What’s similar about these 2 films are the low frames rates which kind of break the illusion of movement. Fantasmagorie was created with a solid background so the creator went with a more chaotic approach with his drawing compared to Gertie which has a background. Having a background and dialogue in Gertie helped add context to the story so the artist was able to present his film in a much slower pace.
Daily Archives: February 22, 2022
11 posts
Hello, Professor and classmates of World History of Animation, my name is Tyree McQueen. I am a sophomore here at BMCC and this is my fourth and final semester, as I will be graduating this spring 2022. My current major is Animation and Motion graphics. Art and animation have truly been a passion for as long as I can remember and I am just so glad I have the opportunity to follow this career path and actually have an interest in what I am learning. When I think of an area of animation era of animation I would love to learn more about, I always think of the Golden Age of Animation, specifically the tropes and methods used by these animators during their earlier years. I have always been a fan of Max Fleisher and his style of animation, but i would love to learn more about how the animator utilized rotoscoping to create such realistic and fluid imagery. It must have been one interesting process.
I am involved in a couple of hobbies, each focusing on a different aspect of my personality that I aim to cultivate. To improve my artistic and creative skills, I joined a digital design community on Discord. Every Friday, we gather in a server to learn new skills in Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects and even Procreate. This has allowed me to create more expressive art that I am proud of. I also attend Kickboxing every weekend from Friday through Sunday to increase my athletic and physical capabilities. This helps me maintain my productivity and output into the new week and relieves my stress from constantly doing schoolwork. When I think of an animated property that I truly like, the film that always comes to mind is Fantasia. I don’t if it was the aesthetically pleasing backgrounds, the visual gratifying practical effects combined with traditional 2d animation, the fluid imagery synchronized perfectly with the musical scores, or classic principles like squash & stretch being utilized within the wonderful dance sequences, but this movie truly knew how to push the limits of what animation could be going forward. Just an overall amazing spectacle to watch.
Now, I’m not sure if these two inventions are considered to be from a different era, given that they were created in the same era of the nineteenth century, but two pre-cinema animation devices that I find to be a lot similar in functionality, but have major distinctions between each other are William George Horner’s Zoetrope and Emile Renaud’d Praxinoscope. As I mentioned, both were created in the 1800s but it seems Horner’s modern zoetrope was created in 1834, a whole 34 years before Reyfaud invented his praxinoscope in 1877. Both inadvertently perform the same function, with both contraptions being able to create the illusion of animation by having mini frame-by-frame reels, or sequenced drawings, circle throughout the interior of the cylinder. However, what differentiated the two was that rather than having narrow slits on the internal surface of the cylinder to create a sequence of animation through distorted moving images as the zoetrope did, the praxinoscope instead replaced the zoetropes slits on the side in exchange for mirrors set edge to edge around the revolving center, with each subsequent image on the outer rim reflecting on one of the inner mirrors to create a moving image. Nonetheless, I still absolutely adore these two creations, both nearly perform the same function, but still have their own distinctive style that makes both all the more unique.
From watching the video from week 2 we Discovered a lot of Storytelling and different forms of animation. During the time chinese had used Puppetry to entertain people by doing shows using characters and shadows to show case other ways to use animation. We also learned about the Zoetrope an invention in 1834 that was used by moving a drum of pictures to show case multiple of pictuters moving in motion. These two forms have many similar ways by entertaining people but they’re different are how the way they animated the scenes by using tools of shadows and pictures to create a various of movements. These are the best way to showcase how people use animation over the years and how the process took a different form of light.
A couple examples of pre cinema animation are the magic lanterns and animated cave paintings. The magic lanterns maintained popularity from the 17th century all the way up to the 19th century. The evolution of the magic lantern sparked further development for the concept of animation as singular slides overlapped and took the early form of projected abstract animations. It was discovered that even cave paintings used the concept of overlapping images to convey the illusion of movement. Although vastly different, it’s quite clear key elements of fundamental animation were evident. The most major difference between these two is the various mechanisms used in magic lanterns that made the illusion feel much more alive compared to the archaic caved paintings. Naturally as so much time had passed by, the evolution of the animation had improved significantly.
If I was an audience member who lived in 1791 and was watching “Fantasmagorie”, I would’ve been terrified. I’m able to enjoy horror movies not only because I find them entertaining, but also because I know nothing that’s happening in the movie is real. During that time period, it would be very difficult to decipher what was real and what was staged. Some would probably end up traumatized considering that feeling of terror and anxiousness is a new experience. A similar feeling to this would probably still be horror movies considering production has developed greatly when it comes to special effects, camera work and sound design.
Prompt 2
The cave paintings and shadow puppetry reminded me of another traditional Chinese storytelling performance, which is the glove puppetry. Glove puppetry is similar to shadow puppetry. They’re both manipulating puppets in front of the audience and then narrated with sound effects and narration. The puppets are more three-dimensional, with more details and related costumes to decorate them. I haven’t seen a live glove puppet show yet. I’ve only seen it in the movies. It may be the film’s editing method, sometimes close-up details of the puppet’s performance, I will unconsciously be attracted. But if it is watched live, with live sound and stage should be an unparalleled amazing experience.
A similar form of storytelling such as shadow puppetry and cave paintings where the storyteller and the audience are in the same room is live theatre, such as plays or musicals. I’ve helped out in some musicals before back in high school, but normally I choose to be an audience member. When you’re on a stage I often found it to be a very polarizing moment to be looked at by so many people, but the feeling afterwards was always a bit of an adrenaline rush. As an audience member, I’m often caught between just experiencing what I’m watching and just being so excited to witness it, or I can get caught up in thinking what the performer might also be feeling as they are acting. I wonder, are they nervous or are they also enjoying performing. I think acting live on stage is a bit more vulnerable than shadow puppetry, but it still emotes the same feelings. Both require passion and talent for what you do.
Can you imagine being an audience remember at one of Gaspard Robertson’s “Fantasmagorie” shows in 1797? What do you think your reaction would have been? Can you think of any form of entertainment that would elicit the same emotions today?
If I were to be in the audience at one of Gaspard Robertson’s “Fantasmargorie” shows in 1797, my most realistic reaction would be that I would have left the theater in tears. I would be absolutely terrified from what I had just witnessed. In a show like this, seeing something come to life in front of my own eyes would make me feel scared yet intreguied in this new technology. It would also make me wonder that if people were able to bring this advanced technology to us now, I can’t imagine what more wonderful ideas and gadgets people would bring in the future. Although I would be terrified watching it the first time, I would try to watch it again to learn more about it. I think that something that would elicit the same emotions today would be the development of 3D films, seeing something jump out the screen, looking so real, would make me feel scared of how realistic it looks.
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 a film?
One of the main reasons that people enjoy reading comic books is that they provide an opportunity for escapism. Because these stories aren’t based on true events, readers may completely disconnect from their problems for a bit and focus on something else.
Many animated films were based on print comics because superheroes from comic books are ingrained in American culture. Americans are exposed to superheroes through cartoons, toys, comic books, and other media, and most are familiar with the main characters and their arch-enemies. This provides the filmmakers with a pre-existing audience that most other forms of films lack.
Second, the major DC heroes have existed for more than 70 years. Marvel’s primary heroes have been around for nearly 60 years. Filmmakers have access to a vast library of stories spanning decades. Plot points, supporting characters, and even dialogue lines have previously been planned. Many stories have previously established transitions into new storylines due to the unending storytelling structure of comics. It’s much easier to adapt stories from an existing source than it is to develop them from scratch.
It’s far easier to adapt stories from other sources than it is to produce something entirely from scratch.
And, because of the nature of these existing stories, they have many of the elements that people appreciate in movies. A lot of the action was softened by comedic moments. There are witty one-liners, massive CGI fights, pyrotechnics, and bright outfits, among other things.
Superhero flicks are modern-day Westerns. They’re predictable and based on pre-existing media, and they’re popular because they’re formulaic and based on pre-existing media. While they are significantly more expensive than previous spaghetti westerns, they are the same type of intellectual chain restaurant fare. People are aware of what they will receive and continue to return for more.
If I was living in 1791 and I as an audient watched Gaspard Robertson’s “Fantasmagorie”, I would’ve been shaking in fear. The first thought is that what I’m watching is very horrifying and real. I would even go and tell everyone in Europe about what I just witnessed. When I tried VR (virtual reality) in a plaza in Alexandria where the arcade section was, I was fascinated but mostly terrified because the VR was showing me zombies and monsters running towards me. This would be very similar to how the audience must have felt when seeing Gaspard Robertson’s “Fantasmagorie” at first sight.
