Thursday 25 January 2018

Review: Paprika (2006) by Satoshi Kon (Japan)

Figure 1 - Paprika (2006)

Paprika (2006) was directed by anime director Satoshi Kon. Kon is widely known for accepting and embracing the experimental and weird. Kon is frequently compared to the director David Lynch due to his interest and obsession with the dreaming mind, and this is particularly apparent withing Paprika. Paprika was based on Yasutaka Tsutui's novel Paprika (1993) and the plot follows a research psychologist that uses a device called the DC Mini that can be used by therapists to treat their patients within their dreams. The plot is set within the near future, and follows Doctor Atsuko Chiba as she begins to use the DC Mini to illegally treat people outside of the facility under her alter ego 'Paprika'.  One of the patients she treats illegally is Detective Toshimi Konakawa as he is tormented by a particular reoccurring dream. Doctor Kosaku Tokita, Doctor Atsuko Chiba's closest ally begins to realise the theft of the DC Mini was an inside job after observing Doctor Torataro Shima's dream, in which Tokita recognized his assistant, Kei Himuro. Further in the plot, we follow these characters as the attempt to figure out why dreams are merging into each other, and who is responsible for the dream parade marching through reality. Before his death in 2010, Paprika was Kon's fourth and final full length feature film.

Figure 2 - Paprika (2006)

The film is very Inception-like with its dream within a dream within a dream premise. ''Reality-bending trickery has been part of cinema since the early days of Georges Melies and The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, but I'd argue it's rarely been more visually dazzling that it is in Kon's films.'' (Naylor, 2008). The films central core premise revolves around our dreams, and how we has humans wish we could control them, watch them back and alter them, sometimes making us make rash decisions to do so. The film also touches on the idea of 'Where do the movies end and our dreams begin?'. Suggested by Manohla Dargis for The New York Times ''In this heavily conceptual, gracefully edited interlude, Konakawa swings through a jungle on a vine like Tarzan, loincloth and all, only to end up tussling with a man in a genre thriller, inspiring one of the film's most poignant philosophical riddles'' (Dargis, 2007). 

Satoshi Kon was described as ''one of the boldest and most distinctive film-makers to specialise in animation'' (Osmond, 2010). He produced four different feature length animated films along with a television mini-series, all of which had elements of playfulness and sophistication. Kon's idea was to change the traditional 'over-used' Japanese animation that featured over sexualised girls and replace it with unique, inter cutting and disorientating visual experiences. Kon's first feature film 'Perfect Blue' (1997) followed the premise of the disintegration of the mind after an actress participates in a rape scene. The film was explicit and did not hold back as Kon felt that the expression and portrayal of the mental state needed the imagery. His second film 'Millennium Actress' (2001) was a romance, very much a contrast to his last feature length film. The plot follows the character Setsuko Hara, who searches for her wartime love and throughout she end up jumping between memories and movies as if they existed within the same reality. His third feature length also proved to be another change of attitude and direction. 'Tokyo Godfathers' (2003) was comedic in nature and followed a group of homeless people who attempt to return a baby to her original home. ''Despite its humour, Tokyo Godfathers was upfront in showing its characters' harsh situation. This social commentary was also overt in Kon's paranoia Agent (2004), a 13-part late-night miniseries, in which Tokyo is terrorised by a homicidal little boy with a baseball bat. Coming after a wave of much-publicised youth crimes in Japan, this was a near-the-knuckle subject for television animation'' (Osmond, 2010). Before his death in 2010, Kon began working on his fifth feature film 'The Dream Machine' which is intended for an audience of all ages.

Figure 3 - Paprika (2006)

Paprika is a 2D animated film, allowing bigger scope in terms of visual trickery within the dreams. Live-Action come with its limitations, and several scenes within Paprika would have taken a highly skilled team, a huge budget and a huge amount of time to edit and complete. ''Conjuring up an animated character and a fantasy world allows you endless scope for originality and novelty. For a video to be engaging, emotions need to be stimulated. And although viewers might relate better to human characters, they can also be captivated by the fantastical.'' (Reel Marketer, 2014). It allows for a much more believable dreamworld to be created, whilst also keeping the playfulness of the genre.

The film gained a huge amount of attention when it was released and got flooded with good reviews. Paprika gained an 83% rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes and Manohla Dargis at The New York Times described it as ''a gorgeous riot of future-shock ideas and brightly animated imagery, the doors of perception never close'' (Dargis, 2007) and The Midnight Eye said ''the juxtaposition of meticulously detailed realism with flourishes of the surreal has become a hallmark of Kon's work. Mundane everyday events sit tantalisingly close to terrifying descents into the mind and exhilarating leaps into the unknown. Deftly shifting between the two is perhaps Kon's greatest strength as a filmmaker.'' (Jackson, 2008).

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Dargis, M. (2007). Paprika - Movies - Review. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/25/movies/25papr.html [Accessed 25 Jan. 2018].
Google+, R. (2018). The Pros and Cons of Animated Video Versus Live Action Video - Reel Marketer. [online] Reel Marketer. Available at: https://www.reelmarketer.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-animation-versus-live-action-video/ [Accessed 25 Jan. 2018].
Midnighteye.com. (2008). Midnight Eye review: Paprika (Papurika, 2006, Satoshi KON). [online] Available at: http://www.midnighteye.com/reviews/paprika/ [Accessed 25 Jan. 2018].
Naylor, A. (2008). Paprika: the stuff of dreams for filmgoers. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2008/jun/17/paprikathestuffofdreamsfo [Accessed 25 Jan. 2018].
Osmond, A. (2010). Satoshi Kon obituary. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/aug/26/satoshi-kon-obituary [Accessed 25 Jan. 2018].

ILLUSTRATIONS:
Anon, (2018). [online] Available at: http://www.filmtakeout.com/paprika-review/ [Accessed 25 Jan. 2018].
Chaostrophic. (2018). 15 Must-Watch Forgotten Anime Films - Chaostrophic. [online] Available at: https://www.chaostrophic.com/15-must-watch-forgotten-anime-films/ [Accessed 25 Jan. 2018].
Cinema, A. (2018). Colorado Anime Film Festival: PAPRIKA (35mm) | Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. [online] Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. Available at: https://drafthouse.com/show/colorado-anime-film-festival-paprika-35mm [Accessed 25 Jan. 2018].

Toolkit 2: Graphic Design Practice - The Hungry Games






Monday 22 January 2018

Premise: Idea Development


So after some discussion with Alan about my idea, it has been decided to go with the narrative of losing a pet and how that feels. The feeling is relateable to a huge percentage of the audience and therefore has a good amount of emotional depth. Furthermore, there is a lot of storytelling around the subject based around growing up with the pet and the different relationships you have with it when you hit different ages. The narrative will be partly based on the experience I had growing up with my own cat. 


My cat was deaf, so I thought it might be quite interesting to tell part of the story through the eyes of the cat with no sound, or a ringing sound. This could either be used in a comedic or emotional way throughout the narrative. Due to the deafness, she was also an indoor cat, which resulted in her practically being a kitten forever and loved human interaction.

Current Influences:




Style:

In terms of style, I would like my animation to be based on the caricature, with exaggerated features and personalities. I think this would aid with the visuals and the ability for storytelling. 

Toolkit 2: Life Drawing - 22/01/18





Sunday 21 January 2018

Toolkit 2: Infographics - Initial Tests and Ideas




I have been testing out the use of black, red and white as the main colours for my info graphic, with also the use of rips as transitions and effects.

Thursday 18 January 2018

Toolkit 2: Pipeline 1 - Skinning - Part 1: Building a Ribbon Spine







Review: Mary and Max (2009) by Adam Elliot (Australia)

Figure 1 - Mary and Max (2009)


Mary and Max is an animated drama set in 1976 by the director Adam Elliot. The film focuses one a very unlikely friendship between two pen-pals who both have their own levels of instability. It follows Mary, a child from Australia who's parents are mostly non existent, particularly with her mother, who is an alcoholic. It also follows Max, a 44 year old man from New York, who has Asperger's syndrome and has no friends. The narrative watches both Mary and Max develop a strong friendship via the use of letters and packages to communicate, and how they come to meet at the very end. Mary and Max is narrated by Barry Humphries who uses language very similar to that of the characters within the film, very to the point. The film also features many themes of friendship, mental health and family throughout. 

The core premise of Mary and Max is debatable, but its most obvious is friendship and more specifically, companionship. ''We learn a lot about their overlapping enthusiasms, including Max's five favourite words (ointment, bumblebee, Vladivostock, banana and testicle, for the record), and the deep yearnings for companionship which make the successful delivery of each letter a heart-in-mouth business.'' (Robey, 2010). The relationship between both Mary and Max never once makes the audience feel uncomfortable. Both characters are presented as completely innocent and unable to comprehend the talent of human interaction. Therefore, throughout the film the audience is presented and filled with raw and genuine emotion. This genuine emotion is what builds the foundations of what happens later in the film, Mary's suicide attempt. The film is very frank when presenting the topic of mental illness. The audience see's both Mary and Max's entire life, through their eyes. Therefore, whenever Max has a panic attack or when Mary contemplates suicide, the audience understands. Later in the film, we watch Mary grow up and progress to university. Creating a thesis on ''the conditions of the mind'' makes their friendship fall apart. Whilst learning more about Max's condition and wanting to cure it, she was forgetting who Max was and focused on defining him by his illness, rather than accepting that that is part of what makes Max who he is. This is a strong message to represent and a very relevent one. These themes challenge the current stigmas related to mental illness and could even be challenging to watch for some people. 

Image result for mary and max
Figure 2 - Mary and Mary's Mother Designs by 12Field

Mary and Max was produced by Melanie Coombs and directed by Adam Elliot in 2009 after he won an Oscar for his previous film Harvie Krumpet which was made in 2003. In an interview with Animation World Network, he said: ''After Harvie Krumpet, I wanted to tackle something longer and meatier, I wanted to push the boundaries of feature animation, provide audiences with something new, something with a balance of light and dark, something Disney, Pixar and DreamWorks wouldn't dare touch.'' (Desowitz, 2009). The soundtrack for the film was created by Dale Cornelius who is known for his work on Backtrack (2015) and The Doctor Blake Mysteries (2013). Craig Fison was the art director for Mary and Max and the film was animated using stop motion. ''Stop-motion animation is a technique used in order to make characters appear to move on their own. The characters are moved in very small increments and are photographed. Each frame is then put together to create a moving picture. (Jeanmendoza, 2011).

The use of stop motion animation withing Mary and Max was used very effectively in the 'childlike' portrayal of both characters. Animation is generally associated with children, and within the film, both Mary and Max are quite innocent and childlike beings. Innocence also comes with the childlike aura of the film, even though it focuses on very adult situations and feelings. ''The most unexpected and powerful element of Mary and Max is the utter frankness with which it discusses mental illness. Max's Aspeger's is referred to as a disability, but the film never judges him for it.'' (Todd, 2015). In this quote, Todd explains that the film never judges Max for his disability, which is a relation as to how children are not born to judge, they are innocent and caring, much like the emotional and childlike look of the film. 

Figure 3 - Mary and Max (2009)

From the release of Mary and Max it received a flood of positive reviews and rankings. The film got 95% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and Jeff Giles from Collider said ''this movie is an act of tenderness that will linger long after the closing credits roll''. The film grossed $1,444,617 within the Australian box office but never received a full theatrical release in the USA. Instead it played at a range of film festivals across America.

REFERENCES:

Buckmaster, L. (2018). Mary and Max: rewatching classic Australian films. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/australia-culture-blog/2014/may/30/mary-and-max-rewatching-classic-australian-films [Accessed 18 Jan. 2018].
Desowitz, B. (2009). 'Mary and Max': Elliot and Clayography. [online] Animation World Network. Available at: https://www.awn.com/animationworld/mary-and-max-elliot-and-clayography [Accessed 18 Jan. 2018].
Giles, J. (2018). MARY AND MAX Review. [online] Collider. Available at: http://collider.com/mary-and-max-review/ [Accessed 18 Jan. 2018].
Mendoza, J. (2011). Lomography - Stop-Motion Animation: Mary and Max. [online] Lomography.com. Available at: https://www.lomography.com/magazine/118231-stop-motion-animation-mary-and-max [Accessed 18 Jan. 2018].
Pulver, A. (2018). Mary and Max – review. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/21/mary-and-max-review [Accessed 18 Jan. 2018].
Todd, A. (2018). Love Yourself First: Mental Illness In MARY AND MAX. [online] Birth.Movies.Death. Available at: http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2015/06/19/love-yourself-first-mental-illness-in-mary-and-max [Accessed 18 Jan. 2018].
ILLUSTRATIONS:

12field.com.au. (2018). 12Field Animation Studio – MARY AND MAX. [online] Available at: http://www.12field.com.au/mary-and-max/ [Accessed 18 Jan. 2018].
Newbutt, N. (2018). Exploring an Autism Condition in “Mary and Max” | animationstudies 2.0. [online] Blog.animationstudies.org. Available at: https://blog.animationstudies.org/?p=704 [Accessed 18 Jan. 2018].
Shanley, H. (2013). Mary and Max (2009) - A Good Movie to Watch. [online] A Good Movie to Watch. Available at: https://agoodmovietowatch.com/mary-and-max-2009/ [Accessed 18 Jan. 2018].

Toolkit 2: Infographics - American Horror Story: Murder House - Influence Maps


Choosing American Horror Story: Murder House as my subject, I have collected together some imagery of the house interior to inspire the general aesthetic of my infographic. The aesthetic is quite Gothic and faded along with patterned wallpaper and paneled wood. 

I have also compiled a list of all cast and crew that need to be included within the infographic.
- Ryan Murphy
- Evan Peters
- Jessica Lange
- Sarah Paulson
- Denis O'Hare
- Dylan McDermott
- Zachary Quinto
- Jamie Brewer
- Taissa Farmiga
- Lily Rabe
- Connie Briton.

I also think the general colour scheme of my infographic will be black and red, inspired by the current posters and teaser trailers.