Corpse Bride

        The way in which environments are represented in animations can have a big impact on the overall tone and atmosphere of the piece. The colours, textures and ways that shots are framed can communicate as much about the mood of a scene as character movements, which makes the environment a powerful tool in communicating with the audience.

 

        In Tim Burton's Corpse Bride there is a distinct contrast between the environments for the land of the living and the land of the dead. While the audience may expect the former to be vibrant and the latter to be drab, these expectations are in fact inverted. The film begins (in the land of the living) with a distinctly grey colour palette (not quite black & white and not quite sepia), the only colours being extremely muted, such as reds, mauves and burgundies, which do not stand out from the surroundings. It is not only the colour palette which is muted, but the entire town is devoid of texture; the surfaces are all flat and characterless. Even the forest, an environment which should be haphazard, chaotic and natural, is oddly ordered and regimented; tress grow in parallel lines with short spiky branches which conform to the repressed and restrained, stereotypically Victorian atmosphere of the land of the living.

 

 

        The land of the dead on the other hand is alive with colour. The sets are lit with bright, almost neon, pinks and greens, which contrast brilliantly with the vivid blue skin of the characters which inhabit this landscape (that is, the characters which have skin). The jazzy colour scheme is further enhanced by the Dutch tilt camera angles, which are mirrored in the off kilter structures of the underworld. Whereas in the land of the living, everything is perfectly parallel and perpendicular, the buildings, staircases and furniture (much of which seems to be constructed from coffins) of the land of the dead leans and curves in a more familiar, 'Burtonesque' style. The overall effect is of a more relaxed and welcoming world, of a welcome escape from the oppression and misery of the land of the living. Showing death as a release is certainly an odd view to take in a child friendly film.

 

 

        The differing moods of the two worlds are perhaps best illustrated by these two clips, which offer the first glimpses the audience has of the lands of the living and dead, acting as important introductions, and setting the tone for the rest of the film.

Royal Armouries

        So having decided on The Sunne in Splendour I thought I'd better do a bit of research on the period of the novel (late 15th century), and as war is one of the predominant themes of the narrative, I thought that the Royal Armouries in Leeds would be a good place to start. Aside from providing an insight into the brutal lifestyles of the past (there were suits of armour for children as young as six or seven, in order that they could be trained to sword fight and joust), the museum allowed me to see that armour used to be a status symbol, decorative and customised to show off the wearer's rank, as well as the skill of their workers.

        Yet having war as the focus of the title sequence seems a little cliched, as many films, such as The Fellowship of the Ring, have used introductory scenes which summarise historical battles which shape the events of the film. Moreover, the majority of the story takes place off the battle field, so it would seem misleading to introduce this as simply a war story. But the armoury had more to offer than weaponry; while I was there I saw a number of illustrations from the appropriate pre-Tudor era, showing nobility at play watching jousts, and parading in their finery. The style of the pictures is unmistakably medieval, with a rich colour palette (which is echoed in other depictions of the period that  have found), so it would be useful to take inspiration from them in order to immediately communicate the period of the story and status of the characters.



An image from The Complete Costume History



One of the images I saw at the Royal Armoury, Leeds

        Aside from war, the themes which stand out to me are family and love. The story revolves around strong family ties as well as conflict, which could be explored through the use of a family tree as I have previously mentioned, a device which would allow me to condense years of conflict into less than a minute, giving the audience a little vital back story. 

 

        Yet when I was reading the book, it was the characters that captivated me as much as the conflict. They are complex, flawed, they make bad judgements, and yet manage to rise above caricatures painted of them by history. All of these characteristics make them deeply engaging, but also human; the reader can empathise with their plights and root for them, although their fates are already known. I would have loved to construct a sequence depicting the most affecting relationship (the marriage between Richard & Anne), but realistically with only 40 seconds, the family tree idea provides the opportunity to create a sequence with greater purpose. 

Decision Time

        After much deliberation, I have finally come to a decision regarding which book to focus on for the Applied Animation module. Having determined the key elements of each novel, doing a little concept art and formulating some ideas for treatments of each, I have chosen The Sunne in Splendour as my novel. 

        Although both Firebringer and The Sight would no doubt have been enjoyable to work with (Firebringer in particular has a prophecy which is integral to the story and would have formed a good centrepiece for titles), The Sunne in Splendour had greater potential in my mind. The sheer depth and detail of the novel, as well as the strong themes, suggested several possible directions I could take for a title sequence.       

Game of Thrones

        The title sequence for Game of Thrones (Elastic) caught my attention, as it uses this opportunity to introduce the audience to the complex network of fictional realms and kingdoms in which the narrative takes place. The concept for a map was brought in after the pilot episode, when it was discovered that audiences had been confused as to where the story was set, but was initially used as a bookmark for when the location changed within the show. Eventually, however, the map became the title sequence, with 4 different variations created to cover the varying content of each episode.

      

        The complicated background to The Sunne in Splendour may require a similarly descriptive approach in a title sequence. Unless the audience was familiar with the Wars of the Roses, the intricate web of characters and family feuds which make up the narrative of the book would undoubtedly prove confusing. However, the title sequence should not be burdened with characterisation, but provide enough background information that the viewer is not lost. To avoid presenting a parade of characters within the map, Elastic does not include any figures within the 3D maps. Instead the main character groups are represented by their heraldic animals.

The show's characters are introduced through their heraldic animals.

       
        Another thing to note is that there is a lot of information conveyed in a short space of time; the camera pans through the cartographic landscape at a great pace, and the astrolabe (on which the animal symbols are seen) is seen only in brief snatches. However, as this sequence is for a series, and will be viewed multiple times, Angus Wall (Creative Director at Elastic) says that it was the intention for the viewer not to be able to absorb all the nuances that are shown at first, but for them to notice new details with each viewing. This would not be the case for a film title sequence, when the audience may only see it once.

        Despite the fact that the Game of Thrones title sequence uses comparatively modern 3D CG animation, the style of the map and the realms it shows roots it in the fictitious medieval time period. The sequence's art director, Rob Feng, referenced the designs of Leonardo Da Vinci, which reflect the 'technically unsophisticated' yet industrious world created by author George R. R. Martin. The use of a computer generated model allows it to feel like a physical object, made of wood and stone, and the sweeping camera movements, which encompass both extreme long shots and intimate close up as each Kingdom emerges from the landscape, further enhance the idea that the map is a living breathing place.

        It seems that the use of maps in adaptations of fantasy novels is becoming quite commonplace, perhaps due to the fact that they are such useful devices for introducing the uninitiated into the detailed worlds created by authors. Perhaps the most famous example is the map of Middle Earth from The Lord of the Rings films, which has been recently revived for The Hobbit, but is also mirrored in the sweeping aerial shots used in films such as Stardust, which establish the proximity between various locations and can demonstrate how long and arduous a journey between them would be in just a few seconds. Yet I have also noticed their use in various historical films, notably Luc Besson's Joan of Arc and the 2011 adaptation of The Three Musketeers, which use the maps to quickly and clearly demonstrate historical conflicts and the positions of opposing armies and characters.

        While I don't have the knowledge or ability to create as dynamic a 3D CG animation for my title sequence, what I can  bear in mind during my own project is how the creators at Elastic used their allotted time to inform and educate their viewers. The titles had a purpose aside from entertainment, which may be important to remember.

Books books books

        So having chosen the animated title sequence as my brief for the next module, all that remains is to choose the book which will be the subject. This task is made a little more tricky as the brief stipulates that the book must not have previously been adapted for film and television, and it seems that the vast majority of books have been filmed at some stage. While there is still time to visit a bookshop or library to find a completely new story, of the books I have read three stand out in my mind, and don't appear to already exist on screen.

        The first is The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Penman, which is a historical novel spanning 30 years of the Wars of the Roses, mainly focussing on the future Richard III. I thought that this may be an interesting novel to construct a title sequence for as it suggests a very distinct visual style, has a rich tapestry of characters, and an absorbing narrative. There is also the opportunity to use the symbolic image of a struggle between two roses, rather than a more literal depiction of characters. The book is aimed at an adult audience and adopts a sympathetic tone towards the controversial and much vilified figure at it's centre.

        The other two are both by the same author, David Clement Davies, and are novels for older children and young teenagers. Firebringer is effectively a political allegory, constructing a story of persecution and dictatorship akin to Nazism, but within a red deer herd in ancient Scotland. Yet there is also a fantastical element to the story, with the central stag being gifted with the power to heal and communicate with all animals. The Sight has similar themes of ancient magic in the animal kingdom, this time amongst a pack of wolves.

        Despite being aimed at children, both these novels deal with dark themes such as death, separation, isolation and sacrifice. Characters which may be expected to survive are dispatched with cold suddenness, while even the young and vulnerable characters are not spared from danger and peril. As such, the animation style for title sequences for either of these stories would not, in my mind, be  Disneyesque, but somewhat darker and less comforting. 



Applied Animation

        Our newest project, applied animation, requires that we produce an animation to be used either as film titles, television channel idents or a charity campaign film. Any one of these options provides the opportunity to build upon the skills we have already learned throughout the year, yet also poses a challenge. As these briefs require 30 or 40 seconds of animation, at a rate of 24 frames per second, the workload is far greater than for either of our previous modules, and will require far better organisational skills.

        Of the three options, the charity animation was the least appealing. This brief gave only two charities to chose between, Amnesty International and Child Line, neither of which particularly inspired me. Had I been able to choose a charity which I felt I had a connection with or was more passionate about, perhaps this option would have been more viable. The benefit of working on this project is that it would provide a chance to use animation as a persuasive tool, to show the charities' work and appeal for audience support. However, in order to motivate myself and maintain interest throughout the duration of the project, I felt it would be more sensible to choose a brief which I found more exciting.

        I was more drawn towards the ident animations. This option required the production of three 10 second idents from a selection of 4 TV channels, Cbeebies, The Discovery Channel, E4 or BBC4. The former two options immediately suggested several ideas to me, while the latter two would have required a little more research. Unlike the other two briefs, which have a relatively large timeframe in which to communicate their messages, each ident would require the tone, audience and content of the channel to be condensed into just 10 seconds, which would be equally as challenging as producing a lengthy animation.

        Yet the opportunity to create an animated title sequence for a book to film adaptation proved to be the most exciting of the three briefs. Being able to choose which book the project centres around also offers greater freedom than the other two options, allowing us to develop our animation skills around an idea we are passionate about, while still providing the chance to work to specific requirements, as will be the case in a professional career. As such, this is the brief that I have chosen to work with.