I should title this "My Official Response to the Animation Process," but it turned out to be just part of the thought process with this project.
My reasoning behind not animating is more than just time and the math behind the process. It's the fact that it is an assembly line process and not one that is inherently obsessive. At least in the contemporary sense of the media. We don't have many Ub Iwerks in the world that draw so much during the course of the day it could be considered their waste product... well, except for Steve Purcell, but he's Pixar's storyboard artist and an indie comic book artist. I don't know if he actually animates. But the point still stands that the animation process doesn't equal an obsessive product. It's a product to be obsessed about, but it doesn't illustrate obsession short of producing an animation loop of a pack rat feverishly collecting things into one stock pile only to be a victim of a Sisyphus-like scenario where the items end up blowing away.
Makes me want to see how much it costs to rent or even construct one of those strange leaf-blower boxes you see on game shows where the contestant is locked in and has to grab that one gold ticket out of the millions that are zooming around their head in a space no bigger than their body's width. Oh, who am I fooling? I'm working on a budget here, and I'd like to keep it that way.
2 comments:
For once I'm leaving a comment before Robert does. I can't believe it.
I love that you're posting some of your drawings on your blog. Finally! It's about time!!!
Now where'd you come up with 24 frames per second? That's like, insane. 12 frames per second is good enough to appear smooth, and with a projector (which is pretty low-res according to movie standards) even less than that can appear smooth. Also there are plenty of tricks in photoshop (and probably illustrator) to keep you from having to redraw the image that many times.
I understand if you really feel that animation doesn't lend itself to the obsessive nature that your work addresses. I'm not sure how you arrive at that conclusion, but I can go along with your personal intuition, if that's really what it is. Part of me feels as though you're running away from a challenge. The process is a lot easier than you might think. And you don't have to go all Bielaczyc and make a feature length movie. Just some simple little touches, like a character that blinks ever few minutes, or smiles, or a few bouncing balls...? the smallest subtlest elements will make an enormous difference. I don't know - it seems you have some more complicated ideas.
Just don't make your project too complicated or you'll keep talking yourself out of ideas rather than doing them.
Now let's see what Robert has to say...
(I can't believe I beat him to the post!)
Jon,
Jason just barely beat to commenting. I was tired and taking a nap on the couch. This is what I wrote before I read his comment:
Jon,
I think of an animator as a draftsman who executes the ideas of a creative storyteller. Of course those individual cells are a sort of art but of an entirely different kind from those done by a artist doing drawings.
An animator who is obsessive would be one who refuses to finish a film which would continue to change or to grow longer forever.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Now, I'll have to add that I don't think Jason or I either one really understand what prompted you to consider doing an animation in the first place. It seems the complete opposite of that box of drawings.
Was there a drawing you made for the box which took life and spoke to you and said, "I deserve more attention."?
Robert
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