Anthropomorphics

You know what ongoing theme in stories that continue to capture my interest? Anthropomorphics! I mean, what's better than capturing the human condition and then giving it a humorous or innocent twist by making them anthropomorphic animals or objects? It's the perfect way to tell a children's story!

The majority of Pixar's films consist of anthropomorphic characters as a matter of fact, but it's not just in movies that I enjoy this style of story telling, I love reading books as well! In grade school and middle school I used to read things like Poppy and other Avi novels about anthropomorphic mice and, well, the dangers of being a mouse. This book cover always makes me laugh. I know it's supposed to be ominous, but the main antagonist is a beaver? Cracks me up.

Spooky looming beaver head of doom and equally spooky mouse romance

Another book series you guys may be more familiar with is the Redwall series, which is about a huge community of medieval woodland creatures. The stories keep track of Redwall Abbey over centuries and centuries of war and peace. The protagonists usually include mice, voles, moles, hares, squirrels, and badgers, and the antagonists usually involve foxes, stoats, weasels, rats, wildcats, the occasional snakes, and some birds of prey and scavenger birds. It's surprisingly action-packed, and the depth of the universe Brian Jacques creates is never-ending.

This is the first one I read. How did the manage to put his mask on though?

Anthropomorphic characters always interested me because I thought they offered more to a story than human characters because I felt they could offer what humans have and so much more. It's an entirely different perspective, and not only is it charming, but it's also a sneaky way to flush out valuable human seasons of life and portray human relationships to an unknowing audience (Like me, who just wants to read about blind badger priestesses that shoot longbows and minstrel rabbits)

Thanks for reading guys, cheers!

Is Streaming an Art Form?

During our discussion about video games, does anyone remember when someone tried to explain streaming to Professor Leeper? He was baffled, and if I remember right, he didn't quite understand what is was.

Streaming is a live recording of one person (maybe with a few friends) playing a video game and commenting about the game as they play. Usually webcam is set up so you can see the reactions of the people playing the game, so it's kind of like a one way Skype conversation, only viewers can also communicate with the streamer by posting live comments that the streamer and other viewers can see. 

Sp4zie, well known Swedish streamer

Streaming is actually a very lucrative industry. Websites like Veetle, Ustream, and Twitch host thousands of streamers, and often streamers post their stream footage on YouTube and make even more money from the views collected there.

So, is it an art form? It's very simple, but some creativity can be involved. Some people animate clips of audio from their gameplay, others edit over their streams with interesting cinematic editing. I myself don't know if it's an art form, but what I do know is that I really enjoy it, and you can really get to know streamers if you want to.

Sorry if you came for answers, all I can do is pose more questions. Cheers guys!

Double-Take

My favorite music videos always exceed my understanding the first time through. In the same way Inception and The Sixth Sense made me watch the movie twice, so music videos like Sugar Water and This Too Shall Pass force me to watch it multiple times to fully understand and appreciate it. I feel like this sort of media belongs in an entirely new genre, but it wouldn't know what to call it: it isn't psychedelic, but the editing and thoroughly thought-through direction makes me do a double-take.

I always appreciate music videos of this 'genre' because it takes a music video has only 3 or 4 minutes to rearrange my brain, whereas a movie takes several hours. When I soak in a video like this, I find a balance between Leeper's "stepping into the media with wide-eyed wonder" and my simpler mentality I call "appreciation". The result: "Holy cow, this was amazing! What on Earth--how did they--gah, I just have to watch it again, don't I?" Then I watch it a second time, sometimes a third time because I'm a very slow person, and each occasion feels fresh. In complicated music videos and movies like this, I feel like they put two or three movies in one:

1) The first time I watched the piece
2) The second time; I sort of understand the piece
3) Appreciate this stuff in all of its intricacies

Rhett and Link makes some excellent videos, and some make me do a double take. Try this one on for size. Cheers!

Mamshmam

Mamshmam is this great indy animator I found on YouTube about eight years ago.  He's a dude named Callum, and he lives in Australia (ha, I pretend I know him sometimes....haha....*sigh*)
He has a rather simple style, and his channel has become somewhat inactive as of late (which hopefully means he got a job right out of college!) but he prefers animating with clay and he does some hand-drawn animation as well.

James, what on Earth does this have to do with music videos?

Excellent question, Jonathan. I was just getting to that.

One of my favorite short videos is a music video for the song Don't Stop Me Now by Queen. It's a simple black and white hand-drawn animation, but the flow and the point of view makes the characters look like they're on a three dimensional plane. I found it to be very fun to watch. The flow and timing of the entire video was pretty great, and it fit in just right with the song. This video is just another example of how all of the media in the world is shifting off the TV onto your computer screen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPg84AA7Bgk

And here's some claymations he made:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IFzcj4wnvQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz97rUgxIHk

Dear Mr. Watterson

Surprise, surprise! I'm going to write about Calvin and Hobbes!

Those of you that know me know I absolutely adore Calvin and Hobbes and everything that comic is about, which brings me to my topic that's actually related to class: Dear Mr. Watterson, the first movie about Calvin and Hobbes! It's a documentary about Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, and about how the comic has impacted the world and comics in general. From there, it goes on about why Watterson stiffly refused to sell market Calvin and Hobbes in any way outside of the strip. Have any of you Calvin and Hobbes ever wondered why there's never been a Calvin and Hobbes movie? T-shirts? Not even a little stuffed Hobbes toy sold at Wal-Mart? The documentary explains that too.

The dangling tail of Hobbes drew my eye immediately in the "new to Netflix" section last Summer.

My favorite part about this documentary is that it's a general celebration of Calvin and Hobbes and its world. The universality of Calvin and Hobbes continues to blow my mind every time I read it, it's unfathomable. That comic manages to relate to everyone on multiple levels, and I think it deserves this documentary. People deserve to know the truth about the comic and its writer, who is the unseen Bigfoot of the industry. Seriously, no one has seen him in 20 years.

So I highly recommend this documentary. Check it out on Netflix! It's well worth the time! (Also, if anyone ever needs to nerd out over Calvin and Hobbes, you know where to find me.)
Thanks for reading!

Robot and Frank (Is A Movie You Should Watch)

Sex: let's agree to disagree.

Okay, how was that? Are we good here? Great.

In Signs and Wonders last week, we watched a movie I've never heard of called Robot and Frank. The plot involves an ex-cat burglar with impending dementia and his personal robot/ life coach who manages to be adorable and creepily existential at the same time. What a duo.

"Why are you wearing a space helmet?"

The movie was a tad slow at the start, but once the old-timer Frank starts training Robot in the arts of burglary, things escalate in a way that is less expected and more enjoyable in my opinion. There are no car chases, no firefights, and no intense computer-generated action. Instead, the writer decided to delve into the characters a little more. While out stealing from the rich, Frank and Robot have some deep conversations. Robot tells Frank about his concept of memory, and how memory is so insignificant to AIs like Robot. Frank can't wrap his mind around diminishing the value of memory, probably because what's left of his own memory is very precious to him.

This movie connected to me in an interesting way. My grandmother suffered from Alzheimer's for several years, and I think this movie portrayed the confusion of memory loss in an excellent way. I used to be really afraid of my grandmother because I never knew if she would remember me or not when I stepped into the house. 

In the end of the movie, Frank moves into a mental institution where he receives proper help. Though Frank loses his friend Robot, he is reunited with all of his loved ones. I guess in a way, when my grandmother died in 2007, she was reunited with her loved ones too. 

Quiz Essay 2

The Man Who Planted Trees was made by Frederic Back, a prestigious German animator. The story Back weaves over only fifteen minutes is astounding: he tells of a desolate village, a barren valley, an ever-progressing world, and the one old man that was left behind. This old man dedicated his entire life to giving life to this barren valley by planting trees. The power of animation allows us to see his progress over 20 years, learning more and more about the old man and how he revived the entire village around him with a walking stick and some seeds.

Not only is this piece beautiful and unique in style, it also tells a very inspiring story that, to some, was very inspirational. The Man Who Planted Trees reminded me of the beauty of nature and to never underestimate the power of the individual. Earlier on in the school year, I decided to join the horticulture club. Now you're saying, "But James, you don't know squat about planting!" First of all, how did you know that? Second of all, I joined because I have this love from growing things and watching things progress, and I think that's why this Back piece really hit home for me.

Keeping Our Eyes Glued

Good evening friends.

This morning in class after watching the films Pfffirate, The Hell's Kitchen, and After You, Professor Leeper would usually comment with something like "Yes, that film certainly cheated the system. It was simple, but hey, it sure did keep your attention, didn't it?" Hold on now, is that the reason we absorb media?

"[Media] doesn't need to affect people's behavior. There's a great and very, very effective tool that changes people's attitudes and makes them see the world in a new way. It's called a gun."
-David Mamet

Remember him?

This isn't the first time Professor Leeper has played the "It's simple but it kept your attention, right?" card. I didn't think that was what this class was about. Heck, I didn't think that's what this trade was about. Making films is about starting conversations and making people think in ways they have never thought.

No matter how affordable and quick the film was to make, there's always room for getting a point across. That's why I liked The Dog Who was a Cat Inside: it entertained me with this concept of a stubborn dog with a reluctant cat inside of him, and also at the same time it delivered a message. This message in particular was fantastic because it could be interpreted in many ways, which leads to even more potential moral and philosophical conversations, which makes us better as a human race.

After You made me laugh the most I have in a few weeks, and that was fantastic. But, as we've learned previously in this class, communicating with an audience on a deeper level has a longer lasting impact than a cheap laugh.

Allow Me To Barge In....

Hey everyone, it's James, the male that writes about feminism....heh....
The awkward is strong already.

I don't know if it was just me, but I thought those films were spooky. Not in the way someone would expect. I think it's because I was sheltered from such stories of inequality when I was younger, so it scares the baloney out of me to see people treating fellow children of God in such a way.

I think my first taste of such things was in fifth grade when we read Ashes of Roses in fifth grade. It takes place in 1910 America. This Irish immigrant named Rose wasn't allowed to work unless she allowed this perverted boss of her's to flirt with her. Was this the norm back then? Someone please tell me this isn't true...anyone?

That saddens me deeply, but the same time gives me comfort to see how much has changed in recent years. I would have to say humanity owes it to the radical feminists out there. I don't think anyone else could have gotten the job done. With that in mind, I don't agree with feminism. I agree with equality between the genders.

Oh, is it time for the obligatory Ephesians discussion? Already? Wow, time flies. Alright, here goes.
" 22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything."
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. 
That's what Paul says. In the Bible. This verse really rattles some bones, including my own. Submission? What a nasty-sounding word. As a male, I really don't want to rule over anyone. Here's the catch: husbands have to love their wives in the same way God loves the church: a challenge I wish I could live up to. This means that men can't abuse the position they have as a husband to make their wife a personal maid or something worse. So, in a way, the relationship continues to be equally yoked.

The way gender roles are shifting around all the time is crazy, and hey, I'm not complaining. I've been rooting for the 5 female naval officers since they signed up to train to be Navy Seals, and I was happy to hear that history was made when 2 of the 5 made it through the training in August and into the company of the most elite operating militants in the world. But at the same time, God created man and woman differently, so naturally some roles will remain eternally attached to certain genders simply because that's what God intended.

Now, was that so bad? I hope I didn't step on any toes. (Geez I'm such a wimp)

Can I Please Be Frederic Back?

Frederic Back: amazing artist, right? Before we'd watched Toute Rien and The Man Who Planted Trees, I'd watched CRAC!. And wow, I thought CRAC! was good, but then I saw how simple and gorgeous The Man Who Planted Trees was. It looked so realistic to me and yet I knew at any second a person's face could become a rugged mountain or a public bus could become a flourish of golden birch trees. I tried to imagine how long it must have taken to create that 20 minute story in Back's brain...and then on paper...and then on screen. It had to take years. I started looking ahead at my own life and seeing how a lot of it would be spent scribbling things on a desk. I almost got nervous, but then I remembered how incredible our art forms are! We literally pour years of our lives to create a single impression. Is it worth it? I think it is. What matters is that the impression we make is an impactful one.

Seeing this made me really upset: why hadn't I heard of him before? Why is it that my deepest exposure to animation and film is Walt Disney and Steven Spielburg? These artists are great, but I really feel like I should be watching more international pieces. If you guys know any easy ways to find international/ indy animation and film, please let me know in the comments.

Thank you for briefly skimming through my thoughts! See you guys in class!

Telling Tough Stories to Children

This video is from a 1983 episode of Sesame Street. Will Lee, an actor on the show from the beginning, passed away, and the writers and cast used the situation to explain death and its permanence to Sesame Street's young viewers.

This clip came to mind when we were discussing the greatness of a children's story that even adults can learn from. I realized one thing we can all relate to, young and old alike, is that people experience hardships. Teaching kids about these hardships is crucial, and sometimes the best way to prepare them for it is to tell a story.

As story tellers, I want to urge all of you to tell tough stories. Stories like this are necessary. They can prepare viewers for the future or help them heal in their current situation. Stories like this aren't easily forgotten simply because everyone has been there at some point in their life. The truth can be hard to swallow, no matter what the audience is. Some topics, like death, can apply to all audiences, and I think that's the beauty of being part of one human race.

Why I'm not Saving Souls in Yemen

Good evening, friends. Since we read about the significance of Christian art (quality Christian art) I thought I would talk about my own personal story of how I arrived at H.U....and why I'm not a missionary.

I grew up in a Christian home, raised to believe in the power of the unknown and the glory of God's creation. I was baptized when I was seven, simply because I felt obligated to. I assumed it would get awkward if I didn't as soon as possible, my father being the pastor and all. So, once I could wrap my head around the gospel, I announced my faith and was saved.

Drawing had always been my strongest talent. If I ever failed a test or completely threw a soccer match, I would sulk home and doodle winged sheep and space dragons. That always made me feel better, so I planned to be an animator straight out of grade school. It was about this time I began to truly understand what being a Christian was about. I always believed in God, but I learned the need for missions and servitude, and rededicated my life to God.

Jumping forward several years, I was a junior in high school. Art was still the driving talent in my life, but I felt obligated to be a missionary. After all, what good does an artist do? You can paint a picture of Jesus, but you can't tell the gospel in one picture...and there's no guarantee a person would see that picture anyway. The gears started turning that year when I saw the movie God's Not Dead.

God's Not Dead is a very enriching movie, but it seemed to only serve as a Christian back scratcher in my opinion. Walking out of the theater that day had me thinking, "They could tell the story of God in so many different ways. Why did they have to tell it by quickly shooting down every atheist philosophy?" I really wanted in to the world of multimedia now, but it seemed selfish. God calls us to  go and make disciples, not go and make movies. I was at a crossroads.

Later that year I visited H.U. The Christian views fused into all of these classes inspired me so much, and I wanted to come here and tell stories. My feelings were still conflicted, so I prayed for several months. One morning God spoke to me through a friend, "God gave you these gifts for a reason. He wouldn't make you an artist and give you a passion for such things if He didn't have plans for you in that field."

That was the deciding factor. God will still call me to be a disciple, but not in the pits of Yemen. It will be in the abyssal world of multimedia, where anything goes, and Christianity is the last thing the world wants to hear about. God will inspire us to tell His story, some in more direct ways than others.

I'm going to tell his story with a pencil.

Ethics in Elfland: The Truth in Fairy Tales

C.K. Chesterton's Ethics in Elfland really gave me a lot to think about. I had wished there were other people out there that found joy in simplicity, even to the degree of 'ignorance is bliss'. It seems Chesterton argues just that, and nothing ever made more sense to me.

Chesterton relates a person's instinctual attachment to sexuality to a person's deeply placed love for awe and wonder. The impossible stories are more true than the most realistic stories. Chesterton is trying to tell us that whether the tale was based on a true story or not, some fairy tales always tell deeper truths and something stirs in the reader's gut when the unpredictable happens. I can't recall a better moment in my lifetime of reading than this: Percy Jackson's pre-algebra teacher turns into a demon, his history teacher throws him a pen, the pen springs into a sword, and Percy slays his pre-algebra teacher. This all happens quick succession with very little explanation. My ten-year-old self is completely thrown into a state of unexplained excitement. My mind was alight with the thought of "What on God's green earth did I just read, and may I have a second, third, fourth helping?" I hungrily consumed the rest of the novel and my desire was not yet sated.

Chesterton wants all of us to pursue that hunger for awe and wonder. He wants us to imagine and to stumble on without questioning the logic of the situation. All we need to do is soak in the amazing moment and be swept off our feet like a child. There is truly nothing more fun than that on this planet.

Next time I read something, I'm not going to be thinking about symbols or about how one thing cannot follow the other, but only about the landscape the story etches into my mind, and about the great new things I can learn from it.

Prince et Princesse

The short paper cutout animation Prince et Princesse stood out to me a lot when we watched it among other short films. I took four years of French in high school (in hopes I would get out of it in college!) and so I thought it was really cool to see a piece that was originally French. In high school French class all we ever saw was French dubbed over American animated features. The only other French original piece I've ever seen was Ernest and Celestine, which is an equally entertaining (if not more entertaining) film. In short: I love the fluidity of animating French lip-sync.

That's not the only reason Prince et Princesse stood out to me. I've always been a HUGE fan of mock fairy tales: The Princess and The Frog, Hoodwinked, 1001 Rabbit Tales by Looney Tunes, Shrek. The best part about all of these films is that these movies are comedies AND fairy tales. They mock fairy tales in the beginning by tweaking the fairy tales in comedic ways, but in the end the story itself was a fairy tale all along. The story itself makes fun of a fairy tale, but the viewer finds itself with the same warm, familiar feeling of 'happily ever after' as the credits slowly roll.

I adore this style. It may actually be cliche now, but I have always enjoyed the way the fairy tales get flipped upside down in those movies.

Live Action Jungle Book: Is This the Same Movie?

Hey all, I'm a huge Jungle Book fan and I flipped out when the new trailer for the live action rendition was released last week. The trailer was awesome, but not in the way I expected it to be.

The trailer was beautiful and thrilling. These are two things I would not expect from The Jungle Book. I watched the 1977 animated film countless times, and in my opinion the biggest traits of the movie were the simplicity and the innocence. I feel like the original really captured the fun-loving and adventurous sides of childhood. The new trailer did not include either of these.

My thoughts? I think Disney is trying to get an initial pull to a broader audience from the action and suspense of the movie and put it into one trailer. I still believe that Disney will stay true to the fun of the original and keep the songs and some of the nonsensical dialogues.

Why do I believe this? Well, at first, I thought Disney got really jealous and are trying to copy it with a Disney facade, but then at the end I heard the whistling to the tune of 'The Bear Necessities', which is my personal favorite, and that gave me some assurance that this movie would not abandon the memories of the '77 rendition. Also, they grabbed Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, and Scarlet Johanssen for voice acting, so now I know that Disney is setting this movie on high-priority.

I'm really excited about this movie and I plan to write more about it once more content is released.

Cheers!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mkm22yO-bs

Am I Overthinking It?

Hey everyone. I've got a combination of the common cold, writer's block, and a creative boredom I can't quite describe. I could really use all of your creative opinions, so please respond if you can.


I've been conceptualizing a web comic based off a short story I wrote last winter. The problem is, the short story is only seven pages long, and though a miniature plot is resolved, I haven't been able to think of a stronger, underlying plot that's necessary to every story. I've been knocking ideas around in my brain for a few days: should I go for it and just start? Should I scrap the story? Or do I need to hibernate for a few more weeks and think about it? These questions really got me thinking.

What is originality? Is anything original anymore? In my opinion, no. I read Jacob's blog post a few minutes ago (well done, Jacob) which described the hero's journey and how thousands of stories follow the same foundation. After reading this, I understood where my struggle was. I'm seeking something I can't have: an original story. The originality in a story is in the details. The originality of my story is a crazy-quilt of other peoples' stories. Heck, even my characters are borne from my favorites in movies, books, and comics.

I sure hope I'm not alone in discontent, unoriginal mindset. Anyone else who feels this way, please speak up. I'd love to have a chat with you. (Even if you don't, I'd love to have a chat with you. I want to meet all of you.) Maybe if both of us share our thoughts with each other we could pull ourselves out of this rut.

Though I know that true originality is false, I still want to create something new. I know that if a person pours parts of their own experiences into something, not only will it be unique, it will also reveal that person's heart, which is where the creation becomes a part of the creator. When God felt alone, He created man in His own image, and I think we should do likewise with our art.

Thanks for reading. If you think I'm overthinking this, I'd have to agree. Yet I'm still in this state.
Here's the story I wrote. Ignore the other posts on that blog, it was from a class I had in High School.
http://jamesnewtoncomp.weebly.com/

The World of Glory: Interpretations, Reflections

The World of Glory can be interpreted in a plethora of ways. My interpretation is probably one of the more common ones. The society this man lives in is Nazi Germany, and he is too old to fight in the war. Did you guys notice that there were no young men shown at all in the film? I think they are fighting for the Third Reich, or its equivalent in this made up world.

From my perspective, it appears this man dreads his ordinary life from day to day because he has seen the heinous acts that are the Holocaust. Though he himself is blessed with a home, job, and family, he is aware of the people in need and dying. The main character feels he is a horrible person because he is allowing these things to happen to innocent people from day to day, but he also sees no way to help these people. On top of that, everyone else around him does not seem to care about the tragedy and devastation in the outside world.

That's my interpretation of the piece. This was not a happy film. It was not meant to bring joy. It was crafted specifically to show the world the horrid things that happened during the Second World War and, in my opinion, it was a jab at humanity in general. It isn't just the Nazis that did these horrible things. The bystanders are equally responsible for watching without doing anything. I am one of those people. I stand by and let things happen. People out there are suffering, and we feel like there's not a thing we can do to remedy it.

James Newton

Hello everyone I'm James Newton and I'm an animation major. I'm from Peoria, Illinois, which is known for its Caterpillar Headquarters and crummy local and state government. I'm fascinated with all forms of animation, but I'm most captivated by the look of two dimensional animation. I have little experience in the field, but I do enjoy drawing. My inspiration is fueled by shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender, Generator Rex, and classics like Looney Tunes and Tom & Jerry.

 I'm also a huge comics fan, and read Calvin and Hobbes probably more than any healthy person should. I also highly recommend Krazy Kat and Pogo to any comic fan. Webcomics are also an interest of mine. It's a smaller industry, but stories like Digger, Lackadaisy, and Stand Still Stay Silent are beautiful works of art. I myself am planning on starting a webcomic with a few of my friends sometime this upcoming year, and though there may not be a huge profit (if any at all), it's going to boatloads of fun.

Huntington is a great place and I'm really excited for this year and the years to come. Can't wait to get to know all of you in the DMA department!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsGv7ESMKIc