CoP Creative Response: Visual Research

I thought it would benefit me more if I carried out further research into how storytelling works in animation by looking at a few animations that I felt were more successful at storytelling than other mediums. I wanted to look for animations that used one or more of the techniques that I had researched to see how they worked when put into practice, rather than just theory. This way I would gain a better understanding of how to shape my own animated story in a successful way.

The first set of animations I looked at were all created by Studio Ghibli, as I have found that these films often follow a number of the key elements of visual storytelling I came across during my research.

Spirited Away - Studio Ghibli

Grave of the Fireflies - Studio Ghibli

Ponyo - Studio Ghibli

All of these animation's protagonists are extremely simple in terms of character design and even character animation. Although there is a certain amount of exaggeration to their body language (which is common within animation) the behaviour is somewhat subtle and natural compared to other character based animations such as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. However, it is the simple face shapes and generic facial features that really stand out for me and will be a huge source of inspiration for my own character design.
Another element all three of these animations follow is Joseph Campbell's monomyth. Throughout each animation, the narrative contains the 12 stages of the hero's journey, which is particularly easy to follow in Spirited Away. All of the protagonists within these narratives are also flawed in one way or another, making them more relate-able and easier to associate with.

Another animation that came to mind when I was thinking of how these elements have been visualised is Tomm Moore's Song of the Sea.

Song of the Sea - Cartoon Saloon

Again, Song of the Sea contains very simple character design and character animation and also follows Campbell's monomyth. However, I feel that this animation relates to the others because of its use of realistic backgrounds. All of the animations I have looked at contain very realistic backgrounds compared to the character designs. This puts into the practice the theory that the backgrounds of the animation can be used to express atmosphere and mood and help an audience to process certain events that occur throughout the narrative. 

Each animation also demonstrates how the aesthetic of animation can effect the atmosphere of the narrative and portray abstract ideas, for instance in Song of the Sea, emotions are portrayed as swirling clouds of different colours, which would be impossible to create in live-action to the same quality and effect. 

On a final note, all of these animations touch upon some kind of emotion or create a sense of tension or suspense. This is a factor that I have found to be quite common among most animations I have watched that are narrative driven. The theory that emotion helps to create a more engaging and immersive story experience appears to be true and it is definitely something that I will bring to the forefront of my considerations for my own narrative driven animation. 

I feel that I have a good range of how to put theory into practice and I am confident that I can create an animation that explores all of the techniques I have discovered throughout my research. Whilst I begin to visualise my story I will also conduct research into the effect of camera angles to help me create the most effective shots for suspense and tension. However, this is something that will be easier to do when I have a solid idea in mind and begin to storyboard.