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Animation: The Hand, The Indexical, and The Illusion of Life

September 11, 2024 / Tom Kuebler

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.

Zava has his own Youtube account- check out more of his animations because they’re amazing

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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The Indexical, The Hand, and The Illusion

September 11, 2024 / Oliver Hale

in animation, there are often themes that inhabit that said animation. Today I’m looking for films that each represent The Indexical, The Hand, and the Illusion

The Indexical

I chose to feature a film that features everyone in the world. it can do that by choosing to represent an emotion we have all felt. the loneliness of being alive. It is called Impetus by William Landergreen, and it is hauntingly beautiful through its message and sound. it is indexical because it mentions the whole and features the one simultaneously. it both features all of us and none of us because it is all CGI, but the human emotion it shares makes us all actors in Impetus.

The Hand

The hand is the tool of an artist. When we are allowed to see it, it can bring a new sense of beauty to a piece. I chose the Running dude, which is a short test of new Grease Pencil abilities in Blender. The Running Dude is by Łukasz Rusinek and features his process in making it, allowing us a glimpse into the hand of the artist.

The Illusion

Norilska is a short animated film made by Oliver Ward in Unreal Engine. its brooding world and radio warnings fall on deaf ears while a captain forges forward through this waste land. While it lacks any character animation it makes up for it with its cinematic and atmospheric vibe. what makes it an illusion is how real this film looks, one could assume this is real-life footage not generated and rendered by a computer—that’s where the illusion comes in, blurring the line between the real and the real looking.

“we both know there is no other way, it will be too late” – Norilska

3 ANIMATIONS: HAND, INDEXICAL, ILLUSION.

September 10, 2024 / Timothy Abrams

For my animation showing the creator’s hand, I chose Alan Becker’s fourth entry in his Animator vs Animation series. As the name suggests, he fights the stick figure he created in his animation software.

For my indexical animation, I chose a stop motion called Mitosis. The creator goes by the name Guldies. Mitosis animation however is very surreal, and get’s a little trippy. Despite that, you can see and feel the dedication. The sculpting, motion, and even sound design line up perfectly to create a miniature masterpiece.

Lastly, my illusion choice comes from one of the greatest animated films of all time.

The Prince of Egypt Pencil tests are WAY TOO SMOOTH. Dare I say some tests may even surpass the Richard Willams level! Go to the time stamp 3:29 and catch your jaw before it hits the ground.