LO1 - Analysis of an animation product (Corpse Bride)

Corpse Bride

a) Genre

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride is a stop-motion film with themes of adventure, romance and mild horror. The adventure spans the Land of the Living, as well as the Land of the Dead. The main character, Victor, is stuck in a rut when he accidentally proposes to a Corpse Bride while his betrothed, Victoria, has no idea. The story as a whole has an air of horror which begins with the title of the film itself.

b) Individual Animators

Stefano Cassini is a director, producer and animator who has worked on live action documentaries as well as specialising in character design for animation. He is fascinated by the combination of stop-motion and new digital processes. As well as Corpse Bride, he has worked on Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run, the TV series Creature Comforts and more. He has expertise in other aspects of filmmaking for live-action as well as animation, such as scriptwriting, storyboarding, character design, construction, shooting, editing, post-production, drawing and photography.



Stefano Cassini's animation showreel

Mike Cottee is an animator who has worked on animated films for Disney, Dreamworks and Warner Bros. Pictures. He specialises in 2D animation. He has worked on The Tale of Desperaux, The LEGO Movie, Guardians of the Galaxy and more. He has a knack for capturing the nuances of expressions for human and animal characters alike.
You can see his work on Corpse Bride at the 1:01 mark in the showreel below.

c) Production Process

The pre-production for Corpse Bride began as it would for any stop-motion - and arguably any live-action film - would: the initial concept was generated, designs and concept art were made, storyboards were drawn. Then sculptures of each character were made as a reference for the modellers to model the actual puppets from. The puppets stood at around 17 inches tall on average and had a wire skeleton inside them to allow the animators to manipulate them.
Previous stop-motion films involved removable heads that would be replaced to give the character various emotions. However, this is a tedious process,  so the modellers instead created tiny gears in the main characters' heads. This allowed the animators to change the characters' expressions a lot more easily, with a lot more attention to detail.



When production started, the sets were built to the right size for the puppets to move around in it as if it were a live action film. There were around 30 separate sets. Corpse Bride was originally supposed to be shot on film, but at the very last minute the plans were changed and the film was shot on digital cameras.
The animation began at a studio in London. It started with a dozen animators, but the number had tripled by the end of production.

The visual effects were applied in post-production. Most of the effects simply covered up elements that were not supposed to be seen, such as puppet supports and set equipment. Some visual effects elements were created completely with CGI, for example the butterfly in the opening of the film. Some aspects, such as Emily's - the Corpse Bride's - veil, were animated using a combination of stop-motion and CGI.

d) Narrative/Storyline

The film has a classic, linear beginning - middle - end layout. It begins with Victor's introduction and the viewer learns of his arranged marriage with the daughter of a Lord and Lady. The strict rehearsal of the wedding does not go according to plan, so Victor walks to the forest alone and ends up saying his vows perfectly. To his horror, he finds he has accidentally proposed to a Corpse Bride.
He is dragged to the Land of the Dead where he learns the Corpse Bride's name is Emily, and she was murdered by her fiancé before she could get married.

The rest of the film covers Victor's change of heart when he learns of Emily's story, and he agrees to drink poison to marry her. However, Emily changes her mind at the last minute, and realises that she is dead and Victor belongs with Victoria. She says that Victor has "set her free" and she disappears in a cloud of butterflies.

e) Target Audience

The target audience for this film is children between the ages of 7 and 15. The narrative would traditionally be targeted towards mainly females, however the aspect of horror and adventure caters for a male audience as the theme of romance caters for females. People who are in the ABC1 socio-economic grade are stereotypically the sort of people who would take their children to the cinema or buy the DVD. Fans of Tim Burton are another audience this film targets - his unique style is one that many people have come to admire. The film also targets people who are interested in animation.

f) Characters/Stars

The main character in this film is Victor Van Dort. There are two other main characters; Victoria - Victor's fiancé - and Emily, the Corpse Bride.

LO1 - Analysis of an animation product (How to Train Your Dragon)

How to Train Your Dragon

a) Genre

How to Train Your Dragon is a CGI animation film produced by Dreamworks Animation, released in 2010. Its genre is fantasy action/adventure. The fantasy genre is prominent in the fact that dragons are a main feature of the film. The adventure element of this film involves the large setting of a fictional island in the Arctic sea, and the ocean and nearby islands surrounding it. The action genre is denoted in many sequences which involve flying, as well as fighting, dragons.

b) Individual Animators

Simon Otto is the head of character animation for How to Train Your Dragon. He has worked on other animated films such as Kung Fu Panda, The Road to El Dorado and Flushed Away. He began his career carving commercial snow sculptures and drawing news cartoons for his local newspaper.
He trained at Walt Disney Feature Animation before starting to work at Dreamworks Animation in 1997. Ever since, he has been working with the studio as an important part of the character design and animation team.
During pre-production for How to Train Your Dragon, he was in charge of taking each character from a 2D concept to a 3D character in the digital world. He worked closely with other animators from the rigging, modelling and surfacing departments to bring the characters to life.

As production started, he was in charge of the entire character animation team, making sure that the style and quality of the animation was the best it could be. He went on to work on the sequel, How to Train Your Dragon 2, which was released in 2014.

Jason Meyer is the Lead Fx Artist for How to Train Your Dragon. He was in charge of simulation animation. This is the animation of anything that moves that is not attached to a character, for example rain, water, fire and smoke. In this interview he states that destruction is his speciality - for example explosions.

Mountain destruction, animated by Jason Meyer

In his showreel below, the video begins with some of his work on How to Train Your Dragon 2. You can see his work on How to Train Your Dragon at marks 0:30 and 0:55. He has also worked on creating effects such as fire, smoke and missile trails in live action films.

c) Production Process

Pre-production for How to Train Your Dragon began after producer Bonnie Arnold took interest in the original How to Train Your Dragon novels by Cressida Cowell. The original idea for the film followed the story of the novel very closely. Concept art and storyboards were created following the original narrative of the books.

Initial Toothless concept - very different to the character that made it into the film

Two storyboards from the original narrative of the film, which was described as "heavily loyal to the book".

As production continued, the writer-directors of Disney's Lilo & Stitch Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois took over as co-directors and the narrative was altered. New storyboards and concepts were created.

The main part of production recommenced and the characters were modelled and rigged, backgrounds and environments were simulated, visual effects were rendered and the right lighting was applied to everything. Roger Deakins, a cinematographer, was hired to assist with lighting, the overall look of the film and to make sure it had a "live-action feel".

The first step of post-production for a CGI film like How to Train Your Dragon is compositing - i.e. putting different elements together into a single image, for example putting characters in their setting. Any 2D visual effects and motion graphics that are needed such as graphics during the credits, are added. Colour correction/grading is applied where needed to create depth and atmosphere. The sounds are added, and after the finishing touches are applied the film is finished.

This frame of the end credits was generated using 2D visual effects in post-production.

This frame is part of a sequence that has a pink hue applied.

This connotes a romantic atmosphere.

d) Narrative/Storyline

The narrative follows the story of scrawny Viking underdog Hiccup, who is the chief's son. He lives in a society which has had a relentless enmity with dragons for centuries. Against all odds, he manages to shoot down and find an elusive night fury dragon when no one is looking. However, when the moment comes to kill the dragon, he cannot bring himself to do it. Instead, he frees the dragon, names him Toothless, and befriends him in secrecy.

Without the knowledge of any of the other Vikings, Hiccup learns to fly with Toothless, eventually uncovering the nest of the "Queen Bee" dragon: a huge dragon which controls the rest to do its bidding.
His experience with Toothless leads him to excel in his training, which leads to him earning the right to kill a dragon in front of an arena full of people. Instead, he tries to prove that dragons don't have to be fought with.

His plan flops when the dragon is spooked into attacking him. He is rescued by Toothless who is in turn captured.

Upon realisation that the night fury can take them to the nest, Hiccup's father leads an attack on the nest only to find that the Red Death - the huge alpha dragon - is a force NOT to be reckoned with. Hiccup gathers the other young Vikings and shows them that they can make peace with the dragons, and they fly into the battle together.

The giant alpha dragon is defeated, and although Hiccup has lost his left foot in the process, everything turns out well for the Vikings and the film ends with peace between them and dragons.

e) Target Audience

This film's main target audience is families. They are stereotypically families from the ABC1 social demographic, as these are the types of people who would normally be able to afford to see the film in cinema or buy the DVD.

f) Characters/Stars

The main character in this film is Hiccup. He is overlooked in the Viking society, where it is brawn over brains traditionally. Another main character is Toothless, the dragon. He is the main motivation for Hiccup to see that the tradition of fighting dragons is wrong.

Toothless - the game-changer for the Vikings' relationship with dragons

LO1 - Analysis of an animation product (Simon's Cat)

Simon's Cat

a) Genre

Simon's Cat is an animated series of short films/sketches with its own YouTube channel, animated and directed by Simon Tofield. It follows the antics of Simon and his cat in their everyday lives, and the films' genre is sitcom/slapstick. A sitcom follows the happenings of characters who share a common environment - in this case Simon's home - and the narrative is often humourous. Slapstick is a genre that is based on humour by exaggeration of physical activity. Simon and his cat are often exhibiting the slapstick genre in their own ways:

Box Clever - "A feisty cat does all he can to avoid a trip to the vet"

Feed Me - "An impatient kitty can't wait to be fed."

b) Individual Animators

Simon Tofield began work as a commercial animator, drawing other things in his spare time. When he began using digital software however, he made the first short film featuring "Simon's Cat" - Cat Man Do. The video was taken from Tofield's showreel and posted on YouTube without his knowledge and, before he knew it, Simon's Cat had become very, very popular.
From this success, he and a team launched the official Simon's Cat YouTube channel and website in 2008. He now has a small team of animators which help to animate the films under his lead as director. He speaks about his experience with Simon's Cat in his video The Simon's Cat Story (A Draw my Life).

Laura Nailor is a freelance animator who has been working with the Simon's Cat team since she joined in 2010. She began working in animation after she graduated in 2006. She has worked on various short films such as Speechless which was also worked on by Simon Tofield, as well as commercial animation for Kinder Bueno, Persil, Fox's Glacier Mints and more.

c) Production Process

The production of one Simon's Cat short is around three months. Pre-production involves initial ideas, storyboards and concept sketches.

The main part of production is the animation itself: Using Adobe Flash or TV Paint, each frame is drawn by hand. One second of footage generally contains between 12 and 25 separate drawings.

Post-production consists of sound effects, music and promotion. 

d) Narrative/Storyline

Each sketch has its own independent narrative and storyline, which means they can generally be watched in any order. However, some aspects are continuous throughout the series, for example the introduction of the kitten in "Double Trouble".

Even though the kitten is featured in many films after its initial introduction, the series of films don't follow a continued story arc. Each film is designed to be understood and enjoyed whether the viewer has seen all the previous films, or none. The simplicity of the sketches make them enjoyable for any audience, which contributes to their success.


e) Target Audience

As covered in the Narrative/Storyline section, these short films are designed to have simple, standalone narratives that can be enjoyed by anyone, whether these are fans who have seen every Simon's Cat film or someone new who is only seeing a film for the first time.

These films are on YouTube - a free to use video hosting website that can be accessed from most devices, including games consoles, today. This means that they can be reached by an even wider audience, as the viewer hasn't had to pay to see the short films. The socio-economic audience of these films is very wide, covering every NRS social grade from A to E.
The slapstick comedy featured in the films caters for a young audience - the non-stop action keeps them entertained. Cat owners especially are a targeted audience - many of Simon's Cat's antics and behaviour are something a cat owner can observe in their own cat. This means that the humour denoted in the films is especially entertaining for this audience.

f) Characters/Stars

The main characters of these shorts are both named in the title: Simon, and his trouble-causing cat. There are other characters such as the kitten, who is the third most featured character in the films after Simon himself, and Simon's cat.

Double Trouble - "A new arrival causes chaos."

There are many minor characters who are featured in only one or a few shorts; the Robin, the Pug, the Squirrel and the Hedgehog are only a few of the extra characters featured in the Simon's Cat shorts.