The animation that I chose is SIAMES “NO LULLABY”. I chose this because of the beautiful colors, animation, and music. It was animated by Rudo Company. Both the animator and the musicians are located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The band, SIAMES, and the company do a lot of collaborating, with about half of their music videos being done by Rudo.

The animation company, Rudo, does a lot of really cool work including music videos, commercials, and their own content. They have done work for big names like Hulu, Nike, Apple, Adidas, Cartoon Network and MTV. They have a distinct style but can still adapt to different services preferred advertising. They’re pretty new, 2015, so I dont think they have had much of an impact (at least what I can see) but I would say their advertisements worked well on me before I even knew who they were so I hope they inspire more high quality advertisements.

I think what is really unique about their work is that they do passion projects on top of music videos and advertisements. Their website, which I will have linked, is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. Its pretty intuitive, its colorful, and its full of motion. Just going through their work and reel is so impressive.

Animation like this is really important to me because it has so much life in it. I think that animation, especially for something more commercial like advertising, can become lifeless and sterile. They put color and joy and magic into everything they create, and I hope that they are able to get bigger and really inspire a lot of new animators. Also the way that they are able to connect with more people by having multiple languages on their sites is so cool.

One of their most popular music videos, Wolf, has a “making of” video. It shows some of their process which is cool to watch. (0:52 is my favorite part)

Citing my sources:

https://www.youtube.com/@rudocompany5058/featured

Home

https://youtu.be/dYgrDcXHLwA?si=4rDQVef2hyYrcgFx

https://www.youtube.com/@SIAMESmusic

I chose an iconic scene from Dreamworks’s Animation Studio.
The Prince of Egypt released in 1998, and was a pivotal part in the technological advancements of animation. The movie was made to be a grand masterpiece with an epic sense of scale. A primary goal was expand the aesthetic boundaries of animation, as stated in the production documentary. Animators traveled to Egypt to study, and background artists went to Death Valley to paint. Many famous actors were cast such as Jeff Goldblum and Patrick Stewart. Direct inspiration was taken from painters Gustav Doré and Claude Monet to shape the feel of the film. Much of the process was taking from the best art has to offer.

https://youtu.be/GJleW4TCQM0?si=np4ybywxx0TW8LsN

The characters are animated in the traditional 2D dimensional fashion, but placed in 3D environments. The crew was able to do this thanks to a tool called the Exposure Camera.
You can watch the interview with Doug Keller, the Plague Sequence Lead at 1:43 below.
https://youtu.be/_EHP5eVkH6Y?si=RVjFRQ4-9KPDYrJO



IMPACT ON THE INDUSTRY: The Prince of Egypt’s production enabled 2D characters to move around in digital 3d environments, and have the camera follow those characters.

UNIQUENESS: It’s a climatic scene, but it’s a montage. The two main combatants never duke it out with their fists. It’s a plea for freedom, with the main antagonist constantly choosing to deny it, holding out until he can’t anymore. There’s also a great use of red and blue color contrast. Normally red is used for the side of evil, but in this movie, I believe it symbolized the power and terror brought upon Egypt.

PERSONAL IMPORTANCE: The movie holds many core values that animated films seem to be dismissing. A sense of grand scale, a proper balance of serious, joyous, and comedic tone all make this one of the greatest 2d animated films.

Animators

Plague sequence
Sequence leads – Doug Ikeler, Rosana Lyons

Animators – John Huey, Jane Smethurst

Digital effects – Bob Lyss

Assistants – Mark Asai, Noe Garcia, Helen Javan, Susan B. Keane, Chris Kurshbaum, Chance Lane, John Mc.Farlane, Juile Penman. Chris Trorey

WORKS CITED

‘The Prince of Egypt’ Directed by Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, Simon Wells DreamWorks Animation Dec. 16 1998

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120794/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0594883/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

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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Here is the link to the google slide presentation from this week. I can’t wait to talk with you all on Thursday about your observations and thoughts!

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Ho3fumGLAXSleJFNpoLOJT4aagLeDYDNSHsgL9OATy4/edit?usp=sharing

Bonus: link to Google Doodle inspired by Oskar Fischinger:

https://www.google.com/logos/2017/fischinger/fischinger17.html

Charlie Zuo

Hand Animation

I chose the Cooking with Wool: Pizza Animation made by Andrea Love, and it definitely fits in the Hand Animation category since there’s a literal hand in the film 80% of the time. The stop motion animation is definitely very smooth and has a well put goal. You make a pizza with wool. There’s not much to say other than it’s really well made and creative.

The Indexical Animation

-Puparia (2020)

I chose the film, Puparia for the Indexical animation because of its strong emphasis on creating a strong connection between the animated world and reality. Thus, it uses realism and symbolic imagery to establish a bond with the viewer. Even though Puparia doesnt follow a certain narrative, it presents a surreal, dream-like imagery throughout the animation. It’s often interpreted as a metamorphosis, and the beauty of change. 

The Illusion of Life

The Maker (2012)

For the last theme, the Illusion of Life, I picked The Maker, created by Brian Micheal Bendis (2011). It’s about a puppet rabbit-like-creature, who is racing against time to create a doll-like figure. It becomes clear towards the end that who he’s making is his companion, yet, there would be no time to establish a strong bond before he disappears. Leaving only his confused companion just where he was with the same purpose of its existence. It’s a time paradox, and it’s definitely fitting with the theme, hence how the film revolves around the act of creation, the maker gives life to another puppet. This is literally what the “Illusion of Life” theme is, infuse life into something that is inherently lifeless.