In chapter one of the book “Understanding Comics, the invisible art’ by Scott McCloud, the author basically summarizes the definition of what a comic really is. At first, people think that comics are these “bright colourful magazines filled with bad art, stupid stories and guys in tights”ß as McCloud quotes. Not until he actually did some research himself on what comics really were, did he realize that there is so much more to a comic strip.
He then takes us back in time to closely examine the old Egyptian hieroglyphics and some of the ‘William Hogarth’ sequences, where he draws the line connecting these ancient sequential images to modern day comics.
Comics are not only colourful magazines with crazy storylines. People don’t often realize that film can also be classified as comics, just A LOT slower and smoother. While watching ‘The Lion King’ in our previous lecture, Andrew talked us through the basic conventions used by the animation artists. The way all the animals are moving in the one general direction, as if going somewhere together…the music used that purposely builds suspense and body to the introduction, the compositions of the scenes and many more, all play a huge role in telling the story of this new born king. I never realized until he pointed these things out, how everything in the introduction had been carefully planned out and each frame being carefully drawn out one by one by patient artists.
He then takes us back in time to closely examine the old Egyptian hieroglyphics and some of the ‘William Hogarth’ sequences, where he draws the line connecting these ancient sequential images to modern day comics.
Comics are not only colourful magazines with crazy storylines. People don’t often realize that film can also be classified as comics, just A LOT slower and smoother. While watching ‘The Lion King’ in our previous lecture, Andrew talked us through the basic conventions used by the animation artists. The way all the animals are moving in the one general direction, as if going somewhere together…the music used that purposely builds suspense and body to the introduction, the compositions of the scenes and many more, all play a huge role in telling the story of this new born king. I never realized until he pointed these things out, how everything in the introduction had been carefully planned out and each frame being carefully drawn out one by one by patient artists.
This topic also reminded me of the "Hiden Mickeys", --which are present in ALL the disney films. Hidden Mickeys-- literally self explanitory-- where there is a hidden face od mickey mouse throughout the film- developed in Dysneys earlieset works...and from there have expanded and now has become something Disney incorporates into all its folms and cartoons.www.hiddenmickeys.org - is a site where you can find out where all the hidden mickeys are in every Disney film and cartoon. One that I have seen is in Aladdin, at the end when the tiger turns back into a fully grown tiger. IF you freeze frame the transformation, at one stoped motion, the tigers face is completely mickey mouses face! While freeze framing this it also came to me how mch detail and accuracy the artists put into each picture...how smooth the animation is blew my mind!!!!
This crazy level of stop motion animation is amazing! And being stop motion animation isn’t everything drawn out one by one as ‘juxtaposed pictoral images in a deliberate sequence’ as McCloud Quotes? Not doubt about that, ‘The Lion King’ along with all the other Disney cartoon films can be safely classified as intensified comic strips!
No comments:
Post a Comment