Crazy Proto-GIFs

First off: woah...  Joseph Plateau must have been on LSD (as mentioned in the article). Also I am changing up the order of this blog. Seeing if I like it better. Today, the order is comment, learned, then question. Bear with me ;D

To be honest, I really disliked all of the GIFs that were included in the article. They were visually displeasing and very surreal (which I really don't like). I am also not very interested in the magic lanterns and phenakistoscopes and all that. I realize that they are pieces of animation history, but still, my opinion remains the same. Just because they are classics doesn't make them special to me.

Turn out that there are a bunch of pre-animation devices that we didn't learn about in class (or at least, I don't think we did... Hm...). Some of them include phenakistoscopes and praxinoscopes (which is sorta like a mixture between a slide show and an old movie). Also, I didn't know that Photoshop was capable of producing GIFs. Well, I can't think of another program off of my head, but Photoshop? Hm, guess I should invest some time into learning more about the Adobe products.
Although I do not regard the classics as anything special, I have to give credit where credit is due. It is amazing how modern animation started out as a visual experiment! I guess I owe sir Joseph Plateau a hardy "thank you" for accidentally starting something that eventually became a big part of my modern life.

Questions hm? Well, I am curious as to just how time consuming these various pre-animations took. I am also curious about how it was that the illustrations could be so easily and successfully reproduced from "frame" to "frame" (for lack of a better term).

Christina N on the Topic of Weeks and Comments

Learned? I learn stuff in school all the time. Marices in math, Motion Graphs in Physics, Arguing in English, boring stuff in Social Studies, and Rotoscoping in BOCES. Nothing to terribly interesting I guess. Going to learn how to play Dungeons and Dragons at 4:00 today though, so I guess that's pretty cool.

I cannot wait until we start working on our 2D shorts. I really want to know how to do that. I am hoping to do something really awesome that I will be proud of! I also want to improve my drawing skills. I am trying some new, little things, but I wish I had the confidence to go further.

I guess I disliked the repetition of the Rotoscope. Drawing myself over and over again was a little tedious, but I will survive. Also I am a little frustrated that all of my weapons in Borderlands 2 (my current favorite video game) are really bad. I just started playing the third playthrough (Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode) and I got killed by the first opponent I faced. I really have to upgrade: and fast. Also, my regents Social Studies class frustrates me. I am an honor student and I should be in AP US History instead of regents but I didn't have enough time in my schedule with BOCES. I know a few people in that class and that helps, but I really dislike a few of my classmates who cheat and chastise me for not letting them mooch off of my hard work and preparation. Ugh, some people just need a high five: in the face: with a chair...

Made me happy? Lots of things make me happy! My friends, who have been making me laugh my butt off, make me happy. Playing video games (when I should probably be doing homework...) make me happy. Sometimes I even like writing these blogs because I can be as creative and silly as I want. My boyfriend makes me happy and supports me when I feel like I'm about to crack under the pressure. Hell, even my stuffed animals make me happy (yes, I am a 16 year old young woman who still likes stuffed animals. Deal with it).

Link O' Interest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvzD3FFYvJ4

My boyfriend just showed me this video literally 10 minutes before I got this far in my blog. He was trolling Facebook and he insisted I look at it. For that, I am very thankful.
As for the video itself, I thought it was absolutely beautiful. It is surreal with all the stretchy arms and stuff like that, but it is beautiful work and I admire the work and determination that must have gone into this masterpiece.

So, to briefly describe my week:

Face McShooty needs a face shots
(Borderlands 2)

Cloudy With a Chance of Physics

That was neat

•  Wow. Physics is tough even in the movie business.
• This is odd, but I never thought that a computer wouldn't be able to handle certain effects. Guess technology isn't perfect after all. Heh heh
• Coconut milk: Apparently has a different viscosity than water. Even though coconut milk is pretty much nothing more than water. Hm...

This is what I think

• Physics: The root of all evil of the world. Man! Gravity is always getting me down!
• I would like a Tacodile supreme with extra sour cream and re-fried beans please.

 How do they do

• How long does it take to learn and apply computer generated effects? It looks like a very long, tedious, and painful process.

CG-Eye Candy

What I learned

• Movie effects are getting better and better. With the addition of CGI the films look almost as though they are all real.
• With a little creativity and some silicone, there is nothing you can't do. Especially when you need to simulate the appearance of gravity.
• 3D printing has revolutionized movie effects. It helps to preserve the look of a sculpted model while adding some CGI touches to it such as size and perhaps texture

What do I think?

• It is pretty impressive what feats modern CGI has reached in the field of entertainment In the future, CGI may even replace the actors themselves.
• It is very ironic that technology can make zombies in more ways than one. Haha.

 Curious

• How far will CGI go? How far can it go? How far will be to far?

Yet Another Chaotic Week

Today has been an interesting week. Can't really say it was a good week or a bad week. Its been fairly neutral.

I've learned a lot of useful and interesting skills in my Math and Physics classes. In Pre Calculus we've learned Matrices and in Physics I have learned (and am trying very hard to perfect) the science of free falling. It has proven to be a very difficult task however and I just can't seem to get a grip on it. Hope I learn it in time for the test.

As for things I would like to learn, I don't really know if I can put anything specific down other than mastering the science of free falling. I guess some general stuff would be as follows: improving uppon my drawing skills, writing skills, and comedy skills (because I dislike how unfunny I think I am).
Also, can we post videos of the week that aren't necessarily animation related?

What frustrated me? Well other than family stuff (which I'd rather not discuss) I think it would be rotoscoping. It isn't that I dislike it, but that it is time consuming. Worth all the time going into it, but tedious none the less. I have been aiming for about 15 frames/day so I will have a little bit of extra time at the end for little extra touches. Wish me luck everyone as I wish you all the same.

I always find that a good lunch can usually cheer me up. Recently I have been packing peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches to help brighten my day. That and a few garlic butter crackers. I've also find that the love and encouragement of my loving boyfriend has gotten me through the roughest and most stressful days of the week, so for that I am thankful. I would also like to thank my dear friends Emily Lawton, Regina Hoy, Joel Congi, Brian K (with whom I have been trading Pokemon cards), and any others I may have forgotten to mention. You guys all rock.

Cooliest Link Of The Week *drum roll*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6SrL26RIy4&list=PLkacLqVMWvwJswX4FQZNgXhJDRtP6Z_Yf&index=4

This is an awesome count-down sort of video. It's 10 interesting cartoon facts. It mentions the value and number of Snow White cells. Very interesting. I don't quite understand why he is always drinking during his videos though. That personally kind of irritates me, but I can't really argue. He makes an interesting video and that's all I care about.

Brains and All That Jazz

 Ugh, I had to crawl out from under my rock for this? *sigh* If I must

Braaains...

• Zombies are the embodiment of our innermost fears. Not a fear of being harmed in any physical way, but the fear of loosing ourselves. It's a control issue. In my futile attempt to completely ignore the craze and wait until it all blew over, I never stopped to ask any questions. That was mistake number one.
• Zombies are not evil-doers, but pitiful victims of a harsh fate. How sad. Oh well, their suffering will end in a matter of time (once the zombie craze blows over. In the mean time I am going to crawl back under my rock.)
• Zombies can be used as a metaphor for the effects of technology. This came as a bit of a shock for me. I suppose I was to busy at over-analyzing Portal to see that more than just GLaDOs represented technology gone to far. But it all makes sense. Technology has become like a ball and chain on the ankles of society, slowing us all down, but on the other hand it brings us all together (which isn't always a good thing) and gives us another leisure to use and abuse.

Flesh...

•  I don't like zombies and I never will. Not only are they just ludicrous excuse for a monster, scientifically they are impossible and I don't understand why everyone loves and fears them (leave it to me to be the buzz kill using science as an excuse). As the human body decays and rigor mortis sets in, the corpse would become structurally unstable and stiff, literally falling apart at the seams. How does one expect a creature to hold itself together and move its stiff and swollen limbs?
• Although I dislike the being itself, the metaphor is very cleaver. Human beings becoming sluggish and slow, only waddling about through a world that has turned its back on them. What a beautiful example of humanity as we know it!

 Eeeeehhhhh....

•  When will this fad end? And more importantly, what's next? What apocalypse should we prepare for next? How much makeup will we have to pile on to emulate these supernatural beings for Halloween parties and flash mobs? How were your weeks? Why am I asking so many questions? You mad bro?

Animated Girls Ask, "Do I Look Pretty"

Well that was interesting

• Girls are more "difficult" to animate because of their wide array of (needless and overly sappy) emotions. It is really ridiculous how many mood swings these ladies have in one show. Does any one female actually go through all those emotions at one time? Well personally I say "no" because I think of myself as a fairly calm person, but even the drama queens don't fluctuate on a dime like that. Maybe if the media didn't perpetuate these stereotypes then they wouldn't be so "prevalent" in the first place. 
• Also, do these girls really need to look pretty when they are having their mood swings? Are salty tears of sorrow pleasant to look at in real life? No. Are bitter feelings of rage in the pits of one's stomach really an elegant sight to see? No. Then why are they in movies for children? They need to learn more than any of us that emotions aren't always pretty but they are real and they have to be dealt with responsibly and realistically. 
• All the animated princesses look exactly alike! That's a bit of a "oh, duh" for me, but still it was a realization upon reading this article. Merida, one of the princesses I was actually happy to see be the main protagonist in Brave, wasn't supposed to fit perfectly in the mold of the Disney princesses. She was actually supposed to be a bit more realistic with her unique mouth and facial expressions. But wait! An animated girl being realistic?! Oh no no. Not on Disney's watch.
• Girls have it rougher in the animation business? Well that sucks :/
• Note my extreme satire

 You wanna know what I think?

• I had mixed views on the article. It is good to bring these issues to light so they can be dealt with but also I dislike being reminded just how strong of a hold the patriarchy has on the modern world. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a radical feminist. I think of myself as more of an equalist. Imagine a perfect world where men and women are not seen as male or female but as human beings. Where we are no longer force fed gender stereotypes and sexism. Unfortunately I don't think that is a very realistic idea at all, but I like to dream.
• Faith in humanity dwindles every day. To those reading this article, I ask that you think no less of me for my heavily biased opinions on the matter.

Why? Just why?

• Why does Disney do this? Is it an intentional punch in the gut of modern women or is it only to get views? I mean, who wants to see an imperfect person? We get those every day in our lives already.

"To err is human"

This Week Was a Fun Week

 It has certainly been a long week. Not really in a bad way though. It has just been long. I've done so much in one week that's it's amazing! I am learning so fast and I am putting my skills to the test as I work on my frame-by-frame animated logo (>w<). I really like frame-by-frame animation! It's not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be (not that it is easy, but my mind wildly blew it out of proportion haha). I've learned how to tween and animate and just *squee*. It's amazing how much we have all learned since last week!

I've learned Flash and Flash and Flash and... wait... I just said that three times... well it's still true xD I learned how to tween and the basics on how to use the "bane" tool (though I really need to work with that...)

The Bone Tool is really irritating. I wanted to use it for my fox (his name is Lennie by the way) but then I realized that you can't make more than one joint on one piece of body. I suppose I could have bypassed this issue by splitting up the body into two separate pieces, but I didn't feel like separating them, so I simply tried my hand at frame-by-frame animation! I have confidence in my ability (mostly) and I believe I can handle this task! CONFIDENCE!!

What do I want to learn? Hm... I guess I would like to learn little shortcuts that animators use to help expedite the animation process (and I don't mean tweens. Tweens can't be the only way to speed up the animation process, can they? Hm...)

•  Giga Horn Go!!

Warning: Mild swearing! Watch at your own risk! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pEgjk7ZLYw

All I have to say is... wow... *wipes a tear from my eye* This is just beautiful. And it's just so action-y! I love the emotions!!

Tee hee, Rainbow has a male voice xD

I watched part of this animation a while ago and just recently found the complete video. I am really impressed with how it turned out! Tee hee, d'em Japanese voices (ewe)

Well, that's all I really have to say for now :D Thanks for reading!!

American Animated Films Are Still Just a Genre

 This article was a little more difficult to critique because it is really about something we already know. I think a lot of us already realized that most American animated films are for younger children. Despite this, I will try my best at making an acceptable blog article for this week.

Hm :/

•  I still see all American animated movies as the same, but apparently that's not the case. They can be separated into different "classes" or whatever. "The only similarity between them is that they weren't produced via Life-Action". Bah humbug.
• While reading this article I had to stop and think for a moment. I noticed a particular statement, "...PG at worst". That seemed like an odd statement. Actually, I didn't even know the difference between G and PG. So I went to this cool place http://www.mpaa.org/ratings/what-each-rating-means and found my answer. There is practically no difference after all!
• Usually adult animated films die at the box office :/ Well then. Someone should probably do something about it because I doubt that it was the fact that they were meant for adults, but that their story lines were poop :P

Judgment time (Muah ha ha ha ha)

• I have always been a fan of the animated genre. Doesn't matter to me if the movie is meant for children (though I am practically a child anyway). I can't really give any one reason. I suppose I just love how it looks and the storylines behind them (which might explain why I also enjoy My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic). Never to old to relearn the basics I guess!
• How could you not like Meet The Robinsons, Hayao Miyazaki?! That was some quality entertainment! Well I loved that movie. Hmph!
• Ooo, we've got a few badasses over here. Apparently some animated movies are PG!! Tsk Tsk Tsk

If you don't mind me asking

•  How are the animated films really different?  Truthfully, all I learned from this article is that some people don't like to mix their peas and their mashed potatoes despite the fact that they are all going to the same place in the end. :P

Snausage Party!

 (Yes, the extra "N" was intended in the title ;D)

Well well well, this was certainly a surprise...

 I never, in my lifetime,thought that there would ever be an American animated film made for adults. I mean, Japan has it's awesome anime, but I think this is more along the lines of 3D animation.Still, I am utterly awestruck! They have my attention, no doubt, but I am a little to young to visit such a film without the accompaniment of an "adult" (just because you are over 18 doesn't make you any more of an adult. But that's just my opinion). Besides, the storyline doesn't sound very engaging at this point, but again, that's just my opinion. I'm not much of an R-rated kind of girl (haha).

As thought the fact that there could be an R-rated wasn't shocking enough, the fact that they are being co-directed by two men with their roots in children's entertainment made me ask a few specific questions, and they are as follows: "This is such a big leap from age groups. How on Earth will they manage?" and "how will this decision effect the shows that they have already worked on?"

Personally, I think the plot for the movie is a little... well... less than impressive... It sounds like any other generic child's movie with maybe a little extra zest to it (if zest can even really be used to describe it). I suppose I can imagine how a tiny bit of gore could be tossed in for good measure, but other than that and foul language, how can a movie with such an innocent plot line be R-rated? This is definitely something I will have to see to believe (well, I'm sure I'll read the reviews shortly after it is released to theaters).

Part of me really wants his movie to succeed. It could pave the way for future (hopefully better) features with engaging stories that could even rival that of anime (I hope so at least). The other part(s) of me really don't care. It sounds like another bad movie (not relative to rating). It's not like this will completely extinguish the hope for an adult movie, but it might discourage to an extent. Who knows though? Discouragement often ignites a spark that can lead to a massive fire (mostly because of the tenacity and rebelliousness of the human race).

But hey, that's just my opinion :P What do you all think? I am attempting to engage my (probably nonexistent) readers. Engaging fail haha

It's About Point of View

So, apparently...

• Point of view can make a world of difference:  People are still sympathizing with Walt? I would probably have to watch the show before I can make any judgment like this though. But yeah, the points of view being displayed really convey his madness and allows (not makes) the viewer to really see what he sees and even feels! How very effective. GG BB. GG.
• The face is the new gateway to the soul: The actor's facial expressions really give the viewer a good sense of what he is feeling on the inside. Pretty self explanatory I suppose.
• Others feel bad so you should feel bad: Emotions are a powerful thing and apparently it is hardwired into the human brain to empathize with others. Personally I thought that empathy was an acquired skill those who are not very good with sympathizing.

You wanna know what I think?!

•  I think this is some pretty powerful stuff (and no, I don't mean the meth he makes). Emotions are a powerful force that can easily be plaid with by a few point of view changes and infresounds.
• Look at his face. Now look at me. Now back at him. You just saw what I saw. Congratulations! Do you know how I feel now? No? I don't either! Haha

You know I gotta ask

•  What else is keeping viewers glued to their screens? Surely there must be other methods being used?

~Suri Kitsuna