The Flip Book

The Flip Book Project or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Just Use Flash.

As someone who is interested in animation I was really excited about this project.  A chance for me to get extra experience with frame by frame animation and get work done at the same time sounded great to me.  While I still like how my flip book turned out, I am a bit upset with myself for not asking if I could just submit a Flash animation instead of actually using a book.

To create the project my original intention was to make a simple storyboard and then sketch out each frame by using the previous page as a base.  However when I started I quickly discovered that the pages of the book I bought were not very easy to see through.  No matter how much light I shined on the pages or what I used to draw with I could not see any pages below the one I was working on.  So I decided that the best way to outline what to draw would be to create a frame by frame animation in Adobe Flash.  If only I knew that I could just turn in this animation I would have saved a lot of time, but oh well too late now.  Note to self: asking questions is a good idea.

While it's not perfect I am fairly happy with how this quick animation turned out.  It gave the mysterious and surreal concept a very stylized and cartoony appearance which I think makes it more enjoyable than if I tried to make it realistic and serious.  

With each frame lined up it was now time for me to do it all again but this time with a pen and a book which, as I soon learned, was not the easiest way to draw.  After a few hours of copying with a pencil and then tracing over each line I finally had my flip book completed, although it was not quite the same as my initial idea.

Drawing the same image over and over again without computer guidance or a light board is a fairly tiresome experience.  Thus after a while I began to work away from my outlined frames in exchange for a less time consuming method.  The part when he steps into frame in an exaggerated manner was changed to have him pull his head back so I would not have to keep drawing it in the same position.  Due to this change the rapid rubber band like motion that brings him fully into frame was replaced by a gradual stretch.  I also shortened the motion of him pressing the button into the same frames as his arm movement to save even more time which seemed to confuse several people in the class as it went by too quickly.

Finally I just grew too tired of drawing the same frames over and over so I completely changed the button press to make him vanish in a cloud of smoke instead of having the door appear first.  Now the door would appear open as the cloud vanished and then the door would quickly close and disappear itself.  The final frames off the wind blowing his hat were added to make the ending feel a little less abrupt but at that point the book pages would flip so slowly that most people probably missed it.

In the end I think my flip book came out alright.  What I wanted to do was make a flip book that gradually took over the entire page and I feel like I was able to do that.  Although that very ambition also made it much more difficult to flip through than something smaller.  I also made it so the animation could be viewed both forwards and backwards so no matter how someone flipped through the book it would still make sense.  Whether they see it as a door appears that reveals a strange man who slinks off the frame or a man who creeps onto the frame and disappears into a strange door it still tells a story.  

Stage Door

Christmas Carol: A Musical

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZR2-GJmXOGw#!

In this piece they use a combination of close shots and what appears to be a fish eye lens to create a very surreal feeling.  The digital effect added in to make the tomb shatter adds to the surreal feeling evoked by this short video based on the classic Christmas Carol.

Camelot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wzh6VKpB6qc#!

In this quick video the use of elaborate set pieces and costumes to really make the interaction between the characters interesting.

Titanic Musical - The proposal/ The night was alive

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LRSj52VGC6E#!

Making use of working props and a diagetic light source this segment from the Titanic feels as if the scene has a real living presence   It is a bit hard to explain but it is almost as if it feels like a realistic set rather than an exaggerated one.

Tap Your Troubles Away

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=e6skpCNIoes#!

This clip uses many lights both over them and behind them to draw all attention to the stage.  There at the stage the performers can be the center of attention with their dark clothes that greatly contrast the incredibly bright and colorful lights.

42nd Street Movie Clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mSvQtAnh_CI#!

Heavy use of moving floors and tables centers all attention on the middle of the shot.  The low angle camera shots then disorient the viewer with the moving floors.  Instead of the performers moving around in circles the technology allows them the set to move them.

The Surrey With The Fringe On Top

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RAYLCXXCfUY#!

Instead of a typical set this clip shows a painted background that appears to be positioned in a circular figure to make the illusion of depth.  The odd perspective it has makes the characters feel surreal as if they are not even there despite their many interactions with the objects also on set.

Sweeney Todd

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rrYGl5wTwhs#!

The use of blue lighting and bright lights positioned in various angles contrast with the dark plot of the performance.  To make the almost disgusting themes into a bright and colorful performance allow the actors to perform with a great deal of comedy and exaggerated movements.

Theater

Today in class we discussed the forms theater has taken throughout the years.

One of the most interesting ideas is that theater, and all forms of entertainment, are fueled on what is considered right by the people who watch them.  Something that may be considered incredibly offensive in modern times would have just been a normal thing at the time for their audience.

A good modern example of this brought up today is how Muslims are stereotyped after 9/11.  Now comparing all Muslims to terrorists seems acceptable to many people of the United States despite how offensive that is to the Muslim people.  Another example was that of Jewish jokes, something I have seen many times is when a friend is paying for a meal and leaves a mediocre tip.  Immediately after they are called Jewish and no one even stops to think how offensive that really is.

It is just something we see almost every day on television and in movies.  I can't think of the last comedy I watched that didn't poke fun of at least one group of people.