Animated Thoughts: Back to the classroom

Well, fall is here and with it the fall semester at CMU. Once again, the College of Art and Media graciously invited me to teach the History of Animation. This year, I did a number of things differently, foremost among them was starting my revisions in April.

As we've moved the class from a 300-level to a 200-level, there are more freshmen and sophomores taking my class. The rationale was to get this information to potential animation students as early in their academic career as possible--providing them a much larger toolkit of knowledge and skills at a time when it would provide them the most options for projects in their future classes. So a lot of my supporting material is geared towards teaching them about techniques: how Joan Gratz invented claypainting, how the multiplane camera works and its evolution into the CAPS system at Disney, what a "setback" camera setup is. Things of that nature.

To that end, I scoured eBay to find some interesting visual aids for the class, most notably a vintage Magic Lantern (around 100 years old) and a Chromotrope from the 1800's. Am still looking for an affordable phonograph in order to play some of my Edison Amberol cylinders in class. Playing the music on MP3's just doesn't have the same feel to it.

Of course, there was some housekeeping that needed to be done. Years ago, I purchased Moustapha Alassane's DVD so I could show his film Bon Voyage Sim. Downside is that they didn't include subtitles for 'Sim'. So I had the dialog translated into English. Should resolve a lot of those "I don't understand what's going on here" comments.

And as I continue to locate and purchase the highest quality prints of these films to show my students, this year I bought a used Laserdisc player. Showing the Harmon and Ising film Tale of the Vienna Woods has been on my list of things to do. But the only copy I've ever found is on a four disc LaserDisc set. So, before plunking down the cash on the Happy Harmonies LD set, I had to make sure I had something to play it on. Thank you again, eBay.

The class still isn't where I want it yet. Future plans include building working scale models of Max Fleischer's setback camera and Disney's multiplane camera... as well as a working model of Oskar Fischinger's wax-slicing machine... and possibly an easily portable setup whereby I can show a "hologram" projection of Hatsune Miku... but those are projects for a future class.

Best part of starting all this work early is that I now have a little extra time on my hands. So I'm going back and watching some films that are on my 'to do' list, like Walter Ruttmann's Berlin, Symphony of a Great City, Bambi, Fantasia, some of the Noveltoons and Happy Harmony shorts, and the old Alice Comedies that Walt Disney produced back in Kansas City.

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Animated Thoughts: Art Comes in Many Forms, pt. 3

After swearing up and down that I probably wasn't going back to Gen Con any time soon, or if I did, it would only be for a day, I ended up biting the bullet and buying that 4-day pass.

It was the 50th Anniversary celebration of Dungeons and Dragons and there was going to be a plethora of historical panels with the folks who made the game. 

My plan was to drive down to Indianapolis, stay overnight, say 'hi' to some friends, do a little shopping, and then drive home. But, as fate would have it, I had enough cash saved up to do three days in Indianapolis so decided to make the most of the experience.

Gen Con is one of those places where the artwork takes center stage--even to all the games. You could have the best game out there, but if the artwork is 'meh', well, it's hard to catch the eye of potential players (customers). So, I set out with camera in hand and a willingness of spirit to soak in all that wonderful sci-fi/fantasy artwork.

Catalyst Game Labs had some nice treasures in their display case but "The Battle for New Avalon" was the theme for the annual CamoSpecs diorama. If you look closely, you can see the the Republic of the Sphere forces backing up the Davion Guards against the Sword of Light. 

As always, the detail on those miniatures is always top-notch! Wish mine looked that good.

There was a fair amount of interesting art at the con--lots of it was on banners.

I'm not into Pathfinder, but Paizo's artwork is always top-tier.

The 50th Anniversary of D&D "museum" was both overwhelming and underwhelming. Given how the Con pulled out the stops for the Gen Con anniversary back in 2017, I was expecting more than a number of display cabinets with some D&D artifacts--back then they built a facade for the Horticultural Hall and had tons of historical artwork and gaming books and artifacts from the history of gaming. 

Now, a lot of the books and papers they had in the display cabinets "were" pretty cool. And I did like the "D&D by the versions" display. Overall I think Peterson and Kammer did an okay job with what they had, but it was not what I expected given the enormity of the anniversary of D&D.

Every year, there's group art project. Not much to say here, I just thought it was pretty neat.

Was a real treat to meet Gary Gygax's son Luke (and his wife Bouchra) during the "Growing Up Gygax" presention. Real quality people. Would love to talk to them again.

Spent some quality time looking at the miniatures competition. 

Am truly humbled by the skill and the patience it takes to produce work of this quality and on this scale. 

Not a lot of statues at the con this year, but there were a couple good ones in the dealer room.

Heh. The annual balloon sculpture turned out to be a promo for a Gnome game.

As I left, I had to say 'good bye' to the life-sized UrbanMech that has become a mainstay of the Catalyst Game Labs experience at Gen Con. Don't know when, or if, I'll be back. I still feel the siren-song of that bucket list trip to all the great art museums of the world. But Gen Con will always hold a special place in my heart.

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Animated Thoughts: What I've been watching this season

As time marches on, I've been watching more and more Anime television series. Personally, I find that a lot of the stories are more engaging for people in my “middle-age” demographic. Fortunately though, we have been seeing an uptick in animated shows geared for the more mature viewer here in the States, mostly through streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime (see: Invincible, Critical Role, and Love, Death & Robots). However, I do still see us walking a long road before we witness Brad Bird’s view of animation fully realized in the American consciousness as it appears to have already done so in Japan. As Mr. Bird so eloquently said back in 2015: “Animation is an art form and it can do any genre”--including stories for the middle-aged crowd.

Hence, my watching a lot of Anime. Of course, Anime is not immune to the overuse of certain tropes, like “the harem/reverse harem”. And everyone chases trends. Here in the States, it’s been “superheroes” for quite a while. In Japan, "the overpowered protagonist who wakes up in an alternate world" continues to be all the rage. Now don't get me wrong, some of the shows with those tropes and trends can work and can work pretty well--see: Is it Wrong to try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (both the Familia Myth and Sword Oratoria storylines), the Sword Art Online/Gun Gale Online series and movies, or the "Certain" series: A Certain Magical Index, A Certain Scientific Railgun, and A Certain Scientific Accelerator. But from time-to-time you do get the feeling of “been-there, done-that”.

More often than not, before every season starts I'll make a list of six or seven shows that I want to take a look at and see if they're worth following through to completion. My plan allows for viewing the first two (maybe three) episodes to see if they're worth my time and the list gets culled as the season progresses.

I have to say: this past season had some pretty solid entries into the market. I ended up paring my list down from around ten to five--though of those ten, there's two that I do plan on going back and finishing later this year.

The series on my 'must see' list ended up being: Train to the End of the World, HIGHSPEED Etoile, Kaiju No. 8, and BARTENDER Glass of God (all streamed on Crunchyroll) and Delicious in Dungeon (streamed on NetFlix). The two "honorable mentions" that I plan on finishing were A Sign of Affection and Obsolete--though both of those shows were from prior seasons, streamed on Crunchyroll and YouTube respectively.

Train to the End of the World. Now, you might think from the trailer that this is one of those stereotypical 'cute girls doing cute things' Anime. Well, you'd be wrong! From the opening sequences, this Anime takes a hard left turn into the surreal. The whole story follows four girls (and their dog) as they take a train from their home town all the way to Ikebukuro in order to find one of their missing friends. The catch here is that the entire world has gone crazy due to the implementation of "7G" wireless connectivity. But the girls are determined and hijinks ensue at every stop on the way. Now while the banter is entertaining, as is the trouble the girls find themselves in, it's the attention to facial expressions and body language, the "acting", that really makes the series work for me. No matter what challenges they face, they never cease to behave like teenage girls who are at that midpoint between childhood and maturity. And when faced with a bizarre landscape (which they'd been dealing with for two years by the time they decide to make their trek) that is filled with equally bizarre perils, over and over it's their friendship that carries them through to the end. It reminded me of the "Certain" series in that regard: kids that are thrust into an adult world, who have to solve more-or-less adult problems. But they solve those problems as you expect a child (or teenager) would, not in the manner that an adult would--even though they're trying their hardest to act mature at the time. All-in-all, I found it to be a fun, thoroughly quirky show. From the start, you never really doubted what would happen by the end of the last episode, but it was an enjoyable journey to take. Do be warned though, it does get a little silly and a little cheeky in some spots so I wouldn't let little kids watch it.

I don't like watching sports. Never have. Don't like playing them either, though I guess I can see the appeal of playing sports... kind of. But it holds no interest for me for various reasons not really relevant to this post. Now sports movies? Well those I find rather engaging. I thoroughly enjoyed the live-action car racing movie Gran Turismo (based upon the true story of a videogame/simulator and aspiring race car driver Jann Mardenborough)--enjoyed it so much I watched it twice. HIGHSPEED Etoile was another one of those entries. The initial premise was recycled: a ballerina who was sidelined by an injury gets involved in racing instead--same premise as in the Anime Rideback from back in 2009. The main characters from both series even have the same name. But this time it is racing in a future where a new power source allows race cars to propel themselves at a level of speed and skill never seen before. Other sci-fi tropes integrated into the show have a number of the race cars enhanced by AI as well as hologram announcers at the racetracks, a-la Vocaloids. This appears to be a 3d CGI animated show with 2d cel-shaded rendering. The character animation is pretty stiff but the racing sequences are very realistic--I mean, as realistic as they were in the live-action movie Speed Racer. Perhaps "well done" would be a better choice of words. What attracted me to this show is that Rin is not automatically good at the task she's presented with, unlike so many modern (boring) stories nowadays. No, Rin's performance behind the wheel evolves over time as it builds upon her athleticism and coordination from years of studying ballet. And while she does come off as a bit ditzy and clueless, as the show progresses, she grows as a character and loses her naivete. Some folks might not say that this is a "must watch" show, but it "is" another fun ride. If you liked the Emile Hirsch version of Speed Racer, you'll probably enjoy this series.

Kaiju No. 8 wasn't what I expected given that it was produced by Production IG, the powerhouse that brought us Ghost in the Shell. There ended up being a bit of zaniness in Kaiju No. 8 that I found a bit offputting. I went in expecting a serious look at a world beset by giant monsters hellbent on destruction and the people who stood in their way--including the para-military force that destroys them and most importantly, the crews of workers that have to clean up the aftermath (and carcasses) of the Kaiju. This show struck me as something that Studio Trigger would release as visually and performance-wise it had more in common with Kill la Kill or Gurren Lagaan than Ghost in the Shell. I almost stopped watching three episodes in, but stuck it out and Kaiju No.8 ended up being worth the time spent. This is a show with some great action sequences and the story ends up being one with a lot of heart as it follows a middle-aged Kaiju disposal worker in his attempts to live out his dream of becoming a member of the Anti-Kaiju Security Force. In the end, despite the show's occasional overexaggeration of Kafka Hibino's performance I found myself rooting for Kafka and looking forward to the second season.

Bartender Glass of God is one of those shows that is a slow burn. The pacing is relaxed yet there is an underlying tension to the story. The characters and their motivations are revealed across the series--much like watching a slow-motion video of a flower blooming. It's honestly a very meditative show to watch. The story follows Ryū Sasakura, a bartender who is on a quest to mix the "Glass of God"--meaning: that perfect drink for each of his customers. The conflict comes from a hotel owner who wants him to work at his high-end hotel instead of at the bar that where Ryū currently resides. And there are minor conflicts among the side characters that only serve to reveal more and more about Ryū's character and history. This show is a reboot from 2006's Bartender. I'm not sure if I like this series as much as the first one from 2006, but I would definitely say I like them both, just for different reasons.

Now Delicious in Dungeon is the show I've been waiting for. I've been following the manga ever since I discovered it during a break from watching (and reading) Isekai Shokudō--or in English: Restaurant to Another World. Setting aside the fact that Isekai Shokudō is on my "must see" list of Anime, I learned about Delicious in Dungeon (Japanese title: Dungeon Meishi) when I saw it on the bookshelf while looking for the latest manga and light novel translations of Restaurant to Another World. I tried it on for size, as it looked interesting, and I was not disappointed. The story follows a number of adventurers who are trying to rescue (resurrect) one of their friends who got eaten by a red dragon at the lower levels of this magical dungeon. But with little money to work with, they are faced with the prospect of never seeing their friend again or being forced to eat the monsters they kill in order to survive the expedition. Like what the trailer suggests, this show is nice and kooky. If you're into cooking shows and Dungeons & Dragons (as I am), you'll find this a fun romp--especially when you find yourself searching out a number of YouTubers who have made recipes similar to the ones in the show. A word of warning though: while this show is very fun and looks lighthearted, as the story progresses it does get pretty deep and mysterious. There's a lot of meat there, so if you're expecting something light and fluffy from beginning to end, you might want to look elsewhere. It's a 24 episode run on Netflix and, in my opinion, is well worth the time spent. I've watched both the English sub and English dub episodes several times. I can recommend both. And if you have a minute or two to spare, I highly recommend the original animated music video made by Bump of Chicken for the song Sleep Walking Orchestra, which was used for the show's opening title sequence.

Well, the season draws to a close and there's only one episode of Bartender Glass of God left for me to watch. Then once again I'll be pawing through lists of seasonal shows on Crunchyroll, Amazon Prime, Netflix, HBO Max, and Hulu as I look for those shows that not only pique my interest but hopefully become one of the rare gems that adorn my DVD collection.

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