, smooth, and consistent, whereas the animation of “Fantasmagorie” looks more wild, unpredictable, and disproportioned. However, I believe that this disproportion and chaos may very well be the point of “Fantasmagorie”. For one, the progression of “events” is chaotic in itself; the “plot” keeps changing into dozens of mini-plots involving entirely different scenarios that almost instantly transform into something else. Perhaps the disproportion of the figures seen, as well as the jumpiness of the animation, is purposeful in an attempt to embody that chaos, or/and to even create it in the first place. Even more justification still lies in the appearance of the “background” of the animation — it appears as if the animation has been drawn with white chalk on a dark chalkboard, messy and chaotic. (I actually read that this effect was created by using black lines on paper but then printing it negatively to create a chalkboard effect.)
Meanwhile, “Gertie the Dinosaur” is clean; I feel that there are more frames/keyframes, obviously each frame is smoother and more similar to the frame before it. The backgrounds are drawn meticulously over and over again (At the time, there was no invention of layering cels!) and it remains consistent with black lines on the white paper. Speaking of the background, there was a background that was drawn — a lake, trees, etc — unlike “Fantasmagorie”, which had no background overall.
These are the differences I see between the two animations. I see more differences from similarities.
(On a personal note, I prefer Gertie the Dinosaur. And it also got a good laugh out of me!)
Prompt 2: We have seen that many early animated films, particularly in the US, were based on print comics. Why do you think that is? What was there about comics that would make them an appropriate subject for film?
Early animated films in the US were based on comics that were popular at the time. Nowadays, there are plenty of films and shows we get based on books and comics. I think the reason that started in the first place was because it was a new industry. They knew that the fans of beloved comic characters would bring more attention to the animation industry as a whole. These comic characters were also very similar to caricatures so the exaggerated features and simple designs make it easier to bring to life on a screen.
Respond to at least 1 prompt on this page (you are welcome to respond to more). For instructions on how to submit a journal entry, please follow these instructions. FORMATTING FOR THIS WEEK: Use the title format “[FirstName] [LastName] W3” and select the Category “Journal Entry – Week 3”
Prompt 1
Watch Winsor McCay’s “Gertie the Dinosaur” and Emile Cohl’s “Fantasmagorie”. Compare these two early styles of animation. What is similar, and what is different in their approaches? How are lines used? How are backgrounds used? What about the storytelling?
Prompt 2
We have seen that many early animated films, particularly in the US, were based on print comics. Why do you think that is? What was there about comics that would make them an appropriate subject for film?
