Weekly Video_Kenneth Cage

 Week 2

    For this week I chose to write about "The Beatles -- Flying". I really enjoyed the slow-paced style of this collage animation. It really matched the music and felt very cohesive. The animation felt like a journey from Earth to space and being taken to a new realm of existence. The man in the middle was given the illusion that he was moving upward when, in reality, the foreground and background were moving. This use of panning was very interesting and the rainbows leading to other parts of the piece were also very neat.

Week 3

    The "Mr. Sandman" collage was the most intriguing to me. I was very peaceful and it felt like the visual was relating to the lyrics/audio. It's simple and clean.  Everything feels light and bouncy, matching with the bouncy/playful music pretty well. There's no overcrowding over oversaturation of color. Every scene had a unique color palette but it was cohesive. I liked the dreamy aesthetic of this animation. 

Week 4

    This week, I chose the short film, "Happy Time". I have a lot of respect for artists who use watercolor because it's a gorgeous medium and very hard to use (at least for me). This animation interested me in particular because of the use of storytelling. Most of the videos seen thus far have been very random but not this one. I really enjoy how the artist adds the trees to the setting, adding to this element of worldbuilding. This artist pays attention to detail very well and the music adds to this eerie yet hopeful feeling.

Week 5

    "Home sweet home" was a very unusual but sweet film. The animation style reminded me of Disney's "Up" & "Monster House". It seems eerie and scary at first but it becomes brighter and more hopeful as the short film progresses. This is obviously more of a storyline type of animation. I would've never expected anyone to animate houses but it was well executed. The short film uses a lot of 1-point perspective.

Week 6

    N/A

Week 7

    I couldn't decide so I want to write about both "Imagine Dragon's Bird M/V" & the "Hand-Printed Animation". With "Bird", the animation is smooth, the characters are simple and there's a plot. I noticed the use of the camera using panning and slight shaking techniques. There is also a nice contrast between the characters and background; it all fits well. There's no audio except the music and it fits the tone of the animation very well.           

    As for the print animation, I liked it because it was simple and smooth. Even without all the detail, you could still tell what was happening. There was no sound and it was only black ink used. It seems like the purpose was to demonstrate rather than entertain.

Week 11

    I watched the stop-motion animation titled "Mogu & Perol". It takes place in a forest where Mogu, a big pink monster, loves to cook and it attracts the attention of a hungry little named Perol. It's intended to be a feel-good animation and the bright theme and colors help back this up. The food in this animation is carefully crafted to look real. Although the language is in Japanese, there are subtitles so that we can understand what's being said. There are subtitles so you can see what goes on. The camera angles have a nice placement to them as well, giving personality to the animation. The characters have distinct personalities and even character flaws. It all feels organic.