The "Action" Genre

Action films are a film genre where action sequences, such as fighting, stunts, car chases or explosions, take precedence over elements like characterization or complex plotting. The action typically involves individual efforts on the part of the hero, in contrast with most war films. The genre is closely linked with the thriller and adventure film genres.

Therefore the genre of "Action" can be defined by the following five major features:
- Fighting
- Stunts
- Car chases
- Explosions
- Fast, quick changing scenes (Makes the scene seem more exciting)

Animation Analysis Task- Factory

1. Animation Selection

The chosen animation is "Factory" by Miwa Matreyek to analyse and interpret for the Year 9 Creative Media Assignment.

Here's the Link: http://vimeo.com/5905934

2. Focus

a) In this animation you mainly see the repetitiveness of duties done in a typical factory. In the first section of this animation, you see one man, being repeated many times and entering the Factory. These men are all walking and acting in the same fashion. They constantly check their watch, and they are carrying with them a brief case. Some men are faster and taller than others, while some are short and slow. Throughout this animation you can identify some real life objects that have been combined in the clip, such as the giant spanner and the hand, which is used as a crane. This hand represents how some people are being overly used to work, which makes them the only workers. The whole film clip is in black and white, and the main concept the clip has used is repetitiveness. Also in another scene, a concentrated looking women is typing on a computer, but this is getting replayed over and over to create a stronger message. Another interesting method behind this clip is how at the beginning, the smoke is being dragged upwards to create the concept of steaming smoke. The subject matter of this animation is to demonstrate the repetitiveness of the world. This clip may also be trying to communicate the dullness of our lives when everything is about money.

b) The overall impression of the mood in this animation is drained and dull. This is due to the repetitiveness and the lack of colours throughout the clip. This makes the animation feel somehow very empty and lacking enthusiasm. This short film shows you how repetitive the world can be, and that concept makes you feel slightly depressed. This piece lacks colours and contrast, which is the main reason for the animations overall mood being drained and dull.

c) Some examples of visual language cues that were identified was when a human hand was being used as a crane and when the dark smoke and flying boats are floating past. The human hand is an example of visual language as it sends a strong message to the viewers about us working hard, and doing all the work. The second example uses visual language due to the fact that it is representing the darkness of the world, when the main concern is work and money. The main example of a section using sound cues is also when the dark smoke appears above the factory, as there are a combination of the strong noises of boats and the loud noises of the factory. This is powerful as it sets a dull and dark mood to the viewer. A lot of editing has been incorporated into this animation. This is evident throughout the whole clip, as the animation uses a combination of IStopMotion and Animation which includes editing to make possible. This is shown through the working hand as this image of the hand has been taken through IStopMotion, but has been edited into Animation.

3. Analysis

a) The effectiveness of the message in this animation is very effective throughout the use of repetitiveness, colour and sound. Mainly the repetitiveness is the reason for the message being effective, as it demonstrates the main problems in the world. The background and set pieces are though of as suitable for this animation, as it the repetitiveness of the people is set much stronger when the background is appropriate. The background is mostly of a typical factory, with plain old boxes and in one scene a computer. This computer is used by the repetitive smart looking women, who is somehow working. The editing in this film is outstanding, as the combination of IStopMotion and Animation is the most powerful method in this film clip. Without these two methods combined, the animation would become less realistic which would end up in the clip becoming ineffective. You can identify that the main fingerprint on this film by the directer is the quality of movement by the people and objects, the use of size in objects and mostly the uses of IStopMotion and Animation combined.

b) This animation is fully in black and white. This is the main reason to why the mood is dull, drained and repetitive. This emphasis the use of repetitiveness and makes the message of the whole clip much stronger. The quality of movement in the film is quite jumpy, as the use of repetitiveness leaves one slide being longer than others. This movement gives this short film an old feeling. This old feeling gives the clip a stronger mood of dull, as the two concepts go hand in hand. Also the movement is obviously repeated a numerous of times, which is the whole purpose of this film. The texture of this animation is definitely rough and simulated. Even though you cannot literally touch the objects, you can imagine this texture through the use of colour and line.

c) There are many sounds throughout the animation, "Factory", which are mainly the common noises of people working at a factory. This includes machines, boats, and the noise of people typing on a computer which is usually related to people working. The qualities of these noises are very realistic, which makes the outline of the animation very effective as it makes it seem more realistic. These sounds contribute to the "boringness" and "dullness" of the animation, as the sounds are also repeated. Also, there is always a sound throughout the clip, which is the noise of some sort of technology working, which makes the factory sound busy.

4. Interpretation

a) The interpretation of the the work is that by using the large amounts of repetitiveness, the black and white colour, and the roughness of the movement the animation is trying to communicate to us how repetitive life - and the world - can be. It is also trying to give the message that life is not always about working, and how dull the world can be when everything is about money.

b) By surveying mainly family members, It has been identified that most people think it is about people going to work, and working at a factory. My mother thought this but she did not have a clear idea on the main message of the film, but she had basic knowledge on what the animation was about. She also said that the clip was dull and grey. My grandfather didn't tell me a specific message of the film, but he could list out specific objects in the animation, and thought the film was about men going to work in a factory. He also gave details of specific scenes. My step father thought the animation was about industrialization of the country, and the people. He also thought it was about pollution of the world due to these major factories.

c) The intended audience for Matreyek's work is mainly for teenagers, aged 14-18. This animation could be intended for teenagers as it would inform them of the dullness of life at times. This could inspire children to make a difference in the world, and to try to break the chain of repetitiveness.

d) Visual language informs the interpretation as it gives a small, yet distinctive idea towards what the total message of the animation is about. With visual language throughout the whole clip, It was clear to identify whether the interpretation was correct or not. This meant by having knowledge of most visual language in this animation, the film was easier to interpret which gave the audience and interpreter a better understanding.

e) Matreyek has used sound with the animation images to create meaning by using appropriate noises which suit the selected scene. Matreyek has also chosen sounds which suit with the overall mood of the animation, which is drained and dull. The creator chose factory noises such as machines working and people working. This corroborates with the animation images as the animation is also about people working and machines working. All together the sound and animation images combined create a stronger and more effective meaning.

Evaluation of Animation Assignment

I felt I have done this assignment both correctly and incorrectly at different parts. I spent most of Term 3, not working to my fullest, which led me to having to spend many lessons on only a few scenes. This is incorrect, as I should be splitting my time equally between the 8 scenes I had to produce. I feel the first 6 scenes I had to create were correct, as I had the time to produce these scenes with accuracy and detail. This would make the whole film seem complete and realistic in a way, as the drawings would not have been rushed. The last two scenes, however did not receive enough time to complete with enough accuracy. With this, Scene 11 was not complete. Scene 9 was finished, but was rushed in the end and was therefore not completed in the desired way. I had to rush him magically having a tuxedo on, which gave the animation less good quality.

I have done this assignment correctly by completing the first six scenes thoroughly, by having many lessons and a lot of time to complete them with detail and perfection. The first two scenes were completed well, as we were able to have a friend take shots using IStopMotion, of Abbie and I holding a book. When the book opened and the picture became an animation, it made the whole animation seem more magical and realistic. I completed this task partially wrong as I did not post blogs as often as three times a week.

If I could do this assignment again there would be a number of things that I would do differently and improve on. Firstly, I would an equal amount of time in each section, by restricting myself to stop working on a scene once I have spend a suitable amount of time on it, and move onto a new scene. This would ensure that all scenes would be done, or mostly done on time, and would mean that I would not have to rush to finish the project before it's due. If I could re-do this task, I would also make sure that three blogs were posted each week, to make sure all my blogs are in date. This would also allow for me to become more organised in my school work, as it would force me to do my work (blogs) without being asked. Lastly, I would improve the quality of all my scenes, especially scenes nine and ten. This would have made the final product seem more complete, and with more quality.

Overall, I am happy with the work my partner and I have accomplished with this Animation-Ish, but there could be a few improvements if I had the opportunity to redo this assignment.

Scene 1 and 2

Scene 1 and 2 were made by using IStopMotion. The content was quite simple to produce, as all that was needed was to have shots zooming in on my partner, Abbie and I holding a book. The book was then opened, to reveal a picture of the first scene in the play. We had a picture of this, as it would seem as though real people were reading the book, and that the story was true. This also made it look like the picture was coming alive, and that the story is basically the contents of the books put into motion.

Scene 14

Scene 14 was completed by firstly drawing the face of Scarlett - A main character. After this was completed, the slide was duplicated to the next slide. Next, a slight blue dot in Scarlett's eye. This continued to develop throughout the scenes, until tears began to flow out of her eyes, making it seem as though the character was crying. When the crying section was complete, the first and last scenes were made key slides of the scene. The move tool was then put on, and the last slide was dragged close. This made Scarlett's face gradually zoom in, throughout the scene. Finally the last scene was duplicated around three times to give a dramatic tension in the audience.

Scene 16

Scene 16, which is the last scene was completed by firstly creating the two characters, which you can only see the back of. The background was then created. Once the first slide was complete, it was copied to another slide. In the next slide, the characters were slightly moved to one side. This slide was then copied and then again moved slightly to the other side. These three slides were then copied and pasted various of times. This made the characters look like they were walking in one spot, as they seemed to be going up and down on either sides. The first slide was then made a key slide, as well as the last slide. The move tool was used to make the characters in the last scene seem small and further up the screen. This made the characters seem as though they were slowly walking up a footpath.

Two Scenes to Go!

All scenes are done, except for scene 10 and 11! These scenes are the most difficult to animate, as it is when both Scarlett and Nathan magically turn into a fancy dress and tuxedo. I will post up the remaining scenes that I have completed and I'll explain how each were completed.