Stop Motion Animation

What I find most intriguing about stop motion animation is the variety of creative transitions available to go between scenes. For example, in the video above some transitions are made using pictures that start moving and become a portal to the next scene. I feel that this transition gives off the feel of time passing excellently. I also really enjoy how stop motion combines both real world objects with animated ones. In this video Lascano uses human hands to hold the drawings and pictures used for some of the scene changes. The addition of real world objects, such as the hands, makes the viewer focus more closely on what is occurring in the video. It also opens up more possibilities for interesting mediums used to create characters, such as in the video below. Many of the elements of the scenes are created by using pages of books. 

Stop motion animation has a very artistic feel to it since it contains drawings and modelings. It has a raw feel to it because of the choppiness due to longer space between the frames used to create the video. I feel that a very creative process must take place for a stop motion animation to come together and tell an interesting, entertaining story.

Film's Big Break

It is not hard to realize why film became so popular so fast. To experience such a novel idea as documented reality was awe-inspiring and quickly became popular entertainment. The very first films ever made were mainly experiments and had real people doing everyday tasks. These films were short, but with increased knowledge soon became longer. With the introduction of short films such as "Trip to the Moon" and "The Great Train Robbery" a more imaginative approach to film came alive. These films did not have to do with everyday events, but were staged from the mind of the producer. "Trip to the Moon" was a completely fictions account of a group of wizards who take a rocket to the moon and meet with the life forms present there. I find it rather comical that so many years ago the idea of other life forms was present as well. "Trip to the Moon" could easily be argued to be the precursor of the science fiction genre. Decades later we are still using the same general ideas, but with new technology. I got the same feeling from watching "The Great Train Robbery." While pertaining more to the "real" world, "The Great Train Robbery" was still a staged rendition. However, its subject matter was one of bad guys holding up a train. It was like watching the very first making of a Western movie. The plot is like a cookie cutter, it was used over and over again to make many different films. All one had to add was a few tweaks here and there and a whole new Western movie was born. It is very interesting to see that the movies today are based off of such age old ideas that came with the emergence of film.

The use of blackface in todays media

I have found that many people who hear the musical group Die Antwoord either love them or hate them. They seem to have no fan base of people who somewhat like them, and it is partly because of this that they are the center of much controversy. One of the major controversies springs from their use of blackface in their music videos. 

The use of blackface used to be popular entertainment when racial segregation was prominent. Many performers used this technique to give everyone some reason to feel connected with the act. In their eyes, as long as an ethnic group is portrayed, that group will be happy, even if it is in a bad light. Today the blackface is considered to be racially offensive. Since Die Antwoord, a white group, originates from South Africa, where racial segregation runs rampant, it is hard to deny that the use of blackface is not meant to be racially condescending. 

As seen in the photo above, the group has stretched the traditional blackface by painting Yolandi's whole body black. The drummer does not help matters due to his use of a costume similar to the ones used by the Ku Klux Klan. However, Ninja throws off this "racial pun" by being painted head to toe in white and red. Ninja's paint job throws off the racist vibe and makes the use of blackface a question of pure coincidence. Yolandi also changes her look throughout the music video, keeping with the theme of red and white. 

It is possible that the group just happened to think the different body paints would be and interesting element for their videos. The group is known to be one who participates heavily in abusing illegal substances, as well as, drinking. These altered states of mind could be an easy explanation to why the group found it appropriate to incorporate blackface into their videos. At the time of production, it could have just been seen as an interesting idea with a great potential for adding variety to their  already bizarre music videos. 

The true reason for the use of blackface by the group is masked by them for their fear of losing a large fan base. It is, however, a great example of how blackface is still in existence. The use may be controversial now, but it has lasted throughout the decades and continues to draw audiences attention. 

Opera in the Modern World

Many people think that opera is extinct. However, it is used all the time in modern advertising. For example this video is an ad to get kids to watch Nickelodeon. The video has very strong Rococo characteristics. The orange wig worn by the woman is outrageously huge. She is also adorned in a large beaded necklace. The whole video is over the top to entertain the targeted audience.

Madama Butterfly animation

The short animation of Madama Butterfly is based off of the full version written by Pjotr Sapegin. The animation takes the necessary basics from the full story line and puts it into an animation making more understandable for those who speak only English. The animation has no words, however, the plot is continuously acted out by dolls giving a visual effect that true opera cannot. In the animation the music from Madama Butterfly is played through a record player brought by the sailor who Madama Butterfly foolishly falls for. I found the animation very helpful to get a full understanding of the story line. I did feel that the animation became a little too graphic in some parts just for the fact that dolls were acting out the scenes. For example the scene where Madama Butterfly and the sailor take part in coitis in a field. On the other hand, some scenes did effectively portray the strong emotion that would be felt if watching the actual opera. The ending scene where Madama Butterfly destroys herself because she has nothing left to live for becomes very emotional. The animators chose to have Madama Butterfly rip her skin off until all that was left was her man-made skeleton. She continues to take a tool and rip herself limb from limb showing her extreme hopelessness. I feel that this was a very good way to get the concept across instead of having her jump off of the cliff or other various ways to commit suicide.