To end my first day at MAF I went to watch the second selection of short films in competition. I must admit, I didn't enjoy this selection as much as I did the first. Whilst there was a range of media used, as there was before, I found the majority of these films to be quite depressing or of a serious nature. Although I am not against animation being used for serious issues, in fact I feel that animation can be a very strong tool in depicting serious issues, as it can portray things that may be difficult to face otherwise, I just felt that the selection was quite saddening compared to the rest of the day, Perhaps if I had attended the screening on another day, I might not have felt that way.
Nevertheless, I did feel that there were a couple of animations that stood out to me and have stayed with me the last couple of months for entirely different reasons. The first animation that grabbed my attention was the Fox and the Whale.
1) Fox and the Whale by Robin Joseph
Although I found the story to be quite basic in the sense that it was a character searching for something, I enjoyed this film regardless. I thought that it was visually beautiful, which I felt was down to the amount of detail in the backgrounds within the film. In particular, I really enjoyed the scenes that took place within the forest, as I found the level of detail and use of colour within these shots to be absolutely amazing. However, this isn't what I have taken away from this film s inspiration for my own, it is the lighting use and the cross over between 2D and CGI. Firstly, I feel that the lighting within this film has been done really well, which is something that I need to seriously consider for my Extended Practice, as I want the environments to reflect the mood and tone of the story I am telling. Secondly, the merging of CGI and drawn animation appeals to me, as I am also looking to do this for my Extended Practice, so it is nice to see it done well as an example of how it can work.
2)Under The Apple Tree by Erik van Schaaik
The second film that stood out to me was Under The Apple Tree. However, I'm not sure that this film has stayed with me for all of the right reasons. Whilst I found the animation to be quite smooth and very well done, the story itself was extremely bizarre and over the top. Not to mention the characters spoke half in rhyme and half not, which only made me feel uncomfortable, however, in retrospect I feel that this may have been intentional, as the film itself has a very dark nature. Although I didn't personally enjoy this film, I found myself laughing and engage regardless, which demonstrates that you don't always have to enjoy something to be invested. By making me feel uncomfortable and making the story outrageous, this film has managed to stay in my mind.
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