Author: Tom Kuebler (Page 3 of 3)

I chose an animated film named Waltz With Bashir. It was released in 2008 and is a docudrama about a soldier plagued with unusual nightmares during and after the Lebanon War of 1982.

The Lebanon War is also known as the Second Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and was between the Israeli military and PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) because of an accused assassination and fighting over territory.

I chose this film because it has a direct correlation to present day events between Israel and Palestine and the war between them that has been going on for years, which I feel is important to learn and talk about among peers. The film fits under the category of a recreation of reported events because it was made in response to the war, provoking a creative approach to the trauma it caused. In this film specifically, it highlights the emotional effects the war had on soldiers.

The film was written, directed, AND produced by a one Ari Folman, which intrigued me because it reminded me of The Worlds Divide by Denver Jackson on the Ottawa animation trip last week.

I believe the animation contributes to the documentary style of storytelling well, and I think that the more realistic style approach was a wise choice.

NOTE: The entire film is around 1 hour and 30 minutes, and I wasn’t able to watch all of it, but I watched until about twenty minutes in and watched the trailer on YouTube. You can find the film in its entirety on Amazon Prime Video.

CITATIONS:

“Waltz with Bashir.” Www.imdb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt1185616/.

‌“Waltz with Bashir.” Amazon.com, 28 Aug. 2008, www.amazon.com/Waltz-Bashir-Ron-Ben-Yishai/dp/B0028X38GA. Accessed 18 Sept. 2023.

‌“Waltz with Bashir.” Wikipedia, 5 Feb. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltz_with_Bashir.

Sony Pictures Classics. “Waltz with Bashir | Official Trailer (2008).” YouTube, 19 Dec. 2008, www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoM-L62peIo. Accessed 11 July 2020.

Wikipedia Contributors. “1982 Lebanon War.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Nov. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_Lebanon_War.

‌Wikipedia Contributors. “Lebanese Civil War.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Feb. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanese_civil_war.

‌“First Lebanon War.” Www.idf.il, 2023, www.idf.il/en/mini-sites/wars-and-operations/first-lebanon-war/.

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One of my favorite bands of all time is Caravan Palace. They’re most known for a few popular songs used in animation memes online, but they have so many other albums that are worth a listen. They’re French, but use a lot of animation and abstract style in their marketing and music videos.

That brings me to the one specifically chosen for this blog- the official music video for “MAD” by Caravan Palace.

The main influence for the style of this music video was taken almost entirely from old cartoon-style animation- work done early on when animation was just starting out, but redone in a professional and artistic way. It seems like inspiration from old Disney styles was also taken. The animator behind it is Sebastian Pfeifer, who does much more than animating for music. I’ve linked his website below. He’s well versed in both 2d and 3d animation, and overall has a very surreal and odd style that’s both aesthetic and interesting.

https://everfresh-design.de

I think this type of animation is very inspiring. I love the combined efforts of paying respects to old styles while also being creative and unique in its own way, and the animator behind it is just as creative. Caravan Palace as a band has impacted so many people and they’ve made huge steps in electrojazz music, and the animation they use is no different. I’m glad they choose independent animators and commission them, rather than being lazy with their production to get more money. Sebastian Pfeifer as an independent animator creates work that inspires more creativity and less conformity, which I believe is extremely important in the world of the arts, especially animation.

CITATIONS:

CaravanPalace. “Caravan Palace – MAD (Official MV).” YouTube, 19 Oct. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnSd97-lUCM. Accessed 18 Sept. 2024.

‌“Sebastian Pfeifer.” Everfresh-Design.de, 2023, everfresh-design.de/. Accessed 18 Sept. 2024.

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The first animation I’ve chosen represents the artist’s hand. It is a short film all the way back from 1906, and it features the director’s hand, Walter R. Booth, using stop action to create a man and a woman. It is popularly described as the first British animated film in history.

For my second animation, it represents the Indexical. I initially had some trouble finding an animation for this type, however I stumbled upon an awesome stop motion animator on YouTube called Guldies. They have a lot of videos and I ended up watching a good amount of them. I eventually picked out their animation called FANTASIA. As like their account as a whole, the animation is very surreal and at times weird, but the constant mix of dedication and beautiful craftsmanship convey a sense of understanding of their craft and passion for what they do. There is even a shot in the animation where the entire table is shown, along with the lights lighting it up, which contributes to the animation’s overall production even more.

The last animation I chose represents the Illusion of Life. It’s a beautiful piece and actually one of my all-time favorite animated shorts. It was created in unreal engine, and the way it tackles environment design so realistically is amazing. It was made by Sava Zivkovic. I am a HUGE fan of sci-fi horror, and this combined with the realistic animation creates a terrifying but entertaining experience that you really have to watch all the way through to appreciate.

CITATIONS:

Wikipedia Contributors. “The Hand of the Artist.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Aug. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hand_of_the_Artist. Accessed 12 Sept. 2024.

‌“Sava Zivkovic.” YouTube, www.youtube.com/channel/UC8GZPtMEqzSIVaO0sM8YsWg. Accessed 12 Sept. 2024.

‌luisbardamu1. “The Hand of Artist 1906.” YouTube, 5 Apr. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=xigFamzYaw0. Accessed 12 Sept. 2024.

‌Poggi, Sofía. “Sound as an Indexical Element in Nonfiction Animation | Animationstudies 2.0.” Animationstudies.org, 2019, blog.animationstudies.org/?p=3250. Accessed 12 Sept. 2024.

‌Movielover. “Movie Lover: Indexicality and Film.” Movie Lover, 29 Apr. 2009, movie-lover1.blogspot.com/2009/04/indexicality-and-film.html.

‌“FANTASIA. A Stop Motion Animation by Guldies.” Www.youtube.com, www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NgRiVb38p0. Accessed 4 Nov. 2023.

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