Violence and animation have a long-established bond. Through Tom and Jerry (1940-1958) and Looney Tunes (1930-1969), animated violence has developed a reputation as a comedic tool, but is also a common subject for animated documentaries with a serious ‘truth-telling’ agenda.…
Materials of the Synesthetic. Rethinking the Formal Elements of Animation “A strange multiplicity of sensations seized me, and I saw, felt, heard, and smelt at the same time; and it was, indeed, a long time before I learned to distinguish…
Indexes, icons, and symbols. According to Charles Sanders Peirce’s semiotic theory (1974), we can identify three basic types of signs: indexes, icons, and symbols. Indexes, such as photos, videos, and films, have a factual connection with their objects since they…
The stability of animation as a viable economic industry was immeasurably supported and strengthened by the Walt Disney Studios’ aspirations to innovate. The desire of Disney (the man and the company) to harness the possibilities of technology during cinema’s first…
When we listen to music there comes a distinct experience of the passing of time. As the music changes, develops and grows, certain ‘events’ in the sound mark out a subjective feeling of time. Our awareness of following this passage…
2014 will mark the centenary of Norman McLaren, one of the most innovative animators in the 20th Century. This post is something of an indulgence for me to act as notification of a work in progress. The project to examine…
There came a point in The Beloved Ones, the film I made in 2007 for the UK Film Council, when it became clear that the indexical sound recorded in the field, in Uganda, was not going to be able to…
