Hedgehog in the Fog

        Though i'm a live action major I really enjoy watching animation videos. One of my favorite animation videos this semester is Hedgehog in the Fog. The video was directed by Yuriy Norshteyn and it is said to be one of his best works and one of the best animated videos in history.

     The video is ten minutes long and it tells the story of a little hedgehog that gets lots in the forest while going to visit his friends. While in the forests the fog starts getting thicker and suddenly all kinds of normal things start to look scary to the hedgehog.






      I was really, really impressed by how Yuriy made the fog because it looked great. The style of the film looks like paper cut-outs and I like that. The film has Christian inspirations here and there. I agree with the critics in that this film is one of the greatest films; I don't even know what to say about this film, it is just adorable and and cute. 

Onslaught

 

Beauty Pressure

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The short video we watched called Onslaught addresses a predominate issue in society. The video addresses beauty and its crippling affects on the female mind in a materialistic world. The video partakes in illustrating an "experimental truth" about the beauty and fashion industry taking advantage of young women. The fast cuts and edits through the montage present an intense short video, a video that "conveys emotions and meanings that were intended without actually having to say so." This film is significant toward the reading as it illustrates a unique sense of storytelling that infiltrates the audiences empathetic mind through the  utilization of a tangible representation of young women becoming corrupted by the beauty industry. By showing the little girl in the film the audience will associate a face to the "victim" of beauty making the issue appear
dire and in need of adjustment and action, while also implementing a basic truth. Not only does the film contain significance through storytelling, following the Pixar reading, but the film also contains importance through its "artistic flexibility and social significance" (Yuri Norstein Reading). The film could have been constructed through several different positions and yet it is constructed in a unique sense. Most importantly it is essential to discuss the young child portrayed in the film. In film and in theater an actor must NOT break the fourth wall but in this film the child does break the fourth wall ... but unlike common theory saying that breaking this wall makes the audience disbelieve the action, while feeling uncomfortable, this film deals a different hand. The act of breaking the fourth wall in this film establishes a social truth and seeks to challenge the audience... almost as if the child is daring you to succumb to the beauty industry and to remain unaffected. By allowing the child to break the fourth wall, to "penetrate reality," the filmmakers had to have a lot of artistic flexibility and the fact that they encourage a social truth establishes a social significance. This film is significant to me because I am tired of living in a world where beauty and materialism can allow a person to climb the steps of the ladder, to receive more opportunities, to become an "exclusive" member of society, and it saddens me to observe people who are oblivious toward the beauty God has bestowed upon them, people who only see the "ugly disfigurements" society proclaims them to be. I fear that the world will succumb to a standard definition of beauty and that what makes us unique and beautiful will be destroyed through materialism and the IDEA of beauty, therefore destroying the true beauty God has bestowed upon us. I weep for that loss and I weep for the clones the beauty industry seeks to create. I weep for the beautiful children of God who are told you are not good enough, you are not pretty enough, and that to lead a successful future you most be supermodel thin with pounds of makeup on your face and numerous cosmetic surgeries. A world in which the beauty industry creates clones, that is the world I fear. The film Onslaught provides awareness against some of these issues because a picture, or a video in this case, can indeed speak a thousand words.

                                                      Stay Beautiful and God Bless,
                                                                   Randi Orr

(Quiz2) One Day a Man Bought a House

   One of my favorite short films this year has been One Day a Man Bought a House by Peter Sapigen. Now more than ever I have realized why it's so great. Not only is it a delightful comedic piece, it has a certain tone and sense of style. The two things Keith Lango had said in his blog in order to rival Pixar in a way that's not as expensive money wise as well as man day wise.
   The film is funny, but the characters don't think so. The man is frustrated at the rat for causing such a disturbance, but we find it funny because of the way things don't work out for the man, such as the cat cutting his own tail off and the rat falling in love with the man. The narrator increases the comedic value in those situations with his Ben Stein-ish straight forward type of narration. A voice typically associated with something boring, comedy is not, and the combination seems ridiculous, but it's perfect. Content wise, it's all there.
   As far as the style of animation, it's not Wallace and Gromit quality, and it shouldn't be. The grimy and gritty not quite perfect animation goes hand in hand with the content. It never tries to be anything but what it is, another Lango direction. It looks great in it's own kind of way, and more animators, as well as live action directors, should take note of it.

QUIZ 2 BLOG

"The Man Who Planted Trees" reminded me of an old "Johnny Apple Seed" cartoon I used to watch when I was about 5 years old (hard to believe that was almost 15 years ago). Both the old man in "The Man Who Planted Trees" and Johnny plant trees for the majority of their lives, adding to God's miraculous world of flora. Johnny's were fruit bearing and I believe the old man might of had both. Other minor characters in each story did not realize that all the trees were planted by man and not just conjured up by nature. We do not know if the old man had a religious background. I can't remember if Johnny did either, however it did show him planting trees in a 'heaven' like dimension. Everyone has a sense of good in them whether they know it or not. It makes me realize that every person can do a simple act such as planting a seed, repeating the process, and moving on to the next plot of land, to greater influence the world and inspire those who live in it. I hope one day that through my study at Huntington University that I can help impact the film industry for God's greater glory.

Sand Castle

We watched Sand Castle in class and it was pretty interesting. It was an animation and it was about this sand creature that went around creating other sand creatures and then built a sand castle together. The creatures continue improving and expanding the sand castle until eventually a sand storm comes and destroys everything.

This animation hit home for me in a way I didn't expect it to in all honesty. For me it was more than just a sand being creating creatures and building a sand castle with them. This short spoke to me as the creation story. It reminded me of how God created all creatures and gave us life. He also gave us the garden of eden and we chose to disobey him and eat the forbidden fruit, thus causing the fall of mankind. The sandstorm that comes at the end and destroys everything reminded me of that (even though they didn't disobey their creator). That is the connection I made to this short and what it spoke to me.

The animation was great and had a lot going on for the few minutes that it lasts. Over all I would say this is one of the animations I felt connected to the most, and I liked it.

Geri's Game

            I really enjoyed the Pixar section we covered in class because I’ve grown up with those films and loved everyone. So I chose to blog about Geri’s Game. I’ve loved this short ever since I saw it the first time opening for A Bug’s Life. It’s my favorite Pixar short. Geri is so happy and content playing chess with himself, which, for me, makes the short both funny and sad. He them proceeds to trick his “opponent”, who is beating him at the game, and ends up winning the chess game and his dentures back, which I find comical. In class and in the reading for the Pixar section it talked about Pixar not being great because of the story, but because of the telling of the story. Geri’s Game is such a simple story, but I believe, Pixar captures the telling of the story perfectly. Geri is a lonely man and copes with his loneliness by challenging himself to a game of chess. He does something that makes him happy, rather than feeling sorry for himself. I think that at some point in our lives we have all felt a bit lonely, which makes this Pixar story relatable for everyone.

The Stain

One of the films that really made an impact on my mind was The Stain, the short film inspired by a newspaper article of twins who killed each other over a gravy stain. The movie told a story of a family that went through rape, incest, and attempted murder. Just like anyone else, I know about all these things. I also don't think about these things everyday either, just like everyone else. I couldn't get the film and it's issues out of my head for the rest of the day. My family has a lot of issues and can be dysfunctional, never like that. I've heard of people who've dealt with these issues just from my mother being in law enforcement and overhearing her conversations with my father, and its disturbing just to hear about a victim of these things. It changes people, and they'll never be able to feel the same again. These issues are things people repress and don't talk about. I didn't understand everything that happened right away in the film, but the more I thought about it the more serious it became. It was a beautiful film even though it's topic was so aberrant, and I'm glad I got to see it.

Man Bought a House

The main theme in Tuesday's class was about love and how to perceive it. Toward the end of class we watched several short films on that subject but the one film that I believe I like the most, the one I want to talk about is, Man Bought a House. Since the only people who read these blogs are fellow classmates, I won't bother to tell you what you already know about how the story goes, but I do want to at least make mention the part I want to focus on. In the story the rat received three of what she perceives as gifts, it being the rat poison which was the greatest treat she ever tasted, the bear trap which she perceived as a beautiful piece of mechanical art, and the severed cattail she wore as a scarf. The rat couldn't makes sense to why he was being so nice to her. She thought he must really love her to be doing all this. What I thought was so great about this film was to me this love story seemed so innocent as if I was perceiving love through the eyes of a child. It seems like as adults we relate to love as desiring the most beautiful and sexy beings whereas in this story, looks don't mean anything rather it is the character of the man that brought on the rats love and it was the rats love that brought on his love. Whether you're attractive or as ugly as a rat means nothing to a child. I guess the point I'm trying to make is, it's strange that by seeing things through a child's point of view  reminded me about what true lasting love really is. I'm not sure if that's what the director was trying to convey but that's what I got from it.