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UNDERSTANDING ANIMATION ‘ If it is the live-action film’s job to present physical reality, animated film is concerned with metaphysical reality – not how things look, but what they mean’ (Hoffer) Animation has a ‘unique vocabulary’, which is not the province of the live-action filmmaker. Jan Svankmajer, Czech Surrealist animator said ‘Animation enables me to give magical powers to things. In my films, I move many objects, real objects. Suddenly, everyday contact with things which people are used to acquires a new dimension and in this way casts a doubt over reality. In other words, I use animation as a means of subversion’ ‘animation can redefine the everyday, subvert our accepted notions of ‘reality’ and challenge the orthodox everyday understanding and acceptance of our existence. Animation can defy the laws of gravity, challenge our perceived view of space and time and endow lifeless things with dynamic and vibrant possibilities’ ‘Animation has a capacity to recreate and laugh at the world; to challenge its orthodoxy and pretension; to explore the boundaries of taste and expression’ CONVENTIONS OF ANIMATION · CARICATURE Caricature renders the protagonists immediately recognisable, including typical facial expressions and specialised vocabulary e.g. Homer’s ‘D’oh’, ‘Mmm.. donuts’ and drooling, Bart’s ‘Ay carumba!’. This is a pictorial shorthand widely understood, adding to its marketing possibilities – it’s universal. · ANTHROPOMORPHISM i.e. the endowment of creatures with human qualities, abilities and attributes. This remains the consistent focus of a great deal of animation e.g.
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