In this class, we spoke about the elements of the mise-en-scène needed in a scene or frame, we watched a short western movie as an example of this, we analysed the differences between descriptive writing and critical writing, and lastly, we discussed the first topic ideas we have for our critical report.
The mise-en-scène describes the elements that compose a scene or frame. This can be composed by:
- Settings and props (made or real)
- Costume, hair, and make-up to show character’s personality
- Facial expressions and body language to show feelings, mood, and emotions
- Lighting and colour to show scene’s mood and style
- Positioning of characters/objects in the frame to give importance or to draw attention.
The lighting of a scene is key to transmit the correct mood or style of the video. We can use low key lighting (use of only key light and back light) to create a high contrast in the scene (dark scenes); or in the contrary, we could use high key lighting (more use of filler lights) to create a more realistic/natural look (bright sets/sunny day). The colours used in the scene are important to depict the importance of the subjects: warm colours push forward, and cold colours push backwards.
The type of lens used is also an important aspect to take in consideration as we will define the depth of field of the scene (distance from the nearest to the farthest point where the subjects are in focus): in a deep focus, both close and distant planes are in sharp focus (longer lenses); in a shallow focus, close objects are on focus and farthest are slightly unfocused (shorter lenses).
The framing of the scene will show the importance or hierarchy of the subjects. We can have a single subject in scene, a two-shots frame, group-shots… depending on the number of subjects and complexity of the scene. To determine the importance of the subject, we can use high angle shots (shows weakness, less importance, tension) or low angle shots (shows dominance, importance, drama). We could even use a POV (Point of View) shot, which shows the view of the scene from the subject’s eyes perspective. There are also moving shots to give more dynamic to the scene: pan shot, tilt shot, traveling shot (dolly shot), and crane shot.
An aspect to take in consideration too is the screen direction, which is the direction that subjects move on screen from the point of view of the camera/audience (continuity). The movement from one shot to the other must be consistent to don’t confuse the audience (for example, the 180 degrees rule, where the axis line drawn by the subjects shouldn’t be crossed by the camera as this would swap the direction and position of the subjects and could confuse audience). In animation, this line can sometime be crossed, for example, when zooming in the face of a subject that is falling down and then zooming out from their back.
And lastly, in the film or animation staging, the character’s placement and composition can be accentuated with the perspective of the camera (angle and position), contrast (light and shadow), performance or pace (character dynamics), entry to the scene, audio (compliment or emphasis). The background and setting also needs to have an aesthetic to project the mood and style of the scene. This aesthetic can clash with the character, can be more complex of simpler, can distract or not from the subject, and need to be in scale with subject.
Western sequence
In order to put all that we just learnt together in an example, the professor played a short scene from the western film ‘High Noon’, and asked us to analyse what elements are in the sequence that leads us to guess the time is passing and the characters are waiting for the noon when the train arrives.
- The music is following the pace of the clock.
- Pass from medium shots of the characters and the clock to close ups and even extreme close ups to give more drama to the time passing and to show that the noon is closer from scene to scene.
- Low angle and pan up shot of the clock to give more importance to this element.
- Characters waiting in silence with tension in their faces is improving as the train approaches.
- The long shots of the village shows empty roads to show fear.
Descriptive writing vs critical writing
Descriptive writing is an informative text the uses quotes, summarises a piece of literature, uses listing, facts, tells the history of an event, etc. However, critical writing (or critical thinking) analyses a topic, searching for the pros and cons, avoiding assertions, using paragraphs, giving clear arguments that have evidence to prove them, and giving conclusions (avoiding simplistic conclusions and recognising limitations).
Following on this analysis of descriptive and critical writing, the homework for this week is to research our topic ideas, pick one, and made a brief description of the question to be answered, adding 5 key words and at least 2 resources that relate to my topic (uploaded to padlet.com).
Since I didn’t have any topic in mind yet, I researched on Google Scholars information about VFX, stop motion and animation, since I’m interested in these areas in general. Some of the ideas I came up with are the following:
- Stop motion vs CGI: is stop motion being replaced by CGI or both disciplines have been mixed to reach better results?
- Is it stop motion animation a useful tool to explain science in a simplified way for better understanding?
- How the knowledge of basic physics or the interaction of objects with the environment improves the reproduction of good VFX or animation?
- How to use stop motion as a way to teach experimental animation?
- Visual illusions as an important part of VFX
Stop motion vs. CGI: is stop motion being replaced by CGI or both disciplines have been mixed to reach better results?
The world evolves with the pass of time and the technology with it. Some original practices get perfectioned and others are replaced by more suitable ones. My critical report is going to be an analysis of how stop motion is still being used to create great animation movies such as ‘The nightmare before Christmas’ by Henry Selick and Tim Burton, which has a unique and more refined aesthetic, but it could also be a more expensive process. I will also talk about how CGI has taken more presence in the animation and VFX industry because of its lower cost of production and its faster creative process. Lastly, I will also mention how stop motion and CGI are being fused to achieve even greater and more effective results shown in movies like ‘The Boxtrolls’ by LAIKA Films.
Key words:
stop motion, CGI, technology development, aesthetic, cost-effective
Resources:
Chung, B., 2014. Unpacking the stop-motion magic of ‘The Boxtrolls’. VICE. Available at: https://www.vice.com/en/article/nz4zjd/unpacking-the-stop-motion-magic-of-the-boxtrolls (Accessed: October 17, 2022).
Franklin-Wallis, O., 2014. How stop-motion and 3D printing brought Boxtrolls to Life. WIRED UK. Available at: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/handmade-movie (Accessed: October 18, 2022).
YsabelGo, 2015. Understanding the art of stop motion. The Artifice. Available at: https://the-artifice.com/art-of-stop-motion/#return-note-78500-17 (Accessed: October 17, 2022).