end of anime as we know it?

Ted Mills mills at rain.org
Mon Jul 2 18:20:35 EDT 2001


Re: death of anime, CG, etc.

A good friend of mine works as a computer animator at a video game company,
so we have this conversation often.

I think one misconception that guides so many of these products is that the
ultimate goal of animation is reality. But who says? Even in cartoony films
like Shrek, so much attention was put into rendering the donkey's fur, you
have to wonder what the point is--to distract the audience? And a recent
news-ad on "Final Fantasy" said something like half of the production time
was devoted to rendering the animation of the lead female character's hair.
After watching the clips, my thought is "why not just use real people?"

The effect of so much photo-realism may only serve to distance viewers, if
we are to believe comic theorists like Scott McCloud, who says that the more
basic and less realistic the character, the more projection from the
audience and the empathy extended to the character. (Hence why Peanuts is
more endearing than Prince Valiant--among other reasons, of course).

CG is only a tool, and here in its initial stages the tool is being valued
just as much as the things it makes, so that CG animation is not held up to
the same standards of traditional cell animation--where weight and movement
are important. Many CG animators have neither the time nor the inclanation
to study life and real movement, but that's another topic entirely.

Finally, animation, CG or otherwise, still involves a lot of gruntwork, and
where time is saved in one area, it is gained in another, much the same as
the economics of film v. digital.

I don't know if that answers any questions at all, but that's my two cents
before I go back to work.
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Ted Mills          
Santa Barbara, CA                         "From new transmitters
Stoopid ol' USA                             come old stupidities"
>>mills at rain.org<<                              - Bertolt Brecht

http://www.stekki.com  STEKKI DAIYO! PROD.
http://www.rain.org/~mills/songbysong.html - The Pizzicato Five
Song by Song Discography - a must for all collectors!
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