The genre that most appeals to me

In my brief career as a filmmaking student, I was able to study and analyze a variety of film genres in order to gain a better understanding of the world behind the lenses. Among all the different kinds of movies, I have always preferred the world of animated films. Although many film reviewers believe that animation lacks the features of traditional film language, these opinions are evolving. I’ve noticed that many people don’t take animated movies seriously because they’re considered cartoons for children. However, the new wave of filmmaking has firmly established animation as one of the most prominent cinema genres and filmmaking methods.

 

Several filmmakers, such as Isao Takahata, Hayao Miyazaki, and Ray Harryhausen, rely primarily on this genre to give their stories a vision. Another common misconception about animation is that it solely relies on painting figures to tell a story, which is misleading. The industry is currently introducing multiple new filmmaking approaches, a massive shift that is redefining the game. Typically, we can divide animation or animated films into several sub-genres, such as CGI animation, cutout animation, live-action animation, stop-motion animation, claymation, and traditional animation. Filmmaking techniques distinguish all these subgenres.

Animation as a whole

Animation, like traditional filmmaking, is a means of manipulating still images to make them appear to be moving. Unlike traditional filmmaking methods, computer-generated imagery paints or constructs the characters, backdrop, supporting elements, and props. This remarkable way of filmmaking opens up a whole new realm of inspiration for the creators, allowing them to experiment with completely new aspects of character creation. Even today, the foundations of animation continue to shape traditional filmmaking. Cinema is known to be a hybrid of various vintage entertainment technologies, such as shadow play, puppetry, and magic lanterns. Both modern and traditional animation employ these techniques. Overall, animation was never wholly different from cinema. When we hear the word “animation,” we immediately think of paintings that create an illusion and are shown as movies, but animation does not end there. In the modern era of filmmaking, everything can be exhibited and explained through the magic of animation, which is now being used everywhere. The sub-genres within this genre serve as excellent examples for understanding the statement I am trying to make.

 

CGI Animation

Although there is debate over whether CGI is an animation method or a VFX method, experts agree that CGI is a form of animation because it involves art and illusion on a digital platform. This sub-genre is primarily used for the immense world of science fiction films. Famous movies such as Avatar (2009) and Star Wars (1977) have used CGI to complete their projects. CGI is mostly utilized to create full models of real-life objects and lifelike characters. In modern movies, this can contain 3D models of people, monsters, buildings, cars, explosions, and a variety of other elements

For me, the easiest way to understand this subgenre was through John Lesseter’s ‘Toy Story’ (1995). Creating a world for toys from their point of view would be impossible if the creators had to use regular filming techniques. As a result, the introduction of CGI animation enabled the world to see one of the greatest animated movies of all time.

As seen in films like ‘Jurassic Park’ (1933), CGI is a video modification technique that adds a new object, subject, or landscape to previously captured footage using technology. The dinosaurs shown in the film were created using VFX (computer-generated imagery). In conclusion, rather than referring to CGI animation as a sub-genre of animation, we may recognize it as a filmmaking technique used by filmmakers to represent a broader point of view.

 

Cutout Animation

Paper cut-out animation, with several variations, is one of the oldest, most basic, and simplest animation techniques. Paper cut-out animation is a type of animation that uses 2-D characters, objects, and sets made from materials such as cardboard or paper, as well as fabric and other materials.

 

To capture the characters’ movement, the makers carefully divide the characters’ body parts into smaller bits, assemble the pieces, move each part in little steps, and photograph each frame. The photographs are then manipulated in a certain way to create the illusion of movement. The most difficult aspect of this type of animation is when the characters have dialogues; in such a scenario, moving the facial expressions becomes difficult. As a result, narrations are responsible for the majority of cutout animations.

In the 1990s, teachers and parents raised concerns about the quality of children’s television shows. At that very time, ‘Blues’s Clue’ came out on Nickelodeon, an animated series created by Traci Paige Johnson, Todd Kessler, and Angela C. Santomero. They created this animated series by combining live-action and animation filmmaking techniques, with the series’ host performing as a cutout character.

 

In recent years, I have also used this approach to storytelling. And to my complete surprise, it was an extraordinary experience. Working with papers is much easier for me right now than working with real characters. I used cut-out animation to produce short films such as ‘Manus’ and ‘Cells of Truth’.

 

Live Action Animation

This animated subgenre has numerous meanings because animation has a diverse range of story-telling techniques. Although we consider CGI a sub-genre of animation, we might classify any film containing CGI as live-action animation; however, the precise definition of this sub-genre remains debatable. Movies containing both live-action and computer-generated scenes are filmed in various sequences. Real artists perform the sequences within a range of instructions on the backdrop of a green or blue screen. Later, the animators replace the artists and the background with animated characters and scenes. Animated scenes can also serve as a storytelling technique, introducing a brief backstory to bolster the main plot at the start of a live-action film.

 

Joe Dante’s “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” is quite a good example in the category of films. The director reintroduced the iconic Looney Tunes from Warner Bros. with the addition of several live-action artists. Acting the scenes can be a bit difficult because the artists need to follow instructions to emulate and interact with the yet-to-be-drawn animated characters while shooting.

 

Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill: Vol. 1” is ideal for another type of live-action animation, in which the primary plot is introduced and explained through animated sequences. A similar style of narrative may also be found in the most recent blockbuster Indian film, “Pushpa.”

 

Claymation

Directors mold clay into their desired characters with patience and teamwork. The first step involves creating a basic skeleton, which serves as the character’s foundational framework to hold the clay in place. On top of that, there is a material that would support the outer layer. The claymation artist then places the models in the proper positions based on the storyline or script. Clay animation employs a variety of materials, including wires, wood, plastics, and fabrics, to enhance figure movement. In addition, painters must constantly deal with fingerprints and dirt traces. Movie sequences occasionally use plastic or fabric-made objects to give the characters a more realistic appearance and feel. Detailing is the most challenging and vital aspect of working with clay characters, or claymation in general.

 

 

Mark Burton and Ricardo Starzak’s film “Shaun the Sheep” is the most well-known example of claymation. Designed as a TV spin-off, the characters aimed to entertain both children and adults. The entire film was based on movement and expressions rather than any dialogue; therefore, claymation was the ideal medium for bringing out the character.

Traditional Animation

We’ve discussed the traditional animation method at the beginning. This form of animation was the most essential and widely acknowledged in the film industry for many years. Traditional animation is frequently referred to as hand-drawn or classical animation. It is evident that the animations were originally hand-drawn by the artist, frame by frame. If we watch Walt Disney’s initial cartoons, the graphics will back up the claims. Movies and TV series such as ‘Mickey Mouse’, ‘Tom & Jerry’, and ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ are excellent examples of hand-drawn animations, in which individual artists drew each movement of the characters in the scene while the background was typically fixed or non-movable. These sketches were set on a table with a light source underneath and then photographed. This was the earliest type of animation. The Japanese anime industry primarily uses this animation technique nowadays.

 

Later, with the advent of modern technologies, a new style emerged. For example, instead of drawing the characters on paper, they now do so on digital pads using an electronic pen and ink. This breakthrough in the modern animation process has made filmmaking easier than it was previously. Even documenting and capturing personalities is now easy. An automatic movement function in several animation software packages allows the artist to sketch a single character, which they can then move to avoid drawing multiple figures of the same character.

Stop-motion Animation

 
Stop motion is an animated filmmaking method in which a physical object made from paper, wood, plastic, fabric, clay, metals, or several other things is moved in small segments and photographed at every step. When we combine these images and play them quickly, the objects in them seem to move independently. Stop motion differs from traditional hand-drawn animation in that it uses a physical object instead of a drawing. This animation method is the most popular in advertisements, music videos, TV shows, and full-length movies. However, this storytelling method requires a significant amount of patience on the part of the creators, as it requires 12 pictures to produce one second of video. You can imagine the number of pictures needed to create a short video that lasts one minute. Surprisingly, the sub-genres of claymation and cut-out animation are also parts of stop-motion animation. Both methods share similar techniques for capturing images.

 

Animation encompasses a vast domain that defies explanation through generic techniques or genres. The animation industry is growing so fast because of its evolving nature over the past decades, and it has never gone dull. People of all ages enjoy watching animated movies and series in their spare time. With new technologies, animation is flourishing more and more day by day. Indeed, animation has emerged as one of the most progressive career options. Due to the expansion of 2D and 3D animation as a career, the number of animation courses and job sectors in Bangladesh has witnessed an increase in the past decade. So, if anyone wants to explore the world of the animated movie industry, this might be a very good time.