The film on which I will be writing my short paper is Fantasmagorie by Emile Cohl. I’m drawn to this film because it was the world’s first fully animated cartoon and is an example of traditional hand drawn animation. The elements I will be researching about are Emile Cohl’s inspiration from animation pioneers before him, production of the film and its effects on the history of animation.
Wasif Awan
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Prompt 2:
I think the reason a lot of early animated films made in the US were based on print comics because they were really popular and familiar with the viewers. Comics were a good way to tell stories at that time, they were usually about superheroes and I think they were the best way to bring fictional characters to life. It was simple for animators to take the original comics and make them small animated films because since comics are already visuals, it is also easier to go from a still image to a continuous demonstration of multiple frames.
I have no doubt that being a part of one of Gaspard Robertson’s “Fantasmagorie” shows in 1797 would have been a terrifying experience, especially considering that France was in the midst of a bloody revolution at the time, which claimed many lives. The bloodshed occurring in France would undoubtedly heighten the show’s horror factor. With the method and technology he used for his shows being ahead of his time will definitely have me wondering whether or not those illusions are real. The same kinds of emotions could be evoked by horror films and television shows with jump scares.
