Friday, 4 October 2013

'History Of Animation Part III'

Introduction

In this final section of the History Of Animation, I will be talking about the forms and styles of animation, ranging from TV Programmes to Channel Indents. I will also be arguing if stop-motion has a good or bad future and will be identifying the target audience for stop-motion animation.

TV Programmes

The first form and style I will be talking about is animation on TV. Television animation have three main features:
  • Cartoons / Child Animation
  • Advertisements
  • Channel Idents

Cartoons / Child Animation

One good example for cartoons would be Pingu. Pingu uses the technique of stop-motion animation, where features of claymation are evident. Claymation has been very popular in stop-motion and is also seen in other programmes like Bob the Builder. I believe cartoon animation like Pingu is made for children as it offers a friendly look to it and has some humorous scenes. However an older audience may also enjoy the funny and creative look of cartoon claymation as it is interesting to see clay characters transform.

  

Advertisment

Advertisement is also uses stop-motion animation as it can enhance the visual pleasure that the gives to the viewer and can increase the interest of the thing that is being advertised. One example that can be used is the Target Dreaming Girl Commercial. Depending on what the advert is promoting, the audience could appeal to anyone. If the advert was promoting mens clothing, stop-motion techniques may be used to appeal to a male audience. For example in the advert below, stop-motion techniques are used to appeal to women as the women is the only main character in the video. Plus the video is called 'Target Dreaming Girl Commercial'.

 

Channel Idents

These have been created to make channels seem more interesting to the audience's visual pleasures. It is a good way for new animators to show off their skills in stop-motion and is a good way to introduce a TV programme or channel. One example is the MTV idents. The video below is a good example of an MTV ident. This ident will appeal to people who are a fan of the MTV channel and music out of general. This is because it offers creative stop-motion techniques to promote the channel and music.

 

Films

Stop-motion has gone as far as being in films and can range from all ages from young children to adult content, like sexual references or violence. One example I can use for one animated film is 'Chicken Run' which uses a basic claymation theme and uses stop-motion techniques. With the development in the use of stop-motion and claymation, some filmmakers have adapted to create full length films all out of stop-motion animation. Stop-motion films could appeal to many audiences like families, children, adults, animators etc; as it offers a wide range of creativity and interesting visual pleasures. For example 'Chicken Run' is comical, family friendly and has funny adult humor that some younger audiences won't understand. It also uses very effective and well done claymation which also add to the visual pleasure.

 

Music Videos

To make music videos more enjoyable to the viewer, some filmmakers have incorporated their skills in stop-motion into their music video projects. These can be a good way to express meaning from the song or to just increase the viewer's visual pleasure.

This example is good as it enhances the visual pleasures of the viewer as it gives the illusion that the words are appearing on screen in time with the lyrics of the song. For this video the main target audience will be people who enjoy stop-motion, the song (Drive By) and the artist of the song (Train). Also the video involves a teenager girl so could appeal to the female teen audience.


Who Is Stop-Motion Animation Aimed At?

So one question that is well asked is 'who is stop-motion animation aimed at?' Some people may say it is children due to the friendly visual pleasure it gives to the spectator, however as explained before, there have been animated programmes that are rated mature and are made for older audiences. This could be because its not the content of the animated footage but the emotion that animated footage gives to the spectator. For example the animator Adam Shaheen created the show 'Celebrity Deathmatch'. This involved animated / clay celebrities fighting to the death in a boxing arena. Some celebrities are well known to the spectator and are portrayed in a comical and 'over-the-top' way. This can be entertaining to most age groups but mostly adults. Another thing that can make stop-motion interesting to older audiences is the fact that there is an object there being moved and is seen as 'real' to the spectator.

What Is The Future For Stop-Motion

Through the years stop-motion animation has entertained and inspired many people. With the introduction of CGI, animation has a bit of competition. However some have said that seeing something that is hand made and is 'real' and is not made on a computer is better than watching something that was put together through computer generated graphics. The endless opportunities of stop-motion is what keeps it alive to many people around the world as it allows the chance to be creative with a camera and an object. With easy software and apps people have the opportunity to create stop-motion from a very low budget.

References

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