Overcomer

     Following your dreams is always possible. However, it seems hard to do that when all you're surrounded with is just negative thoughts. In Hannah Spangler's film, a girl struggles through her day with depression and anxiety. The animation really made an impact on the mood of the film, as well as the colors. As we saw the dwindling progression of this girl's self-esteem, it brought more and more feelings of sympathy. While this was a personal project, this could also help others as well. For those who feel as if they are never good enough, for those who feel that they will be forgotten, for those who feel there is no one there for them, this film is for you. I am no professional, but as cliché and naive as this sounds, things do eventually get better. As long as you are trying to work towards a better you, you are working towards a better future. Depression is a serious issue, and many do suffer from these thoughts, even if they do not show it on the outside. Below is the film.

Animation Memes

     In the animation community, especially in YouTube, memes do not simply apply to popular pictures or phrases like Pepe the Frog or a certain WWE wrestler. They also apply to short animations, usually with repeated frames, to a certain song. Usually one person starts it off, and if enough people like it, many others will start doing their own versions. There is really no rule for an animation meme, anyone of any amount of animation experience can do it. Many animators on YouTube upload their versions as they usually take less time than regular animations. Below are some examples of animation memes that some animators have done on YouTube.

Mom Vs Mom

     On Cartoon Network, there is a show called "The Amazing World of Gumball" which follows a duo of anthropomorphic kids as they go through life's daily mishaps. In a certain episode, their mother fights another mother in classic anime style, accompanied with some Japanese animation as well. For this fight, the animating crew hired some guest animators from Studio 4°C, who are also responsible for the 2D animation in the games Catherine and Asura's Wrath, and many other movies and game cutscenes. It is drastically different from the show's main animation style, and it is a show that likes to delve in the combination of 2D and 3D animation. The fight is characteristic of cliche anime: the sparkles, the eyes, the attacks. However, that does not mean the fight was badly animated. In anime style, the scene was what the animating team was looking for, and it still retained the show's humor. It may seem slow/lazy to some, but that is how Japanese animation is. To see the fight, click on the video shown below.

Healing

     It's hard to accept the death of a loved companion, especially if you're a little girl. In this film, a young girl tries to deal with her dog's death. Through her dreams, she comes to face with it. It's a beautiful piece as it shows an important message. One should move on, but they should still keep their loved one on their memories so they live on in them. The animation was clean and was nice for the tone of the film. I appreciate how the animator changed the character's dog into a peacock-like creature and added onto the whimsical style of her dreams. Overall, it was a sweet animation that showed a little girl accomplishing closure with her loved companion in her memories. Below is the video for those who are interested in watching it.

Animator of the Month: LAIKA

     Stop-motion animation has been around since the beginning of animation history. In fact, it was one of the first types of animation used. For this month, I will talk about not one animator, but an entire studio. LAIKA was the brains behind Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls and even Kubo and the Two Strings.

     LAIKA was founded in 2005 as an addition to maintain the whimsical techniques of stop-motion animation. In their films, they combine the efforts brought forth by computer-generated imagery (CGI) and their own stop-motion. Some characters shown in their movies was carefully sculpted with 3D printers with excessive detail. However, the majority of their characters were sculpted with their own hands. Their eyes for such intricate designs know no limit except their budgets. While animators worldwide have praised their films for being revolutionary, the Oscar awards have not yet recognized their significance in the animation field, though they have finally given them an award for their technical work. For Kubo and the Two Strings, they constructed a marionette skeleton with a 22-foot arm-span that was large enough to grab a hold of regular-sized characters.

     In stop-motion, a single frame can make all the difference and could change the entire mood as 23 other frames go by in a second. Since they started releasing films, I have been their fan and I will continue to be one and watch as they revolutionize the stop-motion animation industry.

For those who are more interested about their work, here is a behind-the-scenes for its latest movie, Kubo and the Two Strings.

Forget Me Not

     Having friends and spending time with them is always fun, especially when they're the type of friends that you can rely on and trust with everything. In this short film, a bunny and dog become the best of friends and feel as if their friendship will never end. Unfortunately a new character appears in their lives and changes that belief. The simplistic designs and color palettes make every scene easy on the eyes and allow the film to stand out. I adore the bunny design and it really makes you sympathize with it. Every scene seemed to capture the mood perfectly, even without that much animation. It is difficult to be in the bunny's shoes as losing a cherished friend is never a simple thing to get over. You feel as if you will never be able to confide in anyone again since you've been left for someone else. It will prove to be hard, but there will always be someone out there that will genuinely care for you. People come and go, but true friends will stay by your side.

Easy

     Here's another collaboration between Porter Robinson and another animation studio, The Line. In "Easy", a girl with her face on every electronic billboard in the city is sick of living there. As a result, she escaped the city and attacked it with an electromagnetic pulse. The color palettes were well-designed. I loved the animation style of this music video as it felt like fit with the music as well. At the end, the scenes with the trees really tied into this idea where she was finally satisfied and at peace with her own life. While this is entirely subjective, it seemed that an escape from her past life was all that she needed to be happy. Below is the video.

Shelter

     Porter Robinson is a musician whose work is heavily inspired by Japanese culture. He has gained a mass following and caught the eyes of a certain animation studio. Japanese studio, A-1 Pictures, loved his music and asked to partner with him. They came together to create an anime music video for his song, "Shelter".

     In this video, we see the lonely life of a 17-year-old named Rin. She spends her life creating worlds from simple drawings on a tablet, and realizes her true fate one eventful day. You can tell no detail was overlooked when they worked on this 6-minute animation. Every background and scene seemed to be carefully done. The colors wonderfully unite together and put no strain on the eyes. While awkward at times, the animation remained mostly fluid. When this was uploaded, it became a massive hit, though there was some controversy over whether this was considered "anime" or not. Below is the behind-the-scenes and the actual video. 

Veteran's Day and The Nature of War

     Veteran's Day is something worth for every soldier sent into war. While today is to honor their efforts in war, we should honor their efforts in peace as well. 

     Justin Cliburn was deployed in Baghdad in 2005 as a humvee gunner who was able to connect with two Iraqi children, Ahmed and Ali, despite the language barrier. StoryCorps allowed Cliburn's story to be told through a short animation. At this time of his life, Cliburn had not established any deep relationships with anyone. However, that soon changed when Ali and Ahmed came into his life. They bonded and soon became best friends. Things went fine until one fateful day Ahmed and his mother were killed by a suicide bomber at a gas station. When he returned home, Cliburn had recurring nightmares about Iraq and the two boys. Fortunately though with proper treatment and his wife, he was able to overcome these fears. These veterans not only go into the fields to help fight for the freedom of our country and others, but they create lasting relationships that remain with them when they come back. Below is the animation and a link to an article Justin Cliburn wrote going more into detail.

https://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/the-trauma-of-lost-love/

This Actually Happens A Lot

     Don't you just hate it when you try to talk to someone and you just float away before you can even finish the conversation? That's how this guy felt in Tom Law's "This Actually Happens A Lot". 

     In this film, an unnamed girl approached him at a party and attempted to engage in conversation with him. He floats around and makes a complete fool of himself with his inability to control it. His floating ability symbolizes social anxiety, as he feels disconnected from society and everything else. With this inability to relate, he floats farther and farther away as he fails to connect to anyone there until the girl attempts to reach out to him. While the composition could have been presented better in some places, the overall film was great. The animation felt smooth, but somehow suitable for the mood it set along with the colors. Below is the film, for anyone interested in watching it.

Rendezvous with The Rendezvous

     Fiona, a lonely girl in a lonely world, has no one to turn to until one fateful night she meets a lovely stranger named Lamonte in her dreams. Night after night, she looks forward to sleeping as she spends her time with him on surreal, enchanting dates. Her attitude in the real world changes as she goes more often into her dreams. The art is consistently gorgeous and delivers the mood effectively. I love how Maksn, the creator, utilized the color red to make certain things stand out in her animatic, such as Fiona's ribbon and lipstick. Her composition for some scenes such as the dream dates and the end were incredible and it gave life to her drawings. Below is the animatic for those interested.

Tiny Nomad, a MouseyTale

     First there was The Rescuers with adventurous mice, then there was The Tale of Despereaux, and now you have Tiny Nomad. Toniko Pantoja's six-minute film is nothing short of a Disney story. It immediately immerses you into the world of this tiny, courageous mouse. You get to see his character develop throughout the story and how his mother was such an influential part of it. The beautiful colors and breathtaking backgrounds make you feel as if you're part of this mouse's life, being there with him for every second of the film. Below is the film for those interested.